Page 76 of Heat & Deceit
“Because I called you a butthead?”
“I see.” He clears his throat and stands, coming around to my side of the desk. I turn, so we’re facing each other, and tip my head back to maintain eye contact. His hand finds my chin, and I suck in a startled breath but don’t move away like I should. “What if I liked it?”
My gaze drops to his mouth. “You like being called a butthead?”
“Ilikethat you like Lycus.” His thumb brushes the underside of my bottom lip. “Do you like me?”
Heat crawls up my neck, and he sucks in a sharp breath, taking that as confirmation. “I think you’re super ugly,” I blurt out.
“You’re a beautiful little liar,” he whispers, this time moving his thumb directly over my lip.
“Doesn’t that bother you? Me lying?” I ask, voice breathy. He hates liars.
“Not as much as it should.” He takes a step closer. The vetiver of his scent grows stronger, a heady touch of musk pulling me toward him. A deep purr rumbles in his chest. That sound shoots straight to my cunt. My knees knock together, and desire floods through me. He’s not ugly, not at all. I inhale. He smells so good. So alpha.
Alpha. You can’t, Nova. You know how this ends. He’ll chew you up and spit you out. Don’t fall for it.
“Please stop.” My voice is shaking, and his eyes jump to meet mine.
As soon as he sees my hesitation, he steps away and clears his throat. “That was out of line. I’m sorry.” His brow creases, and he almost seems confused by what just happened.
“It’s fine.”
He gives me a look.Liar.
I swallow and edge toward the door. “I have to go.” And like a scared omega, I tuck tail and run. A hot flush covers me from head to toe, and my chest is aflutter with excitement. My core pulses, aching for a knot. I grind my teeth and ignore that desire. I ignore how much I wanted him to kiss me. I ignore how much I wanted to give in, to let him discover all of my lies.
That was so stupid.
I need to go get new suppressants from Rome today. I’m nearly out, and I can’t risk even one day without them. Not around these alphas, who make me want to forget why I’m hiding.
* * *
There’s a new receptionist. This one is much friendlier and doesn’t give me a hard time when I ask for Mr. Gray. I take a seat in the waiting area, eyeing the pottery that has to be Rome’s. Minutes pass, and I pull out my phone, tapping into thePlaying for Keepsapp to keep myself distracted from the nerves bubbling inside of me.
The vampire is about to go down on my character when someone passes by. I lean forward to block the phone and keep my face free of any emotion. The key to watching or reading smut in public is to act like you’re reading something super serious.
“Hey, Carmine.”
I tap through the various prompts, watching with rapt attention as the vampire drinks some blood before diving down to get to work. I make a note to text Kiki about adding more blood, or maybe having the vampire go down during shark week, and shield my phone to keep anyone from seeing what I’m doing.
“Carmine?” A hand lands on my shoulder, and I nearly jump out of my chair, screeching like the devil is chasing me. My phone slides across the floor, but thankfully, the lock screen engages, saving me from explaining why I decided watching cartoon vampire porn was appropriate in a waiting room.
“Shit, I’m sorry.” Rome hustles to grab the phone while I clutch my chest, taking a few hearty breaths to steady my racing heart. He turns around and grimaces. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
I wave him off. “It’s fine. I startle easy.” I accept the phone and shove it into my purse without checking the screen.
“Are you okay to go to the back?”
“Of course.” I stand and pretend like I didn’t just freak out. When he closes us inside his office, a weird sense of déjà vu washes over me. Only, this time, I’m not nearly as paranoid about being shut in a room with him. “Is that your pottery out there?”
His eyes brighten. “It is. Do you like it?”
“It’s obnoxiously perfect.”
“Is that a yes?” His mouth twitches into a cautious grin.
“Yes,” I say with a laugh.
