“I don’t like this fucking store! Let’s go, baby.”

I return his embrace briefly before trying to get down. “Masen, put me down. We cannot walk through the mall like this,” I say, exasperated when he won’t let go.

Finally, he sets me down and looks back at a silenced Bambi. “You’re fired.” He looks to the other woman who has kept her distance and been quiet the entire time we’ve been here. What the hell. He owns this store?

“I’ll have someone here within the hour to close the store for remodeling. Someone will contact you about interviewing for a position in the new store as long as you don’t treat customers like she does.” He points an accusing finger at the now withered Bambi.

“Yes sir, Mr. Black. I’d like to keep my job,” comes a soft reply from the look-a-like. Are they sisters, I wonder?

Masen pulls out his phone before we have even stepped out the door. “Sid, I need someone with retail experience to shut down a store in the mall. Do you think you or Red could come here within the hour?” He’s quiet for a few seconds before saying, “Thanks, I’ll explain later. It’s the Kitty’s Kloset. Thanks again, Sid.”

He hangs up, and I tug him into an alcove for the restrooms. “Masen, she was a bitch, but that wasn’t necessary.”

His face is hard when he leans down closer to me. “Yes, it was,” he grates. “I’ll be damned if a store I own will treat you or anyone for that matter like that. She’s just a jealous bitch who wishes she could be half as beautiful as you.” His voice is gruff as he grabs me around the back of my neck and smashes his mouth to mine. All the questions I was going to ask about him owning the store evaporate as his tongue licks across my bottom lip gently. I gasp as his teeth nibble, he takes advantage and deepens the kiss. One of my hands fists the hem of his t-shirt, allowing my knuckles to brush his hard stomach. He groans into my mouth at the contact. My other hand runs up his chest and around his neck, my fingers seek his soft short dark hair pulling him down lower to me as I rise up on my toes trying to get closer. Masen wraps an arm around my lower back crushing me to him as he moves my head with his other hand angling me to control the kiss. It started sweet, but now we are both panting.

I’m so close to him that when his phone vibrates in his front pocket, I feel it. I drop my head back from his and moan lowly as he continues to pepper kisses along my throat and collarbones. When it buzzes again, I realize what’s happening. Opening my eyes, I see two men standing about fifteen feet away watching. My cheeks burn red as I clear my throat. Masen hasn’t stopped and his hand runs down my back to cup my butt. I try backing away and whispering his name, but he’s lost in his task.