A Dom is Forever (Masters and Mercenaries #3)(86)

He reached out for her, but it was far too late. She stepped back as far as she could go, her back finding the wall. “Don’t. Don’t touch me.”

His hands dropped. “Let me explain.”

“Explain what? Explain that you lied to me?” He’d lied to her. He’d lied and not about something small and inconsequential. He hadn’t lied about his favorite food or whether or not he liked cats. He’d lied about his name. He’d lied about his profession. He’d lied about his whole life. He’d held her, slept with her, f*cked her every night for a week and she hadn’t even known his name.

“Yes. I lied, but I had reasons, love. This situation with your boss is bloody serious, and I don’t want you involved for another minute. I want you out of this. Avery, I want to protect you.”

“God, please put on some clothes.” She turned her eyes away. He was hard again, his cock jutting out from that perfectly trimmed nest of black hair.

He held his ground, but somehow he made a lack of movement seem aggressive. “What, love? You didn’t mind it a couple of minutes ago. Whatever you think, girl, you should know that this was always the truth.” He stroked himself with one hand, the other coming out to brace his body against the wall. His hand was planted inches from her cheek, forming an intimate half circle. “Avery, we don’t have to do it this way. I f*cked up. Let’s start over. We’ll get in bed and I’ll make love to you again, and afterward we’ll talk. You’ll see that this is a good thing. I’m going to take care of you.”

He was even more lethal now that he’d dropped the act. Liam seemed infinitely more deadly than Lee, and she’d thought he was devastating before. He leaned over, his lips almost touching hers. “Come to bed with me. I’ll make this right. I’ll hold you and tell you anything you want to hear.”

She pushed him away with all her might because that was what he’d been doing for a week. He’d been telling her what she wanted to hear and not a bit of it had been the truth. He’d used her. He’d used all that charm and zeroed in on her weakness, and he was trying to do it again. “I am not getting in bed with you.”

She had to get out of here. She still wasn’t sure what the hell was going on. It was a ridiculous story. The UOF was involved in arms dealing? Bullshit. Thomas was a peaceful man who had dedicated his life to saving people in impoverished countries.

Had she been right that first day? She’d thought he had ulterior motives. She’d thought he wanted money. Was this his way of getting it? Was he a con artist and this whole week had been an elaborate set up?

He sat back on the bed, pushing a hand through his hair. “God, I f*cked this up. Avery, you have to listen to me. This is getting dangerous. I want to protect you.”

Sure he did. Tears welled up. She’d cried so much today, but it seemed she had an endless well of tears to call upon. Maybe this would be the incident that finally hardened her. Maybe Lee Donnelly was the crack that she finally couldn’t heal so she armored up. She had to get out of this place. She had to get home. She couldn’t even go home because she’d given him a key. She was the idiot who’d given her conman a key to her apartment.

It didn’t matter. All that mattered was getting away from him.

“I want to go home.”

He frowned. “I think we need to talk. We can’t talk at your place. It’s bugged.”

Sure it was. Yes. Her apartment was bugged because she was so important. He thought she was a moron, but she couldn’t blame him. Everything he’d done had worked up to this point. Why not try a little more? “Fine. Then can you at least get dressed? I can’t talk to you while you’re naked. I want to get dressed and be civilized about this.”

His eyes flared, his mouth lifting in a sexy little snarl. He obviously wasn’t hiding anymore, or perhaps it was all just another part of the Liam/Lee show. He invaded her space again. She could feel heat rolling off of him. He was damn good at this part of his act. Every inch of her body lit up when he was this close, and her hormones tried to override her brain. “There is nothing civilized about this, Avery. I know that you’re mad right now, but don’t think I’ll be letting you push me aside. I handled this like a ham-handed idiot, but I’ll make it right. There are no more lies between us, and I won’t have anything else coming between us either. I’m going to get cleaned up, and we’ll go to the bar. You need a drink. God knows I do.”

He leaned down and kissed her. No light brushing of the lips. It wasn’t an attempt to persuade her. It was outright domination, and she couldn’t help but respond. The minute he touched her, she melted like warm chocolate. His tongue invaded, forcing her mouth open and rubbing against hers in a way that immediately got her hot. Her * didn’t give a crap that he’d lied. All it knew was that he’d trained her to respond. A week of near constant pleasure had done its job. Her arms came up, touching his waist.

“Avery, love, let’s not do this. Baby, I just want to protect you.” That musical voice sang along her skin as he pressed kisses on her face. His hands wound around her, hauling her close. “You mean everything to me. I won’t let you go.”

She was opening herself up to him. She was so stupid. “Stop it. You stop it now. I don’t want this.”

He took a step back, a fierce look on his face. A single finger came out and traced the rigid line of her nipple under the thin robe she wore. “This tells me differently, Avery. I bet your * is wet and slick and ready for my cock. I bet your * wouldn’t lie to me.”