Page 171 of Toxic Temptation
Love has always felt like a weakness. Something that gets you killed.
But looking at her now, with tears in her eyes and my shirt hanging off her shoulders, Iwantthat future. I want the rings and the vows and the life that comes after this mess.
“Then I guess I’ll have to stick around.”
She starts crying again, but these tears are different. Softer.
I wipe them away with my thumbs. “Better?”
She nods and sinks back against the pillows. “Will you stay with me?”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
She falls asleep within minutes, her fingers wrapped around my hand, her breathing slow and even. I lie there staring at the ceiling, memorizing the weight of her against my side…
… all while hating myself for making promises I might not be able to keep.
60
VESPER
The lie is becoming easy.
Way, way too easy.
When Kovan pulls me against him and kisses me until my knees forget how to work, it doesn’t feel like a performance. When his fingers find my hair while we’re sitting together, twisting the strands around his thumb, it feelsreal. When his eyes track my every movement across the room, hungry and possessive, my body believes every heated, hushed, hair-raising second of it.
And yeah, sure, Eliza Murphy is here for all of it. She’s the intended audience, after all. She’ssupposedto see the lingering touches and lusty glances. She’ssupposedto buy into our perfect couple routine.
But no one is this good an actor…
… Are they?
Eliza clears her throat and stands, smoothing down her severe gray skirt. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Krayev. Ms. Fairfax.” Her sharp eyes flit between us warily. “I’ll be in touch.”
“I’ll walk you out.” I untangle myself from Kovan’s arms, though I find myself immediately missing his warmth.
Eliza isn’t one for small talk, but when we reach the front door, she pauses. Her harsh features soften by degrees in the hazy afternoon light. “I have to admit, I didn’t expect this relationship to last. But seeing you two together…” She shakes her head with the tiniest smile. “It makes sense now.”
Everything in me wants to grab her arm. Howdoes it make sense?! What do you see that I’m missing?! Because I’m drowning here and I don’t know what’s real and what’s fake anymore.
Instead, I do the only reasonable thing: I smile and nod. “Thank you, Eliza. It’s been a pleasure inviting you into our home.”
The moment her car disappears down the driveway, Luka scampers over to me. “Guess what? Uncle Kovan says we can go to the park!”
Kovan follows behind him, flaunting long limbs and casual confidence. I try not to think about this morning, when I walked into the bathroom to find him naked in the shower, water streaming down every ridge and valley of muscle. I’d fled back to the bedroom and buried myself under the covers, thighs pressed together so tightly they cramped.
I can’t be having that. A few more of those little incidents and I’ll be a pile of horny mush, unable to do my fake job, my real one, or anything in between.
Therefore, I’ve come up with a plan. My new survival strategy is simple: Get through this fake relationship with minimal damage.
To do that, I’ve established three essential rules.
Rule #1: No flirting with Kovan.
Rule #2: No kissing Kovan.
Rule #3: Absolutely, positively, under no circumstances is there to be so much as a single instance ofhaving sexwith Kovan.
