d’Artagnan eyes pierce mine right before he kisses my lips one more time, then he steps back, takes his hat off the table where he left it, tucks it under his arm, and takes my hand. “After you, Mother,” he says, and we follow her into the elevator.
She stands prominently in the middle. While he guides us through the others on board to the rear corner. The entire time his fingers flick the edge of my hemline, teasing me, reminding me of the hot sex we had in here earlier. When I pinch his arm to make him stop, he reaches under and slides a finger down my slit. My breath hitches with the tingle that surges over my clit, and I’m thankful again, I have on the pearl-trimmed thong.
When the doors open, Tiara walks out first, and I take a step to follow, but d’Artagnan pins me against the wall again and kisses me. I hear a man say, “I got ya, bro.”
Then Tiara says, as the doors close, “For fuck’s sake!”
Chapter 14
d’Artagnan
Rapunzel pushes me away, and I let her. Walking over to the panel, I press the roof button. “We need to talk.”
She crosses her arms. “Yes, we do.”
I pull my phone out and show it to her. “That first text, did you read it?”
She nods, “Obviously.”
“Did you believe it?”
She looks away, surprised by my question, shrugging her shoulder. “I guess so.”
“There is only yes or no. Either you did, or you didn’t.” I wait for her to decide.
“Okay, I did.”
“Good, because I meant it then, and I mean it now.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t understand.”
The elevator reaches the roof, and the doors open. Positioning my cover, I exit first. The night air is crisp but not cool. The sky is clear and full of stars. I scan the area. There are five cars on top. None of which have occupants. We are alone.
She walks over to the edge and leans against the wall, looking up.
I ask her, “What do you think of when you see the night sky?”
She shrugs. “I see the twinkling lights of billions of stars. What do you see?”
“I see the ability to move covertly. The moon is not out.”
She turns to look at me, then nods. “Duly noted. You’re a different breed of man.”
“I am. I don’t play games, Rapunzel. I fight battles, and I fight to win the war.”
She bites her lip and asks, “So, you’re fighting for something?”
“I’m fighting for financial freedom for myself and Cathy.”
“So, the fake fiancée is part of your strategy?”
That term presses my lips together in a hard line, and I walk over to her, take her hand with the engagement ring, and hold it between us. Then I lift it to my lips and kiss it. “Now, princess, that’s the tricky part. You see, when I bought this ring, I intended to give it to an actress I hired to be my fake fiancée. We would marry before my thirtieth birthday and then divorce shortly after that.”
“Why?”
“My father left a trust fund, but I have to be settled down and married before my thirtieth birthday. Otherwise, it returns to his estate, which Tiara controls.”
Her face is unreadable, then she looks down at the ring. “So, what happened to the actress?”
