Page 59 of His Pretty Little Duet

My body shakes.

Landon is going to serve him twisted lies. I fucked-up by keeping this from Clay.

I fucked-up by...fallingfor him.

My heart tightens as I pull the notepad to my chest and rub the place over the frantically beating organ with my knuckles. I let my mother's romantic genetics win, instead of the powerful blood my father filled me with.

I have feelings for Clay. Lose my mind when he was around. Forgot the entire reason I'm here.

God.I'm so stupid.

He doesn't care.

He wasfriendlywith Landon.

Friendly...

I groan as lumps of betrayal clog my throat, making it hard to breathe past them. The smile on Clay's face, so perfectly set, so patronisingly pointed at me. They are talking about me right now. They are laughing at me. At my stupidity, my gullibility, naivety, silly, stupid—eccentric—self.

A sob escapes me, and I curl in tighter.

Fawn

Footsteps sail into my subconscious,and then I'm floating through the air and placed on the mattress. Before I'm able to react, able to provoke my body into action, my mind is drifting back out to slumber's wide arms.

The scent of sweet smoke encloses me.

A soft caress on my thigh taps at my consciousness.

Desire builds in my core as soft material slowly slides down my thighs, my body shuffling even as my mind lags to what is taking place. My underwear...

I flutter my eyes open, finding Clay a dark shadow hovering over me. Glowing blue eyes are fixed on my face. His hand is beside my head on the cushion, his other gliding my dress over my torso.

He's undressing me. Wait. I'm angry at him. What's happening? My heart wakes up with a start, throwing my pulse into a wild rhythm that moves between my ears and rattles within my throat. My anger, the betrayal, it all turns to ash as the reality of what's happening ignites.

"Sir?"Is all I can say beneath his dark gaze, his eyes never leaving mine as he undresses me. I let him. Aid him. Lifting andwriggling and using my own hands to remove everything until I'm lying naked beneath his formidable, suited wall of muscles.

Then he plants his hands beside my head, creating a cage with his big powerful arms.

Breaking our connection, his eyes pan down my body and his cheek muscles pulse once. I don't know what it means, but that small action crawls inside me with a warning.

I blink up at him, not able to catch up, can't seem to refocus my mind on the moment. His shoulders are taut, coiled, and ribbed with muscles protruding like wings either side of his neck. My eyes catch on his tongue, tracking its slow movement as he traces his lower lip. It's full of meaning. Full of intention.Say something, Fawn."You had no right to drag me away from him. You had?—"

His eyes snap to mine again. "You lied to me."

I think about his smile. The one he gave Landon, and an angry sob fills my throat. "You chose him over me."

"I did nothing of the sort," he says as his head dips towards me, his heavy breath heating my cheeks. We have never been this close before, the intensity not sweet and gentle but volatile, battering my frenzied heart. The mattress vibrates beneath me as his arms contract, his muscles flexing within the fitted shirt sleeves. He's shaking.Angry?Glowing predator-like eyes pin me to the mattress. "Has that boy been inside you, little deer?"

My stomach flips. "No."

"You said you didn’t know who the father is."

"I don't," I assure him, that I didn’t lie to him—aboutthatat least. "I mean... I think... Did he say something to you?"God, Fawn. Think. Think of questions. What did Landon say?The heavy, distracting cage of his arms begins to shake harder, drawing my focus from Landon, the questions, the betrayal, that smile, to this moment. "Sir," I whisper, gazing into his fierce eyes, "you're shaking."

"You have been keeping your intentions from me, my girl. That disrespects me."

"You disrespected me by pulling me away like a child, by making me the outsider, by smiling at him, by letting him think you're on his side like everyone else is. Letting him think he's won! They always?—"

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