Her Billionaire's Murder Mystery - Stephanie Fowers Page 0,26
his long fingers. She kept her distance. She could see there was nothing else on that paper. “I guess we’ll find out,” she said. “Where are the cameras?”
Dominic crumpled the paper and tossed it to the floor. “They’re only sending uss away to make us all be susspects. No camerass needed.” His black eyes glittered in the darkness.
How long did she have to stay out here? She shifted on her feet and tried to pick a safe topic. “So who do you think will get murdered tonight?”
“Murdered?” He squinted at her, then his face twisted sourly. “Wanna know who I’d pick?” He leaned heavily against the bottle he set on the table to stand up, swaying slightly. “I ssee the way he lookss at you. Ssame way he looked at her. She’sss dead you know. Dead.”
Was he still talking about the Murder Mystery? She glanced uneasily at the door as Dominic blocked her from the exit. She stepped back until he had her cornered against the railing on the balcony. “He ssstole the girl I loved. Only fair I sssteal you.”
“Dominic,” a low, gritty voice drifted from the door. “I told you not to drink.”
Charly saw Aaron behind Dominic’s shoulder as he swerved around to face his cousin. “It’ss only fair! Only fair.”
Aaron’s brows rose and his eyes shot to Charly. His face changed to fury in an instant. “Charlize? I didn’t see you there. Is he bothering you?” Before she could answer, Aaron’s hands found Dominic’s jacket and dragged him back from her. “I can’t trust you for a second.”
“Lemmmee go! I’m just having fun. It’sss a party.”
“Get out of here! I don’t want to see your face again tonight!”
Dominic scowled at Aaron, then ripped from his grip to catch Charlize in his same hateful look. He thrust a finger into Aaron’s chest. “You’ll be ssorry!” He lurched into the brightly lit pub.
Aaron didn’t watch him go, just went to Charly. His strong, reassuring hands went over hers. “I’m so sorry. I just thought I’d better check up on Dominic before he caused a scene. I had no idea you’d be here.”
The cousins were so completely different, not just in looks, but in temperament. Aaron didn’t try to keep his distance from her while he tried to comfort her. She felt like melting into his arms and tried to fight it. No, no, this is completely wrong. I’ll never let him use me to cheat on his girlfriend. Aaron wasn’t completely innocent in all this. Didn’t Dominic accuse Aaron of stealing his girl? Charlize’s only defense was to put her hand on his chest to stop herself from burrowing closer to him and smelling that cologne she loved so much. “Aaron.” With difficulty she kept her voice stern, when all she wanted was to let him kiss her... because that’s what his eyes promised, even if he didn’t know it. “No, we can’t,” she said. “You have a girlfriend.”
His forehead creased. “No, I don’t.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Aaron had been so furious at Dominic that he almost didn’t catch what she said. Was his imaginary girlfriend the reason Charlize had pushed him away all day?
She looked confused. “You’re dating Veronica.”
Suddenly everything started to make sense. He had a vague memory of Veronica in his room last night when Charly had helped him back. “No, no, I’m not. I’m not dating anyone.”
Her fingers slid from his chest as she dropped her hand between them. “You aren’t? But why was she in your room?”
“She’s my personal assistant, so she’s just trying to manage me. She’s not that good at it. I still somehow sneaked out to meet you. I’m glad I did.”
“I’m glad you did too,” she admitted, her eyes on his lips. His heart lurched. He had some experience with how females worked—nah, he had a lot—not that he’d ever use it to take advantage of the situation—but he could tell that Charly discovering he didn’t have a girlfriend had changed things.
“You are glad?” he asked.
She nodded.
He’d been meaning to kiss her since they’d stumbled against his bedroom door. And now he felt drawn to her more than ever. Her eyes twinkled up at him, and he slid his hands behind her neck and went for her lips. Those beautiful lips parted in a surprised smile, and he explored their softness with his mouth before tracing a line of kisses to that deep dimple in her cheek. Her arms slid around him and he felt like she belonged against his chest.