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I pull out my phone to call Cora, and the screen draws a smile on my face. I have my camera on with a few selfies I took in the shelter with Coco.

I sit for a moment, scrolling through the pictures. A beautiful memory of a few carefree, loving moments, and a painful reminder of my lack of freedom.

Let’s spread some Coco cuteness to the world. I open my feed, ready to upload the pic, when I notice my draft post.

Perhaps the world—or at least me—needs an unfiltered truth more. I can post the kitten later.

Chapter 15

Corm

“Italked to Donovan.” Xander saunters into my office without knocking.

Dressed in black shorts and a sweaty T-shirt, he plops down on my white sofa. He reaches into the bowl in the middle of the coffee table and helps himself to a handful of nuts.

Since when do I offer snacks in my office? Fucking Larissa and her efforts to humanize me.

“Ever heard of showering after a workout? Get your sweaty ass off my sofa.”

He chuckles but doesn’t move. “You’re a ray of sunshine, as usual.”

He doesn’t know the least of it. I’ve been in the worst mood since yesterday. First, I opened the file on Saar I got from Mathison. I thought I’d started to get to know her.

I don’t know what possessed me to work from home for almost a week, but having every meal with her was more pleasant than I anticipated.

Her metabolism is fucked up after years of irregular schedules, and probably some crazy diets. I took unwarranted pleasure in seeing her eating regularly. That, by itself, should—is—concerning me.

I took her for a ride in my Bugatti, because cars seem to be the only place where she falls asleep. I drove around for hours, just so she got some rest. I told her I didn’t need a child instead of a fiancée, but I took to the babysitting duties pretty fast. Fuck.

And then there were the conversations. Some of them trivial, all of them interesting. It probably was a much-needed distraction from my daily grind, because I found myself looking forward to the next meal.

Saar is smart and well-read. She is strong, perhaps a bit too cynical at times, but I suspect that’s another result of her career. She grew a thick skin to survive the demands, the toxicity.

She’s kind of lost at the moment, but instead of crumbling, she’s searching for answers. Not that she gives herself any credit.

And she is hot as sin. I’ve been walking around with a semi, lusting after that body of hers. A very unfortunate development.

But then I read the file on her, and fuck, if that wasn’t the biggest disappointment. I couldn’t even look at her when I saw her at the shelter.

And still, I was stealing glances at her with the kitten. The woman is a siren. I need her out of sight, and hopefully soon out of my life.

She thought I was pissed about the tux. Fuck, I was upset about that, but it was kind of funny. It’s not like I can’t afford to throw it out after walking through the kennels.

I wanted to confront her then and there, but I have a business deal to think about. Screw her.

And yet she’s been on my mind every freaking minute of the day. Perhaps because she played me so well.

Never did I suspect Saar van den Linden was so deceitful, but what is worse, my bullshit radar failed me around her.

Now I have the evidence that the woman is not only bad news, but that I can’t read her at all. And it still didn’t help me stop thinking about her.

I even went to the fucking sex club to get rid of that need she sparked. But nobody got the job done. The manager was pulling his hair, sending one girl after another to my booth in the VIP section.

I sent them all away. Why? I tried to come up with lies, but to be honest, I sent them away because they were not Saar.

The Morrigan bewitched me. Her smiles, her quips, her body, her wit. All of it is wrapped around my cock.

But there is no way I can succumb to that temptation after what I found out. And like an idiot, I have her followed now. Because the best guy for the job, Mathison, uncovers something, and I still need more proof. Or hope for her redemption. Goddammit.