Page 9 of Just the Wrong Twin

Then she flicked a glance at him, eyes dancing, and he realized shewasflirting.

With him.

Nate’s mouth went dry.

Had lockdown made Sonia desperate for male companionship? Nate tore his gaze away from her shoes and did a quick inventory. Most of the guys present were married or in a serious relationship. It was possible that Troll was available, but Nate wasn’t sure.

There weren’t many choices, if Sonia was looking for company.

Desperation might explain a lot. It could even make ‘sweet’ look good.

“I’ve never bought such high heels before,” she said, not seeming to notice that he’d glanced away. “But I like them.” She glanced up suddenly, her eyes sparkling when she caught him looking. “They feel daring.”

“Daring?” Nate pretended to be shocked. “Are you Sonia or Katia?” He referred to her twin sister, who was almost her complete opposite in terms of character.

Sonia’s eyes twinkled as she leaned closer to whisper. “Can’t you tell?”

Electricity was crackling in the air between them, an energy that had always hummed quietly in the past but seemed to have been multiplied a thousand times—or cut loose—now. There was a challenge in her tone and Nate knew Sonia wanted him to be able to tell the difference between her and her twin sister.

Of course.

They had to both be thinking about his disastrous trip to her apartment after the Valentine’s Day party. He’d taken Katia home, thinking she was Sonia and drunk, and she’d nearly jumped his bones. Then she’d realized his prosthesis wasn’t part of his costume and thrown him out. He hadn’t known until later that Sonia even had a twin.

And then he’d been ‘sweet’ for being sufficiently concerned for her to escort her home. He’d thought that someone had slipped her something.

Now that he knew there were two sisters, Nate could tell them apart, even though the obvious clue wasn’t visible. Only Sonia had a tattoo, but her dress had short fluttery sleeves, so he couldn’t see whether there was one on her upper arm.

All the same, he also knew this was Sonia, without a doubt. “I was sure you were Sonia, but the Sonia I know would never wear those shoes.”

“They are new,” she ceded in that playful tone.

“And the Sonia I knew never flirted with me either.”

She ran her fingertips up his arm, and the twinkle in her eye was definitely wicked. She dropped her voice. “Maybe I’m changing things up, too.”

“Or maybe I’m with the wrong twin again.”

“Oh no,” Sonia murmured with conviction. “This time, you’ve got it exactly right, Nate Buchanan, and I’m going to make sure you don’t regret it.”

She was looking for some action.

From him.

“That sounds like a threat,” he teased, halfway thinking she’d cut and run.

“Maybe it’s a promise.”

“Don’t tell me you make empty promises.”

“Not me.” Sonia eased a little closer, then to his amazement, she reached up to whisper in his ear. Nate wanted to feel her lips against his skin, not her mask, but her proximity gave him shivers. He wanted to put his arm around her waist and pull her closer, but he felt that might break the spell. “I deliver. Do you?”

It was official. Shewasdesperate.

Damn. He’d used up his luck after all.

Nate had a policy of no desperate women, no sympathy sex and no pity fucks. People who hooked up should want pleasure, pure and simple, without guilt trips or other emotional baggage. Sex was too much fun to make it complicated. He reminded himself of the solid rationale behind his policy, but staring into the blue of Sonia’s eyes challenged him to chuck his rule, just this once.

He knew that Sonia wanted forever: everyone at the club knew that. She was teased—mostly by Jax—about waiting for her handsome prince. Nate knew he wasn’t a contender for that place in her life, and he wasn’t going to be a consolation prize.

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