Page 6 of Sweet Deception

The abusive husbands I usually encounter can’t compare to a small army of vicious, violent men with guns, criminal ties, and ways of getting everything they want. And while I’ve helped extricate a few women in the mafia world from perilous situations, my work has never required me to actually rub elbows with those types of men before.

But I can’t let that fact intimidate me.

Lives are at stake, Nika. Don’t forget that.

My head’s spinning faster than a top.

This is terrible. He’s exactly the kind of man I try to avoid in real life. Not because he’s a dangerous mobster in an expensive suit, but because something about him frays the careful control I’ve worked my whole life to cultivate.

He’s trouble. I need to flee from him as soon as humanly possible.

Hurry up,I plead to my program in silence.

The vibration from my phone that’s meant to signal the cloning completion never comes.

A horrible twinge of understanding scrambles my already frantic mind.

His phone. It’s off. When did he turn it off?

No, no, no, no, no.

If his phone’s off, I’ll…I’ll just have to steal it. But how? What are my options here? Pick his pocket?

When the song ends, Darren stops dancing. Another starts up, faster paced. He leans into me. “Another.”

I give a little nod as he pulls me tighter against him and swings us into another rotation.Bozhe moy, the way my stomach flips when he does that.

My hands slide down his muscled shoulders to his sculpted biceps. If I’m going to pick his pockets, I’ll need to slip my arms under his, a maneuver that involves pressing my head to his chest. Ignoring the spark that touching him ignites in my body, I glide my fingers toward his titanium chest.

But that’s the wrong move. As soon as I place my hands on his pecs, he squeezes me tighter, his heavy hands slipping from my waist and up my back as he tugs me closer.

His sure grip is unyielding, as though he intends to keep me exactly where he wants me. Why does that thought both thrill and terrify me?

The small circles his thumb draws on my back cause me to shiver with more than fear. What an awful time for lust to arrive.

Held snug to his chest, my eyes slip closed a second, as if I’m resting in the safety of his embrace. The moment the absurdity of this action registers, they snap back open. What the hell is wrong with me?

Thankfully, the song concludes, and I come back to myself.

Head finally clear, I straighten up out of this powerfully destabilizing man’s embrace. It’s obvious that I won’t get what I’m after, and spending another second with him would be as risky as it would be ineffective.

I need to find another target.

“Thank you for the lovely dance.” Why’s my voice all breathy and hoarse?

“Likewise.” Darren’s grip loosens just enough to let me go.

In my haste to step away, my trick ankle buckles. The weakness catches me off guard and pitches me backward.

I squeeze my eyes shut and brace for impact, only for two ironlike hands to rescue me at the last second.

Blinking hard, I find myself pulled against his body. One of his arms bands around my waist while his other hand cradles my elbow.

The proximity spikes my adrenaline. Our current position leaves me completely at his mercy.

“Careful.” Darren’s breath tickles my ear, and I can’t tell if his words are a warning about my physical stability or something else entirely.

Either way, I’ve never felt less steady in my life.