Pretty Wicked Read Online Free PDF Page A

second. An
easy conquest for the great Miko Barokas. He slid into the chair
that Nigel had vacated. I took another sip of my drink and eyed him
over the rim of my glass. His golden skin radiated sensuality. I
wanted to touch it. I licked my suddenly dry lips and glanced at
his large hands. They lay relaxed on the table. I thought of them
moving on my body in a long, slow massage.
    ‘ You have all my
attention,’ I murmured.
    ‘ So do you, Lexi Johnson.
So do you.’
    The way he said it brought a surge of wild
color to my face. I swallowed and pretended that he didn’t have
such a strong effect on me. I tried to calm the fast pace of my
heart and reminded myself that he was the enemy. This was the mean
boy who humiliated me and forever changed the course of my life. I
let my eyes drop to the table—it was impossible to think when I
gazed into those bottomless pools of black ink—and my eyes fell on
the velvet box. My eyes flew up to meet his and they, too, were on
the box.
    ‘ Why did you come back?’ I
asked.
    ‘ I went outside to make a
phone call and I saw him pay the bill and leave.’
    ‘ So what now?’
    ‘ I’m going to have you in
my bed.’
    No, you’re fucking
not . I smiled seductively and raised one
intrigued eyebrow. ‘Really.’ My voice was cool.
    ‘ Yes, really.’
    My eyes swiveled over to the table where my
colleagues were sitting. Janey was staring at us, her mean, dried
up, sex-starved mouth set in a straight line of unconcealed hatred.
Here was another truth I had refused to confront—my boss hated my
guts. There’ll be big trouble in the office tomorrow.
    ‘ Don’t tell me you don’t
feel it too?’
    I brought my eyes back to him. I had never
seen eyes more impenetrable than Miko’s. There was nothing there
but a blank wall and a stated lust. He wanted the beautiful me, not
the real me, the freak me. I thought of Nigel, his eyes full of
desire, disappointment, admiring, laughing, sad. But what color
were his eyes? I could not remember. That’s because I only
remembered him in black and white. The only eyes I had ever really
looked into and remembered vividly were Miko’s soot-black eyes. So
black they swallowed all the other colors around them. Everything
became pale and inconsequential in comparison.
    ‘ I want you too…’ I said
very softly.
    A waiter came up to the table, caught my
eyes, and winked slyly. He turned his attention to Miko. ‘Can I get
you something, sir?’
    ‘ No thank you, I won’t be
staying,’ Miko threw over his shoulder, not taking his gaze off
me.
    ‘… but I work for you,’ I
finished.
    He frowned. ‘I don’t see that that matters
either way. Although, technically you don’t. You happen to work for
one of the companies I own.’
    ‘ Right.’
    Around us ‘Come Up and See Me (Make Me
Smile)’ by Steve Harley boomed. Miko’s lips quirked. He really did
have the most beautiful lips I had ever seen on anybody. Ever. The
top lip was slightly plumper than the lower lip and it was so red
it was as if he was wearing lipstick or had just eaten a bowl of
cherries. I thought about biting his mouth.
    ‘ I ordered that song
specially for you,’ he murmured.
    I laughed and his eyes narrowed. The
laughter died in my throat. Whatever it was between us it was like
tinder. Extremely flammable. I had to be careful. I did not want to
perish in the flames.
    ‘ I’ll give you a ride
home.’
    ‘ Thanks, but I live only
five minutes away from here. The walk will do me good.’
    ‘ It’s late. Allow me the
pleasure.’
    ‘ Fine.’ I picked up the
blue box, dropped it into my purse, snapped it shut and stood. As I
neared him his hand touched mine. The inconsequential contact
stirred a deep, fierce hunger within me. His fingers drifted up my
arm. I looked into his eyes and was shocked to see the intensity of
his need. The magic of desire swirled around us.
    Take control, Lexi. Take
control .
    I shifted away from him. The space made a
difference. My senses