Page 31 of Game of Love
“Yes.” I might not have played in a while but I played when I could. It was something I’d picked up over the years as a distraction.
“And do you even have a cat? You don’t look like a cat person.”
I chuckled. “What does a cat person look like?”
“Not like you. I figured you more for a low maintenance pet. Like some kind of reptile. Maybe a lizard like an iguana, or an insect like a praying mantis. Not something you’d take vacation leave for.”
“I used to have a cat.” When I was a boy I’d picked up a stray cat that reminded me of myself. I called it Winks because something was wrong with her eye. It made her wink a lot. I had her for three years until she ran away and I never found her. In my head sometimes I’m still that kid with his cat. Last night I used the reference more as a joke.
“How did you do what you did last night?”
I raised my shoulders into a shrug. “Attention to detail.”
She shook her head. “That was some off the charts attention to detail and you would have known the cards were in my father’s pocket when you drank the poison, yet you still drank it… Why’d you do that?”
“Rules of the game. Besides, I didn’t think it would go down well to go rogue on simple instructions in a job interview.”
“That wasn’t a job interview.” Darkness and dread filled her eyes and that desperation called out to me again.
It was how she’d looked last night. It wasn’t hard to figure out that she wasn’t used to the violence.
“It was to me,” I stated.
“Are you used to that sort of interview? Where you could die if you don’t get the tasks right?” She raised her brows and rested her hands on the back of the chair nearest her.
“Yes. Do you usually sit in on your father’s recruitment sessions?” I knew the answer was no, but that was my roundabout way of asking if she was okay. “You seemed quite surprised at his methods.”
“It was my first. I was there because I needed to speak to him about something of great importance.”
“Couldn’t it wait?”
“No. It was the sort of thing that couldn’t. But, after last night I think I’ll choose my timing better.”
After last night most people I knew would head for the hills. I certainly would have. She, however, was working her way around it. I guess though, it had to be different for her.
I could imagine Giovanni wanting to keep tabs on her, if only to check that she kept her silence. Most people I knew would be in danger of what they’d witnessed last night. She saw it all.
Her gaze dropped to my lips and lingered there. Then the desperation in her eyes shifted to something else. Desire.
Desire was off limits.
Off limits…
Again…that was what I had to keep right there in my mind, although I wouldn’t have minded forgetting for one night.
“What?” I asked, throwing her.
Her eyes widened slightly. “What do you mean?”
“You’re looking at my lips?” I smiled and pressed my lips together.
Her cheeks flushed and the slight throw of her confidence actually made her look sexier than she already was.
“Maybe I like your lips,” she answered, regaining her confidence again.
I stepped closer and stopped a breath away from her. Maybe it was too close into her personal space but I was making a point.
“You shouldn’t.”
