Page 135 of Made to Sin

There were two seconds left until it paid off.

One second…

Two. The door opened and shut with a softclickas the grandfather clock’s second hand struck twelve on the dot.

He was here.

I sat up straighter, realigning my blonde wig and fixing my ruby gown so more skin showed through the dangerously high slit that ran up to my left hip.

His faint footsteps echoed against the diamond-patterned flooring, growing louder as he approached the center of the library.

Unlike planned, he stopped short when he realized he wasn’t alone. A tall bookcase engulfed him in its shadow as darkness clung onto his figure and hid him in its darning embrace.

I couldn’t see much, even after fully lifting my head from the page I was skimming, except for my target’s impaling blue eyes. It was the coldest pair I’d ever seen, yet it shined the brightest through the dim setting.

My darker brown ones twinkled at the challenge.

I pretended to be startled, raising a flimsy hand to my indecent cleavage. “Oh, you scared me.”

His eyes dropped to my chest for a brief second. On cue, my breasts tightened, standing proudly at his attention.

With a subtle shake of his head, he returned his gaze to my face. “I apologize, usually this place is empty.”

The deep drawl of his voice was smoother than expected, words slipping off his tongue like a slow riverbank. I perked with interest, not accustomed to having to talk to my targets. They were either dead before they could utter a word or too busy begging me to spare their lives.

Dante Beneveti was neither dead nor begging.

“Then it seems to be my fault for occupying it, isn’t it?” I coyly asked. “Sorry, I wanted to find a quiet place. One of my friends dragged me to this gala to be his wingman, but I got bored and wandered here.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Though it was a common statement, the way he said it made something intrinsic in me want to follow it like a command. I didn’t like it, purposefully morphing my face into one of worry.

“Well, feel free to join me. I could use the company.”

He turned the opposite way, ready to find a private room for himself. “I prefer to be alone right now.”

If I didn’t want my four hours of waiting to go to waste, I couldn’t let him leave. I racked my brain for an excuse to keep him in the room but came up empty.

He reached the double door, pulling on the gold handles to open them.

Without thinking the better of it, I yelled, “Wait.”

Hastily slapping my book down on the oak table, I padded over to him, my skinny heelsclick-clackingon the tile. The sound rang in alert of my presence, but, pretentiously, he didn’t turn around, still holding onto the handles.

I normally disregarded a person’s appearance, busy finding their weak points instead, but I took the pausing moment to admire his.

Up close, the man was taller than I thought. I was a solid five-foot-seven, yet the top of my head barely reached his shoulder blades. But not only was he lean, the man was muscular and filled every seam of his expensive navy suit too.

It was a good thing big men didn’t scare me. If anything, taking them down was extra rewarding. TheCosa Nostradidn’t have enough feminist movements as is, so I considered myself a vigilante when I was the cause behind a bad man’s downfall.

I had no idea what I was doing, but I was going to have to do something bold to catch his attention. The fastest way to catch any man’s attention?

Seduction.

I moved to stand to the side of him, preparing to start my temptation. From this angle, I could see the side of his face. Even in their stoic rest, there was no denying he was handsome.

Carved features from ice, dark brown hair methodically faded, eyes blue like the ocean, pale skin with a peeking tan.

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