Wicked Game Read Online Free PDF Page A

piranha?”
    “Sure, she looks like a caramel-macchiato type to me. And a cranberry scone.”
    “Sounds good; make it a grande.” He handed off a different card just as Cass stumbled into the shop, looking highly agitated and more frazzled than usual.
    “If you ever do that to me again, I will kill you. I know many and varied types of poison, and I will be out of the country before the cops even know enough to suspect me,” she said, panting from a combination of exertion and frustration. Her lips were pinched, her eyes glowing. Oh yeah, he remembered that look well. He’d seen it directed at himself many, many times.
    “Careful, Miss Pendleton. You wouldn’t want someone overhearing you threaten Miami’s current favorite son. Where will you be when I turn up dead?”
    “Prison is preferable to what I just went through, I assure you.” She looked up just as the barista set a large mug of steaming caffeine in front of her. “Oh God, that smells wonderful. Thank you.”
    “I ordered you a scone. You’ve hardly eaten all day. And I have one more appointment, and then we’re off to meet my lawyer for dinner.” Jaime signed the credit card slip, leaving a very generous tip.
    “Smells nice and I think my stomach might be ready to forgive you for this morning.” She sliced into the scone with a plastic spoon and scooped a bite into her mouth, her face a mask of unadulterated pleasure. “Oh, heaven, how did you know I love cranberries?”
    “Lucky guess, I guess.”
    “It was the barista, wasn’t it? You aren’t that intuitive.”
    “You can’t blame a guy for trying. Let me know when you’re ready to move on. I’ve reserved a couple of hours for you at a day spa. I have to go into the front office and sign some papers. I’ll pick you up at six, I’d like you to be wearing something dressy casual for dinner.”
    “Aye, aye, Cap’n. How much skin should I show? Oh wait, I have no cleavage to speak of, so that’s out of the question. Any way you’d like me to have my hair styled? I assume there is hair and a facial involved in all of this?”
    “Leave it long, you look much nicer with long hair than that pixie cut you wore in school, but try to have the frizz tamed down, and Cass, please behave.”
    “Who? Me?”
    “Why do I feel like I’m going to regret the next few months?”
    “Probably because you are going to regret the next few months. Unless you stop trying to control me.”
    “Then stop being a train wreck. And finish your coffee.”

Chapter Five
    Honestly, two hours of pampering was something Cass decided she could get used to. Though having her hair decision taken out of her hands completely still left her a bit miffed. Shontal, her hair stylist, had clucked his lips at first, but after clearing away the split ends, he’d changed his tune. The humidity would be a problem for her, but he loaded her down with hair balms and sprays he guaranteed to keep her new and improved hair looking great during a hurricane.
    Face and nails were next, then a massage. About halfway through the process she started looking around for Stacey London and Clinton Kelly, feeling as if she’d suddenly turned up on a sneak attack episode of What Not to Wear . When it was all over, she was disappointed. Not only because Stacey and Clinton had not jumped out yelling surprise, but because Jaime was waiting for her.
    “Well?” she said after waiting for him to comment on the cornflower blue halter dress and the casual upsweep Shontal had hastily arranged after her massage. “Do I meet your standards, Mr. Stark? Or is it back to the drawing board?”
    “Well, Pepper, I guess it will have to do. Come on, we’re late.”
    “A ‘you look great’ or some facsimile thereof would be nice. After all, I played nice and let people rip hair out of places I didn’t even know had hair.”
    “Wow, Cass, you look spectacular. Really, I mean it.” He stopped dead and rolled his eyes. Sarcasm was his strong point after