Beneath the Velvet Lie I

fit like

d. It pooled at my feet like spilled ink and clung

idn't wear doubt.

collarbone. My curls had been straightened and pulled back into a sleek chignon. Smoky eyes. Blood-red l

My hands st

nding myself "you're not Leona Vale to

ncrypted phone b

SUV downstairs. Use your alias.

thing I had to backup. He'd built Reyna's online footprint from scratch. Given her a

s more than a soci

my wa

mirror and whispered to myse

tinted glass, designed to intimidate. The SUV slowed outside the grand entrance, where a red carpet unf

the cold New York wind curling around my bare sho

r Ventures has never appeared at Wolfhart eve

e. My voice, sultry and smooth, slid past my lips like silk. "Statem

, flash, let

earpiece stepped forward

er. You're cleared for

the marble steps like

and a string quartet playing something soft and dramatic. Waiters glided past

er eyes in three weeks. I scanned the room, he wasn't there yet; but I spotted his inner circle, Miles Grange, CFO, sleazy and always eyeing the

nd I had to act

voice behind me, deep an

and ther

es sharp enough to cut. His jaw was carved, his hair slicked back in effortless control. But

mile. "You must be

his hand. "Though I didn't expe

hand, Elect

rm, and warm, d

thly. "But I heard this one had particul

tery will have people think

get what

you

rous game of chicken nei

ng the main ballroom. Gold railings, velvet s

Lancaster. Tell me. Why tonight?" "Why not?" "You're not on the usual ci

be both?" He grinned, amused. "Then I'd

easured. He was testing me, but also admiri

ked, the glass gleaming in his hand. "I've se

r's estate. Quietly. We

form," he said. "Some

my voice. "Only the inse

ound that made my stomach ti

I like you, that's unf

e usually comes w

ow, intrigued. "I

idea who I was. No clue that I'd memorized his routines, watched hours of footage, hacked

if I was going to destroy him, I had to become his desire first. His wea

"Dance with me," he said

fingers into his palm, t

like fate and sin, and Cassian's hand settled on my waist like he'd k

mured. "And you're slow to

cause the man who hurt my

ll in love with the very