Page 33 of Reckless King

I stand and slip my hand into his. “It’s very nice to meet you too.”

The second man holds his hand out next. “Roman King.”

I take them all in as they stand side by side across from me. While Cole and Roman both have dark hair and light eyes, Tate is blond, with golden eyes. They’re both as good looking as Tate but seem far more reserved. It’s hard to see the family resemblance between them.

All three men take a seat at the table. “We appreciate you doing this, Violet,” Cole says.

“I appreciate the compensation you’re giving me to do it.”

A smile quirks the corners of his mouth, but Roman’s serious demeanor doesn’t crack. His icy gray eyes assess me, though it’s impossible to tell whether he approves or whether I’ve come up wanting.

As we run through the rest of the contract, Mark and sometimes Tate or one of his brothers answer my questions. I fight the self-consciousness that creeps in. With the three imposing King brothers sitting on the other side of the table, all focused on me, the scrutiny is overwhelming. Apart fromthe intimacy clause, the agreement doesn’t need many changes. To my relief, they’ve even included a section that gives me permission to talk to Anna about this whole situation. Thank god, because I may have already spilled the beans to her.

What eases my nerves the most is that Mark put the contract together. There’s no way he’d screw me over, even if he does work for the King Group.

A question hits me then. Did Tate have Mark handle this to give me that extra layer of reassurance?

I glance up at him, only to find his eyes already on me. He looks far more serious than I think I’ve ever seen him—at least, without a mask on. A spark of awareness crackles through me, and I quickly look back at Mark, who’s gathering up the pages of the contract.

“Give me a minute to make the changes, and we can get this signed,” he says as he stands. With a smile to me and a nod at the other men, he disappears out the door.

Cole and Roman stand too. “It was nice to meet you, Violet,” Roman says. “I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of you in the future.”

I smile a little stiffly at the reminder.

As Roman strides out of the room, Cole leans down and murmurs in Tate’s ear. Tate’s eyes find mine, and he shakes his head, though a small smile plays at the corners of his mouth. Cole straightens and claps Tate on the back, then tips his head at me one last time before the door closes behind him.

And suddenly Tate and I are alone.

“Are you ready for this?” he asks, his voice pitched low. “The moment you sign that contract, you become my girlfriend.”

A single, rogue butterfly takes flight in my stomach. “Yourfakegirlfriend.”

He lowers his chin in acknowledgment, but that smile returns. “How are your acting skills?”

“Isn’t it a bit late to ask that question?”

“Probably.” He leans back in his chair. “Let’s hope you can pull off kissing me, then, since you were the one who insisted on having it in the contract.”

Too-familiar irritation flashes through me. Ugh, why does he have to be so smug. “I think I can feign being into you for a few seconds at a time.”

“Is that so?”

The way one of his brows arches has me pulling my shoulders back and raising my chin. “Yes.”

He stands suddenly and rounds the desk. I turn in my chair and follow his movement, a sudden flurry of nerves taking over from the one rogue butterfly. What is he doing?

He stops a foot in front of me. “Care to put that claim to the test?”

My heart thunders as I stare up at him. “What do you mean?”

He reaches down and grasps my hand, then tugs me to my feet. “Maybe you should prove you’re up to the job before we sign. It would be the smart thing to do, wouldn’t it?”

Slowly, he takes me in, his gaze sweeping over every inch of my face before finally landing on my lips. He’s good at this faking it stuff. If his expression alone was all I had to go by, I might actually think hewantsto kiss me.

“Mark will be back in a second.” I try not to wince at the way the words come out as a breathless whisper.

“Let’s see how you perform under pressure, then.” With one big, warm hand curved around my nape, he uses his thumb to tilt my jaw up. “Are you ready?”

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