Page 105 of Beautiful Liar

My thoughts screech to a halt. My inhalation is sharp and ragged enough to make her twitch.

“Umm, we don’t have to do this if you don’t—”

“Take off the blindfold, Lucky.”

I’m aware my voice is a frozen lake she risks falling into if she’s not careful.

“Q—”

“Last chance. The offer expires with your next breath.”

The breath in question catches, locks in her lungs as she contemplates the icy danger beneath her feet. Seconds tick by. Her free hand slowly creeps up to the back of her head.

I’m curiously anticipatory. Hell, my pulse is elevated in a non-sexual way, another peculiar first.

She releases the catch and draws the blindfold away from her face. Her beautiful green eyes blink and I realize I’ve missed seeing them. Not that I can see them to my satisfaction in the near dark room.

The moment her sight acclimatizes, she finds me. I know she only has the faintest impression of me, that my black pants will be near invisible, my unbuttoned white shirt marginally so. All the same sensation crawls over my sprawled body as her gaze pierces me in the dark.

“Lucky.”

She exhales in a burst of air, as if my saying her name has set her free. “Hi. Nice to meet you.”

I smirk cruelly. “Is it?”

Her laugh is a touch nervous, and her gaze searches harder in the dark. “Definitely. I was beginning to think you were a figment of my imagination.”

“Do all your imaginary men fuck you the way I do?”

The glass wobbles in her hand. Her gaze lowers and I imagine I see her face redden. But she doesn’t answer. I’m mildly stunned by the searing need to know.

“Answer me, firecracker.”

Her lids rise. “You’re my first imaginary man.”

Unsatisfactory. And yet not. I want to applaud the clever answer. I also want to punish her for it. “You’re no longer wearing the blindfold. Do you not believe that I’m flesh and blood?”

“I know you’re in the room with me. But your face…your voice… You’re still a mystery.”

“There’s a price to pay for being too curious. Are you willing to risk it?”

A shiver passes through her. I’m not sure whether it’s the effect of the device still wedged between her legs, or my answer. Either way, it’s vaguely stimulating, this game we’re playing.

She takes a large sip of her drink, licks her lips before lowering the glass. “No. But I think you are.”

Kitten-strength talons of surprise hook into me. Their presence isn’t disturbing, but they’ve grabbed my attention. “Is that an attempt to reverse-psych me, sweet thing?”

She shakes her head. “No. I’m just going on what I feel.”

“And what is it exactly you feel?”

“You’re…getting off on this. Your privacy is extremely important to you, but so is the danger. You can probably go through this without letting me see you, but I don’t think you’ll be totally satisfied with that.”

“Why do you think that is?”

A shrug lifts one shoulder. “I don’t know. But what I do know is that I don’t take risks unless I have to. So whatever secret you’re keeping, it’s safe with me. I…don’t think the price you’re talking about includes hurting me—”

“You willing to bet the farm on that?”

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