Deadly Seduction by Selene Chardou

strange look of both resignation and pity. “We don’t have to talk about this right now. Believe me, I’ve gotten the pep talk from Ronan and I won’t abandon you. At this point…the legal separation was the best I could do. With our luck, your divorce would have been fast tracked so the state could get a hold of Brianna’s testimony. I am not trying to…end what we have before we begin but try to see the situation from my point of view.”
     
    “Believe me, I am. I realize even if I wasn’t going to be in trouble, I don’t look like the hottest catch right now. I’ve got two children and a crazy old lady I am merely legally separated from…not exactly ‘hot stuff’ material.”
     
    She glared at him. “Those are your hang-ups, not mine. I certainly wasn’t silly enough to think you would allow Brianna to take the kids. She obviously isn’t capable of living without a man, and Lord knows what those two children will be forced into.” Gisela sighed out loud. “Let’s just take it one day at a time. Shall we? You get through tonight and we’ll discuss what happens tomorrow…well, tomorrow. That is the best I can do for you right now, is that understood?”
     
    “Yeah.” Cillian stood and handed the paperwork back to her. “Listen, I have to get ready and the meeting is going down in less than a couple of hours. I hoped we would have more…time…to discuss everything but that doesn’t seem like it will be the case and I’m sorry for that.”
     
    He turned his back on her and she suddenly said, “Please wait.”
     
    He stopped and as she approached, the scent of Pure Poison filled his nostrils and he found himself once again in that state of enthrallment as she stepped in front of him. Her business suit was smart, expensive and tailored with a skirt that barely ended above her knees. She looked professional, intelligent and way too damned sexy to have her body pinned up in such upscale attire.
     
    “Listen, I just want you to know that I do care about you and love you still. Not that you don’t already know that.” Her hands touched his chest covered by a white tee-shirt but he could still feel the heat radiating from her palms. “Be careful tonight and if you think there is a possibility of any kind of set up…walk away. It’s not worth it if I am going to end up on my own and those two children who love and worship their father end up without you.”
     
    “Please tell me you inserted some kind of Rider about custody in the paperwork—”
     
    “I did. Desmond and Bronaugh will get full custody if something should happen to you but still…Dec and Cait…they want you to raise them—not their grandparents.”
     
    Cillian leaned into her and caught the scent of Garnier shampoo in her freshly washed hair. He was still half a foot taller than her even though she wore a pair of nude four-inch heels that went well with the caramel colored suit she wore. Her olive toned skin radiated health and warmth. There wasn’t a flaw to be seen on Gisela except for maybe the carefully hidden tattoo he’d had her get for him almost fourteen years before.
     
    The artist in question, Sean, had been reluctant knowing who her family was, and how much Raymond would come down like the wrath of God if he only knew. However Gisela had sworn him to secrecy and promised no matter how much her father beat her black and blue, she would never give up his identity.
     
    She was feisty, even when she’d been fifteen, and over the years, her personality traits were that much more apparent.
     
    Cillian knew he had to leave before he ended up doing something he would regret. He kissed her forehead and allowed his lips to linger longer than necessary before he pulled away and began to walk out of Gisela’s office.
     
    “Babe?”
     
    He stopped in his tracks and turned around to face her again. She hadn’t called him that in more than fourteen years. “Yeah, Butterscotch?” he wondered, using an old