Page 48 of Brandishing Betrayals

“So where are we going?”

I smirked, though she was behind me, and led the way to my sleek sports car. I opened the passenger door for her and turned to face her with an easy smile. “Your chariot awaits, Little Dreamer.”

A blush colored her face immediately and I had to bite back a smirk. She was falling right into my hands. Once Maya was safely tucked into my car, I closed the door and walked around the hood. Sliding behind the wheel, I started the vehicle and pulled away from the curb before Maya could say a word. I was moving fast tonight. No time for questions, so she couldn’t back out.

Maya

I glanced around the fancy restaurant in disbelief, even though we’d been here a while. On my second glass of wine and feelinggood, I had a permanent smile on my face as I dug into my food. Everything was tasting magnificent. Nico had been a complete gentleman since he picked me up, and he kept me laughing all throughout dinner.

I was on cloud nine. It was almost enough for me to drop the guard around him and just have fun—well, mostly enough. I had dropped my guard just a bit and I was having a great time, butI couldn’t lose site the big picture here. I wasn’t supposed to be overly friendly, but Nico was always so easy to get along with, so easy to talk to.

It was just another thing I had missed dearly in the last ten years.

After the waiter cleared our plates and refilled my wine glass—my third of the night—I smiled coyly at Nico. “Was this your plan?” I asked, leaning an elbow on the table and resting my hand on my chin. I didn’t care if it wasn’t appropriate—my mother’s damn etiquette lessons be damned—I needed to know if this had been his plan all along. “Wine and dine me? Get me drunk?”

“Sure was, Little Dreamer,” Nico smirked.

I rolled my eyes at him. “What’s next, you suggest we head back to your place?”

Nico’s smirk widened. “That was going to be my suggestion. It’s like you read my mind.”

Taking another sip from of wine to think over my answer, I frowned slightly. If all of this was his plan—and knowing it Nico, it was—then I’d walked right into his hands. Why? Why go through this whole elaborate sham of a date, if he was just going to get me drunk? And I’d only drank so much because I was nervous of being alone with him. He also knew that—knew how I had to keep my guard up around them.

Maybe I should go with him back to his house. I could call him out for his elaborate plan. I shook my head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I hedged.

Nico grinned devilishly. Putting both elbows on the table, clearly having zero qualms about table manners and etiquette, he leaned toward me. “Come on, Little Dreamer, me and you still have plans tonight.”

He pulled away and stood up before I could say another word. I pursed my lips and grabbed my wine glass, gulpingdown another massivesipof wine. When Nico turned away, I scrambled to my feet. “Fuck you, Nic.”

Laughing, Nico reached back for my hand and wrapped his fingers around my wrist. He pulled me toward the door and I briefly wondered if he was going to pay or not. When he got to the maître d’ at the door, I watched him shake his hand and the other man smiled graciously as he closed his hand around a wad of cash.

That sneaky motherfucker, I thought as I was dragged away by Nico.

Nico

I didn’t drive Maya home. No, I wasn’t going to give her an out, not now. Yeah, I was playing dirty, purposely getting her drunk in the hopes of loosening her tongue so she would finally fucking talk to me, but I didn’t care. I wanted answers and I wanted them now.

Pulling into my two-car garage, I parked my car next to my Harley. I shut off the engine and got out, all before Maya could explode. She had been silently stewing the whole drive home. Her fingers had dug into the leather seats when she first noticed I was drivingawayfrom her mother’s house and instead headed across town to my townhouse.

Heading upstairs, I didn’t bother to stop on the main floor where the kitchen and living rooms were, instead I headedstraight up to the second floor where my bedroom was. Maya was hot on my heels, dying to rip me a new one, I was sure, but she didn’t even stop to realize that she had followed me right into my bedroom.

I turned to face her once she was fully in the room and grinned. “Well, go on,” I smirked. “Let me have it.”

She narrowed her eyes in a glare. “You tricky motherfucker,” she started immediately.

My blood rushed to my cock immediately as her passion fired up.God, she was fucking beautiful.

“You got me fucking drunk, just so you could lure me back to your place? This the whole reason you couldn’t spend the weekend with the guys? Someone had to stay back and seduce me? That your fucking plan, Nicolai?”

I fucking groaned as my full name came out of her mouth, dancing across her lips in a sensual cadence. She’sneversaid my full fucking name. I almost wondered if she even knew it. But this? Holy fuck. This was fucking hot.

“Say it again,” I breathed, moving toward her.

She glared at me, crossing her arms over her chest. “No.”

Standing in front of her, I reached out and grabbed both of her hips and pulled her closer to me. “Little Dreamer,” I murmured softly. “Please?” I was not above begging.

Maya sighed and rested her hands on my chest, rubbing them back and forth slightly, almost absentmindedly. “Nicolai.”

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