by herself, in her name.”
He’d asked me to secure it for a coin collection, giving me a locked case to store.
Mierda,
he had the key! What was actually in it? What was his ace?
Edward continued, “No one but her has ever accessed it, and her fingerprints are the only ones on the case. She fought constantly with her mother and was the sole heir to a fortune.
Means, motive, opportunity, and a murder weapon. One word to the police, and Ana-Lucía’s done.”
They’d killed my mother; they’d framed me for it.
When they’d stopped talking and started kissing, I’d decided to get answers, one way or another—
“Katya?” Máxim was studying my face, as if trying to read my thoughts.
I forced a smile. “Just thinking.”
It happened, it hurt. . . .
I shook away my memories and said, “My mother was very strict.”
“So you rebelled? Is that how you got into escorting?”
No, that was how I’d let a monster into our lives. I cleared my throat. “A story for another time. Are you close to your parents?”
His gaze slid away. “Both died when I was a boy.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “What’s
your
earliest memory?”
“My mother singing. She rarely did, but she had a lovely voice.” Changing the subject, he said, “Did you do well in school?”
“Straight A’s. I couldn’t get enough math, used to do puzzles for fun. What about you? What was your favorite subject?”
“Debate.”
“Already a politician?” I turned on my side, facing him. Now our conversation seemed even more intimate.
“But no longer. Maybe I’ll go into business with my older brother, if he’ll have me.”
“Why wouldn’t he?”
“We were estranged. He left home when I was young, and I resented him. For years, he’s suspected that I had malicious intentions against him. I can’t say that I didn’t at
the time.”
“That’s sad. But no longer?”
“We’re speaking, which is an improvement. I’m close to my younger brother,” he said. “Do you have any siblings?”
I hesitated. Sometimes I imagined tidbits of my information being fed into a search engine. It would spit out my name if given enough variables.
Sevastyan already had several: Spanish-speaking female, approximately twenty-six, no college degree, deceased parents.
Would I now add
only child
? “I’m sure my family is boring compared to yours. Let’s talk about something more exciting.” I raised my flute again. Downed so
soon?
He readily poured. “Like what?”
“Sex?”
“I’m going to make a blanket statement: I like ours. I’m fairly certain you do too. Tonight, you’ve repeatedly touched my back. You even scratched it earlier.”
“
Perdón!
” I’m sorry! “Did I hurt you? I forget myself with you.”
Factory shutdown.
“What if I do it again, Máxim?”
The left corner of his lips curved up. “I didn’t say I wanted you to stop. I thought it would bother me, but it doesn’t. I knew you’d forgotten yourself, and I relished
every fucking second of it.”
I exhaled. “You scared me. I thought you were going to have to put mittens on me.”
“That’s your worry?” He reached for me under the blanket, laying a casual palm over my hip, his thumb lazily stroking. “I expected the scars to bother you.”
“They don’t. I’ll grow accustomed to your back—but I will
never
get over your ass.”
He gave me that glorious full smile of his. I reached over and placed my hand on his face. “I love your smile.”
“Everyone says I’m charming, but I don’t smile or laugh naturally. I think to myself,
Would now be a normal time for someone like me to show amusement?
Then I force
myself to react, as people do when a camera turns to them. But with you, it’s unconscious. I just respond.”
“Truly?” His smile in person
did
look different from the one I’d seen in pictures. Those never engaged his eyes. I leaned forward to kiss him, but when my lids slid
shut, the world went off-kilter. I drew back.
He’d asked me to secure it for a coin collection, giving me a locked case to store.
Mierda,
he had the key! What was actually in it? What was his ace?
Edward continued, “No one but her has ever accessed it, and her fingerprints are the only ones on the case. She fought constantly with her mother and was the sole heir to a fortune.
Means, motive, opportunity, and a murder weapon. One word to the police, and Ana-Lucía’s done.”
They’d killed my mother; they’d framed me for it.
When they’d stopped talking and started kissing, I’d decided to get answers, one way or another—
“Katya?” Máxim was studying my face, as if trying to read my thoughts.
I forced a smile. “Just thinking.”
It happened, it hurt. . . .
I shook away my memories and said, “My mother was very strict.”
“So you rebelled? Is that how you got into escorting?”
No, that was how I’d let a monster into our lives. I cleared my throat. “A story for another time. Are you close to your parents?”
His gaze slid away. “Both died when I was a boy.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “What’s
your
earliest memory?”
“My mother singing. She rarely did, but she had a lovely voice.” Changing the subject, he said, “Did you do well in school?”
“Straight A’s. I couldn’t get enough math, used to do puzzles for fun. What about you? What was your favorite subject?”
“Debate.”
“Already a politician?” I turned on my side, facing him. Now our conversation seemed even more intimate.
“But no longer. Maybe I’ll go into business with my older brother, if he’ll have me.”
“Why wouldn’t he?”
“We were estranged. He left home when I was young, and I resented him. For years, he’s suspected that I had malicious intentions against him. I can’t say that I didn’t at
the time.”
“That’s sad. But no longer?”
“We’re speaking, which is an improvement. I’m close to my younger brother,” he said. “Do you have any siblings?”
I hesitated. Sometimes I imagined tidbits of my information being fed into a search engine. It would spit out my name if given enough variables.
Sevastyan already had several: Spanish-speaking female, approximately twenty-six, no college degree, deceased parents.
Would I now add
only child
? “I’m sure my family is boring compared to yours. Let’s talk about something more exciting.” I raised my flute again. Downed so
soon?
He readily poured. “Like what?”
“Sex?”
“I’m going to make a blanket statement: I like ours. I’m fairly certain you do too. Tonight, you’ve repeatedly touched my back. You even scratched it earlier.”
“
Perdón!
” I’m sorry! “Did I hurt you? I forget myself with you.”
Factory shutdown.
“What if I do it again, Máxim?”
The left corner of his lips curved up. “I didn’t say I wanted you to stop. I thought it would bother me, but it doesn’t. I knew you’d forgotten yourself, and I relished
every fucking second of it.”
I exhaled. “You scared me. I thought you were going to have to put mittens on me.”
“That’s your worry?” He reached for me under the blanket, laying a casual palm over my hip, his thumb lazily stroking. “I expected the scars to bother you.”
“They don’t. I’ll grow accustomed to your back—but I will
never
get over your ass.”
He gave me that glorious full smile of his. I reached over and placed my hand on his face. “I love your smile.”
“Everyone says I’m charming, but I don’t smile or laugh naturally. I think to myself,
Would now be a normal time for someone like me to show amusement?
Then I force
myself to react, as people do when a camera turns to them. But with you, it’s unconscious. I just respond.”
“Truly?” His smile in person
did
look different from the one I’d seen in pictures. Those never engaged his eyes. I leaned forward to kiss him, but when my lids slid
shut, the world went off-kilter. I drew back.
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