Page 141 of Sinful Desires
Nicholas cleared his throat, lifting his beer. Drank like he needed it to cover whatever answer was stuck in his teeth. A coldness traveled through my chest and up my throat.
“What about you, Liya?” Scarlett asked, still eyeing the bottle I brought her but fumbling with the cap. “You must have AmericaandEthiopia wrapped around your finger. Longest legs I’ve ever seen. That skin? You’re glowing like a goddess.”
I took three steps, unscrewing the cap without looking at her. My bare arm grazed hers as I placed the bottle on the table, and I saw tiny goosebumps appearing on her skin as she drew a faint breath. I left the cap beside it and walked away.
She drank and wiped her lips with the back of her hand.
“I don’t know,” Liya said, voice drier now. “I’m too busy to date. Men require energy. I prefer silence.”
Nicholas grabbed another beer, popped the cap, and handed it to her.
“Not even a quick fuck to take the edge off? You’re stronger than me, babe.”
Scarlett groaned. “Nic.”
“What?” He shrugged, grinning. “She’s too fucking hot to let it rot in celibacy. If I looked like that, I’d be riding the prettiest man I could find until he cried, then I’d blow a cigarette right over his twitching body and ask him what his name was.”
Liya laughed as Scarlett rolled her eyes.
My phone buzzed, deep in my pocket. I reached for it without looking, thumb already opening the private security feed of Scarlett’s condo.
Camera one. Hallway.
The feed stuttered, then cleared.
Someone was inside.
Black training pants. Long black hoodie. Face mask. Their body moved with control, not panic. They punched in a code like they’d done it before, keeping their face turned from the lens as the door clicked open.
They slipped inside, closing it behind them.
I zoomed in.
Every muscle in my body went still.
I tapped the hallway cam, the hidden one I’d installed last week without telling her.
Her system had been hacked once already, a few weeks back. I didn’t trust it.
The red light blinked as the intruder passed under it, walking slowly, deliberately, toward Scarlett’s room.
My thumbs moved fast. One message to the concierge. Second to Lazzio’s private line.
Send men to the penthouse. Now.
But I already knew it wouldn’t matter. By the time they got there, it’d be too late.
“Talking about pretty men?…” Liya’s voice slithered through the tent. “Who’s that one?”
I didn’t lift my head. Didn’t need to.
Their eyes were crawling over me seconds later.
“That’s Scarlett’s bodyguard,” Nicholas said, his tone low and amused. “Oh my?… Liya, you shoulddefinitelytry your luck. The poor guy’s always working. And Scarlett’s a pain in the ass. He definitely deserves a good, wet, sloppy blowjob just to stop clenching his jaw every five minutes?—”
“No!” Scarlett’s voice cut the air sharply, louder than it needed to be.
The whole tent froze.
