Page 16 of Vicious Seduction

Oran’s head shook slowly. “Oh no. The time for silence is over.”

“I can say or not say whatever I damn well please. You don’t own me.No one does.”

His free hand lifted, trailing his fingers down the delicate column of my throat. “Then prove it,” he challenged in a hoarse murmur. “Kiss me.”

CHAPTER 9

ORAN

Lina’s eyesdilated until only a halo of her perfect sky-blue iris was visible. Her pulse point fluttered like the wings of a butterfly. And for one breathless second, I thought she might actually do it. She wanted to. I had no doubt of that. She studied my lips as though she could already taste them. I could have closed that gap for her and ended the torment, but something told me she had to be the one to do it. She had to make the choice to give in.

In the end, she wasn’t ready. Something held her back.

When she finally pulled away, rage singed my insides. She was choosing him over me. Choosing to remain in her fucked-up situation rather than take a chance at making a change.

Why? It didn’t make any fucking sense. And why the hell did I even care?

My mind raced to come up with possible reasons. I wanted to understand because no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t eviscerate that pathetic optimist in me who wanted to see good in people. That side of me was weak and dangerous. He insisted Lina was trapped and in desperate need of help, but it was more likely that I was yet again being manipulated by a woman and her schemes.

“I should go.” Her voice was ragged like she’d just fought a ferocious battle and barely won.

I wanted to refuse to let her leave until she explained herself, but my pride wouldn’t let me. The fact that I entertained the possibility she was in trouble spoke volumes about where my head was. Her dysfunctional relationship with her mother wasn’t my problem. My job was to lure her away from Lawrence Wellington. That was it.

With that in mind, I choked back my frustration and took her hand. “I’ll walk you out.”

She didn’t pull away, and I chose to ignore the satisfaction that brought me. Once we’d retrieved her coat and were outside, she stopped and crossed her arms over her chest to ward off the chilly night air.

“Tell me one thing, Oran. Why did you join Olympus? If you have all this—” She motioned toward the building. “Why Olympus?”

Her question seemed to come from left field. Why did it matter why I’d joined? Of all the things she could ask, why that? I considered conditioning my answer on one of her own but decided against it. I was trying to gain her trust. That was going to require more finesse than I’d anticipated.

“Networking.” Vague but not entirely a lie. I needed to meet Lawrence and weasel my way into his world.

“Your club here doesn’t provide that already?”

“A part of my job for my family is to be in the know. To have friends in high places. Olympus is perfect for that.”

She studied me as though my answer was crucial in her estimation of me. Yet again, I was in the dark as to why.

“I’m sorry to see you go. I would offer to take you home, but I doubt you’d accept.”

“You’re right. I wouldn’t.” The sadness in her smile clawed at my doubts and insecurities.

As I watched her walk away into the night, I wondered if I was making a mistake by not listening to my gut. I’d second-guessed myself ever since I learned about Caitlin’s betrayal, but before that, my instincts had always been adept.

A healthy dose of cynicism was necessary in the life I led. So were well-honed instincts. If I didn’t learn to trust myself again, I’d be stuck in perpetual uncertainty.

My gut told me Lina was in trouble.

If that were the case, the next question was, what did I plan to do about it?

“Don’t you think it’s time to downsize? A four-footer on a stand or a table would be just as pretty and a whole lot less work.” I stared at the half-fluffed fake Christmas tree I’d been wrestling with for a half hour and grimaced.

Nana whacked me with her cane. “I’ll downsize you, Oran Byrne, if you even think about it.”

Paddy cackled with laughter from his recliner.

I glowered at him. “Thanks for chiming in your support.”

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