Page 24 of Deception

I don’t bother pointing out the fact that her body betrays her at every opportunity. We both know that it’s only a matter of time until her knees bend at my feet.

“You’re sure?”

“Positive,” she breathes back with a hitch to her breath that gives away her self-doubt.

Okay. I nod silently as I start back to the house, guiding her along with my hand on her nape.

We walk in silence as I study her muddied feet for the source of her limp. They’re too dirty for me to see anything, but it’s obvious that she’s hurt herself. When we reach the steps leading up to the back doors, I hoist Lucy up into my arms while Nero skulks behind us. The other dogs have already gone back to running the grounds like they do every night. An extra layer of security, even though you’d need a tank to get through the perimeter walls and anyone attempting to get through the gates would be shot on the spot.

“Put me down.” Red tries to wriggle free of my hold. “I have feet, you know.”

“If you want to keep them,” I tell her, toeing off my running shoes before I step inside, “you’ll let me carry you to your room. My mother is fond of the rugs.”

They’re older than her, a gift from an Iranian oligarch that my great-grandfather befriended when he started the family business. Turns out that caviar is almost as sought after as unlisted firearms.

Red chuckles, quietly enough that it’s the slight quiver of her body that gives her away. Something’s changed. The armour she wears has softened tonight. Although her contempt hasn’t waned, there’s more. If it were fear, I would sense it…smell it on her, even. Whatever it is, it makes her a liability to me and my newfound curiosity.

Is she that deep under your skin?

Niko’s words come to mind again as we reach the bedroom and I walk her through to the bathroom. Flicking the light on, I head straight for the bathtub with the overhanging shower.

“What are you doing?”

Lucy pulls away when I put her down in the tub. The thin straps of what’s left of her nightdress slip off her shoulders. With her hands grasping at the dirty and sodden fabric, she turns away from me.

It’s the first blatant sign of weakness she’s shown until now. Still, there’s no fear. There’s nothing but wariness, which makes me wonder how innocent she might be. Strawberry-tinged hair falls over her shoulder as she peers back at me, leaving me with the untainted view of her back. Golden flecks pepper over her shoulders, dispersing to the odd freckle down her spine. My gaze pauses on the dimples at the base of her back, making the curve of her arse appear more pronounced, along with the flare of her hips.

The ache in my hands is impossible to ignore as my palms skim the curves of her body. With the straps wound around my thumbs, I strip her bare.

“Sit,” I order brusquely, swallowing down the impulse to grab her and fuck her in all the ways my being burns for.

With my control slowly unravelling, I hose her feet while she follows my command. She’s practically pulled her toenail off, but apart from that, her feet, ankles, and legs appear fine. More than fine. Every part of her is slender and shapely. Her muscles are evidently toned beneath her supple flesh, and it makes me want to test her physical strength, to see if it rivals her spirit.

Plugging the bath, I smell the salts on the side. They have that same sickly honeyed scent that the girls at the clubs have. It’s never bothered me before, but every time I smell it on her, it disgusts me. My stomach turns at the smell, and before I can stop myself, I flush the entire jar down the toilet.

“Stay,” I tell Red as she continues hugging her body.

Shivers wrack her body even as the tempered water fills the tub. Before I leave the bathroom, I grab the towel from the heater and drape it on her shoulders.

“How long is this going to last?” she asks, staring up at me with a stoic expression that I can’t read.

“This?”

“Yes,this, To—” I slap my hand to her mouth to silence her, but the action only makes the residue of her taste stronger.

Her blood sings on my tongue like poison searing through my veins. A siren’s call that clouds my judgement and intentions, devastating my senses as she continues eyeing me and my name echoes in the quiet between us.

Tomasz…

Forcing my hand away, I turn to leave, but as I make it to the open doorway, she asks, “How long are you going to be nice to me?”

I want to hurt her so damn much that it’s fucking paining me. Red looks at me like we’re the same. As though we are both monsters. Creatures that can coexist. The reality is, she hasn’t seen the full spectrum of my darkness. I doubt that she’s had a real taste of iniquity.

That will change, I promise her as she glares at me, her jaw clenching with a trembling breath.

It’s you that’s meant to break her…Niko’s remark echoes somewhere beneath the rasp of her breaths.

I will. It doesn’t matter how deep she’s slithered beneath my skin. Eventually, I will have to kill her. Weapon or not, there will come a time where her use will expire, and nothing will save her. Not even me. I can’t save her from myself.

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