Roman nodded, then immediately made a phone call to ask
his men to withdraw.
Only then did I let out a full sigh of relief. I turned, picked up the drugged gla*s of wine, and handed it to Roman.
“Roman, would you like to have a drink with me?”
“Drink with you?”
Roman raised an eyebrow. Now this…this isn’t what he had expected from the little spitfire human.
Perhaps she’d come to her sense after all…
He strode back over to her, leaning down to scent her hair above her ear. “Have you changed your mind? Are you willing to let me touch you?”
She bristled, and her body stiffened. “Beta Starke, I’ve already told you I don’t want to sleep with you. Our deal was that I would get you the project and you wouldn’t have s ex with me. Are you going back on your word?”
Ah, it was back to Beta Starke now. This woman was going to give him whiplash, her demeanor shifted so quickly.
“Then why do you want me to drink with you?”
“I wanted to thank you. After all, you let me go twice in a row.
Not only did you not touch me, but you also trusted me, a mere human. At the very least, I should offer you a drink as a gesture of my gratitude.”
She should be grateful, Roman thought, her words having worked to fluff his ego a bit.
“In that case, I’ll have a drink with you.”
He took the wine she held out to him, noticing that her fingers were trembling. Narrowing his eyes, he took the gla*s but didn’t drink it. Instead, he examined Taya.
Tapping into his wolf’s senses, he perused her with his heightened vision. He took in the way her chest was rising and falling just slightly too fast. But what really betrayed her was the s tink of fear.
She disguised her emotions very well for a human. Not good enough for a wolf, though.
“You can drink it first.” Roman handed the winegla*s back to Taya.
Roman watched as her pupils dilated ever so little, imperceptible to someone without his enhanced senses.
There was definitely something wrong with the wine.
The little human somehow managed to steady her beating heart and pretended as if nothing had happened. She took the winegla*s, raised her head, and took a sip.
“I can’t afford expensive wine you’re used to, so I asked the hotel to send a bottle within my budget. It doesn’t taste good. If you don’t like it, I’ll ask the receptionist to bring a different one.”
After saying that, Taya turned around, walked up to the phone, and made a call.
Her action quickly dispelled Roman’s doubts. Before the receptionist could answer, he stopped her.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had cheap wine. Maybe I’ll like pretending to be poor.”
Roman gently took the gla*s from her hand, lightly licked the lipstick mark on the rim, and then drank.
As he swallowed, he observed Taya’s expression.
This time the earlier telltale signs of deceit and fear were gone.
Nevertheless, he wasn’t a f ool. He’d been around long enough to have a gained a healthy distrust of everyone. When you were born into a leadership role in a powerful, you were born with enemies.
Roman was cautious, only taking a sip before putting down the gla*s.
I didn’t expect him to be so difficult to deal with. Appealing to his ego always did the trick, but I needed him to drink more.
If he didn’t drink enough of the sleeping pills, I wouldn’t be able to take him down.
Add to that…a stranger was hiding in the bathroom. If he saw that I had killed someone, I might be unable to escape.
This was a mess.
And Roman had no intention of letting me go.
He put down the gla*s, grabbed my hand, and sat on the sofa. Once he was seated, he dragged me onto his lap, trapping me.
One of his di sgusting hands reached out to touch my thigh, inching higher and higher.
I was no match for him unless the sleeping pills kicked in, and I was pretty sure he hadn’t had enough.
“Beta Starke, didn’t you promise not to touch me?”
I squirmed in his lap, trying to wriggle my way out of his arms so I could stand. All that did was cause him to smile, his wolf gleaming amber in his eyes.
“Why ever would I let you go?”
Everything was going to sh it.
All of the plans I had so carefully made, thought out for so long…ruined thanks to the stranger currently hiding in the bathroom.
If he hadn’t pretended to be Roman and stirred up trouble first, I wouldn’t have been so nervous that my hands trembled. I was sure that was what had given me away. I’d been around wolf shifters long enough that I had learned to suppress many of my bodily reactions, their enhanced senses so good at picking up any little thing.
What should I do now?
Was Roman going to r ape me?
As I was starting to panic, Roman’s phone vibrated and interrupted his hand’s leisurely crawl up my thigh.
“Beta Starke, your phone is ringing. You should answer it in case it’s something important…”
I took his momentary distraction as an opportunity to push Roman away and get off his lap.
Luckily, he didn’t say anything and didn’t stop me, but the look on his face told me that he wasn’t done with me, and he wasn’t worried about me getting away.
He took out his phone and looked at it. When he saw the number on it, he quickly answered.
His demeanor completely changed. Gone was the cocky,
rough wolf and in its place was a formal, respectful tone.
Who had called that would elicit such a drastic change in him?
Never mind. I could use these moments to try to figure out my next move.
Roman glanced at the contract while speaking. “Is there a problem? Why didn’t I find it?”
I couldn’t hear what the person on the other end was saying,
only Roman’s responses.
“Now?” After a pause, he added, “Okay, I’ll be right there.”
No, no, no.
If I didn’t carry out my plan tonight, I’d be done for after the official Westen City project bidding meeting tomorrow!
Before I could try to stop him from leaving, he picked up the contract, put his arms around my waist, and kissed me.
“I have something urgent to deal with. Wait here for me.”
Oh, this just might work.
Since he hadn’t slept with me yet, he’d have more reason to come back.
I could wait a little longer…