Deception (Carrington Hill Investigations Book 1) by Kate Allenton Read Free Book Online

said of her being an heiress.
    “Not really, you have anything better?”
    She worried her bottom lip. She’d always had a completely plausible cover given to her. Not once had she needed to come up with her own. Trip reached over and slid the pad of his thumb against her lower lip. “You’re going to leave a mark.”
    She lifted her hand and removed his hand, which was now firmly planted on her cheek. “Sorry, bad habit.” It was official; he wasn’t allowed to touch her again. All rational thoughts flew out the minute he made contact. “Do you like to jog?”
    “Yes.”
    She glanced out the window at the passing buildings, looking for any distraction that would erase the image of his hard, sweaty body after a good run. It didn’t work. “We met at Verna Beach while we were both out for a jog. We immediately hit it off, and you proposed, unable to live without me.” She glanced back at him. “You’re impulsive, right?”
    He studied her for a moment. “I’m not sure they’re going to buy that, Lexi.”
    Hell , she was the one who was going to have to snap out her lust stupor for their story to be believed. Seriously, what sane woman gets married after just meeting a guy on the beach? They were going to think she was a bimbo for sure. She grinned at the thought, thinking that was exactly what she wanted them to think. “Sure they will….soul mate and all. You’ll just have some pretty convincing acting to do.”
    He reached for her flute , set it down next to his and slid closer to her. “Lexi, if we’re going to pull this off, I can’t have you flinching at my touch or my kiss.” He placed a palm on her cheek. “You’re going to have some pretty serious acting going on too. As newlyweds we’re not supposed to keep our hands off each other.” His gaze dropped to her lips, and she wetted them in sweet anticipation.
    Lexi’s lips tilted up in a grin. She slid over to Trip, bunched her skirt up her legs, moving it out of the way, and climbed on top of his lap, running her fingers through his silky strands. “Mr. Hathaway, you’ll find out that my acting skills are beyond reproach. How does this work for you?”
    Sw allowing the anxiety in her throat, she leaned down and pressed her lips to his; enjoying it more than she should. She convinced herself it was just a perk of their charade. No harm, no foul. And she knew the minute she’d made the wrong assumption. There was no hesitation on either part. His hands came up to caress her back as he kissed her back with his hot, hungry mouth. Her body instinctively leaned deeper into his embrace. Erotic images of them under tangled sheets floated in her mind. She hadn’t had to play the part of lover yet in her career and probably would never do it again, but something inside felt right about doing it with Trip. Love? Hell no, but lust… She could work with lust.
    She needed to solve this case and fast before lust turned into something more deadly like love; giving Trip an opportunity to not only break her heart but crush it into tiny pieces and stomp on whatever was left. She pulled back, breaking the sensual connection. “Does that scream happy newlyweds? Did I pass the test?”
    He cleared his throat while keeping a firm grip on her hips. “This might be harder than I thought.” His voice thickened. “It’s going to be easy to forget the real reason why you’re here.” He ran his hands up her back, caressing her through the sheer fabric of her dress. His brows dipped, and the intensity of his gaze sharpened. “It was quite convincing. Have you had to do this before for your job, Lexi?”
    His words doused her rising hormones . He might as well have just called her a slut and dumped cold water on her to cool her off. Was he asking her if she’d had sex or used her body to break a case? She’d never let herself get in that position before. She’d always found a way around having to use her body to bag the bad guys. She slid from his lap and