Page 12 of Pretty Little Threats

“Aw, now who’s the blushing virgin? Did Daddy not give you permission to have sex yet?” He tsks. “Such a shame with thighs like yours.”

My upper lip curls. “You really are a beast, aren’t you?”

There’s no reason to censor myself when it comes to Dare. No one likes him.

His features darken and he shakes his head, cracking his knuckles. “You think you know me, princess?”

“I know enough.” I finish off my martini. “You got that tattoo last year.” When I point to the demon-like creature covering the back of his hand, his gaze follows my movement. “On the anniversary of your parents’ deaths.”

Scrutinizing me, he curls his fingers into fists. “Have you been looking into me?”

“Mmm. Better to know your enemies, wouldn’t you say?”

“I didn’t take you for a stalker, Rose.”

“In your dreams, Dare.”

“More like nightmares,” he says without missing a beat. He squints. “What else have you learned?”

My gaze tracks over the hard lines of his jaw. I probably shouldn’t go into it, but I don’t like that he continues to surprise me. I’m used to wrangling control of the situation, and if showing some of my hand accomplishes that, then so be it.

“I also know, occasionally, you take someone home, only to kick them out around midnight.” Dare bristles, clearly uncomfortable with how much I really have learned, but I continue, anyway. “I’m guessing you make them leave because you hate sharing your bed.” Tipping my head, Iwatch the annoyance shimmering in his dark irises. “Or maybe it’s because you’re afraid of love.”

“And what would a Miller know about love?”

The question hits me harder than it should. I’ve had more than my fair share of failed relationships. Looking away, I admit, “I guess no more than you.”

A quiet moment passes between us.

The vetiver of his scent twines around my body as he shifts closer. “What else do you think you know about me?”

“You’re lonely.”

He scoffs. “I’m not lonely.”

“You are.”

“And how would you know that?”

“Because I see it in your eyes.” I give him a wry grin. “I think people like us all suffer from the same affliction.”

Gazing across the skyline behind me, his dark eyes going distant, he murmurs, “You mean, knowing that every decision we make in the boardroom impacts millions of lives, and while they might recognize your name from the company’s letterhead, they don’t ever really think of the person behind the curtain, only the wizard who keeps denying them what they need?”

Sighing, he glances down at me, and I can’t help feeling like I’m catching a glimpse of the man behind the machine.

“Or how they’ll take every shot they have to vilify you until you, yourself, begin to wonder if they’re right. Like, maybe you are every terrible thing that’s ever been written about you and more?”

My breath catches. The words hit close to home, but I’m not the only one the tabloids rip apart. Dare’s been targeted several times, and the fact that he’s experienced the same existential crisis is unnerving.

He gives me a doubtful once-over and smirks. “But youdon’t expect me to believeyouhave feelings, do you? The ice princess?”

Ouch.

A tired laugh slips out of me. “You got me, Dare. I’m that vapid, soulless puppet who dances when her daddy says. And with all my breakups, I’m definitely the coldhearted bitch no man could ever want. That, or the pounds I’ve put on since my teenage years have chased them all away.”

He gives me a funny look—one that almost borders on pity—and I realize I’ve exposed my wounds, and all he has to do to make me hurt is dig his fingers in.

Come on, Rose. What are you doing? He’s not your friend. There’s no reason to try and make conversation. He’s here to threaten you because you’re close to finally figuring out how to get him under JD Miller & Co’s thumb. Maybe it’s time to remind him.

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