Page 34 of Unlawful Lies

Especially with Edward. He feels so alive, so virile and vital, on the couch beneath me. I’m draped half beside him and half over his lap with his arm around me and his opposite hand clenched over mine on his chest. To ruin this moment with honesty…

“Nicola.”

My name from his lips threads around me and draws me tighter to him.

I lift my face to meet his gaze, his profile strong. “Hmm?”

“We’re going to find out who is doing this to you and to your family. I promise.” He tucks his spent dick back inside his pants and zips them back into place.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” I sigh and reach for him, unwilling to don my hatred so soon.

Not when this isn’t hatred. I’ve felt the emotion before, black and delicious and bitter, urging you to drink more until you end up poisoned. This is a different beast entirely.

“I’m going to keep it. Together.”

He’s too earnest for me. Especially when he’s not supposed to be and the entire point of my agreeing to get close to him hinged on his depravity. There was no way I’d allow my walls to drop with a complete monster. Yet here we were.

“Edward, I—” I shift slightly to put distance between us but he’s not having it only holds me tighter. “I have to tell you something.”

He groans before dropping down on the couch and pulling me onto his lap. My pussy throbs, definitely sore inside and out, but his arms band around my torso, and I’m done fighting to be free.

“You’re actually a contract killer?” he jokes.

It would certainly make things easier if I were. But on both of those counts. I swallow hard, the back of my throat constricting with bile. My stomach churns and I know, without a doubt, I’ve got to come clean. fuck.

I’m not sure what the hell is wrong with me, but the words are bubbling up, and I know this is the right time. There’s no more hiding the truth. Or me.

I push back from him with enough pressure that he finally lets me go, and I move to face him head-on, our legs still pressed together. “My father sent me. To taunt you, weaken you, get information on you.”

Edward’s face doesn’t change, and he blinks at me.

“All the times we spoke to each other, it was because of that. Orchestrated.” I bit down on my lip.

“I know, little fox.”

I glared at him. “What do you mean, you know?”

“I mean, I suspected. There was no other reason for you to interact with me otherwise. Our families are enemies, with Scott poised to take over for your dad, not you. Why else would you be brought into the meetings? Yet here we are.” His smirk says it all. “Should I compare us to two other rival families where the couple inevitably fell for each other?”

My stomach takes a high dive. “Not when the couple in question died.”

“Then I won’t make the comparison. But I already knew.” He reaches out and smooths a lock of hair away from my head with such tenderness in the gesture I groan, the sound pained. “I understand.”

“You let me do it anyway.”

He shrugs. “I wanted to see how far you would go.”

My appraising stare shifts quickly into a glare. “I didn’t let you fuck me because of it,” I balk, ready to jump back. Needing to move.

His scowl is tempered by a chuckle, and he cocks his head. “I never said you did. But we’re in this together now. So, are there any more secrets I need to know about? You tell me yours, and I’ll tell you mine.”

“Only the kind that breaks the law.”

“Perfect. Those are my favorite kind.” His voice lowers, scraping pleasantly against my heart. “We’re in this together,” he repeats.

I snort and tilt my head up in defiance, oddly twined together with a tentative hope he’s telling the truth. “I heard you the first time.”

“And you are going to let me handle this my way. The man I saw the other night with your father wore a fedora. It might not be much to go on, but it may work to our favor. A recognizable calling card.”

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