Page 36 of Betrayed in the Dark
Her plush lips slightly part as she glares at me.
Fuck, she’s beautiful when she’s jealous.
And I realize I like this side of her.
I like this side of her a lot.
“Jealous?” She scoffs. “Why the fuck would I be jealous?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug. “You tell me.” I take a step toward her, watching as she takes one back, pressing herself against the wall. “Is it because she asked to go out with me?”
Her mouth is agape. “She did—I mean.” She clears her throat, appearing flustered, which I know from experience is not something that happens to her easily. “I don’t care what you do in your spare time as long as it doesn’t impact your work.”
She’s lying. I see it in the tiny tremor in her hands clenched at her sides. And by the way she can’t hold my gaze.
Lying 101: Never break eye contact.
“Hmm.” I reach out and touch a lock of her dark hair, twirling it around my finger. “So you don’t mind if I take her to dinner then?”
She audibly swallows. “Not one bit.”
“Good to know.” I drop her hair, tracing my index finger along the collar of her dress. “There’s a new Italian restaurant that just opened in the city. Maybe I’ll take her there.”
“Maybe you should.”
“And maybe if all goes well, I’ll take her home after.” Her whole body suddenly tenses beneath my touch. “You wouldn’t mind, right?” I ask, feeling her pulse accelerate beneath the pad of my finger.
She shakes her head with too much force. “Of course not.”
I nod, grazing her collarbone before dragging my finger leisurely upward, my hand cradling her neck as my thumb brushes against her plush bottom lip. A low gasp escapes her.
“I wonder how she likes it,” I say, leaning forward, allowing my lips to hover over her ear as I soften my voice. “Fast? Rough? Gentle? Maybe a mixture of all three? What do you think?”
“A-all three, I mean…” She clears her throat. “How would I know? What happens between you two is none of my business.”
She pushes against my chest, but I don’t budge. Not one centimeter. Her half-hearted effort would usually make me laugh, but not right now, not when I’m this close to her for the first time in too long.
I can’t help myself as I abruptly grip her wrists and place them against the wall above her head. She seems ready to protest, to argue, but the moment I tilt my head forward, my lips just inches from hers, she does something that takes me by surprise.
She melts.
Slowly.
Softly.
Almost unnoticeably.
So much so that I don’t even think she’s aware of what she’s doing. But as her wrists go slack in my grip and her body loses all trace of a fight, I realize something that ignites a fire within me.
She wants this.
She wants me.
And she can pretend all that she wants, that she doesn’t.
She can lie to my damn face for all I care.
Because the proof is right before me.
