Page 5 of Devil's Den

Also … they were going to have sex. She was a virgin and didn’t have a clue what she was doing. None of this was going to end well for her.

Slicing into the steak, she couldn’t help but marvel at how beautiful it was, and how it sliced through like butter. The taste was sensational—juicy, sweet, succulent pieces of tender meat.

And, her mouth watered for more. The potatoes were full of flavor, nothing bland about them at all. She hated unseasoned potatoes. There was nothing worse to her.

She couldn’t help but glance at Rome, only to find himwatching her. He was eating his food, but now his gaze was intent on her, and she didn’t know what to do. She felt her cheeks heating, and as she did, she wished she’d taken the time many years ago to learn how to put makeup on. She’d be able to hide all the times she blushed.

“This is really good.” She didn’t like to be nervous. With him staring at her, it was making her so. She tried to ignore it, which only seemed to make everything worse.

“I have a good chef.”

“Ah, so you didn’t cook this yourself?” she asked.

“I don’t cook.”

She pressed her lips together and offered him a smile.

“Do you?” he asked.

“Ugh, yes, I cook. I don’t like ordering takeout, and I can’t afford a chef.” It was supposed to be a joke, but it kind of fell flat.

“Why do you live with your brother?” he asked.

She put a bite of potato in her mouth and turned to look at him. “He’s my brother.”

“He’s trouble, Beth, and not one you should be dealing with.”

There was no arguing with that, seeing as she was naked in this man’s dining room through no fault of her own, other than the brother she had. This didn’t feel good to her. “He’s still my brother and although he has messed up, I know he wouldn’t do anything to harm me.”

Rome burst out laughing and he threw his head back. “Oh, Beth, you are seriously deluded.”

****

“I do not appreciate being called that,” Beth said.

She looked even more sexy when she was insulted. Rome loved that wild look in her eyes, like she was trying to keep her anger at bay. He’d opened the door in time to see her attackingher brother in the car. He’d been impressed to see she had some fire.

The previous night, he didn’t know if he’d just agreed to bed a doormat. There was nothing sexy about a woman who allowed anyone to walk all over her.

There was a fire inside Beth. He intended to stoke it, and reap the rewards for himself.

“Do you think this is the first time your brother has messed up?” Rome asked.

She tensed up. He saw that she attempted to hide it by suddenly reaching for her water. It was subtle, almost undetectable, but he saw it.

“Your brother has built himself a reputation, Beth, for being a two-bit crook.”

“What?”

“While you’re out all day, scrubbing floors and getting everything sparkling clean, he is out there … destroying things. I hope you don’t tell him about any of the homes you’ve cleaned. It would just be too easy for you to be seen as an accessory to burglary.”

“What? No, Ben wouldn’t do that.”

He took a bite of his steak and watched her.

She looked sick and angry at the same time.

“Have you?” he asked.

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