Con Man: Complete Series Box Set: A Bad Boy Romance (10 page)

I
listlessly set
up a row of paints on one of the shelves Leticia had provided for me. Normally, I loved this part of the con, the preparation, the excitement of what was to come. Plus, I always enjoyed the opportunity to make art. Instead, my head was full of Karis and her cursed lips.

It had been a little over a day, and I still couldn't stop thinking about that kiss. I knew I needed to get my head on straight, but I just couldn’t push her out of my mind. She was like a disease, infecting every part of me until she was all I could think about, dream about.

“I see you’re settling in nicely.”

I looked to the door, surprised to see Leticia there. I'd been so absorbed in my thoughts of Karis that I'd completely forgotten I was in my target’s house and had a character to maintain. I recovered and shot her the most grateful smile I could manage. Fortunately, I'd had a lot of practice lying to marks.

“I really can’t thank you enough for providing me such an amazing space,” I gushed, making probably a few too many hand movements. I needed to cool it. I was playing a gay artist, but not a caricature. I'd done this part before, so it should've been easy. Man, I was so off my game. “The lighting, the atmosphere, the grounds. Wow. Just wow!”

She laughed, but it was such a polite, perfectly poised laugh that it grated against my ears. Everything about this woman was carefully sculpted to appear good to those around her. It made me wonder what I’d find when I chiseled a little deeper. Like most of the societal elite, I had no doubt there was a persistent sense of superiority in her that made her feel like she was better than the poor she exploited. It was one of the reasons I had so few qualms about conning the rich.

I almost faltered but managed to hide it behind a cough. I
had
to get myself together.

She, however, didn't seem to notice. “I’m off to a charity luncheon, but I'll return later today to see you out. My maid, Angelina, will be here should you need anything. And of course, security is stationed outside at the gate if there are any problems with that...ex of yours. If you have any questions, feel free to ask any of the staff.”

“Oh goodness, thank you.” I considered giving her a hug but decided that it'd be too over the top. I contented myself with another smile.

“You're very welcome, young man. I can’t wait to see what you get started on with the proper room to breathe.”

“Me too, ma’am.” She didn't seem like the type who'd appreciate me calling her
Miss
in an attempt to make her sound younger.

She gave me a soft smile. “Please, call me Leticia.”

“Of course, Leticia. And again, I can’t thank you enough.”

Her hand flew through the air in a dismissive gesture. “It’s fine. Really. I’ll see you later this evening.”

It was a relief when she whisked out, leaving me to my easel, canvas, and paints. I intended to use them whenever I had the chance, but I also had versions of several paintings in various states of progress in case it didn't look like I was getting enough work done in the time she'd given me.

I pulled out one of the partial paintings and set it up while I took the next half-hour exploring my little space. I needed to know every nook and cranny, but I wanted to make sure that Leticia was really gone before I started exploring the rest of the place. I knew of too many in-home cons going wrong because the grifter didn’t wait long enough, and the target returned for a forgotten purse or set of keys. I may have been half-stupid over my encounter with Karis, but I wasn’t
that
stupid.

It would probably be easier than I thought to scout the place anyway. I'd anticipated there being more hired help to dodge around. I figured it would be relatively easy to avoid them, and if I was caught while snooping around – as long as I wasn’t doing anything too incriminating – I could always claim I had gotten lost trying to find the kitchen. Or the bathroom.

I frowned. Speaking of which, where was the bathroom? It was actually the best place to learn all sorts of information about a mark. Medicines, perfumes, shampoos, conditioners, dyes, they all told a story that could be used to further a grift.

There was probably a guest bathroom on the bottom floor of the opulent mansion where I was currently being housed, but that would only tell me Leticia's opinion of the majority of her guests. I needed to get to the master bath. It would be easy enough to take the guest bathroom out of commission, then have to use the top one, but that wasn’t a day one task. Before I could do anything else, though, I needed the layout of the house.

