Page 61 of Beautiful Lies

I want to remind her that I actually do own her ass, but I stop myself, mindful of Don. Like everyone in the dark about us, he needs to believe we’re a happy couple.

“Don’t say such things, love,” I speak through gritted teeth.

“I mean it. Don’t talk to me.”

“Why not?”

She levels me a hard stare. “Because I will either bitch-slap you from here to kingdom come or scream at you so loudly your ears will pop.” The maddening smile on her face could give Hanibal Lecter a run for his money. “And I don’t think either of those things will be acceptable in front of Don.”

Jesus Christ. This woman.

Where the hell did she come from?

She’s going to be the fucking death of me.

No one has ever dared speak to me like that. They would have been too scared to. Yet here she is, doing it with a smile on her pretty face.

I lean in, close enough to catch that soft, feminine hint of magnolia trimmed with defiance.

“Clause ten, love.” I lower my voice to a rasp. “You speak to me whenever there’s a grievance to be settled. Notif. When.”

I’m shocked when she leans in, too. Close enough to whisper a secret. Or kiss me.

“Clause nine,malysh. Public representation. You know the rule. Grievances stay private.”

My jaw tightens. The little rebel just used my own clause against me.

Andmalysh?

Babyin Russian—an endearment. A direct response to me calling herlove.

Her tone was meant to infuriate me. Instead, it sends blood rushing to my dick.

I press my fingers to the smooth skin of her elegant neck and press against her pulse. It leaps at my touch.

The flicker in her eyes tells me she knows she’s far too close to me, and I have the upper hand again.

“Okay,moya lyubov',” I tease, calling her my love in Russian, showing her I speak her language, too. She doesn’t like that. “We will speak in private, then.”

“No, malysh. There is nothing to talk about.”

I move to her ear, brushing my nose against it.

“Yes, there is,malyshka.” I use the female form of the endearment just to piss her off even more. “There’s something to talk about when I see another man sniffing around my woman.”

Appalled, she tries to move out of my grasp, but I hold her in place.

“He wasn’t sniffing around.”

“He wants to fuck you.”

“You are unbelievable,” she fumes.

“If he tries, I’ll cut his dick off. I’m serious.”

In my periphery, I catch Don glancing back at me. I was too loud. I don’t care, though. What I said needed to be said—now.Still, I’ve drawn too much attention to us.

“We’ll finish this discussion at home.” I release Isla and inch away from her.