Page 29 of Secrets, Lies and Love

Witch. Yes, maybe that’s what she is. A little witch with red hair, who bewitches men of all ages who come across her path.

“Cecily, I need to talk to you,” I say as soon as I reach them, because diplomacy is not a characteristic present in our family.

Cage, who had his back turned, looks over his shoulder. “Dionysus, I hadn’t seen you yet.”

I nod my head to greet him, but I have no patience for socializing. Instead, I look up at my target, daring her to ignore me.

To my delight, she doesn’t.

“Excuse me, Cage. See you around.”

“I’ll wait for your call or message. Remember what I said: we can just be friends . . . at first.”

Harassing son of a bitch.

“Let’s go,” I say, without giving her time to answer. Placing my hand on the small of her back, I guide her in the oppositedirection of where the guests are gathered. Her soft flesh catches fire against my fingers. Maybe I made a mistake touching her. The contact is light, superficial, and therefore insufficient, so I don’t give prudence a fuck and open my hand, flattening it on her back.

Cecily shudders and looks back. Her eyes shine like crystals releasing small flames, but she doesn’t move away.

A kind of silent dialogue takes place between us, both of us aware of the attraction and unable to move away.

Her gaze is burning me, and seeing how I affect her generates a lack of control that I have never experienced.

I can no longer hear music or laughter. It’s just the two of us.

I stop walking, and so does she.

The desire I see on her face, a reflection of mine, should show me that I was wrong when I thought about giving her a chance as a night nanny and that I have nothing to say to her, but I never run away from a challenge, and resisting the lust I feel for Cecily will be the greatest of them all.

Dionysus

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“You wantedto speak to me, sir?” she asks, taking a step back and out of reach of my hand.

“What did Cage want with you?”Fuck, why the hell did I ask something like that? What Cecily does with her life is none of my business.“Forget it.”Even though I really want to know whether the interest he obviously has in you is reciprocated.

“I really didn’t intend to answer that, Mr. Dionysus. I don’t usually talk about my private life with people who aren’t my friends.”

I’m trying to keep my inner beast under control, but her impertinence sends my plans to hell.

I take a step very close, invading her personal space. She doesn’t take her eyes off mine.

“Does that mean we’re not friends, then, Cecily?”

The temperature between us rises absurdly, for the simple fact that our bodies are almost glued together, even without any contact yet, which makes me wonder what would happen if I wereinsideher.

A wave of lust clouds my rationality, indomitable desire surfacing.

I’m not a boy. I have enough sexual experience to recognize explosive chemistry, and what exists between me and the redhead is something capable of altering oceans.

I don’t just feel like I’m boiling. It’s a step further. Cecily’s heat is scalding like lava from a volcano.

“No, we are not. We don’t know each other.” She gives a self-deprecating smile. “As far as I remember, in our last meeting, you wanted to send me back to Kansas.”

“Yet here you are. Still in my life. Still in my world.”

“Not inyourworld. I came to the party because Elina?—"

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