I'd looked up what blueprints I could, and by looked up, I'd cashed in a favor from yet another one of my hacker friends who owed me one. But I knew there were bound to be details not included in the official records, and it was those details that interested me. I knew enough to know that details could make the difference.

Hands in my pockets, I strolled out into the hall connecting what I best could describe as the charity wing to the main house. I catalogued everything, using the brains that should've gotten me into Harvard or Yale. For the most part, it was predictable. The occasional plant, portrait, statue. All very elegant and stylish, but utterly devoid of actual passion. It was so by the book that it was enough to make me yawn. Sure, I loved the finer things in life, but what was the point of amassing such a collection if she didn’t actually enjoy them? Better to have bad taste and love it than great taste and not care.

Then again, I had developed quite the taste for chaos over the years. Maybe I just didn’t like how orderly and clean everything was. Either way, the place made me feel unsettled.

And being unsettled made me think of Karis.

Hell, everything made me think of her.

I growled in frustration and rounded the corner into what looked like the kitchen. Almost instantly, I heard a startled yelp and a clatter. Turning my head, I saw a young woman standing in the doorway opposite me, a teapot in her hand, and a serving platter on the floor.

“Who are you?” she asked, eyes wide.

I took in her plain white polo, the yoga pants that showed off her considerable curves quite nicely, and the practical ponytail. Her accent wasn't thick, but it was there. She had to be the maid. “Angelina?”

She nodded, her expression still one of surprise and worry. “Who are you?”

I gave her a smile that was far more real than the one I'd given Leticia. The girl seemed sweet.

“Oh, I'm so sorry. Where are my manners? I’m Brody Martin, the artist to whom your mistress is graciously granting her patronage.” I gave a little bow with a grin to tell her that I was trying to be charming, not pretentious. “She told me I could find you for something to eat?”

I watched Angelina visibly relax. No doubt she was used to being constantly on edge for richer visitors who treated her poorly simply because she was the help. Now that she realized I was more like her than her employer, she wouldn't be quite as much on her guard.

“Of course, Mr. Martin. What would you like? Something healthy? Something...indulgent?” Her tone changed slightly on the last word.

I leaned over the counter and raised my eyebrow. Oh, she was going to be like that, was she? That put a whole new spin on the fun I could have while running this con. “Indulgent sounds...appealing.”

She blushed, but didn’t back down, instead letting her dark eyes run over my body, her expression telling me that she liked what she saw. I wondered how many of Leticia's guests this little minx had seduced. I had no problem pretending to be another of those.

“It is very forward of you, hitting on Miss Leticia’s employees your first day in her home.”

I grinned at her. “Well, can you blame me?”

She pulled her dark brown hair from her ponytail, letting her hair tumble over her shoulders. She raised one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows. “But it would be very unprofessional if I reciprocated in any way,
sí
?”

“Probably,” I admitted as I stepped around the counter.

“Then we must keep our distance. There are security cameras everywhere. For such an act, someone would want privacy.” Her eyes glinted with a deviousness that I wouldn't have expected from someone who looked so innocent. “Privacy such as one would have in the study.”

“I supposed it's a shame we’re not in the study then, isn’t it?”

“It would seem that way for you, Mr. Martin.”

The way she phrased her words, the little shifts in her posture to show off her curves, all of them told me that this girl knew how to play the game. She might not have been a professional grifter like me, but she definitely knew how to use what she had to manipulate. And since I knew her tricks, she wasn't manipulating me. Everything between the two of us, while not even close to honest, would be done with our eyes open – so to speak.

She was the perfect woman to make me forget about Karis. Accessible, clearly not looking for a relationship or anything like that. If I judged her correctly, she'd be an excellent fuck, but wouldn't expect anything more.

Perfection.

“Miss Leticia keeps the sweets for the guests in the cabinet over there.” Angelina gestured. “Now if you will excuse me, I must finish dusting before Miss Leticia returns.”

