Page 22 of Devious Truth

“Why?” It’s almost a whine, the way it comes out.

It can’t be helped. I’m drowning here watching him in my home, taking up so much room. And it has nothing to do with the shortage of space in my apartment. It’s the way he holds himself, confident and dominant. Like he owns the whole building. It’s his eyes when they hit mine, how his stare sucks the breath right from my lungs.

Tingles dart through me, getting more intense the longer my question goes unanswered.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on with all these bills?” His tone steady in his resolve.

His stare gets more intense, or maybe that’s only how it feels because my heart keeps slamming into my ribcage. My skin feels electric when he looks at me like this, when he’s this close and his voice does that deep dive thing.

It’s not fair, being this attracted to someone completely off limits. I almost laugh at my own thought. It’s not like there’s been anything resembling fair in the last three years of my life. Why would I think things would change now?

“I owe money. It’s credit card debt mostly.” Tension tightens the muscles in my back.

“How did you get into so much debt?”

The vice grip of grief clenches my chest.

“I had unexpected expenses a few years ago, and things just got out of hand.” He still hasn’t answered my question.

To be honest, I’m not sure I want the answer anymore. He won’t be able to take it back if he says it, and I’ll probably have toquit my job. I make good money at Obsidian. I’ll have to take two jobs to make up for money loss.

“You have secrets.” He lifts a hand to my face, catching a stray lock of hair and tucking it behind my ear.

Lighting strikes. It was just his fingertip, but my body is entirely charged as though a lightning bolt has lodged itself into my chest. What would it be like if he really touched me? Or kissed?

“They’re mine to keep.” My voice cracks and I have to clear my throat before I try again. “I’m a grown woman, and I can take care of myself.”

“I never said you couldn’t.” He moves even closer.

“You’re thinking it. I can tell.” I lift my chin.

I don’t need his judgment. I’ve had enough of other people’s opinions about my choices to last a lifetime. I won’t tolerate it from him.

No matter how incredibly hot he is, or how wet he’s making my panties with this dark stare of his right now.

I tighten my jaw. I need to keep my mind away from what he’s making my body feel, and remember he’s my boss. But even more than that, I know nothing that starts with him will end in a happily ever after. I had that chance once, it’s not coming around for a second try.

He leans toward me. “If you knew what I was thinking right now, you wouldn’t be standing here with all this attitude.”

“Oh? What would I be doing?”

The left side of his mouth kicks up into one of the most devastatingly hot grins I’ve ever seen on a man. A perfect crease forms in his cheek and his eyes melt into a pool of brown lava.

“If you were being a good girl, you’d be stripping out of those clothes.”

My throat dries, and I have to swallow in order to get out my words.

“And if I wasn’t being a good girl?”

His eyes darken even more and that wicked grin of his deepens. “You’d learn why being a good girl is a better choice.”

His hand moves to his waist, hooking his thumb into the thick leather belt around his waist. Heat rushes up my chest and covers my face.

This is my fault. I walked right into this conversation. Blame it on the three years of nothing other than battery-operated intimacy.

“It’s late,” I say when my brain circuits come back online. “You should go.”

“You’ll need a ride into work tomorrow. I’ll pick you up.”

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