Sinner (Book Two): Sinner, #2

By Layla Valentine

I'm a thief. I'm a Sinner.
And soon I'm gonna be a new daddy…

This is the second book in the Sinner series, featuring a hunky bad boy hero and a tale of steamy love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Layla Valentine
• Release date: May 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201568146

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

VIV

Y our resume is exceptional. Bea Moore, the owner of Birds and Bea’s , put the paper down and squinted at Viv across the table at the front of the floral shop. I don’t understand one thing, though.

The skepticism in her voice made Viv’s back straighten. What’s that?

I can’t pay you anything near what I’m sure HW Pharma has. Why on earth would you want to work at a little shop like this?

It’s something that I’ve always dreamed of doing. Viv spread her hands. My years with HW have been good, but it’s not the job for me. There are more important things than money.

Bea smiled softly, and Viv could tell the older woman understood.

You certainly have experience selling things. Do you think you’d have a hard time with flowers?

No, ma’am. Viv giggled. Not at all.

It’s mostly answering the phones and taking and running orders. There’s the possibility of learning to make arrangements, if that’s something that interests you.

Viv nodded eagerly. It definitely is.

Great, then. I have a few more people to interview, but I’ll give you a call next week. How does that sound?

Wonderful. Thank you so much.

Standing, Viv shook Bea’s hand.

The walk out to the car, she grinned from ear to ear. Working at a florist might seem like a starter job to most people, something for students, but that wasn’t how it felt for her.

A job at Bea’s, though it wouldn’t pay much, would at least cover her bills. She had enough in savings for any emergency that might come up. And maybe she’d eventually get promoted and receive a raise.

Or, who knew? Perhaps she would open her own shop one day. Right then, the potentials felt limitless.

After buckling up, she called Markus from the car’s Bluetooth system.

Hey, babe, he answered. How did your interview go?

He’d taken to calling her ‘babe’ over the last few days, and every time she heard it, she got warm all over. It had only been a couple weeks since they’d gone to Nirvana, but they’d been hanging out a lot since then. She’d gotten lucky and had only been out of town for half of those days. Every night she was in Jacksonville, they spent together.

She didn’t give me an answer yet, Viv replied, but I think it went really well. Are we still down for dinner?

Of course. A muffled male voice on his end said something. Hey, uh, I’ll be a little later than I thought, though.

Okay. How late?

Maybe thirty minutes. Ryder needs my help with something.

While she’d been working the last couple of weeks, he’d been busy helping his friend renovate his house. Markus had taken her over there once to meet Ryder.

How about I pick up dinner? he asked. Mexican?

Sure.

She’d planned on going to Markus’ right from the interview, and her apartment was a bit of a drive away. It didn’t make much sense to go there. Maybe she could hang out at a coffee shop until he got home.

Why don’t you go to my place now? he asked, reading her mind. Get comfy. I’ll text you the door code.

Okay. That sounds nice.

She was already imagining all the sexy ways she could meet him at the door. Maybe she would only be wearing lingerie when he arrived home. Or maybe she’d be wearing nothing.

What do you want from the restaurant? he asked.

Anything. It doesn’t matter.

It doesn’t matter?! He made a noise of agony. You have got to be kidding me.

Sorry. She laughed. It’s all kind of the same, isn’t it? Like, same ingredients in different forms.

As a lover of Mexican food, I’m personally offended that you think that. It’s definitely not all the same. But, since that’s how you feel, I’ll pick what we’re having.

I’m sure I’ll love it.

They hung up, and she drove over to the grocery store near his building and picked up a bottle of red. Once inside his apartment, she changed and hopped in the shower. She’d already packed an overnight bag in anticipation of staying there, and had underwear and comfy PJs to change into.

Hopping from the shower, she ran a comb through her wet hair and braided it. Pulling on pajamas for the time being, she checked the clock.

Ten minutes had passed since she’d arrived at the apartment.

Yikes. She sighed.

It seemed like it would be forever before Markus got there.

In the kitchen, she rooted through drawers to find the wine opener. In addition to meeting him semi-naked at the door, holding two glasses of wine seemed like a nice touch. As she reached into the back of a drawer, though, something nicked her finger.

Ouch!

Pulling her hand out, she found a thin line of blood on her finger. A knife, probably forgotten about, had been left in the back of the drawer.

Leaving the wine for the time being, she padded back into the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet.

Toothpaste. Aftershave. Floss.

No bandages.

Hm. She twisted her lips and thought.

Under the sink?

Nope. Not in there either.

What about back in the kitchen?

There was a black box on top of the fridge. Men, as she’d learned, were different from women. While her brain might find it completely logical to put a first aid kit in the bathroom, it could be Markus saw the kitchen as the best place.

Standing on her tiptoes, she grabbed the box and pulled it off the fridge. Its weight was unexpected, and it came down faster than predicted.

Setting the box on the counter, she took off its lid.

And then she stared.

The box had been so heavy because of the gun in it.

But it wasn’t