Two Can Play (Celeste and Dominic) novel Chapter 252

Chapter 252

Emerson was there, standing by the fireplace with a glass in his hand. He looked exactly as I remembered, tall and broad- shouldered, his suit charcoal gray and perfectly tailored, his dark hair swept back from a face that belonged on magazine covers, He smiled when he saw me, a slow curve of his lips that did not quite reach his eyes, and he crossed the room with easy strides to take my hand.

He lifted my hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to my knuckles, his eyes holding mine the entire time. Up close, he was even more striking. Strong jaw, sharp cheekbones, a nose that looked like it had been broken once and healed slightly crooked, giving his face character it would not have otherwise had.

“Seraphine,” he said, his voice low and warm. “You look more breathtaking than you did a few hours ago.”

“Thank you,” I said, and I let my own smile show as I said words I didn’t get the chance to say before. “You have a beautiful home.”

“It’s just a house. It’s the people inside that make it a home.”

I almost laughed at that, at how perfectly practiced the line was, how smoothly it rolled off his tongue. But I kept my composure, kept my smile soft and my eyes bright.

Then I noticed the other man.

He had been standing in the shadows by the far bookshelf, half hidden by the angle of the light, and when he stepped forward, I felt my breath catch in my throat. He was tall, just as tall as Emerson, with a leaner build and lighter hair, a golden blond that caught the firelight and turned it into something almost ethereal. His eyes were a pale gray, the color of storm clouds, and his suit was navy blue, perfectly fitted, and when he smiled, it was slower than Emerson’s, more deliberate, like he was savoring a secret he had not yet shared.

He walked toward me with the same easy confidence, took my hand, and pressed his lips to my knuckles in the same gesture. But his kiss lingered a fraction of a second longer, and when he looked up at me, there was something in his eyes that made my stomach tighten.

“Emerson has told me so much about you,” the man said.

“She would belong to both of us,” Emerson continued, his tone still light, still conversational. “If you agree, of course.”

I looked at him, then at Shane, then back at him. I had felt it the moment the number on my phone screen had seemed too good

to be true. But even knowing that, even seeing the catch laid out in front of me, I could not bring myself to care. They were paying, and they were paying well. And I had sold my body for far less to men who had given me far less in return.

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