“You run your mouth too much,” he mumbled underneath his breath as he met me by the door.
“Gosh, you’re grumpy.”
A reluctant smile tugged at the corner of his lips, then his eyes.
Dimples.
Two of them.
“Stay out of trouble,” he said, his voice softer.
“Never.”
“Lock this door behind me,” he instructed over his shoulder. “I’ll be seeing you.”
“And it’ll be too soon,” I teased, watching him leave.
CHAPTER 3
MAX
The leather of my belt scraped against my knuckles as I threaded it back through the loop, darting my gaze across the room.
Valentina sat perched on the white chair, with her arm resting over the back of it. Her breasts spilled out of her lacy blue bra, just enough to remind me of how close she always seemed to play it.
“Put your clothes back on,” I rasped, the words dry in my throat. My muscles clenched as I pushed myself to my feet and snatched her blouse off the floor. Its delicate fabric felt like cobwebs against my calloused hand. I threw it at her feet.
Then a slow, smug smile played on her lips, perfectly painted and utterly infuriating. “It’s okay, Max,” Valentina said in a sickeningly sweet voice. “Some men have those problems.”
There were no problems. Not on my end.
“I know how to fuck,” I demanded. “But women with obvious daddy issues don’t really do it for me anymore.”
“Shame. Maybe it would help if I dyed my hair red for you.”
There was another lump in my throat. I knew what she was implying, and I was shocked she had the nerve to say something like that to me. My desires were clear, and the truth was farmore agonizing. I should’ve known Valentina would use her body to get information. This charade was nothing but a pathetic attempt to manipulate me.
Valentina’s courage grated on my nerves. I wished I could wipe the self-assured smirk off her face. It was practiced, flawless, the kind she’d learned through years of manipulating men who had more money than sense. I wouldn’t be one of them. This little game of hers was about to come to an end.
“The fuck did you just say?” I retorted sharply. She thought testing me was a smart decision, so I wanted to show her how stupid it really was.
She stood from the chair. Her heels clicked against the floor as the stomp in her step reflected her positive mood. She had a prissy attitude. She also had the upper hand. She hadn’t bothered putting her blouse back on after her show. Instead she’d thrown her pink faux-fur coat on over it. She looked like a hooker who wore alcoholism as an accessory.
“Oh, I’m sure you heard me,” she said.
Valentina knew more than I wanted her to. She knew everything now.
“What would Liam think if he found out his second-hand man was after hisdaughter?”
There it was.
My jaw clenched. Was she ignorant or manipulative? Maybe both, but her ignorance left me wondering if she could connect her last two working brain cells to figure it out—if she even had two left. Except I knew she did. Valentina was one of the most conniving people I’d ever met. It was dangerous to be around her.
“I’ve never touched her,” I admitted. It was true. I hadn’t, no matter how much I’d wanted to. I’d taken precautions to keep my identity hidden, but somehow, Valentina knew.
Damn drama queen.
Her glare told me she’d get what she wanted. She wasn’t trying to seduce me, I knew, yet there was no way out of it. She just wanted to know how I felt about Liam’s daughter so she could blackmail me for money.
