Page 57 of Dance of Devils
Her brow furrows. “I have work?—”
“You’ll skip it.”
Her lips twist unhappily. “I…reallycan’t.”
“Can’tis no longer in your vocabulary.” My eyes harden. “Do you want this? Perfection, I mean.”
“Will perfection get me theImperiya Korona?”
I flinch inwardly at the sharp sensation stabbing into my chest.
“It can’t hurt.”
She smiles weakly and nods. “Then I want it.”
“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I’m suddenly very aware just how much I’m looming over her, right in her personal space. My gaze drags over her, lingering on the little droplets of water from the shower slowly trickling down her blonde locks. The dewy softness of her cheeks. The strong lines of her neck and shoulders, above the towel wrapped around her body.
The swell of her pert breasts under that towel.
The scent of her shampoo.
The fullness of her lips and the sweetness?—
I whirl away from her.
“That will be all for now,” I growl sternly. “Don’t be late tomorrow, and don’t waste my time.”
I only get two steps away before her voice stops me.
“Are you being a dick because of what happened the other night? Or?—”
She startles when I abruptly turn back to her.
“What happened the other nightwon’tbe happening again,” I admonish her. “Is that clear?”
Her face goes from slightly embarrassed to outright insulted.
“Excuse me?”
“What you pulled the other night?—”
“Oh,fuck you!” she spits.
“Language, Ms. Ellis.”
She just glares at me.
“Are we clear on the terms of the arrangement?”
Her lips curl into a sneer. “Crystal,” she snaps. “Trust me, that willnotbe a problem.”
My eyes narrow. “I don’t know what sort of arrangement you typically have with a man you need something from?—”
“Fuck you?—”
She shudders as I storm right back into her, grabbing her jaw in my hand.
