“Master of everything?” Sugar rolled her eyes. “Of course he does.”

“And does he live up to the self-titled moniker? He’s…” She rolled her hands, urging Sugar to continue.

Before she could stop, her cheeks flushed again. “He’s impressive. I’ll leave it at that. Good enough?”

“Hell no.” Nicola pouted.

“What do you want?”

“A onetime afternoon romp? That’s it? What did he say? What’d you do?”

Sugar chewed on her lip, wondering how she could put it. “I politely said thanks and asked him to leave.”

Nicola’s jaw hung open. Her eyes didn’t blink. She didn’t make a sound.

Sugar tugged at the hem of her pajama shirt. “Come on, Nicola. Don’t be so shocked.”

Her jaw closed, then dropped again. With a shake of the head, she clasped a hand over her mouth. “You kicked him out. Oh my God. I want every last detail.”

“That sounds harsh, and don’t you think this is a little personal?”

“Are you kidding me? You’ve slept with Cash. We’re beyond that.”

“Nic! That’s not fair. We ended before he knew you. Met you again. Whatever. Cheap shot, Nicola, cheap shot.”

Asal came out of the bathroom, displaying freshly scrubbed hands. She was adorable in her clean clothes, and she’d tied her hair into a ponytail.

Nicola gave another foreign-tongued spiel and then its English translation. “Go to the kitchen. Find a snack.” She looked at Sugar. “You have food in there, right?”

“I don’t know.”

Asal was in and out with two bags of dried fruit and nuts.

“Guess so.”

She skipped to the couches, grabbed a remote, and found cartoons on the flat screen. “Kid adapts fast.”

Nodding, Nicola got back to it. “Rewind back to where you kicked his tight ass out of the room, and go. God, I would have sold my guns off to see that.”

“He’s a manipulative bastard.”

“Not a news flash.”

“Well, he wasn’t one hundred percent upfront on some things.”

Nicola shrugged. “Nature of everyone’s favorite prick.”

“You’re not helping.”

“You’re not spilling, but tell me how I can help.”

Sugar wanted to scream. “I meant you’re making this complicated. There’s nothing to help. It’s done. It was fun. And I don’t want to do it again.”

“Then why are your eyes bloodshot?”

Maybe she should’ve checked the bathroom for Visine. It had everything else she could want. If Nicola Garrison knew she’d had a cry-fest in the Jacuzzi, Sugar would never live it down—or forgive herself for being unable to control her emotions.

Nicola softened. “Look, Sugar. I don’t have many girlfriends. Just one at the CIA. Hazard of the job, I guess. We don’t work with a lot of women. I could use a second friend. Hell, you might need a first.”

“I don’t have friends. They’re baggage.” Though I do have a sister and never should have e-mailed her about Jared. She had wanted to call her sister after Jared left, but she’d opted for a bath and avoided an explanation of the all-alpha idiosyncrasies that made up the Master of the Universe.