Free Undercover Seduction by Gemma Hart

could hear bones crunch.
     
                  It wouldn’t do either of us, Halle or me, any favors if I had.
     
                  No matter this unique draw I felt to Halle, I couldn’t have others think that there was something special between us. That kind of talk would immediately work its way up to Roy and the last thing I wanted was to give Roy another thing to use against me.
     
                  Especially if that thing was Halle.
     
                  Feeling my body finally loosening up and my cock returning to a more manageable pressure, I swiftly left the dining room to follow Halle up.
     
                  But as it turned out, I didn’t need to go very far.
     
                  Standing only three steps up from the foyer, Halle was leaning her head against the banister, one heel dangling off the step as she precariously balanced herself in the odd position.
     
                  I huffed a laugh and shook my head as I walked towards her. She certainly could drink stiff brandy like a pro but that definitely didn’t mean she knew how to hold it.              
     
                  “What are you doing?” I asked, standing on the foyer behind her.
     
                  “Admiring your marble stairs,” she mumbled, still hunched over. “What do you think?”
     
                  I ran a hand down my chin, trying not to laugh. This girl had some balls. There were very few people who would dare talk to me like that. And even fewer after witnessing me punch a man onto his back.
     
                  “Do you think you could save that for tomorrow instead? Why don’t you admire the porcelain of your toilet instead?” I said, coming up behind her and raising her upright.
     
                  Halle winced as her eyes were pulled away from the darkness of her arms. “Oh god, I think I might just have to,” she groaned. She tried to take a step up but swayed alarmingly before falling back.
     
                  I caught her swiftly in my arms, her body molding against me as if it had been made specifically for me.
     
                  “Jesus, woman,” I said hefting her up and nearly chucking her over my head. “You need to eat more. You hardly weigh anything.” But Halle ignored me and instead burrowed her head into my chest.
     
                  She was a soft weight in my arms and I carried her easily up the stairs. With every step, I felt myself feeling the true weight of my attraction towards this woman. It was so strange. So surreal. I hardly knew her.
     
                  And yet, there was something so undeniably alluring about her. She was a bag of contradictions. She was shy one moment, then flirtatious the next. She was ballsy and then frightened. She was quiet but she was also funny.
     
                  I had wondered in the beginning if she had been trying to land the un-landable Marco Desmond. I had experienced more than a fair share of women who had come into the Family for that express purpose. I could pick them out from a mile away.
     
    But if that really was her goal, she was certainly taking a route never tried before. Very few women got so drunk that they could barely bat an eye at me. That usually wasn’t very conducive for strategic flirting.
     
                  I reached the second floor and headed towards the east wing.
     
                  But I realized, if I truly cared about her, I couldn’t let my feelings get the better of me. At least, not anymore than they already had. In fact, if I had really wanted her safe, I wouldn’t have stepped back into the dining hall.
     
                  The quicker she was scared away by the Desmond Mafia, the better.
     
                  Working for the Desmond Mafia was a gamble at best. And right now,