Page 23 of Silk and Sirens

“Cut the bullshit. You’re working,” I said, the words edged like a warning.

She smiled, and it tore through me like a fucking storm. “You really don’t think much of me, do you?”

“I think you don’t do anything without a reason, sweetheart.”

“Yes. The reason being I needed a new financial advisor,” she said, rolling her eyes as she went to step past me. “Maybe you should concentrate on the whereabouts of your product, rather than me.”

I stilled. How the fuck …

Her eyes flicked past my shoulders, and I nearly growled for her to look back. The urge was irrational, unwelcome. I shouldn’t care where her attention went.

But before I could respond, her skin drained of colour, panic flaring in her eyes. I turned, scanning the room for whatever had drawn that reaction.

A soft palm cupped my cheek, forcing me to turn back before her lips claimed mine.

I hesitated for a heartbeat, just long enough to recognise what she was doing. Anger shot through me like lightning, at the thought she’d try and use this as a way to get to me.

But rather than let her win, I was willing to play her game. One I had no intention of losing.

Surging forward I drove her back against the wall, reclaiming control. One of my hands palmed the side of her throat, pinning her in place, while the other sunk into the long strands of her hair.

Irritation and desire knotted together, sharp and volatile, and something in me snapped. I kissed her hard, ruthless, taking everything she offered just out of spite.

Her breath hitched, her pulse racing against my palm as I tightened my grip just a little in warning. She let out a soft moan, and I swore under my breath as my cock reacted. Shoving myself away, I broke the contact before I did something even stupider than kiss her back.

Fuck.

That wasn’t supposed to happen.

She looked at me, her skin flushed and her lips parted. Seemingly almost as surprised as I was.

“Aeris?”

She froze at her name, the earlier panic reappearing. Then she closed her eyes, composing herself. It was unusual, that crack in her armour. Aeris was effortlessly confident. Seeing it falter, even for a second, felt like glimpsing a weakness she would never willingly show.

Which made me want to press the fracture and see how deep it ran. To watch her lose that perfect balance and see the real woman beneath the glittering façade and practiced seduction.

“Aeris?” a man growled again, and this time I finally turned, putting myself between them.

Tristan Murdock stood with a sour expression, his eyes narrowed as they flicked between us. He was the public face of the Crown Prosecution Service, a courtroom bulldog with a reputation for relentless convictions, and had tried on more than one occasion to take us down.

He’d built his name on locking up the most dangerous criminals in the country.

So why the fuck was he standing at a private mixer filled with them?

“Mr Ackworth,” he grunted in my direction. “If you’d please give me a moment alone with my daughter.”

Chapter 11

Aeris

What was the point of Caden being built like a wall if he couldn’t even shield me from my own father?

“Tristan,” I greeted cooly, but only because ignoring his existence would provoke a reaction I had no patience to deal with.

His jaw tightened at the deliberate use of his name, but he let it pass. Instead, my sperm donor glanced at Caden, and I almost laughed at the clear animosity between them without either uttering a single word. Tristan had that effect on people. There was a reason he was good at what he did, his presence alone enough to unsettle even the most seasoned criminal.

Thankfully, Caden didn’t scare easily. I was almost grateful he’d positioned himself between us, though I knew it had been instinct, not sentiment.