Spiraling Deception (30 page)

I licked my lips and smiled at him.
“Maybe.”

The limo pulled up to the venue. Roman
exited the vehicle and held his hand out to help me out of the car.
I absently noted he’d successfully evaded answering my
question.

The party was being held at the New York
Historical Society in the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library with its
spectacular neoclassical architecture, fifty-foot soaring vaulted
ceilings, and elaborate stained-glass windows. The room pulsated
with almost two hundred people, all of them elegantly dressed,
drinking and mingling when Roman and I walked in. To my surprise,
Seth shadowed us into the venue, dressed in a tuxedo, and fluidly
melted into the crowd.

My gaze swept the room before settling back
on Roman—he really did stand out from the crowd. His tall, regal
stature, strikingly handsome features, and commanding presence—he
was unique and he looked the perfect portrait of sophistication and
refinement in his custom-made tuxedo. My God—the man was
beautiful.

Roman peered down at me. His stunning
midnight-blue eyes narrowed slightly on mine and his top lip
twitched in amusement. “What?”

“
Nothing…it’s just…you
look exceptionally handsome tonight, Mr. Knight.”

He gifted me with a full megawatt smile and
his eyes softened. “And you, Miss Gilmore, look exquisitely
beautiful.”

I returned his smile and silently
congratulated myself on my wardrobe choice for this evening. The
dress I had on was a simple form-fitting strapless floor-length
gown, entirely made of shimmering silver taffeta. The back of the
gown had a flirtatious pleat from the knees down but other than
that, the dress was subtly demure and elegantly graceful. I’d
bought it last year for a wedding I had attended and although it
cost a small fortune, I loved how wearing it made me feel. My
blonde, waist-length hair hung in soft, large spirals down my back
and I completed the look with a light dusting of make-up.

Roman’s first reaction to seeing me when I’d
opened the door to him earlier in the evening sent a wave of
toe-curling tingles down my spine. His slow perusal of my body was
visceral, heated, and sensually primal—his gaze, not only
appreciative but claiming in its intensity.

And now, with the way Roman overtly admired
my body in the mist of New York’s elite, I wanted to forget the
damn event altogether and rush home to his bed.

Roman bent forward and brushed his lips
across mine. “God, I’ve missed you.”

My heartbeat stuttered at the sound of his
fervent words against my lips. “I’ve missed you too,” I whispered
back as I slid my arms around his neck. His mouth pressed more
firmly over mine and in the middle of the New York Historical
Society among a crowded room, we made out like two horny
teenagers.

“
You do know you’re in
public, Knight.”

Roman half growled and half groaned—the
sound vibrated against my lips. Reluctantly, he drew back an inch
from my mouth. “We’ll finish this later, Princess,” he promised,
sighed wistfully and then slid his arm firmly around my waist and
angled my body firmly beside his.

Roman glared toward the man who’d spoken. I
glared toward the man who’d spoken. And then I gaped. Holy
shit!

Chapter Twenty

Alexander Roth was almost as blindingly
gorgeous as Roman—almost. Like Roman, Alexander was tall—well over
six foot. He had honeyed dark blond hair with liberal streaks of
pure gold through his thick head of hair and his eyes were the most
startling vivid shade of green I’d ever seen. They were twin
polished shimmering emeralds, luminous and presently twinkling in
mirth at Roman.

The two men earnestly shook hands; both of
them wore identically wry grins on their very handsome faces. It
was plainly clear from their earnest expressions both men genuinely
cared for the other.

“
Alex, I’d like you to
meet Charlotte Gilmore. My girlfriend.”

Alexander’s brows rose, seemingly surprised
at word girlfriend but he recovered quickly and his emerald gaze
swung to mine in curiosity. “Charlotte,” he said smoothly as he
extended his hand to me in greeting. “A beautiful name for a very
beautiful lady.”

“
Alex,” growled
Roman.

With an eye roll, I ignored Roman and
extended my hand to his friend. “Please call me Charli. It’s nice
to finally meet you, Alex. Roman speaks very highly of you.”

Alex shot Roman a pointed look. “He does?
Interesting…well, don’t believe a word he says.” His large hand
enfolded mine in a warm shake.

The three of us casually conversed for what
seemed like hours but in reality was only fifteen minutes or so,
and I reveled in Roman’s relaxed, carefree mood. Alex obviously
brought out the best in him and their light banter was truly
comical to observe. However, I’d consumed two glasses of champagne
since we’d arrived and I was dying to pee.

Placing my empty glass on a nearby table, I
tucked my clutch under my arm. “If you two gentlemen will excuse
for a moment.”

Roman’s eyes moved to mine. A small frown
creased his brows. “Princess?”

Smiling, I mouthed,
Bathroom
, and walked as
fast as my strapless gown would allow me to the
restrooms.

I took care of business, reapplied a light
coating of lip-gloss to my lips and returned to the party. As I
entered the cusp of the room, in my periphery I caught sight of
Alex over by the bar, ordering a drink. Deciding I’d most likely
had enough champagne for the evening, I walked over to join him and
ordered a soda.

“
Hey,” I greeted and
placed my purse on the bar.

“
Hey yourself, beautiful.”
His affable grin turned into a full-fledged smile and I shook my
head at him. Roman was right—Alexander Roth was an incorrigible
flirt.

After I gave my order to the barman, I
turned and leaned my back against the bar, my gaze sweeping the
room. It really was an elegant event, filled with a plethora of
elegant people—all of who were dressed in elegant attire.

“
I hate these events.”
Alex’s deep voice pulled me from my musings and I gave him a
sideways glance.

“
You do? I’d have thought
you would feel right at home at a party like this.”

