Deceive (Book 1 in the Deceive series) by Karessa Mann Page B

of us (minus the rude bartender and love-struck receptionist) are the youngest ones I’ve seen in the hotel. I’m guessing he’s close to thirty, and the woman—maybe in her mid-thirties? She laughs at whatever it is he just said, playfully swatting at his arm. As I continue to dissect their relationship, something feeling intensely like jealousy begins to seep into my throat.
    “Another Pinot,” the bartender says, startling me and snapping my attention away from my obsessive staring and detective work. Trevor sets the glass down with a smirk and takes the empty one.
    I choke on my words as I say, “I didn’t—I didn’t order another drink.”
    The bartender cocks his head then nods in the direction of the lobby. I wave a dismissive hand at him and, thankfully, he goes away, just like I hoped he would. I tilt my gaze toward the enigmatic stranger I’ve been all too enamored with, only to see he’s looking right at me. He takes a drink of his martini as the woman continues to speak to him, but for the first time, he doesn’t appear to be listening. His gaze holds mine and I smile politely and nod at my now full glass. His perfect mouth twists up into a charming grin.
    Desire sweeps through me. I forgot what that feels like.
    It’s not welcome.
    I twist my chair around so that I am facing the bar rather than the lobby. I just need to pretend he isn’t there.
    I get back to the work at hand, taking a sip of wine and surveying the crowd. I spot a man with strikingly white hair nursing a glass of brandy. His eyes are closed as he drums his fingers on the table in time to the pianist playing in the corner next to the thickly draped window. I imagine he’s a local who makes this his weekly stop from his financial job before he drives home to Queen Anne.
    An elderly couple sits a few seats over, mesmerized by the man at the piano and I think they must be tourists. A retired couple, maybe from California, who came up north to visit Seattle in the summertime and tour the surrounding islands on ferry boats and eat fresh fish thrown by the men at Pikes Market. They smile at the bartender as he brings their order and Trevor smiles politely in return. At least now I know he’s not a total prick to everyone.
    I take another drink as my eyes shift to a booth in the back corner I didn’t realize was occupied. I watch a man in his mid-forties get up from his seat and slide in beside a woman who’s sitting across from him. He whispers into her ear and she smiles. I can see from the movement of his arm that his hand is gliding up her thigh. My face flushes when I catch myself enthralled in the private moment, but I can’t seem to turn away as he presses his lips to the hollow of her neck and she closes her eyes in pleasure.
    “An affair.”
    My breath catches in my throat at the unexpected voice behind me. I turn and Mr. Chivalry is peering down at me with a sly grin.
    “Excuse me?” I choke out.
    “How’s the book?” He smiles as he says this and I wonder if he’s teasing me. How long has he been watching me? Does he know I haven’t read a full page since I sat down? He ignores his own question and motions to the couple I was staring at who are now in a full make-out session in the back corner. “They’re having an affair,” he confirms in a hushed tone near my ear, sending chills down my spine. He slides into the chair beside me uninvited.
    I shift slightly in my seat, unnerved by the nearness of him. But I choose to play along.
    “How do you figure that?” I challenge. “Why can’t they be on a first date? Or maybe they’re newlyweds?”
    He settles in, setting his half-full martini glass beside my almost empty second glass of wine. He smells intoxicating, authentically manly and deliciously sweet. He smiles knowingly at the couple and my eyes follow his gaze as he explains.
    “It’s the secretiveness. Like they don’t want to be seen.”
    “Or bothered,” I correct.
    He shakes his head with a devilish