Page 73 of Corrupted Deception

He took advantage of my surprise, shoving me back, then spinning me around yet again, just careful enough that my cheek pressed up against the wall rather than slamming into it.

“Still think you can fight me?”he whispered, his lips a hair’s breadth from my ear.

“Always,” I replied, bucking against him.

But he was prepared for it this time. He slid his foot between mine at the same time and shoved my right foot out, just enough to leave me off-balance. Before I could recover, he’d gotten hold of the zipper of my dress and yanked it down, exposing the long line of my back while the fabric sagged down over my shoulders.

In a real fight, this would have been a problem, but here, now, my body hummed as the cool air of the room brushed against newly exposed skin.

“Did you put this on for Silva, just like you did for Marín?” he asked. There was a hard edge to his voice as his hand gripped the back of my neck, holding me still while his free hand grazed over the lace corset, straight down my spine.

“Yes,” I said, though it was a lie. It hadn’t beenforSilva; it was just work clothes, a ‘costume’ as Cielo had called it. But I wanted to rile him up to make the sex even better, and maybe just a little, I wanted to piss him off. “Does that bother you?” I prodded.

He chuckled, a cold sound that sent a shiver down my spine. “Not at all. Because you’re going to burn it.”

I scoffed. “Not likely.”

That corset cost three-hundred dollars, and I swear there wasn’t a piece of lingerie out there that did nicer things for my tits.

“Then I’ll just have to take care of it myself, won’t I?” he said as he shifted his weight against me.

I was feeling pretty confident that it was an idle threat—since lighting things on fire tended to cause fires—when I felt the top of the corset give way.

And then the rest of it, so fast it wasn’t possible he’d unfastened it.

All the pretty black lace sagged as he tossed a pocketknife onto my night table.

“Oh, you asshole,” I seethed as I used that anger to shove back hard and spin my body around.

The quick movement made the unzipped dress slide off my shoulders, losing the ruined corset while the dress snagged on my hips.

His pupils dilated more and his nostrils flared as his gaze swept over me, taking me in from my bare tits to my black belly ring.

He was shaking his head just a little, not fighting me now, just staring.

“Christ,” he whispered under his breath. “You’re beautiful.”

The odd tone in his voice made something twist uncomfortably, like a knot in my chest. Whatever it was, it wasn’t welcome here.

“Thanks, but my self-esteem tank is all filled up.”

I reached for his open shirt, using it to drag him down to me, burying the uncomfortable sensation beneath the feel of his lips, the taste of his mouth, the aching heaviness in my breasts when his tattooed ribs grazed my nipples.

I yanked his shirt down his arms, dropping it onto the floor, and I’d just begun to explore the sinewy planes of his back when he grabbed hold of my arms.

He shoved me back hard this time so that the backs of my knees hit the mattress, and then I landed on my ass on my bed.

He was fast. Before I’d managed to right myself, he’d gotten hold of the hem of my dress and yanked it off, leaving me in a pair of panties, a garter, and stilettos.

He shoved my thighs apart and stepped between them, eyes grazing greedily over my body “You look even better than I remember,” he said, his voice low and rough.

I scoffed—a knee-jerk reaction to that tone again. “Pretty sure you’ve got me confused with someone else. You never saw this much of me before, handsome.”

He shook his head. “Wrong name. Try again,” he said as he leaned down toward me.

Charming.God, the name actually hurt, so I forced out a scornful laugh.

“I have a feeling the last thing you need is an ego boost,” I said as I wrapped my legs around him, as high up as I could reach.

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