Home > Sleight of Hand(5)

Sleight of Hand(5)
Author: Charlie Cochet

“Gio!”

A gorgeous woman with flawless tanned skin and waves of shimmering black hair, dressed in a black silk robe precariously tied around her slim waist, hurried toward them.

Nia was even more stunning in person than she was on screen, with ample curves and long legs that put her at least four inches taller than Joker, and that was without the three-inch heels she had on. Her lips were full and pouty, her eyes so dark they were almost black, and her presence was so raw it seemed to sucker punch everyone she swept past. She looked more like a goddess than a pop star, and she headed straight for Gio, arms wide.

“When they told me what happened, I couldn’t believe it!” She threw her arms around Gio, hugging him. “I was so worried! Are you okay?” She pulled back enough to cup his face.

“It was nothing. Really. It’s so good to see you.”

“I’ve missed this face.” She kissed one cheek, then the other, her smile dazzling.

Well, that was his cue. Joker turned to leave, but Gio called out to him.

“Wait! Sacha.”

Joker stopped and rolled his eyes. Now what? All Joker wanted was to get through his shift and have a couple of beers after work, and maybe a steak. Was that too much to ask? He turned, his expression telling Gio exactly how unimpressed he was.

“Yeah?”

“Sacha, I’d like to introduce you to Nia. Nia, this is Sacha Wilder. He’s the one who found the man in your dressing room and caught him.” Chip barked from behind Joker, and Gio laughed. “I’m so sorry. Chip was technically the one who caught him.”

“Oh, he’s beautiful,” Nia cooed. “Such a brave boy.”

“Yes, he is,” Gio said, his gaze on Joker rather than Chip, who Nia fawned over, though to her credit, she hadn’t tried to touch Chip.

Chip wagged his tail slowly, suspiciously, as he stared at Nia, making Joker hold back a snicker. That’s my boy. Chip looked from Nia to Joker and waited for the verdict.

“Say hello,” Joker finally said. It wasn’t Nia’s fault she was stunning. Besides, if she was interested in Gio, it was none of his business. She’d also known Gio longer than Joker had, which didn’t matter since Joker wasn’t interested in Gio.

As soon as Nia finished greeting Chip, she turned to lavish her attention back on Gio. Time to get gone. Joker excused himself. He had a job to do, and it didn’t include babysitting the billionaire and his “good” friend.

Chip came to heel and remained at his side as they headed backstage to make another round. They’d just turned away from the dressing rooms when Nia and Gio emerged through the curtains, their heads close together as they spoke quietly, her arm wrapped possessively around his as they headed for her dressing room. Whatever they were talking about seemed to have Gio mesmerized.

Chip whined, and Joker dropped his gaze to his furry friend. “It’s fine. Like I care?”

“And once more with feeling,” Ace said, his grin stretching from ear to ear.

“Where the fuck did you come from?” Joker hadn’t even heard Ace, and that was a freaking terrifying notion because when didn’t you hear Ace?

“You must have been too busy being fine over the hot pop star wrapped around the guy you definitely don’t care about.”

Joker narrowed his eyes at Ace, and his friend threw up his hands in surrender.

“Only an observation.”

“If I want your observation, I’ll give it to you. Now fuck off.”

With a chuckle, Ace walked away. If his friend thought he’d meddle in Joker’s love life, he had another think coming. Not that Joker had a love life. Which was exactly the way he liked it. He had a sex life, and a very active and glorious one at that. Love had nothing to do with it.

Okay, so maybe he was in the middle of a dry spell, but it would pass. Work had been busy, and he’d been doing a lot of overtime, so he hadn’t been to Sapphire Sands in a while. None of the hookups on his app had been particularly enticing. Didn’t mean a thing.

“It’s fine,” he assured Chip. “A momentary setback. We’re good. It’s all good.” He got another side-eye from Chip. “Listen, mister. I don’t need any of your sass, okay. Get to work. Earn your extortionate bone-and-toy budget.” Chip barked and trotted off ahead of Joker to do his thing.

The rest of his shift went on without incident, and he certainly didn’t spend any time at all thinking about Gio or what he and Nia might be getting up to in her dressing room. Thankfully, his shift was officially over. The arena was a thrum of bustling activity as teams of people ran around making sure everything was ready while crowds of people lined up outside.

Ace approached him by the security office. “Hey, Colton and Gio got the Boyfriend Collective a bunch of rooms at that swanky guitar-shaped hotel about twenty minutes from here. My shift ended, so I’m gonna hang out in our room and order room service while Colton’s at the concert. Wanna come? You can feed your beast and chill.”

“Sure, why not.” The rest of the guys had been invited to watch the concert from the manager’s box with Leo, and Joker wasn’t about to turn down some tasty—and more importantly free—room service from Colton’s fancy hotel suite.

They checked in with King before hopping in Ace’s red Corvette Stingray Coupe. Being married to a billionaire certainly had its perks. Colton loved to spoil Ace, and Ace loved to be spoiled. Joker wasn’t sure exactly how they managed it, but the two were disgustingly happy and in love, so whatever they did worked.

A couple of hours later, they’d ordered enough food to feed a small army and eaten every single delicious morsel. No one could eat his weight in french fries like Ace. With all three of them fed, they popped open a couple of beers and settled in to watch some TV. Chip was out of his work vest and lay on the couch on his back, paws in the air and head on Joker’s lap, because why would he lie on the floor like a sucker when there was a comfy couch and someone’s lap?

“Your dog is ridiculous,” Ace said, his smile wide. Chip let out a huff, making Ace laugh. “He seems to have really taken a liking to Gio.”

“Wow, was that you trying to be subtle? Because I hate to break it to you, pal, you’re about as subtle as your Cuban mama.”

Ace barked out a laugh. “She asks about you every time she calls.”

“I’m sure she does,” Joker said with a hum. Heaven forbid one of her boys not be in a relationship. “Tell her I’m perfectly happy having lots of amazing sex.”

“If you think I’m going to even hint to the word sex while talking to my mother, you’re nuttier than I thought.”

“Maybe if you two didn’t gossip about everyone’s love life, it wouldn’t come up.”

Ace blinked at him. “But then how would I know that my cousin Lolita’s best friend’s father’s second cousin’s nephew showed up to his sister’s quinceñiera party with his straight best friend, and the two got caught making out in the janitor’s closet?”

“I…” Joker shook his head. “I don’t even know what to say to that.”

“See? That’s vital intel.”

“Of course it is.” Joker snickered and shook his head. They went back to watching TV and ribbing each other over nonsense. Joker had just dozed off when Ace’s phone rang.

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