Even Villains Fall in Love by Liana Brooks Read Free Book Online Page A

like to eat a little more? Do you read my mind
or something?”
    “No, I...” He fumbled for the right thing to
say. Groveling looked like the only option. “I was mistaken. I
apologize. Do you want me to make something else for you? A
sandwich or some soup?”
    “Wow,” she said in a flat voice. “You really
know how to show a girl a good time.”
    Evan fell back on the tried-and-true. He gave
her a sexy smile. “I never said I was a cook, baby. But I always
give you a good time when you want one.”
    She went rigid, shoulders back, eyes narrowed,
just as he had feared she would. “Don’t touch me. I don’t want
anyone to touch me.”
    “I won’t,” he said, holding his hands up in
defeat. “Not without an invitation.” He gave her a smoldering
glance that worked eleven times out of ten. Nothing. “Look,
Tabby-cat, I want to—”
    “Don’t call me that. That’s not my name.” She
turned away, rubbing her temples.
    “Tabitha, is your head hurting?” Was sudden
aggression a sign of a concussion? He couldn’t remember.
    Her hands dropped to her side, fisting as she
pivoted. “There is nothing wrong with me!”
    He sucked in a deep breath, pushed his temper
back down, and tried again. “I know I made a mistake.”
    “You bet your butt you did.”
    “But we have something I don’t want to lose.
We’ve had good times together. We’re happy together.” He smiled at
her. “Think of all the good times.”
    The bed creaked as she sat down. “I don’t
remember any of that. All I remember is lies.” She pulled her knees
to her chest and looked at the floor, tears welling in her
eyes.
    Evan froze, torn between rushing to her and
respecting her request not to be touched. Cowardice won out. “I’ll
go get my, uh, watch. I left my watch in the living room. I assume
I can still sleep in the bed? The couch is a little short.”
    Her lips curled in a sneer. “I couldn’t get paid
to care what you do.”
    Ouch. “Be right back.”
He closed the door gently behind him and ran for the
lab.
    “Hert!” He looked around the disaster zone.
Minions were carefully labeling and sorting the remnants of the
Morality Machine, but his minion-and-chief was absent. “Hert?”
    “Master?” Hert’s bulbous head appeared from
behind the bulk of the machine’s base.
    “Do you have everything for the Morality Machine
sorted out? Can we fix it yet?”
    “Not yet, Master, but the continuing tests on
the election machine are going very well. I have some promising
data.” Hert scuttled across the lab to grab his clipboard.
    “Not right now. Is the Agree-With-Me Ray
running?”
    “No, Master.”
    “Turn it on, full blast. Aim it for my
room.”
    “Sir?” Hert frowned in puzzlement.
    “It might work on Tabitha long enough for me to
fix the Morality Machine. I just need to convince her to give me a
second chance. She fell in love with me once, it can happen
again.”
    Hert frowned. “It’s meant to handle simple yes
or no statements, sir. I don’t know if it will have the desired
effect.”
    “I don’t want desire. I want her to agree to
forgive me until I get the Morality Machine fixed. Turn it on.” He
grabbed the watch that contained the smallest version of the ray on
the way out of the lab.
    The lights were already out in the bedroom and
he tiptoed across the carpet. Evan could feel the faint pulse of
magnetic waves. Tabitha’s scent struck him in the dark—a lush
promise of fantasy fulfillment. He wanted nothing more than to slip
under the sheets, hear her giggle, and feel her naked body wrap
around him. With a strangled groan, he dropped into bed. Tabitha
moved under the covers, the sound of cotton on cotton telling him
she wasn’t naked at all.
    He leaned over her in the darkness, put his lips
to her ear, and whispered, “I love you.”
    She didn’t answer.
     
     
     

Chapter Nine

    I proposed to Tabitha the second time
we met. I had spent the intervening months stalking her, searching
for a