by Kati Wilde
“I will in a minute,” I say sweetly. “As your loving wife, I ought to see you off.” And say good riddance when your tail lights vanish down the road.
I don’t add the last, but the warning in his final look tells me that my tone said it clearly enough. Hugging my bare arms to my chest, I paste on a smile and wait in the shadows while he and his security team load into the SUVs. As soon as the engines start, I let out a huge, relieved breath.
Then suck it in again when the rasp and flare of a lighter comes from behind me.
Duke. He’s standing in the darkness just around the corner of the building, shoulder casually braced against the side of the lodge, his hand cupped around the end of a cigarette. The flame highlights the strong planes of his face and reflects like a demon’s glow in the sea green of his eyes.
Suddenly all the tension’s back, my spine so stiff that my neck muscles begin aching. How much did he hear? Did Ivan or I say anything that exposed me as a fraud?
I don’t know. He’s looking straight at me as he lights the cigarette but I can’t read his expression.
Then he flicks the Zippo lighter closed and all but disappears into the shadows again, invisible except for the glowing tip of his cigarette. I can still feel him watching me, though.
And because I don’t know what else to do, I smile at him. There’s no way he can miss it. Not with these teeth, as bright as the sun.
A chuckle rumbles out of the dark, but it’s not a nice sound. Neither is what accompanies it. “No matter how pretty your feet are, Mrs. Tataurov, I have no intention of crawling at them. So you pack away that sweet smile. It’s wasted on trash like me, anyway.”
Oh, dear Lord. So focused on wondering if my identity was discovered, I forgot Duke might have heard that part, too. Dismayed, I shake my head. “I didn’t really—”
“Save it for someone who gives a shit.” His cigarette drops to the ground and a moment later even that soft glow is extinguished. “And get your ass back inside. When your husband returns, I sure as hell don’t want to tell him that you froze to death the first fucking night.”
I don’t think Ivan would care, because when he comes back, it means the danger to Keri has been eliminated. And it’s not that cold out there. Just chilly.
But there’s nothing else to say—and even if there was, Duke obviously doesn’t want to hear me say it. So I lift my chin, square my shoulders, and let my Jimmy Choos carry me back to the clubhouse. And as far as impersonating Keri Bishop goes, at least now I’m doing one thing right.
Because I’m not smiling anymore.
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Faking It All is a completely standalone romance within the Hellfire Riders series. You don't need to have read the previous books in the series to enjoy this story.
Pre-Order: Going Nowhere Fast
Available April 18th, 2017
“I loved this book! Going Nowhere Fast is a modern day, scorching hot yet deeply emotional Pride & Prejudice story that you won’t want to miss.” —Kristen Callihan, New York Times bestselling author of the Game On and VIP series.
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The brakes are off in this sizzling-hot new adult romance from the author of the Hellfire Riders MC Romance series…
One promise.
Two hearts.
Three rules.
Four weeks to break them all.
When Aspen Phillips’ best friend invites her on a month-long road trip, she has serious mixed feelings. Sharing their tight quarters will be Bramwell Gage, overprotective brother and all-around jerk. Bram may be ridiculously sexy, but he’s made no effort to hide how he feels about Aspen—that she’s trash who’s no good for his sister. But Aspen is determined to get along with the uptight millionaire—and to keep her promise, concealing a secret about his sister that Bram can never know.
But after a scorching kiss reveals that Bram’s feelings toward her run much hotter than she believed, Aspen’s emotions swerve into a complete 180. Suddenly the girl who has nothing has everything—but only as long as the truth about his sister remains hidden. Because when all the secrets and promises unravel, she risks losing it all…
Coming April 18, 2017 from Berkley InterMix!
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Also by Kati Wilde
Contemporary Romance
Secret Santa
(a holiday novella)
The Hellfire Riders Motorcycle Club
The Hellfire Riders, Volumes 1-3: Saxon & Jenny
(includes: Wanting It All, Taking It All, Having It All)
The Hellfire Riders, Volumes 4-6: Jack & Lily
(includes: Betting It All, Risking It All, Burning It All)
Breaking It All
(Gunner & Anna)
Giving It All
(Saxon & Jenny)
Craving It All
(Bull & Sara)
Faking It All
(Duke & Olivia)
Coming Soon
Beauty In Spring
(a short Beauty & the Beast romance)
Going Nowhere Fast
(a new adult romance)
Losing It All
(Stone’s book)
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews.
BEAUTY IN SPRING
Copyright © 2017 Kati Wilde
All rights reserved.
First Digital Edition, March 2017
katiwilde.com
