Page 26 of Scarlet Secrets

It’s excusing the damn pun, overkill. Which makes me suspicious. What’s she hiding?

“Why would you think I want to kill you?” I ask softly, shifting against her to slide a thigh between hers.

Anyone looking and they’ll think this is the normal wedding hookup.

“Because of the bad sex? You don’t want me telling the truth.”

The spitting fire in those hazel eyes makes me want to smile. Worse, it gets my dick’s attention. She wants to stick sharp little barbs in me and all she’s doing is stirring up desire.

Unwanted desire.

I won’t lie and say I haven’t rubbed one or two out to her over the last three years. Her lips on my cock. Her tight cunt. Her asshole. The taste of her and the way she responded. Yeah, not going to fucking lie.

But I’ve got an extensive spank bank. Just because she’s been the go-to star of it is nothing at all. I’ve fucked countlesswomen. One-night stands are my thing. Sometimes it extends to two.

I’m bound at some point to run into one.

Thing is, I’m careful. I don’t tend to choose from my circle if I don’t want it coming back. If the woman doesn’t know who I am, then I want to keep it that way. It’s easier. Cleaner.

“I think we both know the truth,” I say, leaning into her, close to that delicate ear, and I get a nose full of her scent.

This time she doesn’t smell like me, the lemon of the bath oils, or my whiskey-tinged honeyed leather and lavender. No. She’s like roses warmed by vanilla, real vanilla, that heady complex scent.

Somehow, I resist rubbing up into her, just to see if she still moans in that same erotic way.

What I do is ease back. Meet her gaze.

“And what’s that?” she asks, spiky with it.

I take her wine and swallow a mouthful. “Hot. Erotic. Something good enough you somehow found yourself here to sink your teeth into me.”

“What is wrong with you? I didn’t?—”

“Or something more sinister?”

“Your ego needs adjusting. Christ, you’re annoying. I wish—” She stops herself. What was her name? Erin… Erin stops herself and blushes, her gaze skittering from me. “Please let me go.”

“No.” Whatever Erin was about to say, she changed her mind, like she’s hiding something. “It’s a hell of a coincidence you turning up at the same wedding I’m attending. Out of the blue. No one’s so much as mentioned you.”

I expect the fight, the anger, a barrage of explanations. After all, I’m being an asshole of the highest order. I left her in that hotel room without even a goodbye, and I’m being rude now. But instead of a tongue-lashing, she swallows, theblush draining until she’s pale, like a damn fucking ghost, and sheer terror’s all over her face.

Erin opens her mouth, closes it, and perspiration pops up on her forehead, like… shit, I don’t know what. Like she’s up to no good. Fuck. She’s not just looking terrified. Erin looks terrified of me.

Wordlessly, I step out of her way and hand her the glass, her fingers cold and clammy, snatch it, and she pushes past me.

“What the fuck was that?” I’m going to have to ask about her, look into her. In fact… I reach for my phone, intent on getting Ilya on the job, when a rumble of voices builds into a cacophony of commotion.

I look up as a loud pop cracks the air, and people scream. I don’t think, I move. It takes two steps to grab Erin as another gunshot fills the air.

A succession of quick pops follows the shot, and the air fills with more screams.

“We need to get moving,” I say.

But Erin isn’t having any of that. The terror on her face has ratcheted up.

Another shot.

She shrieks and yanks her hand free, disappearing into the chaos of the crowd. There’s more shouting and with the screams and yells, I can’t make it out, but I fear it may be an enemy.

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