Page 29 of Delectable Lies

Suddenly, my skin pricks as a shadowy figure steps behind me. “You know…” Rí’s unmistakable confidence bleeds through those few syllables. “It’s rude to eavesdrop on private conversations.”

My gaze swings over my shoulder, locking on to his taunting face. “It’s also rude to sneak up on people, yet you’ve done just that on several occasions. So much so, it seems to be your signature MO.”

Rí’s perusing glare roams over me as I hold myself against the doorway. He takes his time, slowly tracing my form with challenging eyes. The tip of his tongue peeks out from behind his twisted smirk, dampening his bottom lips as his fuelled-by-fire eyes linger on my breasts.

“What do you want from me?” The question rushes from my mouth like a runaway train veering off track. My tone is louder than I intended, clouded by my annoyance and coated with my need for answers. But unfortunately, my outburst has Liam and Fiadh’s eyes shooting towards my space intruder and me.

Rí peers over my shoulder. When he takes in the annoyed expressions on Fiadh and Liam’s faces, the twisted smile on his face widens with victory. Once again, he slowly draws his haunted irises back to me. “I want a lot of things from you,mo bhanríon.”

Stepping backwards, he expands the distance between us. “Prepare yourself, love. Soon, I will take what it is I want, and your little guard dog won’t be able to stop me.”

My throat seizes with a lump so thick it cuts off my breath. I force it down with an audible swallow.

“Which is?” There’s no hiding the quivering mess his words reduced me to. But it’s not fear lacing my words. It’s something else, something I refuse to acknowledge.

Prowling forward, his precise movements eat up the distance he created, leaving nothing but a sliver of space between his mouth and my neck. His right hand cups my cheek, featherlight, and nothing like I would expect from his dominant bravado.

A rush of heat races over my skin when his hot breath licks my skin. “Do you really want to know?”

Without warning, Liam steps in behind me “Take your hands off her, Rí.” His tone is low, throaty with a gravel of demand.

Anybody else would cower at Liam’s dangerous growl, but I’m beginning to realise Rí isn’t like anyone I’ve ever met. He plays by his own rules, preceding consequences.

When he glances at Liam’s way out of the corner of his eye, I spy the unvexed look on his otherwise emotionless expression before he draws his focus back to me with a sly, devious smirk.

Suddenly, Liam makes his move, reaching out and grabbing hold of my elbow in an attempt to pry me from Rí’s touch. “Come on, Saoirse. Lying with dogs will get you fleas.”

“I…uh.” Conflict knots my stomach as my brain twists and turns, undecided on what to do. On one hand, my mind roars at me to listen to Liam, to walk away from the haunted stare burning my skin. Then, on the other hand, my body begs me to stay, to hear what Rí has to say. Before I can fully commit to any option, Rí steals my choice by dropping his hand from my face, and wrapping his arm around my waist. In a split second, he drags me closer, moulding me to his bare tattooed chest.

Liam reacts, stepping forward, shoulders squared and ready for a fight. Only, he doesn’t get too far because, in a heartbeat, Rí’s free hand extends, and his fingers clasp Liam’s neck in a deathly clutch. Liam gasps for air when Rí adds more pressure, squeezing with so much force. In his struggle, Liam's hands circle Rí’s wrist as he desperately tries to tear it away from his grasp, but it’s useless.

My heart pounds against my rib cage as a sick, twisted grin lights up Rí’s face. “Amazing what a pressure point can do, love. Big scary Liam could be the strongest cunt in this place, and yet, with the right hold, he’s trapped. Isn’t that right, Devereux?”

Liam responds with a murderous stare, a fire so ferocious it would intimidate most men.

Finally, my traitorous eyes swing back toward Rí, whose eyes are still locked on my face, paying no attention to the brute of a man he’s immobilised with one well-executed grip.

This man before me is deadly, a lethal force that’s impenetrable. Fear crawls through my veins, but it’s mixed with a deranged sense of lust.What the fuck is wrong with me? How can this sociopathic lunatic pull such contradictory responses from me?

In the distance, I hear Fiadh’s audible gasp, but it’s quickly drowned out when Rí lowers his head once more, erasing everything around me but him and his toxic taunts.

His words tease my skin, burning me from the inside out. “Tell your lap dog to keep his hands to himself. You belong to me.”

An unwanted rush crashes through my core, filling me with…no, it can’t be desire. There is no way this psychotic arsehole is turning me on.

I realise how wrong I am when the next words slither from his lips, dancing like the devil over my skin.

“You are mine — to play with, to fuck, to shatter. I will destroy you, Saoirse, and you’ll love every second of it.”

With those parting words, he releases his unwavering hold from Liam’s throat and stalks away as if he owns the place and everyone in it, leaving me transfixed as I watch him saunter away as if the last few minutes never happened.

His departure covers my skin with a chill while my heart thunders in my chest, fighting to find its rhythm.

“You’ll fucking pay for that, King,” Liam roars from behind me as Rí stalks towards the exit without a care in his arrogant step.

Once he reaches the door, he pulls it open, and then tosses a parting glance over his shoulder. “Send me the bill, Devereux. We both know I’m good for it.”

Then, as if he was never here, he disappears, leaving me shaking from the core outward.

I have no idea what the fuck just happened, but one thing is for sure, the devil just claimed me as his new toy, and I’ve got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach he won’t let me go — no matter how hard I fight him.

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