Page 26 of Deadly Sins

16Grant

IGAZED AT THE GIRL in my arms, purring beside me. She’d just given me an amazing blowjob, though I could tell she wasn’t that experienced. She seemed nervous at first, almost shy. And she’d asked for nothing in return.

I wiped the sleep out of my eyes, restless but afraid to move and wake her. What was her deal? She wasn’t a typical stripper. She wasn’t asking for anything—money, a commitment, not even love. I didn’t have a fucking clue what she wanted from me. There had to be a catch.

Her body flipped over, and I escaped from the bed. I glanced around my bedroom, a basic bachelor pad; any trace of a woman had been erased. My eyes focused on a picture of Joaquín. We’d survived Hell Week together, vowed to hold each other up, never let each other quit. Then he’d slept with a stripper, and she’d wound up dead.

How could I be dumb enough to tempt fate and allow a stripper in my bed, too?

A pain grew in the back of my throat. I hated myself for not being there for him in his hour of need.

Just a few years ago, my life had been filled with such purpose. My inner circle was tight, and I’d been secure in my path.

Now, I knew that nobody was who he or she appeared to be. Not my fellow SEALs or this stripper slumbering in my bed. I trusted no one. Not even myself.

I opened the sliding glass door, prepared to prevent Hero from barking at Ksenya and jumping all over the bed—the way he always greeted a stranger.

Hero bounced in the door, his nose sniffing Ksenya’s scent. But he didn’t jump. A friendly bark and he lay at the end of the bed, Ksenya curled in a ball on the mattress above him. He’d never done that with any girl I’d brought home.

Except for Mia.

I studied the chick in front of me. She and Mia were the same height, but any resemblance ended there. Mia was soft and round, with tiny breasts and a perky butt; Ksenya was lean and sculpted, with tig ol’ bitties and a plump ass. Mia had hazel eyes with flecks of gold, and Ksenya had chocolate-brown eyes.

But I’d noticed the outline of her contacts in the moonlight earlier. Ksenya also bit her lips when she was nervous. When she smiled, her mouth curled at the edge. On the left side. Like Mia.

A crazy thought flashed through my head.

What if Mia hadn’t been fucking kidding about transforming herself to exonerate Joaquín?

The words Mia spoke last time I saw her rang in my head. “I’ll do whatever it takes. Maybe I could go undercover? I’m a chameleon. An actress…a makeup artist. I’ve reinvented myself so many times, even you wouldn’t be able to recognize me.”

Could she possibly be that insane to get plastic surgery to fool me? Mia had been in school for acting. I’d never seen her on stage since I’d always been too busy training.

It was impossible for her to be that great of an actress, wasn’t it?

She had vanished—I’d even called her roommates, and they’d said they didn’t have a clue where she went. But I knew she would never abandon her brother, ever. Even though she had turned her back on me.

No way. No fucking way.

But it was hard to ignore Hero’s reaction to her. He almost seemed to…know her.

Surely it couldn’t be? Was this a game?

From the outset, I was drawn to her. And she had readily agreed to see me. I’d even fished around and asked Jim if she had dated any other patrons. He said he didn’t think she had.

Only me.

But why? Did she suspect me of killing Tiffany? Did she want to use me to find out who did? She wasn’t in it to fuck me. Otherwise, the deed would have been done already.

You’re crazy, Grant. Not everything is a conspiracy.

After BUD/S, it had taken me months to walk down the street and not look at everyone as a potential threat. I was clearly paranoid.

There was only one way to know for sure.

I have to fuck her.