Page 78 of Devious Lies

It’s not her. It’s the place. The landlord is more like a slumlord, and I plan to have words with him.

Maria isn’t the slob she claims she is.

Okay, there is some disarray with clothes and makeup. But everything beneath it, the stuff that matters, it is all clean.

Which is saying a lot, considering the floors and cabinets and appliances all suck.

Fucking shit hole.

Maria will not be returning to that dump. Period.

The elevator opens silently, and I place my hand on the lock, then instruct her to do the same.

“There, now you are in the system. And all my men already know who you are and that you live here now.”

She nods, but she’s worrying her lip between her teeth.

I know she’s been here, but I admit, I didn’t exactly give her a tour.

“Let me show you upstairs,” I say to break the ice.

“Don’t we need to use the elevator?” she asks, likely because I am tugging her in the other direction.

“Yeah, but it’s a different one.”

Her eyebrows raise and I rub the back of my neck.

She’s quiet while we ride up, and I don’t pressure her, cause I am generally a quiet person, too.

I’ve seen her apartment now, and I think she’ll like what I am going to show her.

“What’s this?” she asks, pointing to the door that leads to a set of stairs.

“That goes to the roof, but come in here first,” I tell her.

She listens, as she usually does, and my heart beats faster.

I fucking love how she trusts me. She might not know it. Hell, maybe she is too young to know it.

But I push that thought out of my head. I’m more than ten years her senior, and that is something I really don’t want to dwell on.

Besides, Maria is not like other women. She’s graceful and smart.

Hardworking.

Sweet.

And dirty.

For a recent inductee into the world of carnal delight, Maria is a goddamn prodigy.

Her willingness to follow my lead makes that hard heart inside my chest pump a little harder. She makes my blood sizzle and my body ache.

She’s so damn beautiful. Sometimes it hurts to look at her.

All that innocence. All that willingness to follow me into sin. It is irresistible. So, I don’t bother trying.

And the thought of not being with her? It breaks my fucking heart.

---