“You can’t just—” she began.
“I can,” he said, shutting the door behind him with a deliberate click. “No one saw me coming.”
She rose so quickly the chair scraped against the floorboards. “Austin?—”
“Sit down.” The words came out rougher than he intended, edged with something he hadn’t meant to show. Deena immediately obeyed him. “Have you been pretending this entire time?”
“What are you on about?”
He stepped forward. “Yes or no?”
“I have never pretended with you! It is you who has been pretending.” She crossed her arms over her chest, causing her breasts to plump up deliciously.
She’s distracting me. The temptress!
“That’s not what I heard.” He looked down at her and begged his body not to react.
Deena scoffed. “Maybe I should have pretended.” Her voice trembled as she continued and lifted her chin. Her eyelashes fluttered angrily while she gazed up at him. “I should have used every moment to dig deeper, to find whatever my blackmailer wanted. But I didn’t. And now…now my friend and I might be ruined.”
Austin let out a humorless bark of laughter. “Why didn’t you just betray me, Dee?”
“Because I couldn’t!” she said simply.
“Did you write a new article?” he asked her.
“Yes, but it needs some work.” He froze and saw the ink on her hand and the quill on her desk.
What did she write about?
“I want to see the article before it’s published,” he demanded.
“The blackmailer will not be satisfied with what I wrote so far. Tomorrow, if he doesn’t get what he wants, he’ll expose the secret of the… friend I’m protecting. Unless I give him somethingmore. Something that proves you are?—”
“Illegitimate?” he finished, the word flat and ugly between them.
She flinched.
“When were you going to tell me, Dee?” His voice was rough with anger, and she looked up at him. There was fear in her eyes, but defiance in her lifted chin.
“Weren’tyousupposed to tell me this important bit of information before we made our deal?” She shot back.
“It’s not important.” He gritted his teeth.
Deena laughed humorlessly, standing up, and this time she began to pace. “Not important? Austin, you could lose everything!”
“Deena, I’m warning you now. That rumor needs to be buried and never brought up again.” He glared at her and spoke firmly. Deena stopped in her tracks and pursed her lips.
“What do you suppose we do?” she asked him after a moment of tense silence passed between them.
“It seems like we need to write something so scandalous we’ll hear the gasps across London.”
“I can’t.” Deena shook her head.
“You can and you will.” He closed the distance until only a breath separated them. “Don’t you dare give up now.”
She backed up until her shoulders met the wall. “You don’t understand. Writing about you makes me feel so…guilty.”
Austin planted one hand beside her head, caging her without touching. The other hovered near her waist, close enough he could feel the heat of her body through her gown. “If you’re tired of playing this game then walk away.”
