Page 28 of Charming Deception

“Are you sure?”

“I have staff for that.”

Right. That’ll take some getting used to. If I actually stay here for any length of time.

I put the plate down, mainly so I can slide out of his gentle grasp.

“Sit.”

The word is so evenly commanding, so ruggedly warm in his rough-velvet voice, my butt is back in my seat before I can think about it.

Chapter 7

Megan

“Tell me more about your books.”

Holy fuck. This man has the bossy-alpha thing nailed.

Jameson’s tone is so irresistibly commanding, it strikes me what a bad idea it is to get hired by a boss this hot. I pick up my unfinished champagne and take another swallow, knowing I’m probably going to tell him anything he asks.

Imagine if he told you to drop your shorts.

“What would you like to know?”

“What’s your pen name?”

I sigh under my breath, feeling silly. “Jessica Rivers. Are you gonna look me up now?”

“What are your books about?”

I notice he didn’t answer my question.

“Well… They all follow the same story. So it starts in book one and continues on.”

“And what’s the story?”

I put my glass down, wondering if I can really sum it up. I’m not used to pitching the story verbally to someone. And it’s not finished yet. I don’t even know how the series ends.

In the silence, insects chirp beyond the glow of the patio lights, and I notice: no mosquitos. If this were Manitoba, we’d be eaten alive out here. The night’s so peaceful around us, and distantly, I think I hear my brother talking on the phone, the low lull of his voice.

It’s so comforting.

I could really get used to this.

Except for the intimidating man sitting across from me, regarding me in demanding silence.

Waiting.

“Well, it’s about a girl named Rowan and a guy named Wolf.” I play with my hands while I speak, a nervous tic that always shows itself when I talk about my writing. “It’s set in the future, in a postapocalyptic wasteland. Rowan’s family are aristocracy, and Wolf is one of the nomadic outsiders known to Rowan’s people as savages.”

He hasn’t told me to shut up because he’s sorry he asked yet, so I tentatively keep going.

“When the first book opens, Rowan’s parents are long dead and her oldest brothers have just returned from battle with an enemy tribe, victorious. Now it’s Rowan’s turn to do what she can to protect her family. She’s the only girl, and she’s been raised to be a Lady. Which means to be married off to the ruler of another tribe as a sort of peace bond between them.”

I bite my lip, pausing to give Jameson a moment to steer the conversation elsewhere if he’s not interested.

His eyes drift to my lip as I twist it between my teeth. “Sounds barbaric.”

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