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Seduce the Playboy 67
The only chance to save her was to leave. And wasn’t that what all of this had been about anyway? Saving her?“I just need to go home,” I said, reinforcing my decision.Joe nodded. “I want to go back to Chicago.”“You want to keep investigating Vilanakis.”“I do.” He took a bite of his steak.I tried not to be disappointed. Joe wasn’t my only option to get home. He was just the easiest.“But I need to go back to LA first. Take care of a few things before I head anywhere else. Wanna ride?”“Really? Even if I might draw attention from the man you’re after?”“Sure. Why not?” He was a smart man. He knew what kind of burden I’d be. “When could you leave?”Though I knew that it was the right thing to go, I still let myself search for reasons to stay, even one day longer.I couldn’t find any. “As soon as you like.”“Tomorrow?”“I’ll start packing as soon as we get back.”While Joe settled the bill, I told him I’d meet him in the lobby and excused myself to go to the restroom.On my way out,
Seduce the Playboy 68
My breathing grew shallow and I jumped as the elevator announced our floor. Again Petros laughed then nudged me out the door, following close behind. My eyes darted back and forth as we walked down the hallway, hoping to find a route of escape or a hotel maid or a guest who could help me. But there was no one, and soon we had stopped in front of a pair of double doors.Petros raised his hand to knock, but I stopped him. “Joe is just downstairs. He’ll be worried when I don’t return. He’ll call Reeve and he won’t be happy if anything happens to me.”“I’m sure that’s true, Blondie. But, in case you haven’t figured this out, my father doesn’t give a flying fuck about anyone’s happiness but his own.” His words settled heavily over me as he rapped on the door in a peculiar little rhythm that I suspected was some sort of code. I also suspected it would be changed to something new the minute I left.After a few seconds, the doors opened, and a petite, Middle Eastern–looking woman in a simple
Seduce the Playboy 69
Despite all that, he was polite and hospitable. “I’ve heard so much about you, Emily – may I call you that?” He didn’t wait for my response. “It feels like I already know you.”My skin prickled, and I had to scold myself to keep composed. He doesn’t know me. It’s his way of manipulating the situation, making me feel both welcome and uncomfortable all at once. I’d seen this trick played before. I wouldn’t let it get to me.“I wish I could say the same. I feel, however, like we’re perfect strangers.” I hoped it was a good move, dismissing any knowledge of him as if he were insignificant.His smile fell slightly. “Well, we shall get to know one another now. For me, it’s an honor to finally meet the face behind the name. Or should I say, behind the voice.”“I’ve heard that one before, I’m afraid.” I sighed. As if I were bored.“I’m sure you have.” He lost the grin altogether now. “I wasn’t going for originality. I was going for an icebreaker. Can Petros get you anything before he leaves?
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Had he left me vulnerable? Could Michelis really see what he claimed he saw?My hesitation gave too much away, and he slid into the opening I’d left him. “Seriously, tell me, Emily. I’m intrigued. How are things working out with the three of you?”Don’t answer. Don’t give anything away.“Are you girls sharing him equally? Or does he have a favorite?”I shook my head ever so slightly – not an answer, but a plea for him to stop hedging, stop closing me in.“It’s you, isn’t it? I bet that makes Amber crazy.”“Don’t talk about us like you understand anything.” But my breathing was heavy and my voice frail.“Ah, I see.” He grinned, as if he’d scored, and he had. “You don’t want to share at all.”There it was, my biggest secret of all. My most shameful wound. I could blame Amber all day long for the reasons we’d given up our threesomes and never be lying. She’d been the one who’d decided that those were over.But she wasn’t the only one who wanted a man of her own. I did too.And now all Mi
Seduce the Playboy 71
His hand dropped, and he stepped away from me.My entire body sagged in relief, as though he’d been pressing a giant weight against my chest and now that he’d removed it, I could finally breathe.“Our conversation is over, isn’t it?” I was desperate to leave and find Joe. Desperate to get back to Kaya. To Reeve.Before he could answer, a cell phone rang in another room. Michelis put up a finger, indicating for me to keep silent, as he seemed to try to listen to the conversation.It was too low and muffled for me to make out a single word, but I was also pretty sure the language being spoken wasn’t English. It was less than thirty seconds before the call ended.“Petros?” Michelis called out.His son stepped into the room. “It’s done,” he said, and though I had no idea what he was referring to, I felt a menacing dread settle on me like a heavy cloak.“Wonderful.” Michelis’s eyes brightened as he turned his focus from his son to me. “Yes, Emily, our conversation is over. I trust you’ll a
Seduce the Playboy 72
I stood quietly until Joe gave the attendant his ticket. As we walked to the line to wait for his car, he asked, “But what did he want from you? Did he tell you anything about Amber? About Reeve?”“Funny, you should ask.” A breeze blew by, and I shivered, but it was quite possible I might have shivered anyway. “He wants me to convince Reeve to talk to him. I guess Reeve hasn’t been receptive to such a conversation in the past.”“I wonder if that’s what his e-mail to Sallis was about.” Joe furrowed his brow. “Will you convince him?”“To talk to Vilanakis?” It hadn’t occurred to me that I had any other choice. “Yeah. I have to try. For Amber’s sake.”Even as I said the words, I chided myself internally. Always for Amber’s sake. When would I start doing things for my sake?“It doesn’t seem like this is about Amber at all, though. If she’s just a pawn, then what is this really about?”It was hard for me to think of Amber as anything less than a queen, but I put thoughts of her aside and c
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The only thing that made Reeve’s smug smile tolerable was knowing that I planned to leave when Joe did. Something told me now wasn’t the time to tell him.As Joe’s taillights faded into the distance, Reeve pulled me back to the passenger side of the Escalade. He opened the door, and half pushed me inside as he said, “Get in.”I climbed in with a scowl that deepened when he jerked the safety restraint across my body. “I can strap my own seat belt, thank you very much.”“Forgive me for not being confident in your ability to make wise decisions regarding your safety.” He tightened the strap to the point of discomfort then, with a contemptible expression on his face, he slammed the door.I’d expected he’d be mad. Reeve hadn’t wanted me to leave the ranch at all and, even though my encounter with Vilanakis wasn’t exactly my fault, it proved his concern had been warranted.But the depth of his anger was uncalled for. Especially when I’d potentially been in danger. Especially when it had bee
Seduce the Playboy 74
“Yes!” It was the first time since we’d left The Four Seasons that I felt he might really consider what I was asking. “Talk to him. That’s all. Will you talk to him?”He met my gaze head on. “No.”“Please, Reeve?” Blinking back emotion, I laid myself bare. “For Amber?”His expression softened. “Not even for you, Emily.”His words hung in the air, with all the sweet and sting of a backhanded compliment.And it dawned on me that it didn’t matter if he loved both of us, because he didn’t love either of us enough.At least he seemed remorseful as he turned off the engine and unbuckled his belt. “Stay here,” he said softly before slipping out of the car.Numbly, I watched him unlock the office door and disappear inside. The blinds were closed so I couldn’t see what he was doing inside, but I could tell he hadn’t bothered to turn on the light. Darkness followed him – it was there, in the room where he’d gone. Here, where he’d left me. My eyes closed, and I let the gloom settle in like a pai
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