Page 5 of Sweet Deception

Darren unfolds himself from his chair, tension coiled tight in his deceptively muscular frame. The lighter in the palm of his hand vanishes into his pocket along with his phone as his lips curve into something too sharp to be a smile.

“Dance with me.” No hello. No introduction. Not even a question.

His low, controlled, commanding voice carries an edge that spikes my pulse.

“What?” I whisper, eyes wide.

Shit.He caught me off guard.

“You will dance with me.” His head tilts to the side, slowly and deliberately. “That’s why you came over here, isn’t it?”

He dares me with his words, and because I don’t want to reveal my true intentions, I change tactics and offer an impish grin. “Guilty.”

Another fake smile tugs at the corners of his mouth before his impossibly long fingers come to rest beneath my elbow, half guiding, half yanking me toward the dance floor.

My heart sprints for the hills.

Talk to a mafioso for sixty seconds? Sure.

Dancewith one? For an entire song? Touching him while he touches me? I gulp and hope to God Darren doesn’t notice.

The second we step onto the dance floor, I realize my mistake.

I’m supposed to be the one in control here.

I targeted Darren believing he was the weak link. Just a disinterested enforcer playing with fire. Probably not too bright.

Someone I could manipulate.

But instead…

I hold my core tight to keep from flinching as his hands slide around my waist and draw me into his embrace. His touch comes across as respectful but possessive.

I’m definitely not expecting his body heat to radiate right through his skin and clothes, straight through my dress, and into me.

Well, shit.

So much for my focus…

An exciting and dangerous warmth fills me as his discerning, entrancing eyes bore into mine.

Nika!I scold myself as my friends’ faces flash behind my eyes. Right. Remember the mission.

Maya, my best friend, is counting on me, and this is my first shot at getting a substantial lead on Lucy’s whereabouts.

The clock’s ticking on cloning Darren’s phone. I started the mental countdown, but I’m finding it difficult to concentrate on anything except the energy he emits.

His proximity, his body heat, his spicy scent, his spellbinding gaze…the way other couples unconsciously shift to give us space. Like we’re the guests of honor tonight and not two strangers rotating in small hypnotic circles.

The effect this man has on me…it’s not natural or normal. And if I’m not careful, I know he’ll use that against me in a heartbeat.

Even if he has no idea who I am or what I’m capable of.

By day, I’m an IT whiz. By night, I help women wipe their digital footprint, reinvent themselves after domestic violence has ripped their lives apart, and start over someplace new.

With this particular job, though, things are a bit more hazardous.

And bya bit,I meana lot.