Page 57 of Vicious Seduction

“My brother heard about it and wanted to find out who the members were. He was always working hard to get in the right circles and make contacts. People with that sort of wealth always have money to throw at the sort of things my brother could make happen for them.”

“What did he learn?”

“Not much about the organization itself. He was able to form a working relationship with one of the members. Met up with him after one of their Sunday meetings and said the old guy looked like he’d run a marathon. He told my brother he’d been learning to play pickle ball, but Flynn didn’t buy it.”

Sunday meetings? I’d been given a list of club events, and there weren’t any activities on Sundays. And I also hadn’t seen any sort of workout facilities.

“Could your brother have been mistaken about where the guy had been before they met up?”

She crossed her arms, agitated I’d insinuate anything negative about her brother. “The place is on Columbus Avenue, right? He said they met at a bar nearby. The only reason I know any of this is because Flynn thought it was all so strange that he told me the very next time I saw him. He didn’t like to involve me in his business, but he wanted to know if I’d heard anything about them. That’s all I know.”

It definitely sounded odd, but everything she said was also a secondary account of events, neither source all that trustworthy. None of it was actionable.

“I told you what I could, Oran. Are you going to hold up your end of the bargain?” she pushed, leaning forward in her chair.

“Maybe. We’ll see what the information turns up.” I hung up the phone and stood.

Caitlin attempted to yell something through the thick plexiglass, but I’d already turned away and moved on.

“You made this?” I trailed my fingers around Lina’s waist as I circled her, admiring her incredible talent. The black dress she wore hugged her body perfectly. It was cut just above mid-thigh—short but still sophisticated—and the fabric was luxurious, but it was the neckline and sleeves that were most impressive. The front swept up and around her neck, leaving one arm bare, circling around and becoming a full sleeve on the other arm. I had no clue how she got into the damn thing.

Everything about the dress was mesmerizing—the fit, the design, the craftsmanship. Drawing out a concept on paper was one thing, but actually bringing the design to fruition was something entirely next level.

“Last year. It was one of the demos we used for a winter collection. That sort of thing makes up the bulk of my wardrobe.”

“Why shop when you can create an original?” I murmured. “How did you learn to sew?”

Her shy smile and flushed cheeks sank hooks into my heart—the barbed kind that couldn’t be removed without significant damage.

“I happened to see a sewing machine at a thrift shop one day. I’d always adored fabrics, the textures and colors. On a whim, I bought the machine and spent weeks cursing at it while I learned about bobbins and thread tension and a million other things. I suppose I fell down a rabbit hole andnever really came back out. Six months later, I enrolled in design school, and the rest is history.”

“You’re very lucky. Not many people have a gift like yours, and to have discovered it at an early age is even more rare.” I certainly had never found anything that captured me the way she described. The only thing that came close…

I watched the way Lina’s right hand absently toyed with the ring on her left. An urgent need blazed through me to find a way to make the ring a permanent fixture on her finger. The urgency bordered on compulsion, which was a sensation I’d never experienced until I met Lina.

Okay, so the fixation she described wasn’t totally foreign.

“I’ve never thought of myself as lucky. Quite the opposite, but I guess I’ve had my moments.” Her eyes lifted to mine, and I’d be goddamned if they weren’t shining with hope.

I hooked my hand around the back of her neck and brought my lips to her ear. “Lina, look at me like that again, and we’ll both go hungry because the last thing on my mind will be dinner.” I sounded like a fucking savage, my voice no more than a guttural rasp, but that’s how I felt. One look from her, and ten thousand years of evolution went right out the window.

A shiver danced from her shoulders down her entire body before she nodded.

“Good girl,” I breathed, giving her delicate neck a light squeeze. “Now, let’s go before we’re late.”

She didn’t move. “You sure this is a good idea?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I don’t think your family is a fan of me, and that’s fine. They have no reason to be—”

“What gave you that impression?” I interrupted, tension coiling in my neck at the thought of someone making Lina feel unwelcome.

She shrugged and dropped her gaze. “When we first got to the wedding and talked to those two couples, I got the sense they weren’t happy I was there—especially the one woman. The redhead.”

“Her name is Rowan, and they were just surprised. My family is very tight and wary of outsiders at first. I promise it won’t be an issue, though.” A white lie. My family was close and didn’t like outsiders, but the reaction Lina had sensed was actually grounded in who she’d been dating. I found out later that Rowan recognized Lina as the woman who’d been dating Lawrence Wellington. I didn’t want to go into the connection and my family’s past with Wellington, so I kept that information to myself. Lina would only ask more questions that I wasn’t open to answering.

She nodded somewhat reluctantly, and I led her to the apartment door with my hand on the soft curve at the base of her spine. I’d made plans to meet my cousin Conner and his wife Noemi for dinner. I’d told Lina we needed to be seen together, but in reality, I’d simply wanted to take her out. I’d wanted her to spend time with my family and see there was more to me than what she might think.

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