Page 68 of Carnal Games

I harden my expression.

Her eyes flicker to the ground.

And I feel like shit.

But in the next heartbeat, the fire returns and I’m drowning in her gaze. “Well, aren’t you gonna ask me why I was there?”

“No.”

I fully expect her to push and prod, begging for the interview she’s desperate for. The refusal is poised on the tip of my tongue.

She does the unexpected and stuns me by shrugging. “Okay, then. Have a good night. I’m sure you can be as quick to leave as it took you to barge in.”

It takes me a beat to process. An embarrassingly long beat because it’s so unfathomable to me.

Did she just throw me out?[

Nobody has had the guts to do it since I rose to the top. People think twice before speaking to me in any way that’s less than respectful.

Yet tonight, I’m on the receiving end of it.

Was Zain right? Am I being bested by a woman half my size?

I look at Iris in her mismatched and bright clothes as she twirls around and struts back to the kitchen, giving me a lush view of her ass.

I’ve been dismissed.

Fuck, I deserve it after doing the same to her twice today.

Shaking off the stupor, I’m about to turn when I suddenly remember about Nathan. Shouldn’t he be here with her since they’re obviously not living at his house?

It’s scary how distracting she can be. And I’m a man who prides himself on his sharp focus.

“Where’s Nathan?” I ask once she’s facing me from behind the island.

She blinks, like she forgot about him too.

First, the lack of a ring on her finger in my office.

Now this reaction.

My gut says I’m missing something vital.

“On a business trip.” I relax, assuming it’s for a day or two. I’m halfway turned when she adds, “For the next four months.”

Her provocative tone uttering those words as a challenge has me marching out the door faster than the speed of light.

Chapter Eighteen

Kian

There’s a saying that dangerous things come wrapped in small packages.

That’s exactly what my brother’s fiancée is shaping out to be. In a single day, she’s disrupted my world. Goddamn flipped it upside down.

Instead of peaceful silence the next day, music blasting through speakers from next door wakes me up. Is she having a party first thing in the morning?

Rolling onto my stomach, I grab my watch from the nightstand to check the time.

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