Page 26 of His Deadly Lies

Those eyes of his, though. They're sky blue and locked on me in an aggressive fashion. His shoulders are wide, his arms and thighs thick in a very tempting way.

“If you’re done staring at me,” I begin, “then maybe we’ll be able to come up with some kind of plan where you don’t have to watch me go to the fucking bathroom.”

Shit.

I’m angry enough at this mess, seething, and I know I’ve dropped my mask. Inhaling, I pull it all back. Reining it in so that the expression I shoot him next is nothing but serene, with no cracks and no edges. There will be plenty of time for me to stew about this later when I’m alone and in private.

If I’m ever allowed a private moment again.

I lean back against the wall and cross my arms over my chest.

“Why were you so quick to agree to watch me, anyway?” I ask him.

You know…I might be able to get information out of this, out of Carter. Because I recognized those damn blue eyes as soon as he walked into my hospital room earlier. I shiver.

Eyes like his are hard to miss. Bright as chips of ice in the sunlight that go dark whenever he’s emotional. Or horny. I hadn’t missed the expression when he looked at me with some offhanded comment about my mouth. The way he touched me as if he had a right to touch me. As if…if I’d given him the slightest signal, he would have touched me in a way that no one else has before.

“What would you like me to say?” he asks blandly.

“You can start by telling me why you were at the hospital earlier,” I reply, practically holding my breath.

Carter arches a brow and opens his mouth to answer.

I beat him to the punch with, “Your boss must really trust you. Perhaps it’s because you haven’t told him about manhandling me.”

Men, no matter how good they are or noble, are the same basic creature at their center.

His being at the hospital earlier makes me trust him and the Vittorios even less than I did before today.

Carter shakes off whatever barb I launched at him and takes a step toward me. When his smile widens, I jolt. “Have you told your father how close you came to having a man’s fingers in your pussy today, Princess Mia?”

I growl at him. Son of a fucking bitch. He’s close enough for me to hit, and I lift my hand without thinking, dropping it at the last moment but not before Carter notices.

Revealing too much means showing him my hand, my skills. I’ll have to figure this one out as I go along and tread carefully. It’s a fine line between playing a part and digging for information without being overt. I’ve gotten pretty damn good at the balancing act over the years.

I’ve just got to keep him from seeing it.

I smooth a lock of hair behind my ear. My heart only races a little faster than normal. “What are you going to do with me now that you have me here alone?” I shoot back. “Plan to finish what you started, or will you be a good boy?”

Carter’s jaw clenches, and he says nothing.

Maybe this is the wrong approach, the subtle sexual come-on.

He might have been more vulgar at the hospital because I hadn’t known it was him. Or he is better restrained while he is working, in front of me.

I force myself to arch my brows, nodding lightly. “Ah, I see. You really are loyal to the Vittorios. That’s good. I adore loyalty. But does it make you a good man?” I pause for effect. “Does it make Ricardo a good man?”

Carter only stares at me for the longest time, and I struggle against the instinct to squirm under such blatant regard. No one looks at me like that. Not even my betrothed, and he’s had plenty of opportunity at these meetings to do such.

“We work together, Miss Balestra. He’s been at my side for a number of years now. Of course I think he’s a good man.” He says it like it’s common knowledge.

Something about the way Carter speaks leads me to believe he’s not feeding me bullshit. I stand up straighter. He’s not going to give me what I want. Not just yet.

“Good to hear,” I say smoothly. “I’m excited to be married. This will be an adventure.”

Saying it out loud causes a rolling heat in my stomach to grow and build. Nausea. My leg still hurts, and standing is a battle of wills, my mind versus my body.

“Pretty little sheltered princess wants to act like she knows about adventure when she’s been sheltered her whole life.” Carter has a strange expression on his face as he takes another step closer, cutting the distance between us.

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