What He Seeks (What He Wants, Book Twenty) (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page B

can she be a prostitute, too?”
    “Maybe she’s left that behind her.”
    “And now we’re here to dredge it all up again?” I asked. “That doesn’t sound like a very good plan.”
    But before Noah could answer, a waitress appeared at our table.
    “Sorry,” she said. “I hope you guys haven’t been waiting long.” I recognized her immediately from the pictures on Ryan Aqualino’s phone, even though her face had been bruised and battered then. She had dark curly hair and freckles over her nose, her eyes bright and blue. There was a small scar on her chin and I wondered if it was left over from what he’d done to her. She smiled, showing straight white teeth. “We’re short staffed today. Can I get you something to drink? Or are you ready to order?”
    “We’re ready to order,” Noah said, without even bothering to consult me. “Blueberry pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs. For both of us. And coffee.”
    “You got it,” she said, scribbling it all down on her pad before sticking her pencil behind her ear and heading back toward the kitchen.
    I raised my eyebrows at Noah. “Hungry, are you?”
    “I find that running really works up my appetite.”
    “Oh, yeah?”
    “Yes. That and fucking.” His voice was low and growly, and I knew he was thinking of what we’d done yesterday, how he’d gagged me and pushed my legs up over my had, fucking me until I was sore and aching. Heat rose on my cheeks.
    A second later, Bella returned and set down two mugs of coffee.
    Once she was gone again, Noah took a sip, wincing at the bitterness.
    “Sorry, Mr. Snobby,” I teased, rolling my eyes. “You’ll have to make do with something other than your two-hundred-dollars-a-pound freshly ground French roast.”
    “Charlotte, please refrain from name calling,” he said, his hand tightening around the handle of his mug. “And rolling your eyes is a sure way to get yourself punished.”
    “Promise?” I asked, enjoying the flash of anger in his eyes at my back talk, the way his jaw tightened as he filed it away for later.
    But I knew when it was time to stop pushing my luck. “Okay, so what’s the plan?” I dumped a bunch of sugar and cream into my coffee and stirred it with my spoon before taking a sip. I didn’t know what Noah was being so dramatic about – the coffee tasted fine to me.
    “The plan?”
    “Yes. Like, how are we going to approach Bella about Ryan?”
    “We’re just going to ask her.”
    I frowned. “Ask her what?”
    “Ask her if she knew Ryan Aqualino.”
    “She’s going to lie.”
    “No, she won’t.”
    “Yes, she will.”
    “People love to talk about their lives, Charlotte,” Noah said. “You watch.”
    “Okay, master,” I said. “Teach me.”
    I meant for him to teach me about the law, but an amused look crossed his face. “Oh, don’t you worry about that, Ms. Holloway.”
    I blushed again.
    When our food came, Noah didn’t ask Bella about her involvement with Ryan. Instead, he dug into his pancakes, watching me carefully as I took a tiny bite. I’d though I was hungry, but now that there was actually food in front of me, I couldn’t bring myself to eat, probably because of all the stress I’d been under.
    “Charlotte, you need to eat.” Noah reached across the table and cut my pancakes for me, then doused them in syrup.
    “I don’t think so much sugar and so many carbs are good for me.”
    “You don’t need to worry about sugar and carbs, you need to worry about eating something so that you don’t get weak.”
    I almost laughed at the thought of my curvy body wasting away to nothing, but I took a bite obediently, and was surprised to find that the pancakes actually tasted delicious -- warm and sweet against my tongue. Noah nodded in satisfaction.
    “Do you think I should text my mom?” I asked. “I haven’t heard from her since last night.”
    “I’m sure she’s fine.”
    I dug through my bag and pulled out my phone to see if there was a new text from