“Thank you,” I responded blithely, trying my best to sound nonchalant. “And where might you be, should I need your assistance again?”

She looked at me over her shoulder, her face the very picture of innocence. “The study, of course.”

“Of course.”

I knew I should probably just let her go and use the time I knew she'd be in the study to finish surveying the layout of the house. If asked about it later, I could use my false sexuality as an excuse. That would've been the smart thing to do.

But after seeing Karis yesterday, I'd lost the sort of focus that I counted on to keep me from making mistakes. I needed Karis out of my head, and Angelina seemed like the perfect way to make that happen.

I watched as she walked down the hall, hips swinging. She definitely knew what she was doing. When she disappeared into what I assumed was the study, I waited another minute, and then followed.

When I entered the room, Angelina was leaning on the desk. Despite the outfit, she looked...delectable. I wondered what she would look like in a “traditional” maid outfit. The thought sent blood rushing south.

“It is strange,” Angelina said as I walked toward her. “Miss Leticia rarely allows men to stay in the house, especially handsome young artists.”

I needed to get a lie in here so Angelina didn't become suspicious if Leticia said something in front of her about Claude. “Well, that might be because Miss Leticia saw my boyfriend and me fighting.”

Angelina's eyebrows went up. “Boyfriend?” Now she looked confused.

“Yes, boyfriend.” I reached out and curled some of her hair around my finger. “I didn't share with your employer that I appreciate the beauty of both sexes.” I held a finger to my lips and winked. “Shh.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Martin.” Angelina reached down and pulled her shirt off, revealing a plain cotton bra that could barely contain her breasts. “Your secret is safe with me. I shall not breathe a word of it.”

“Good girl.”

I hooked one finger under her bra strap and pulled it down, then repeated the gesture on the other side, pulling until her breasts were free. They were full, heavy, the same even tanned color of the rest of her skin.

“Magnificent.”

I ran the tip of my finger around one dusky nipple, smiling as it hardened. She gasped when I lowered my head, taking the hard peak between my lips. Her hands went to my head, holding me in place as I licked and sucked on first one, and then the other. By the time I straightened, her skin was flushed, her breath coming in pants.

“My turn,” she said as she went to her knees.

Fuck, yes.

She had gorgeous lips, the kind that didn't need any sort of enhancement or extra color. The kind that made a man imagine what they'd look like stretched around his cock.

And I was about to find out.

She tugged my pants and underwear down together, leaving them around my knees as she wrapped her fingers around me, guiding me to her mouth. I was only half-hard, so she took all of me at once, going until her nose brushed against the dark curls at the base of my shaft.

“Fuck,” I ground out.

I put my hands on her head, but I was content to let her set the pace. Judging by the amazing things her tongue was doing, she knew her way around male anatomy. For the next few minutes, she continued to prove that, bobbing her head, using her tongue and lips over every inch of sensitive skin until I had to pull her off.

She wiped her hand across her lips and gave me a sultry smile. “Condom?”

I nodded and bent to retrieve my wallet. I was glad I'd left it in my pocket this morning. It would've been embarrassing to have gotten this far and then realize we couldn't go any further. No matter how turned on I was, I didn't fuck without protection.

When I straightened, I saw that Angelina had already pulled her own pants down and was bent over the desk, exposing a firm ass and glistening pussy.

Damn. She really was into this.

I put on the condom and shoved the wrapper back in my pocket. I didn't want Leticia finding it in the study and think I'd been...well, I'd been doing this. Or, at least, something like it.

I put one hand on Angelina's hip and used the other to line up. I started out slow, but then she pushed back against me, and I was deep inside. I gave her a moment before I started to move, letting my hands explore her breasts and lower. This wasn't making love, but there was no reason we both shouldn't enjoy ourselves.

I didn't draw it out, but I did take the time to use my fingers to make her come first. While she was still quivering around me, I finished myself off with several hard thrusts, letting the sensations send me over the edge where there was nothing but pleasure. No con. No mark.

No Karis.