Sweet Southern Betrayal by Robin Covington Read Free Book Online Page B

ass.”
    “And if they knew she was a showgirl who sells sex toys on the side?” She kept her voice bright, but Teague didn’t miss the edge of defensive vulnerability in her tone. Hell, he’d just insulted her and it wasn’t his goal to make her feel bad. It wasn’t her fault he’d lost his mind.
    “Their egos couldn’t handle the jealousy, so I can’t tell them.” He nudged her with his shoulder where she peered over his shoulder at the computer screen, chuckling with relief when she laughed in return.
    “So, what are we going to do about this whole mess?” she asked.
    “Well, it looks like I can file the annulment papers, and in about twenty days it will be a done deal. If you can hang around for a couple of days, I’ll get the paperwork filed and then you can get back to your life.” He could also call in a few favors and get any record of the marriage and the annulment to disappear, but he’d wait on telling her that until he firmed it up. Teague turned his head to gauge her reaction and found himself nose-to-nose with Risa, close enough for him to count the silver highlights in the mossy green depths of her eyes and the myriad colors and shades making her fiery hair shine under the lights.
    Her eyes were clouded by sadness—there was no other word for it—and something else he couldn’t quite describe. She was upset and he couldn’t suppress the urge to do or say something to comfort her. She’d come a long way to deal with this situation in person when she could have handled it over the phone. He knew she was smart, sharp-tongued, and gorgeous, and now he could add considerate to that list.
    “I didn’t thank you for coming out here to tell me in person.” Teague reached over and grasped her hand, their fingers lacing together in a perfect slide.
    Risa swallowed, glancing down at their joined hands before reconnecting with his gaze, her sadness replaced with something much sharper. He felt it too—the zing of electricity that radiated from the skin-on-skin contact—no big surprise when he considered just how they’d ended up in this mess. Desire, even if he didn’t remember every detail of their one night together, was not their problem.
    In spite of every cell of his brain screaming for him to ignore his baser instincts, the molten slide of lust in his blood made his cock ache. He leaned in closer—or she did, it was hard to tell when all he could focus on was the warmth of her breath on his cheek and the proximity of the hot, wet pleasure of her mouth. He swayed into her, a breath of separation between them, all the crazy emotions of this situation living in that space between “yes” and “we shouldn’t.”
    “Like I said”—Risa swallowed again, her voice huskier than usual—“it isn’t something you should tell over the phone. And I needed to get out of town for a few days anyway.”
    His lawyer senses tingled with her choice of words, but he kept his voice even. “Needed to?”
    “Oh, just a few days to get away from it all. Stress, that kind of thing.” She withdrew her hand from his, using it to cover her mouth a little as she spoke. Risa had a tell—not a good thing for a place like Vegas. She was definitely lying about something.
    Alarm bells went off in his head.
    Risa was from Vegas. Risa worked for Tony Giambetti. Tony was a man who created the kind of trouble that caused people to have to leave town. It wasn’t that big of a leap to deduce that a gorgeous woman like Risa who had to leave Vegas might be running from a guy like Big Tony.
    “Does Big Tony have anything to do with why you had to leave town? Anything to do with this situation?” Teague asked as the thought jumped into his mind. Risa jumped as if she’d sat on a live wire, her whole body going rigid and her skin turning a scary shade of pale. He’d bet that he had at least part of this right.
    “I’m—” She swallowed hard, her hands trembling as they rose to cover her mouth again. “What