Scandalous Heroes Box Set by Serenity King, Pepper Pace, Aliyah Burke, Erosa Knowles, Latrivia Nelson, Tianna Laveen, Bridget Midway, Yvette Hines

teeth.
    “Yeah, yeah, right. Sicilian. I placed a call to him but he hasn’t responded.” Tate looked back at Catalina and Marietta who seemed engrossed in what the employees were sharing. “Can you help me?”
    “I will deliver the message.”
    Mr. Tate sighed. “ Grazie. Thank you.” He walked off. Kyra rose from her seat on the sofa. She walked away from the women, stopping to speak with a few of the clusters of people gathered. She eventually made her way toward him with her drink in hand. A server approached her and she scanned the samples on his silver tray. She began to pick cheese and small pastries to nibble.
    She glanced up to Renaldo as she popped one in her mouth. After chewing and licking those lips he’d love to suck she approached him. “Are you hungry?”
    Renaldo smiled. She was indeed flirting.
    “Don’t they let you eat? Or do you just stand there and say nothing all night?” she asked.
    Renaldo didn’t answer. He liked the twang of an accent in her voice. He couldn’t place it but she had to be from somewhere other than just the States. She reminded him of the Nubian beauties he’d encountered in Italy. Kyra glanced back to those gathered and sipped her drink. Her gaze then shifted to him. “How does one get close to those two women?” she glanced to Renaldo. “I think Marietta likes my shoes. Catalina is polite but not very interested. I want to tell them about… my ideas.” Kyra passed her drink off to a server and dusted her hands. She turned and faced him. “Can you give me a tip? This is my big chance you know? I’m just the secretary. Mr. Tate wants me to…”
    Renaldo arched a brow at her hesitance. She was about to share something and thought better of it. Kyra gave him a girlish chuckle. “I don’t really fit in here,” she said.
    “You try too hard. Relax, bella ,” he said. “Catalina is from Sicily. Marietta is American like you. Talk to her, she’d listen,” he said more than he intended to. But part of him wanted her to succeed at whatever her heart desired.
    “That easy? Huh?” she teased him with another one of her dazzling smiles.
    “Let the night flow,” he replied.
    Kyra blinked at him. Her long lashed eyes were the biggest flirty appeal to her face. He could stare into those eyes all evening. Then she favored him a smile and he had to reconsider his initial thought. It was her smile that was her best feature. Including the two dimples she brought up in her cheeks. “I guess I am nervous. It’s just that, well those women are so beautiful.”
    “So are you,” Renaldo said.
    “You’re flirting with me!” Kyra chuckled. “I didn’t figure you for the kind of man that would. You seem too uptight.”
    He arched a brow.
    “See. Right there. Every time I say something you either go silent or arch your left brow,” she teased. “So what are you, a bodyguard?”
    “Yes. I guard bodies,” he said.
    Kyra laughed lightly. “Where are you from? Italy?”
    He didn’t bother to answer. Where he was from and who he was wasn’t relevant. And he wasn’t prone to explaining himself. She stared at him as if she expected a response. When she realized he wouldn’t offer one the crease at the center of her brow deepened. “Well I’m from Nigeria. I came here when I was three. And…” her voice trailed off. “Never mind that,” Kyra sighed. She looked around at the polished dining room area and then back to him. “Nice talking to you, Renaldo,” she said.
    He nodded his head. Kyra walked back over to the others. Though she wasn’t invited to sit with Marietta and Catalina she did so. And her effort flowed naturally. She glanced his way and he nodded to remind her to relax. She smiled, and nodded her head in the conversation offering only her opinion when asked. She was a quick learner. Brains and beauty, he got a hard-on for the combination.
    ***
    The night progressed without incident. Or so he thought until he noticed the one person who couldn’t