Hard to Get (Killer of Kings Book 4)(19)

“This is way too fancy,” she whispered.

Shadow led her inside where he followed the hostess to their table. “This is the one I requested?” he asked.

“It is, sir.”

He held out her chair, and she sat down, watching the flames of the candle flicker when her foot nudged the table leg. To her right, she heard live piano and violin.

Shadow sat across from her. “Thank you for coming on such short notice.”

“I was just surprised since you disappeared after that night in my backyard.”

“My work is complicated, but I promise I’d rather be with you,” he said.

She smiled. “No offense, but I tend to be skeptical. I haven’t exactly had good experience with men.”

“I have no reason to lie.” His eyes were deep pools she could get lost in, and she craved to know every secret.

“Then tell me something about yourself. Everything about you is a mystery. I want to know the real you.”

“You don’t want to know him.”

Riley tilted her head. “Of course I do,” she said. She thought of something to ask. “How did you get the name Shadow?”

He paused, then slowly bit his lower lip. “It’s just a name.”

“Did your mother give it to you?” Why was he so afraid to open up to her? It seemed she finally met someone more secretive than she was.

The waitress came with water. Shadow immediately grabbed his glass and took a drink. “My boss gave it to me. A long time ago.”

“It suits you.” She didn’t pry further on the subject, but she wasn’t done with him. “Have you been married before?”

This question didn’t seem to upset him like the other. In fact, he smirked, a deliciously sexy tilt of the lips. “No, I haven’t been married.”

“Children?”

He shook his head, then looked at his menu. She decided to look at hers, only to find it was in French. When she glanced over at him, he had the same devilish smirk.

“Need help?” he asked.

“Maybe a little. I’m not interested in eating snails or duck liver.”

The waitress returned to see if they needed help with their order. Shadow spoke in fluent French, which surprised her. “Did you want a glass of wine?” he asked her.

“Sure. Whatever you’re having.”

When the waitress left, she leaned over the table. “Are you French?”

“Just a language I picked up. I travel a lot for work.”

“I’ve never been out of this state.”

“Never traveled?”

Riley shook her head. Now that she thought of it, there weren’t many boxes checked off on her bucket list, but at least she had her bakery, and that was a big one. She didn’t need bright lights and luxury vacations.

“There are so many places I’d love to show you,” he said. “Maybe I will one day.”

All she’d ever wanted was a simple life. She’d expected to live it alone, but now she craved so much more … thanks to the man sitting across from her. Riley was terrified to get her hopes up, only to have them dashed. “Girls like me learn to let go of dreams. There’s no disappointment that way.”

“Don’t say that,” he said. He reached his arm across the table and held her wrist, and she held his. “Have big dreams. You deserve them.” With his free hand, he ran the backs of his fingers along her cheek. She closed her eyes, savoring this new level of intimacy.

When he abruptly pulled away, she swallowed hard and adjusted her dress. She’d completely fallen under his spell for those few minutes.

Shadow stared at another table, completely focused on the people being seated. “Riley, can you do me a favor?”

“Okay…” She supposed she owned him a lot of favors after the glass repair.

“Don’t look now, but I need you to read the lips at that table.”





Chapter Six


Shadow didn’t like using Riley, but at least he had an excuse to take her out to dinner. She looked so beautiful, and she had literally taken his breath away. For a split second he’d felt a little guilty that he was using her for his own means.

He believed the man currently having a business meal was his target, but he wanted to be one hundred percent sure.

Reading lips wasn’t his skill, but he knew without a doubt that it was Riley’s. She was an expert at it.

She glanced over at the table, and he stared at her neck. How would she react if he was to press his lips to her pulse? Would she shiver, and beg for more? Maybe kick him in the balls and tell him to fuck off? Or would she turn toward him and kiss him back?

He couldn’t get her out of his mind, and it was driving him crazy.

With the security cameras he had in her home, he knew what she looked like naked, and he liked what he saw. Nice big juicy tits, full ass and thighs. There was not a thing he didn’t like about her or her body.

She was intrigued by him, and damn nosy, but did that extend to physical attraction? Riley played her cards against her chest, and he didn’t have a clue where he stood. He wasn’t the typical playboy women flocked to. Most kept their distance.

“Why?” she asked.

“What?”

She frowned. “Why do you want me to read their lips?”