Vicious Seduction

20

His lip arced in a sneer. “The f**k is wrong with you, Byrne? You’re not the man you used to be.” Jesus, he was right. I’d lost my goddamn mind. I released Casper and paced for a second, letting the cold air clear my head. “Look, I wouldn’t have asked if it wasn’t important. I swear on my life none of this will ever come back to haunt you. In fact, you do this, and I’ll owe you.” He straightened his coat and scowled at me. “Fuckin’ pain in the ass. It’s too fuckin’ cold for this,” he muttered, then barked, “When?” “About two weeks.” “You’ll owe me. Big.” He pointed at me, brows raised for emphasis. “Yeah, Cas. I’ll definitely owe you.” Finally, I could breathe. “I’m outta here. I’m sure you’ll be in touch.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and marched down the sidewalk away from me, muttering under his breath about “f*****g family” and “shoulda known better.” I didn’t care so long as he held up his end of the bargain. Tomorrow, I’d strategize the rest of my attack. I’d devised this plan as a backup, hoping it wouldn’t be necessary, so I hadn’t worked out all the details yet. It would be a busy two weeks between my new plans for Lina and my ongoing efforts to destroy Wellington. Hopefully too busy to second-guess myself because what I was about to do had the potential to backfire in my face. Certain gambles were worth the risk, and Lina was one of them. I didn’t see Lina for five more days—an entire week since our kiss. During that time, I’d embraced a cool resolve to see my plans through. I’d done nothing but work on my plans because anything less left me with time to think about what she might be doing with Wellington. I couldn’t bear to dwell on those thoughts. I refused to even pull up her GPS. It would drive me insane. I’d even debated showing up to Wednesday dinner at the club. In the end, I couldn’t stay away. I needed to see her, but something dark and scaly slithered beneath my skin when I did. It wasn’t seeing her that bothered me; it was seeing the way Wellington hovered near her at all times. Touching her. Claiming her. Something had changed. I didn’t know what had gone on between them, but something was different, and I f*****g hated it. When dinner ended and people gathered in the gaming room, I went straight to the bar and got a whiskey neat. I wanted to down it in one go, but the drink wasn’t for me. Smiling, I joined Lina and her psychotic date. “You up for a game tonight?” I asked Wellington. “Not tonight. I’ve been out of town for several days and want to spend some quality time with Lina. We’re just staying for a drink before we go.” “That’s too bad. I was hoping to talk to you about a visit I’d had with Donati this weekend.” It was bullshit. I hadn’t talked to Renzo, but Wellington didn’t need to know that. “In that case, let me get a drink, and we can talk.” He nodded and made for the bar. I immediately leveled Lina with an arctic stare. “When he comes back over, you will excuse yourself to go home and change, and you will stay there the rest of the night. Should Wellington offer to take you home, you will urge him to stay and talk with me. Is that clear?” “What?” she asked with wide eyes. “Why would I do that?” I lifted my glass until it was flush with her breast, then mechanically poured its entire contents down the front of her dress. Her jaw dropped, arms going out to the sides in shock. “Go home, Lina,” I instructed harshly one last time. “What’s happened here?” Wellington returned with exceptional timing. “Oh, Lina. I’m so incredibly sorry. What a clutz.” I snagged a cocktail napkin off a nearby table and tried to pat at the golden stain down her creamy sheath dress. Finally collecting herself, Lina snatched the napkin and shooed my hands away. “I’ve got it. It’s no problem. I’ll just run home and soak the dress before it sets. Is that okay, Lawrence? I don’t want to keep you two from visiting.” “Yes, you need to clean yourself up. We’ll talk tomorrow.” “Okay. I’m so sorry.” She gave him an apologetic smile, then shot daggers in my direction before stepping away toward the elevator. Just wait, Lina. You’ll really hate me when it’s all said and done. But she’d be safe, and that was all that mattered, right? Right. OceanofPDF.com CHAPTER 14 LINA If I believed in a god, I’d have said he was pissed at me. And I’d have had definitive proof that God was a man because women had too much s**t going on to find time to be so vindictive. I mean, really. What other explanation was there besides the universe colluding against me? Something had prevented me from seeing Lawrence for two weeks straight. Each time I made plans with him, something had come up on his end or mine. After Oran spilled his drink on me, I spent the next two days confined to my apartment, unsure whether I had the stomach bug from hell or had eaten something rotten. The entire weekend was a wash. Lawrence ended up with unexpected business out of town the first half of the week, then Cosmo got word that a huge Parisian design firm wanted to see our work while they were in town and insisted both designers be present. I had to spend three days wining and dining them. Granted, the pitch had resulted in an incredible contract—more money than we’d ever pulled in before—but the timing sucked. Any excitement I felt for our success was leached of joy by my frustration and growing despair whenever I thought of the days slipping through my fingers. Lawrence and I both had other obligations during the week of Christmas. We weren’t close enough to spend that time together. Cosmo and I did a Christmas Eve celebration with friends every year, and I had spent Christmas Day for the past eleven years with Mama G. That wasn’t something I was willing to give up.