Page 38 of Deceitful Promises

“A spider?” I say, relief touching me. “Hell, Ania, after everything, that’s easy. Give me a sec.”

“You don’t mind?”

Not even a bit, and it gives me something to do. In the back of my head, the truth burns. I just want to see her, plain and simple.

Walking through the quiet apartment, I open Ania’s door and find her standing in the entranceway with her arms wrapped over her middle. Oh, damn. Is she doing this on purpose? She’s changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top, and fuck …Really?My dick is already growing hard.She’s not wearing a bra.

Her perky nipples poke through the material, making me want to stroke them softly, then pull her top down and start sucking.

“I know it’s silly. The big bad spider scared me,” she laughs shakily. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know,” she murmurs. “Like … I don’t know.”

Yet part of me wonders if shedoesknow. Maybe she can sense the hunger in me. Or perhaps I’m giving her more credit, assuming she knows more about how this works. Has she ever even been with a man? She’seighteen.

“Let’s see this beast, then,” I say, walking toward the bedroom.

She follows me, gesturing across the large, simple room to the tiny spider clinging to its web right next to her bed, stretching from the bedframe to the side table.

When I move forward, raising my hand as I get ready to deal with the problem, Ania says, “No, don’t do that!”

I turn, narrowing my eyes. Is she serious? From the look in her eyes—the soft love there, the genuine concern—I can see that she is. A sense of pity almost touches me, but I don’t let it take hold. It’s not pity she deserves. It’s respect because I could never imagine caring that much. I could never imagine having that much softness.

Usually, I despise it, but it’s somehow appealing in Ania.

“You want me to save it?” I ask.

She narrows her eyes at me. “Don’t say that like it makes me sad.”

I smirk. “I don’t think you’re sad. I think you’re cute.”

“Oh,cute,” she says, and I can tell she can’t think of anything else to say. The compliment has turned her into Miss Shy, making herevencuter. Looking around the room, I grab a piece of paper from the desk, curl it into a cone, and walk slowly over to the spider. Leaning down, I slowly scoop it into the cone, adjusting my angle until it’s resting at the bottom, trying to climb back up.

“Now where, madam?” I say.

She laughs. “Uh, I don’t know. Where do spiders live?”

“Bedrooms, apparently.”

“Maybe take him with you?”

“So it’s ahimnow? Sure, he’ll be my buddy for the night.”

“Maybe come back to make sure there aren’t anymore.”

She says this last part quickly when my back’s turned. It’s like she has to get it out quickly. A smile touches my lips as I leave the room, taking the spider out. My instinct is still to kill it. Maybe I’m too savage. I hate the idea of lying to Ania, even about something this small, so I let the fella go into my room.

When I return to Ania, she has one hand in her hair, twisting a strand around and around her finger. She couldn’t look more attractive if she tried, and something tells me she’s not trying.

“You needed me?” I ask, trying not to look at her perky, perfect nipples poking through her shirt.

“What do you think I should say tomorrow?”

“To your brothers?” She bites her lip, nodding. My balls are aching so damn hard. “You should tell them how you feel.”

“Well, what’s that?”

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