Page 63 of Vienna Bargain

“Want me to tell you?” she asked.

“No,” he grumped. “Now I will figure it out myself.”

She doubted that, but this was just too much fun. It felt so good not to be lying to him.

There was a reason you didn’t tell him all this up front. And those reasons haven’t changed.

Except they had, because she trusted Alexander Wagner. She loved him.

Then again, the people she worked for might not think that was a good enough reason.

Alexander stilled, his head jerking towards her. “Stolen art. You’re looking for a piece of stolen art.”

“Yes,” Alena said softly.

“Art that you think was transported by my company.”

“Right again.”

Alexander surged from the table and started to pace. Alena rose too—her butt still hurt, despite the pain killers she’d taken, so she might as well stand.

“I want to believe you—”

“You should, it’s the truth.”

“—but I can’t. Why would you need to come to me? Why wouldn’t you ask my team to search the records?” He ran his hands through his hair and this time the agitation wasn’t playful. “Damn it, you made me believe…”

Alena’s heart twisted and she rushed over to him, holding his face in her hands.

“Alexander, what I told you is the truth. Why you? Because you have a complete backup of your company records in your house, and your notorious desire for privacy meant the security inside was light. I needed to get into your house. If you want, later, I can take you through all the other options I considered.”

“I was the vulnerability.”

“No, you were the man I found so fascinating that I studied you until I figured out your sexy secret. And when I found it, when I learned about the Orchid Club, I realized we had something in common. I didn’t lie to you about being a sub. I was, in those years after college when I was still figuring myself out.”

Alexander placed his hand over hers, pressing her palm into his cheek.

“We were supposed to scene, be friendly, have some good wholesome non-sexual BDSM fun. My plan was always to set it up so you’d invite me to your home for something, and then I’d find a reason to spend the night. You had a history of offering hospitality.”

He stared down at her and she wished she could peek inside his head and see what he was thinking. Every word was the truth, and she desperately needed him to believe her.

The sun was setting, darkness falling, and the lights on the patio had yet to be turned on, leaving them surrounded by pale gold dusk. She could hear the sounds of the wildlife who lived on the preserve—different birds calling out as the sun set. There was also the sound of a car engine, the sound probably traveling from the main road.

“I would have gotten the information and left. You were never supposed to even know it had happened.”

“You’re not a hacker.”

“No, I’m not. I know enough to use the tech, not build it.”

He was silent, and she couldn’t stand it. There were so many things she needed to tell him and she hadn’t gotten to them yet.

“They, we, couldn’t go to you directly because your company would have locked down. A team of lawyers, a million lawsuits, counter suits, denials…and in the end the art would all still be missing.”

Alexander frowned. “All? It’s more than one painting?”

She thought she could hear shouting coming from inside the villa, but ignored it.

“It’s not paintings,” she said softly. “Not just paintings.” Alena stroked his cheek the way he had hers. “And your company didn’t just transport the art. You stole it.”

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