Page 3 of Lethal Hearts

I got him where I want him, Harper thought, feeling a little dizzy. It wasn’t from the wine. She had ramped up her drunkenness just a little bit, just to see if he’d take advantage of her.

Mikhail offering to drive her home had been a surprise. She certainly didn’t expect him to act like a damn gentleman. They now stood at the hotel entrance, waiting for valet service to retrieve his car.

Harper leaned a little against him. Mikhail shot his arm out, curving them around her waist respectfully.“You’re not what I imagined,” Harper said, then immediately cursed herself for that unguarded remark.

“Oh? Indulge me. What were you expecting?” Mikhail asked.

“A rogue. Someone who can’t keep his hands off a vulnerable woman,” Harper whispered.

Stop talking!she screamed at herself. If she kept this up, Mikhail would suspect something was up sooner or later.

He’d figure out that Harper wasn’t who she claimed to be— just another woman looking to hook up with a random guy at a wedding.

“Women flock to me easy enough. Why would I want to take advantage of them?” Mikhail genuinely sounded puzzled. It was odd to hear actual emotion from someone the city branded as an inhuman monster.

Mikhail then leaned in and twirled some of her loose curls in his fingers.

“There would be no challenge in that. When I want someone, I want them willing on their knees, begging for more,” Mikhail whispered in her ear.

A delicious shiver crept down her spine. Those words had certainly dispelled her initial image of him as some kind of white knight. Of course, he would never be that. Harper suddenly pictured herself in such a position.

She would kneel naked in front of this powerful Pakhan with the edge of cruelty in his smile while he remained completely dressed. She would then—Harper cut that line of thought. She had no right fantasizing about Mikhail when her father’s life was on the line. The stakes were too high for her to start having erotic daydreams of the man she was ordered to kill.

Thankfully, Mikhail’s car arrived. He drove a black, classic BMW and she noticed he had no driver.“Where are your guards?” she asked.

“My men will tail me from behind,” Mikhail said with a shrug.

Harper looked behind the car and saw two men in suits, smoking and speaking together. One of them gave Mikhail a nod and Mikhail nodded back.

Mikhail was paranoid about security, just like her father. Mikhail opened the car door and she slid in. The luxurious leather seat felt like Heaven. She could melt right into it and fall asleep. Forget all about her dirty job and her father. Harper was only vaguely aware of Mikhail getting behind the driver’s seat and his car purring to life.

I need to stay away, Harper told herself, forcing her eyes open.“What’s the address to your house?” Mikhail was asking. He’d asked her twice already.

“I don’t want to head back home. There’s no one in that empty house. Even my father’s out tonight.” The last bit had been a lie, and she wondered if he bought it at all. Good thing Mikhail’s attention was on the road. He seemed like a careful driver.

“Where to, then? A friend’s home?” Mikhail prodded. Another man would have gotten impatient with her, she realized. Harper nervously rubbed her sweaty palms on the fabric of her dress.

“Your place,” she whispered.“Please take me there.”

His private space would be best. Once they were alone, Harper could find a way to lower Mikhail’s guard. It wouldn’t be hard to do, given he seemed to have developed some kind of soft spot for her. Harper didn’t question why. This might be her only chance and she knew she might never have another. Another woman would capture Mikhail’s attention tomorrow evening.

“You’re trembling, Harper,” he remarked.

Harper forced her body to grow still.“I’m not afraid of you,” she whispered.

Mikhail stopped the car at a red traffic light. He reached out, tipping her chin using two fingers, forcing her to meet his gaze.“You little liar,” he said those three words without heat.

Mikhail sounded amused, like he was enjoying toying with a prey animal who knew she was in way over her head. Much to her relief, the light turned green again and Mikhail released her from his burning touch.

“I’m afraid of staying alone at an empty mansion,” she said.“Where I only have old ghosts for company.”

That was true enough. Harper always thought the Gothic-style Valenti mansion was haunted, ever since she was a kid. Scores of Valenti family members had been buried in the family cemetery in the back of the house. They didn’t have a nice backyard or a garden. They had graves. That always freaked her out.

“Very well. You’ve made your choice clear. I won’t ask again,” Mikhail said. Half an hour later, Mikhail entered the multistory parking lot of a tall building.

“You live in an apartment?” she asked.

“I own this building,” Mikhail answered casually.“Since it’s located near the business district, the location is more convenient for conducting business matters as opposed to a house in the suburbs.”

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