Page 10 of Vicious Seduction

“I’d say family dinners with the Donatis would be enticing for a man in your profession. I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t believe we have enough common ground to form a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

Wellington steepled his hands together in contemplation. “What exactly did you have in mind?”

“Once a month, I’ll need a quarter of a container. That’s it. And as for Donati, how does dinner on Sunday sound?”

“I suppose we could see how dinner goes…” He trailed off, his gaze unfocused as he contemplated the possibilities.

“You could bring Lina with you. She’s absolutely stunning.” I decided to test the waters, wanting to see his reaction. “I don’t suppose you’re the sort to share?”

I hadn’t expected him to lash out. He wasn’t the type. But the degree to which he was unbothered was somewhat unexpected. Not even the slightest twitch in his eye or flare of a nostril.

“In this world, nothing is off-limits for the right price.”

Wrong answer, asshole.

“Good to know. Our first sit-down might not be the place for her, but it’s something we could explore.”

His answering smirk was so goddamn slimy, I was going to need to shower off the filth when I got home.

I couldn’t understand why the hell she put up with a man like him. I wanted Lina as part of my plans to humiliate Wellington, but I’d be doing her a favor. I had to win her over so she’d leave the bastard. Lawrence Wellington only cared about power. That was frighteningly evident to menow more than ever. His son. Lina. He didn’t care about either of them.

A glance around the room didn’t reveal a single family picture. Not one. Instead, framed news articles of Wellington’s business acquisitions and personal accolades adorned the walls. Meaningless decorative bobbles and crystal placards engraved with awards he’d received throughout the years lined his bookshelves. I wondered if he wasn’t legitimately certifiable—some sort of sociopath incapable of love and empathy. He was a narcissist at the very least.

The one good thing about his limitless ego was the fact that he was so absorbed with himself that he failed to detect his own downfall sitting before him. I wondered if he could hear the clock counting down to his own Armageddon.

I could hear it, and the steady beat was music to my ears.

CHAPTER 7

LINA

“You never cease to amaze me.”My business partner and dear friend, Cosmo, stepped back to admire a bust I’d outfitted with the red dress I’d sewn last week. He took in the piece as a whole, then moved close to examine the seams and stitching.

“I hope that’s a good thing.” I grinned, knowing exactly what he meant.

“Girl, this dress is even better than I imagined. I don’t know how you do it.” He paced around to the back and adjusted the straps. “You think it’ll stay on? There’s not much to the back.”

“I know it will because I wore it out last night.”

Cosmo spun around, spearing me with asalacious stare. “You don’t seriously think you can say that without telling all, do you?” He rested his hand on a cocked hip. “Where, why, andwho? I want all the deets.”

I chuckled and sat in one of the workshop chairs. We rented a thousand-square-foot studio as our base of operations. It was a converted factory building, so the rent was good, and the light was even better. It housed bolts of fabric, a sewing station, a standing-height cutting table, another smaller table for business discussions, and racks and racks of clothing. It was a good workspace, but I preferred to work at my home office. I liked to shut out the world when I worked. As much as I adored Cosmo, he could be more distracting than a small tornado.

“Just a guy I’ve been seeing. We went to dinner—nothing special.” I hadn’t told Cosmo anything about Lawrence because he would have gone into cardiac arrest if he had known the details. Cosmo could be a smidge overly dramatic.

One perfectly sculpted brow arched high on his forehead. “This dress and nothing special could never exist in the same world, let alone the same sentence.”

I shrugged. “It is what it is.”

“Well, maybe I should get his number because if he didn’t instantly try to put a ring on it in this dress, he must be gay.”

A laugh burst past my lips at the absurdity that a simple dress could motivate a man to marry. As I laughed, however, I remembered the way Oran had touched me and how his stare had burrowed into mine—and I started to reconsider. He’d acted like he was seconds away from claiming me for himself. Then there was the way he’d looked at me in my wet silk blouse. Like I was Little Red, and he was the ravenous Wolf.

I had to clear my suddenly parched throat. “Life is a littlemore complicated than that, but I appreciate your endorsement.”

Cosmo huffed. “I suppose if he doesn’t make the effort and appreciate all this”—he motioned up and down my body with fluttering fingers—“then he doesn’t deserve it.”

“Absolutely,” I agreed.

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