His answering scoff was self-deprecating.
“Fuck no. Can’t stand them. Roman, on the other hand—he was born
into the social elite. Events like this one come second nature to
him.”

Tilting my head, I studied Alex with open
curiosity and processed his words. “So, um…you weren’t born into
wealth?”

A dark, troubled shadow fleetingly crossed
his handsome features. “Far from it. Let’s just say…I had an
entirely different upbringing than the majority of people in this
room.”

He swallowed thickly, recovered with a thin
smile and not for the first time tonight did I pause to appreciate
the uniqueness of his vibrant eyes.

“
I was partly raised in
the carnival circuit. Perhaps we should swap stories sometimes. You
know, try to outdo each other’s childhood stories.” My attempt to
lighten the mood worked—his diminutive smile widened and once again
my gaze swept the party.

On the far side of the room, I immediately
recognized Roman; he stood in profile and looked unbelievably
gorgeous. His regal stance and natural confidence made him patently
stand out, even in a room full of New York’s wealthy elite.
However, as I admiringly ogled his stunning form, I noted his broad
back was ramrod stiff, he stood aloof, hands balled into fists at
his side and his beautiful midnight-blue eyes were leveled on the
man next to him. My focus shifted from Roman to the older man who
wasn’t quite as tall as Roman but nearly. He was tanned, fit for
his age and a head full of graying hair that once was probably a
very deep brown. The elder gentleman looked eerily familiar and yet
I was positive I hadn’t met him before.

I nodded with my chin and asked Alex, “Who’s
that man with Roman?”

“
Hmm…who—oh fuck!” Alex’s
words were laced with concern, instantly drawing my eyes to
him.

“
Do you know
him?”

He scoffed. “Yeah, you might say that.” His
jaw ground together as he glared in their direction. “That’s
Roman’s father, Asher.”

My jaw dropped and I’m sure my eyes widened
to the size of hula hoops as my head swiveled back to Roman and his
father. Of course—I could see the family resemblance now that it
had been pointed out to me. I’m sure I asked the obvious but I
wanted to know for certain. “I’m guessing Roman and his dad don’t
get along?”

“
Understatement of the
year, Charli. Roman and his father have never gotten along. Asher
is a first rate bastard. And worse—despite him being obscenely
wealthy himself—he’s so fucking jealous of his son’s successes that
he’d do just about anything to undermine him. Including hiring
Roman’s worst enemy.”

I opened my mouth to ask Alex but a
bitter-sounding voice to the left of us stopped me. “Roth, don’t
tell me you and Knight are now sharing women. What—fucking people
together in business not enough for you both?”

Alex aggressively spun to face the owner of
the voice. I inhaled a gasp of breath at the implied insult. My
lips curled in disgust but then I gasped again when I recognized
who’d said it.

“
Careful, Gray. Neither
Roman nor I would hesitate for one fucking second in taking your
worthless ass out of here and giving you the hiding you deserve.”
Alex’s voice was low but there was no mistaking the lethal cadence
to his tone.

Jonathan Gray appeared completely
unperturbed by Alex’s threat. The slimy smirk he threw me made my
skin crawl and I shivered. “Charli,” he drawled, his gaze
antagonistically sweeping my body. “We meet again.”

“
Hmm,” was all I could
manage to say. The man gave me the heebie-jeebies and it wasn’t
because of the long, jagged scar that ran from his right temple
down to his jaw. It was the set of his cold, hard brown eyes and
the obvious disdain he had for Roman and Alex and apparently
now…me.

“
I see you didn’t heed my
advice,” he stated.

My brow furrowed in confusion. “What advice
was that? I barely remember speaking to you.”

He shrugged and then jutted his chin in
Roman’s direction. “Like I said—he’s not who you think he is.” His
tone sounded bitter and I, confused, shook my head at him.

“
That’s enough,” Alex
barked, maneuvering his body between Jonathan’s and mine. “What are
you doing here anyway, Jon? I was under the impression Asher fired
you when your little coup was unsuccessful.”

Jonathan stiffened at Alex’s words. His face
morphed into what only could be described as stark fury. The hands
hung casually at his hips fisted into tight balls; his knuckles
turned white from the effort. “It’s far from being over, Alex, and
you fucking know it. You, Knight, Noah, and Elijah all fucking owe
me—”

“
We owe you fucking shit,”
Alex spat harshly, cutting Jonathan off. “You’ve got to get over
it, man—it was fucking years ago.”

“
Yeah, it was and you four
are living the high life, turning everything you touch into gold
and where am I?” Jonathan’s accusatory words were full of
resentment. His face was twisted in indignant
bitterness.

“
And whose fault was that,
Jon?” Alex shot back, just as accusatory.

“
That’s enough!” The sound
of Roman’s voice was like a whip violently cracking into the
air.

“
Leave, Gray. Now! Or I’ll
have you thrown out.” Each single word was delivered like shards of
piercing glass through Roman’s gritted teeth.

Jonathan’s jaw clenched. He threw a
scathingly withered glare at Roman and then promptly left.

“
That guy is still a
fucking asshole. Some things never change.” Alex shook his head. He
reached for his glass of Scotch and took a long drink.

“
Roman.” My eyes sought
his; they were clouded with a combination of anger and worry. The
line of his jaw was rigid, his lips thin and brows drawn.
“What…um…what just happened?”

He carefully considered me for a moment and
then slipped an arm around my waist, drew me closer to his side and
he murmured, “I’ll tell you later, Princess.”

Later
did not come. Along with Alex, Roman and I stayed at the
party for another hour or so. The two men casually chatted with
other guests, seemingly unaffected by the evening’s drama. However,
their stoic features and introverted moods were the polar opposite
to the lighthearted banter and amicable conversations of earlier
that night.