Page 34 of Reckless King

When I force myself to focus on him, there isn’t even a hint of the amusement I expected to find on his face. Instead, his eyes burn into me with a heat that sends my internal temperature skyrocketing.

I nod, my whole body humming under his touch. But he doesn’t lower his head, and he doesn’t kiss me. Instead, heghosts his thumb over my mouth. And god, why does this feel so real? It shouldn’t. We’re minutes away from signing the contract that spells out the terms and conditions of this relationship. Not to mention, Tate is the last man I should want to kiss. And yet, when he lowers his head until his lips hover over mine, and I inhale the clean masculine scent of him, anticipation shivers over my skin.

“Show me what you’ve got, butterfly,” he murmurs.

He’s not going to make it easy on me. Or maybe he wants me to prove exactly how committed I am to this arrangement. Either way, I won’t back down from this challenge. Not when True Brew is at stake.

I go up on my toes and slide my hand into the soft strands of hair at the back of his neck. My pulse kicks into high gear and excitement skitters up my spine. Just as I’m closing the space between us, Mark’s voice sounds from outside the room.

I leap away from Tate and turn to face the windows behind me just as the door swings open.

Tate’s low chuckle scorches my skin, but I don’t dare look at him.

“Okay, I’ve made those changes?—”

I turn to my brother when his words cut off abruptly.

He squints at me where I’m standing at the window, then narrows his gaze further when he shifts his attention to Tate, who is standing suspiciously close by. I’m too scared to look at Tate, afraid that this time, I’ll see the amusement he was hiding before, so I keep my attention focused just over Mark’s shoulder, willing my still-hammering pulse to slow.

“Everything okay?” Mark asks.

“Everything’s fine,” Tate says. “Violet was just demonstrating her excellent acting skills.”

His voice is casual, almost flippant. Probably because he actually was acting when he all but dared me to kiss him.

And now the heat in my cheeks has more to do with embarrassment than anything else. I feel like I’ve been played. It’s ridiculous, because pretending to be attracted to him is exactly what I signed up for. But I didn’t expect to lose track of that within the first few minutes. We haven’t even signed the damn contract yet.

I close my eyes and exhale. I’ll do better from now on.

Finally composed enough to face him, I shoot Tate a quick glance. Just as I expect, he looks completely unruffled. That cool, slightly amused expression he always wears is even more grating than usual.

I look away. Now that I know how easily he can fall in and out of the act, I’ll make sure to remain just as detached. Mark has a little crease between his brows, as if he doesn’t quite believe Tate. He’d be smart not to.

But I reassure him anyway. “Just working out some of the logistics of playing a misguidedly doting girlfriend. It might be a struggle to make it believable, but I’ll manage.”

“I’m happy to help you practice anytime you need,” Tate says.

I don’t turn toward him or acknowledge his comment. I also ignore the quiet laugh he lets out.

Keeping my focus straight ahead, I sit back down in my chair. Mark does the same. Instead of going back around the table, Tate surprises me by pulling out the chair next to me. His leg brushes mine, but I swivel away a fraction.

“Better not do that once we’ve signed,” he murmurs while my brother is preoccupied with separating the documents. “You’re supposed to be crazy about me, remember? We don’t want to see any tabloid articles about there being trouble in paradise.”

This time, I turn my narrowed gaze on him, and the corners of his mouth curl up. He’s enjoying himself. I get the horrible feeling I’ve just signed up to endure months of Tate King having too much fun at my expense.

But if I can save True Brew, then it will all be worth it.

With a sigh of resignation, I turn away from his too-handsome face and pick up the pen. “Let’s get this over with.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

TATE

“That’s it from me. Any questions?” I ask the room.

I wrap up my daily meeting with my marketing team by going over the few issues they raise and possible solutions to them. We’re on track to launch the second stage of the Genesis-1 marketing plan, and we’re getting more interest from buyers as we near the first stage of construction.

My team is working overtime on the project, but it’ll all be worth it. The room is abuzz with excitement. This development has the potential to be a huge success for the King Group, and every person here knows it.

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