Page 7 of Secret Revenge

Which he was. He definitely was. No matter how sincere and genuinely hurt he had seemed when he talked about his foundation…

He seemed so honest that part of me felt uncomfortable with the fact that I was tricking him. That made me angry. Why did I have to feel guilty or uncomfortable over someone like him? He was not a good person, that much I was sure of. He was probably selling bad assets under the radar, just like his father, and staging hostile takeovers of small businesses.

He was responding to my answer, but I couldn't focus on his words. Instead, I found my gaze wandering to his hands as he gestured while speaking. They were strikingly large… beautiful.I bit my lips to stop a moan from escaping as I imagined those hands wrapping deliciously around me as he held me down and pleasured me.

What is wrong with me?

I groaned low in my throat. I was a mess. I shouldn’t have been drinking, even for my cover. Travis was so handsome. Irresistible, even. His eyes never left mine as he spoke, staring intently at me as his mouth widened into a grin above a strong jaw, exposing tiny glimpses of his pearly whites.

What was happening to me? I didn’t sign up for any of this.

You wanted him from the start. You just didn’t let yourself admit it.

I thought I told you to shut up, brain.

I picked up my fork, trying to eat to distract me from the gorgeous man in front of me, but I had lost my appetite for food.I shook my head, trying not to think about what I did have an appetite for.

I was losing myself in his eyes and wondering what it would feel like if he touched me with those hands that were wrapped around the stem of his glass. I was certain the alcohol in my system was the only thing stopping me from panicking like I should have been in that moment. I had been fighting my attraction to him, but now I was at my wit’s end. Why was he so handsome? And how did he fake sincerity so well? And why did herescueme?

Okay, getting mad about that part might be a bit excessive.

I had been holding on to my hate, trying to use it to kill the desire I now felt. Surely, hate was a strong emotion, and it wouldn’t be easily manipulated into something else.

So why was I struggling to hold on to that hate right now?

“I think we’ve both had too much to drink,” Travis said suddenly, pushing his chair back from the table. I let him help me to my feet, enjoying the feeling of his fingers on mine.

“Yes, you’re right,” I replied, eyeing his glass on the table as we left -- wishing I could sneak away with it.

Secretly glad thatI couldn’t because it gave me an excuse to get closer to him.

I had to find a way to get those prints, after all. It would be more than embarrassing to go back to Michael without them, after the risk he took to get me into Calypso…

“I should probably call you a cab to take you home,” Travis said, reaching for the elevator button just as I did the same. Our fingers touched.

I snatched my hand away immediately, heat and electricity burning my skin where he had touched me. I glanced at him and found his intense eyes gazing down at me.

I swallowed, my mind reeling. All I could think about was reaching up to kiss him like I wanted to.

It would get you closer to snagging his prints…

I moved toward him, repeating those words in my mind. Knowing that I was lying to myself. I stepped closer to him, gasping when he met me halfway and kissed me. Bliss flooded my brain. I hadn’t realized how much taller he was than me until he bent to kiss me. His hands wrapped around me, pulling me closer until I was completely pressed against him.

The taste of his lips dulled my senses, disorienting what was left of my already buzzed brain. I ran my hand up his suit, slipping it between the fabric and his skin in search of his bare flesh.I wrapped my other hand around the back of his neck, dragging him closer to me and kissing him more deeply.

Travis’s groan vibrated in my mouth as his tongue slid against mine, and I tasted the red wine on him. I pulled away before he could destabilize me any further and struggled to catch my breath and unscramble my thoughts.

The elevator opened on the basement floor where the parking lot was, and we both stood there for a moment.

“I don’t think I want to go home today,” I said before I could change my mind.

The look on his face was enough to make me almost forget the reason I had made this decision. It was a look that held promise of things I couldn’t even think about lest my knees buckle under me.

“I have an apartment nearby,” he growled, his voice filled with lust as he pulled me behind him to his car.

My heart was pounding throughout the drive. He wasn’t lying about his place being close. It took us five minutes to get there. We were out of the car and inside the building in a few minutes, the air between us still sexually charged. We headed to the elevator, and he hit the button for the penthouse.

“Oh. You bought the penthouse.” I supposed that counted as an apartment… just more luxurious.