Page 14 of Bearing Secrets
He saw the momentary spike of fear in her eyes and realized that he was about to lose her. That was unacceptable, so he did something to ensure that she stayed. He broke eye contact. Kirell let her win. Hanging his head, he gestured with his other hand, while letting go of her wrist.
“Sit, please. I was not trying to insinuate that you should suck my dick, or anything of the like.” He reclined back into the cushioned bench that wrapped around three sides of the table. “I too need someone to help me, in a manner not unlike what you seek.”
Natalia calmed almost instantly, though she stayed standing for the moment.
Kirell looked her over. She was gorgeous, and the tiny black bralette top and high-waisted jeans didn’t leave much to the imagination, but what they did was very enticing.
“You do know you’re unlikely to find a fake husband that you won’t have to sleep with at all though, right? You don’t strike me as anywhere near that naïve.”
“I’m not,” she said tartly. “But that doesn’t mean I’m easy either.”
“I wasn’t insinuating you were. Just making sure you understood. Though…” He paused purposefully. “If you find me ugly, thatcouldbe a problem.”
Her eyes ran over him, up and down. “No, I don’t find you ugly.”
Kirell knew that much already, but hearing it was always an added bonus.
“Then join me for a drink. Please. Let us discuss our situations.”
7
She hesitated.
There was no denying the draw she felt to this man. A man whose name she still didn’t know. Natalia knew if she did decide to stay, that would be the very first thing she found out about him. Enough questions had been directed her way; it was time that she asked some of her own.
Ifshe sat back down, anyway. He was allowing her to leave now, if she chose, but everything about his attitude screamed that he expected her to stay. It bothered her that he was so confident, without being outwardly arrogant about it. Whatreallyincensed her, however, was the fact that he was right. Shewasgoing to stay.
The club offered her nothing but more alcohol and boys on the dance floor who she wasn’t interested in. This man though—and he was a man, not a boy, there was no doubt about that—he hadn’t batted an eye at her reasoning for being up there. He wasn’t bothered by the fact she needed a fake husband. And as far as fake husbands went, he certainly was far better looking than anything she had a right to expect.
“You’re unlikely to find a fake husband you won’t have to sleep with.”
She’d known that, though it was an aspect of the entire deal she hadn’t spent much time thinking about, because until just a few minutes ago, Natalia hadn’t expected to actually gothroughwith it. Still, there could be worse things than having to sleep with someone like him. Much worse.
Looking past him, she found Loren again after a brief search. Her friend was leaning against the bar, ignoring the best efforts of one of the guys to chat her up while she stared up at the booth where Natalia was. Noticing her friend looking down at her, Loren flashed a thumbs-up and a big smile, as if to say,“Go for it!”
“Fine.” She sat down abruptly.
“What would you like to drink?”
“Martini. Any kind.”
He nodded, spoke quietly into his collar for a second and then focused on her, long, thick arms leaning out across the table. “Thank you for joining me.”
“Right. Listen. First things first, I’ve got some questions.”
The big man grinned. “I thought you might.”
“What is your name?”
“Kirell.”
She nodded and just waited expectantly, not willing to let him control the conversation. This was her turn, and he was going to give her all the information she wanted.
A smile slid into place as he realized she was throwing his own tactic right back at him. Natalia tried not to be distracted by it, but he had a gorgeous smile, wide and full of white teeth. It was a powerful weapon.
“Kirell Ursa,” he said at last.
“So, Kirell Ursa, just where are you from?”
