Page 79 of Bought

“That’s for keeping secrets,” he says.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Lucian

She’s so beautiful it hurts to look at her. Arms stretched up over her head, the thin ropes dip into her perfect skin. Chin jutted out like she does. And those eyes.

Overwhelmed yet begging.

She’s a work of art.

The ache in my chest comes from knowing she’s been lying to me.

Hiding. Betraying.

I don’t know how far the lies go, how deep the betrayal is, but I’m going to find out.

I grip the handle of the crop tighter.

Now the real interrogation begins.

I raise the riding crop again, savoring the slow pull of tension before I bring it down beneath her breast. The leather tip tracesthe underside with a cruel precision. Erin’s body shivers against the ropes; her whimper slips into the charged air.

She’s caught somewhere between guilt and need, and I smile.

“When did you first meet the Morettis?” I snap the crop between her legs. “And don’t lie.”

Watching her jolt feels good. Like I earned it.

She chokes out, “I didn’t know anything about them. Nothing at all. Not when we first came here.”

I follow with a series of light taps to make her core throb. She moans.

“But eventually, you did.” I step closer, sliding my fingers under her chin and lifting her face to mine. I smell the faint trace of her shampoo mixed with her arousal. “And you knew you were sleeping with the enemy.”

She strains against her ropes. “I didn’t think you’d want me if you knew?—”

My voice drops low, “Too late,” as I crush my mouth against hers. My tongue claims hers, marking it as my territory. “I already want you. Too much.”

When I pull back, she’s gasping, those eyes begging for more.

I slip behind her, dropping the crop. “That’s why I need to know the truth. To see if I can trust you moving forward.” My calloused fingers trail over the ropes hugging her ribs, then wind down to the apex of her thighs.

I spread her legs with my fingers, and she moans, “Oh my God,” as I find her slick heat.

Gentle, reading her body, her breaths, so I know where to touch, how to stroke, how much pressure to use…

I drag the truth from her.

“You want to tell me more, sweet girl?” I whisper against her ear, aching with need.

“I’m scared,” she breathes. “Not of this. Of you leaving. If I tell you everything.”

Her words tear me in two. I swore to her I wouldn’t walk away before I found out that she was hiding the fact that she and her entire family were living with Valentino Moretti’s sister.

I believe her when she says she didn’t know about Bambi’s family until after she arrived. I’m not sure what happened after her arrival. What I really need to know is how involved she is with them.

And I’m dreading the answer.