Good Girl Read Online Free PDF Page A

then again, there had been no spark of recognition each time he had
said those words to her. Only outrage and arousal. The best combination in the
world, as far as he was concerned.
    Only, he really should ask her to play
first. He refused to go down the road that Selina took—getting his sadistic
kicks out of ordering people around who couldn’t say no. Those were the kind of
people who ended up being rude to wait staff at restaurants. Or worse, ignoring
a girl’s safeword.
    It was only a few minutes later that
Selina announced, “I have to run or I’ll miss my flight. Thank you for showing
me your work, Hunter.”
    “It’s been my pleasure.” His glance slid
from Selina to Kali to include her in his compliment.
    Kali wasn’t looking his way. She hadn’t
said a word since she gave her opinion on the bench.
    Hunter walked them downstairs. Most of
the live-in artists in the building were very young, and he didn’t want some
rude kid leaving a lasting impression on them that would hurt his chances. But
luckily no one was hanging out on the stairwell or in front of the building.
    Hunter gave Selina’s hand a final shake,
which she managed to make last a few seconds longer than usual, before she
stepped into the limo car. Her last words for Kali were, “Write this up for me
so I can send out the memo on Monday.”
    They both watched the car drive away.
Hunter had the feeling that Kali could hardly look at him. He felt a pang again
at the way he had played with her without asking first.
    “Which way is it to the subway?” Kali
asked.
    Hunter glanced at her high heels. “It’s
five blocks away. I think I should call you a car. It’ll only take a few
minutes to get here.”
    She was looking down the block. “You
think so?”
    He felt for his phone but he’d left it
upstairs. “I’ve got the number in my phone. I’ll be right back.”
    Kali protested, “Really, don’t bother.”
    He smiled in spite of himself. The
perfect submissive response. “Why don’t you come up, so you won’t have to wait
down here alone?”
    “That’s okay. It’s a pretty evening.”
She looked up at the sky visible through the low buildings.
    He was surprised. He couldn’t remember
the last time he had asked a girl up to his place and she refused. Not that
this was a date. But it felt sort of like it because he had played with her,
even if she didn’t know it.
    He couldn’t do that again. He had to
keep it professional. So he went upstairs to get his phone. He called the car
company on the way back down and gave them his address, all the while wondering
how he could make it up to her without ruining his chance at winning the
competition for the plaza.
    When he got outside, Kali was gone.
    It was like a punch in the gut. He had
expected her to be there, had been thinking of what to say to her, how to
apologize for what he’d done without making things worse.
    He ran up to the corner, but he couldn’t
see her in either direction. “ Crap! ”
    It was like his vision narrowed. He had to
find her. What if she went in the wrong direction and crossed into the barrio?
It was only a few streets away. The women he usually dated could handle
themselves in his neighborhood, but he wasn’t sure about Kali. There was a
fresh-off-the-barn feel about her that worried him.
    “Crap…,” he muttered through gritted
teeth.
    He ran, first up the street and then
crossing over several streets. There were people getting home from work, some
walking and even more riding bikes. He ran all the way to the subway. At the
entrance, he didn’t see her. He felt like a tool, breathing heavily, but then
he saw a bunch of guys loitering just outside the stairwell. So he kept on
moving.
    He ran down inside the subway and leaned
over the turnstile. Kali wasn’t on the platform. He didn’t see how she could
have beaten him there, but he had to check.
    Back outside, the homeboys were looking
him over, pointing him out to each other.
    What if Kali had