Undercover Lover Read Online Free PDF Page B

she began.
    In that sweater? In that makeup? He could still see the glitter on her lashes from the eye shadow she’d tried to minimize.
    “Nobody’s there on a Saturday night and I thought I might catch a movie or grab a drink afterward,” she explained, reading his skepticism.
    He pursed his lips in an effort to school his expression. She was too good at intuiting his thoughts.
    “You’d said you weren’t going out. Hadn’t rung up the driver.”
    Face flushed, she stammered, “I—I forgot.”
    Bullshit.
    He remained silent, giving her room to dig herself deeper.
    “The doorbell rang and I went to get it.” She took a deep breath and blew it out, telling him this was where the crux of her lie centered. “It was the Wilsons. They were standing in the dark hall, so I let them in.”
    “You opened the door when you couldn’t see who was standing on the other side?”
    She glanced to the left and then back to his face. She was about to lie again. “Yes.”
    If she’d been telling the truth, he’d have chalked her up as too stupid to live and washed his hands of her then and there. As it was, the jury was still out.
    “Did they know you were living in Mr. Tallis’ flat?”
    “I said hello to them when the movers were bringing my things in last week.”
    Movers… “What was the name of the firm you used?”
    “Johnson Brothers?” Her brow furrowed and he resisted the urge to smooth out the lines with word or touch. “I’m not certain. David hired them.”
    “Why did you move in with him? You said you work, right?” He didn’t have to ask the latter question. He already knew the answer—both where and for how long. It was the former that interested him.
    “There have been letters. Threats. One mentioned me. He thought it best that I stay at his place where there’s better security.” She laughed. Bitter.
    For the first time since he’d started observing her for Tallis, he couldn’t detect a sparkle in her eyes. “Go on.”
    “I work for Maley and Markinson as a CPA. I started a few years ago as an intern to get my license, and stayed on.”
    “Did you notice anything odd about the movers? Did they have unsupervised access to Mr. Tallis’ flat or your room?”
    “I wasn’t watching them the entire time.” Another focused frown pulled at her features. “Do you think they planted the bug?”
    “Could be. I’ll run some checks—see how long these blokes have been in business.” He made a note before returning to the topic he needed to pursue. “Now. Back to the Wilsons. Did they tell you what was in the hall or did you look for yourself?”
    She fidgeted with the hem of her sleeve. “Well, it was dark, and we had to get a flashlight.”
    “What did you see?”
    “A smashed lighting fixture. The table overturned. Flowers and water on the floor.”
    “How did you get that cut on your hand?”
    Pink cheeks turned a ruddy red. “I tried to pick up the broken glass.”
    Not giving her time to react, he leaned forward and claimed her hand. Contact with her bare skin nearly drove him to his knees—clouded his common sense with a need to be near her, no matter the reason. No matter the ruse.
    Their eyes met, held, as he tugged her hand toward his lips with a gentle, unyielding grip. Flipping it palm up, he watched as the black of her pupils swallowed the gold-flecked brown—knew without a doubt she was aroused when her breath quickened to little gasps. All from a brush of his lips against the soft skin at her wrist.
    God, she was so responsive. So willing. He wanted to taste her—to take her—this little liar with her parted lips and pounding pulse. Resisting her pull, he curled her fingers inward to examine the bruises and scrapes marring her knuckles. A sweep of his thumb across the marks had her moistening her mouth in invitation.
    He leaned in.
    She sagged toward him.
    With sensuality that didn’t need to be forced, he whispered against candy lips, “Liar.”
    Her mouth formed a