Page 26 of Dex

“I took it off because the sequins dig in … and it’s difficult to put back on quickly …” My pulse picks up and my voice trails off.“Thank you for this.”I grab the phone from him.

Mischief dances in his eyes, while his fingers tap along the door jamb.“You’re not going to ask me in for coffee?”That lazy smirk curls at the corner of his mouth.

I open my mouth, not even sure what I’m going to say to that.

“Just messing with you.”He backs away, and I’m about to close the door, when I hear his voice.“Lock the door, and put the chain on.”

“Why?”I frown, opening the door wider again.Surprised that he’s concerned.That he might care.

“I was able to find you, and all I had to do was charm the hotel receptionist.You can’t be too careful.”

“Yes, sir.”

I hear him chuckle, and close the door, only to be distracted by a notification ping from my phone.I startle when I see a text from Paul Knight.Just as I’m about to read it, I hear Dexter again.“I’m not leaving until I hear you deadbolt the door.And slide the chain across,” he says from the other side.

I find myself smiling.There’s a good man underneath all that outward hostility.Even though he’s not interested in me, Dexter cares enough to keep a lone woman safe.And that tells me a lot about his character.

I bolt the door and do the chain, then hear a “Good girl.”

Then silence.It’s in that silence that I feel it.The pull.Not just to his body, but to the man behind the razor sharp edges, and the barbed wire comments.The one who knew I was alone and warned me, even if he wrapped his words in a thick layer of sarcasm.

I look at my phone again.Luckily I have a lock on there, so Dexter wouldn’t have seen any of my messages.I read Paul’s text.

Hope you had a good evening.Did any of my sons catch your attention?

I think about it for all of two seconds.Then text back:

Dexter

His reply is immediate:

Good choice

We’ll talk tomorrow

I put my phone down and wonder what I’ve done.What death trap am I walking into?

But, considering it all carefully, Dexter is the only real option.Jett is taken.Matteo was flirting with the servers.Enzo and Zach seemed too young, too eager.Rio?He feels territorial and possessive.In awe of me.Mesmerized.A littletoomuch.He’s the type of man who would consume me whole.

Dexter doesn’t come across like that.He’s different.He’s prickly and indifferent, and yet he was the only one who spoke to me and asked me questions.And he wanted answers.

I’m not thinking about marriage.I’m thinking about an alliance.This would just be an arranged marriage on paper.A year-long contract.

Both parties get something out of this deal and at the end, we both walk away with something.

A year.That’s all it must be.

But something tells me it won’t be as simple as that.

Chapter 8

DEX

My father has summoned me to his office.The soiree was only yesterday.An uneasy feeling sinks in the pit of my stomach.This can only be about one thing: last night.

All morning, I’ve been thinking about last night.The soiree, the trickery, the surprise guest and the way we were all blindsided by our father into meeting her.

I’m meeting Jett and Zach later for drinks, and I might drop by later to see Rio.If he likes the Beauty Queen, and all signs point to my father wanting an alliance, then Rio needs to let the old man know, and fast.I sensed that the heiress was eager to get the deal done.

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