Page 37 of The Deception: Hercules Valentine and I

She squeezes my arm twice as we head toward Hercules.

* * *

It’s beenquiet so far. However, the awkwardness looms loudly. I catch him staring at me through the metal panel in front of us. I wonder what he’s thinking. If we were alone, I would apologize for running away last night.

“So, Mr. Valentine, are you enjoying your painting?” Lake asks.

Ah… there’s his delicious smile.

He lifts his eyebrows twice while looking at me. “Yes, I am.”

“Which part do you like most? Her tits or her ass?”

I elbow her discreetly.

“Both,” he says.

The two of them chuckle, but I’m too mortified to join in.

“You made me very rich last night. I mean, I can retire.”

I almost feel a little jealous when he sets the full power of his steady gaze on Lake. “You’re a very talented artist, Miss Clark.”

She tilts her head. “You see… I’ll stop calling you Mr. Valentine when you stop calling me Miss Clark.”

He snorts a chuckle. “Duly noted.”

“Lark, how was your night?”

Shit.What a compound question that is. “Umm… I…” Thank God the doors open. I feel like a bumbling fool.

He’s still watching me.Why do I feel as if we should kiss or something?

“It was fine,” I finally say.

We head toward our pod.Is he coming to our offices this morning?

The sound of our footsteps crashes against the atmosphere, but our silence blares the loudest. I feel like I should apologize to him for how I raced out of the building. It wasn’t very mature or brave of me. Especially after we had sex.OMG, I banged my boss in the elevator!

We make it to the door of our pod, and Hercules opens it.

“I’ll see you inside,” Lake says, flexing her eyebrows at me.

My feet are stuck to the floor as I stand trapped by Hercules’s piercing eyes. I feel as if now is the moment to answer for what I did after we screwed like our lives depended on it.

“I’m sorry about last night,” I finally whisper.

His sexy smirk fades into a slight frown. “Which part?”

“Leaving so abruptly.” I shake my head at the shame I feel. “I know it was strange.”

“Not strange at all.”

Together, we turn to see Nat and Rina heading toward us. Their curious eyes bounce back and forth between me and Hercules.

“Good morning, Hercules,” Nat says, beaming.

Rina glances at him with a smile before planting her gaze on me. “Good morning, Lark.”