Page 73 of His Deadly Lies

“You really expect me to be able to sleep here?” She points to the bed. “There might be bedbugs.”

“Judging from the scent of cleaner, I’m going out on a limb and assuming it’s safe. But if you need me to check for you, Princess, then I’ll be happy to do so.”

“If we sleep, we’ll miss him if he leaves.”

Mia stares at me with her hands going to her hips and her foot tapping out an arpeggio on the threadbare carpet.

I grin at her. Let her think I don’t know what I’m doing. Let her underestimate what I’m capable of doing. “I’m a light sleeper. I’m not concerned about missing him.”

“Cocky,” she says.

“Confident.” It’s a small but accurate correction.

“Then tell me, Mr. Cocky. Do you really expect me to sleep with you?” She’s pointing again.

I’m not following. “What?”

“There’s only one bed.”

“I didn’t realize you had a problem sharing, although I should have. My mistake.”

“Did you do this on purpose, Carter?”

I sigh and press my fingers to the bridge of my nose. My cock aches, my body is all but begging for sleep, even a light cat nap, and Mia is sexier than any woman has a right to be when complaining. Doesn’t seem fucking fair.

Her father will kill me if I wring her neck, but it might be a pleasurable experience for both of us. “Why would I do it on purpose?” Especially not after I told her I’m keeping my hands to myself.

No matter how tempting she looks.

“You want me in your bed,” she says.

“You sound very sure of that, Princess.”

She shakes her head, and her long dark hair falls into her face, obscuring her expression from my view. “I might not have been with a man before, but I understand people. I read it in your face, in your body, in everything you say. And don't say. You might seem sure that nothing will happen again.”

“But?” I fill in for her.

I catch my breath when she moves closer to me and presses her tits to my chest this time rather than her hand.

“There’s no but,” she says slowly. “It’s going to happen, Carter.” Her eyes flick over my shoulder toward our single bed. “Here. Now.”

Holy fuck. My dick fills and hardens to a full-fledged boner. “You don’t know what you’re asking.” I hardly know myself because the look on her face is nothing but determination and a relaxation of those mile-high walls.

“I know exactly what I’m asking.”

“And the consequences?” I demand. “Are you prepared to deal with those?”

I shouldn’t even entertain her. I need to draw the boundary firmly, put her in her place and keep my hands to my goddamn self, even if it means jacking myself off in the bathroom. My hands move on their own to cup her waist, and I don’t push her away. Those breasts remain pushed to me, my erection between us, and everything hanging in the balance.

Claiming a woman’s virginity is a big deal, and never in my wildest dreams would I guess Mia to want to serve hers up on a silver platter. To me.

She moves her hands and rests her fingers on the top of my pants, pressing slightly. “Consequences?” she repeats. “As in, you plan on punishing me for admitting that I want you.”

“There’s nothing good in me to want, Mia. Fucking me is a mistake.”

Not a princess right now. A woman and one who is finally expressing her own mind.

She takes a deep breath and says, “I understand exactly what I’m asking, and I want it to be you, Carter. If I’m going to have to marry Ricardo, then for once in my life, I want to know how it feels to give myself freely to a man of my choosing. My choice. I want you.”

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