At His Mercy by Erika Masten Read Free Book Online

with me, almost idly.
    “That’s not for me to say,…sir.”
    “Mm, back to the villa with you then, Miss Bloom. I will be along presently.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    He caught my arm as I started to walk away without looking at him. His fingertips skimmed down my forearm before curling around my wrist, leaving trails of goose bumps on my prickling skin. I had to wonder if it was healthy, feeling…feeding and indulging such a strong hunger for a man I didn’t love and who didn’t love me. Without the context of romance, without the structure of everyday life, it felt wild, uncontrollable, straining me at the seams.
    Adrian let go when I looked up into his eyes and gave him the flirtatious suggestion of a smile. I took the opportunity to hurry away, through the service door, down the path to the villa. It was impossible not to think of doing this last night, in such a recklessly playful mood, before finding Nina Talbot in Adrian’s bedroom. Was I ever going to let that go? I knew now it wasn’t what it had appeared, but it still drew the taste of bile to the back of my throat. Maybe, after what happened between my parents, I’d just never be the trusting sort, the kind of woman who could shrug off a man’s causal comments and past associations instead of seeing them as signs and portents of betrayals to come.
    Just inside the door of the villa, I started to reach for the zipper in the back of my dress, as I noticed the shutter from the living room to the patio standing open. I was certain it had been closed when we left for dinner. Without turning on a light, I slipped out of my heels and padded quietly to the door. Daniel Vaz, in an even nicer black suit than the one he’d worn before, was standing beside the pool nursing a bottle of expensive imported beer. I tried to step out of the doorway without drawing his notice.
    “Olá?Miss?” No luck.
    I came back around the shutter and stepped through onto the patio, the stone surprisingly cool under my bare feet. Vaz reacted by brightening, smiling broadly and loosening his tie just a bit.
    “Mr. Vaz, I believe. Good evening.”
    The man gave me a little bow. “Muito plazer. You are?”
    “Chloe.” Keeping my distance, I asked, “You’re looking for Mr. Knight?”
    “I am.” He produced his cell phone from his breast pocket and held it up. “In fact, I had just sent a message asking me to meet me here.”
    Eyeing Vaz warily, but trying not to be obvious about it, I took a few steps closer. The wind that had come up from the ocean was shaking the leaves and rustling the boughs, making our exchange sound like a conversation cutting out over a bad connection.
    “What did you think of the eco park plans?” I tried to ask, getting it into my head that I might be able to talk up the project to the investigator, if he was anything shy of an outright con man. But the wind hissed over me, even when I stepped closer to Vaz and tried to repeat myself.
    The man shrugged helplessly at the interruption and smiled. I motioned with on finger for him to follow me and led him back into the villa, the flurry playing havoc with the layered skirts of my dress all the while. Inside I closed the shutter and flicked on a small lamp.
    Turning, I began again, “I was asking—”
    I found Vaz an inch from me, almost upon me. His grin was not exactly a leer, but his dark eyes glinted with a distressing level of interest. “Even after his generosity today, I was not expecting Knight to send yet another…” Vaz’s fingers came up under my chin. “Rare delicacy. The man knows how to impress.”
    My hasty step back resulted in me awkwardly stumbling against the shutter. “Mr. Vaz, I think you have to wrong idea.”
    “Do I?” His fingertips were toying with one shoulder of my dress, testing the feel of the chiffon. “About this project? Mr. Knight? Or you?”
    I breathed out a nervous giggle, shrugging off his touch. “Perhaps all three.”
    “Shh,” Vaz hissed gently and tried to