Read Online Circle of Desire by Carla Swafford - Free Book Online Page B

figurine from London, all mementos from her work. She felt his gaze following her the whole time.
    Unable to resist, she looked toward the sofa. He watched her with cold eyes, assessing and finding her wanting.
    She crossed her arms and rested a hip on the edge of her Carpathian wood desk. “What now?”
    His jaw shifted as he stared at her. Only the tick-tock of her grandfather clock broke the silence.
    Well, hell. What was he mad about now? She replayed their conversation and sighed. Why should she be concerned about his people? Their success with breaking into her home meant she had to live in the OS building for now. If . . . no . . . when she escaped, she would find a way to retrieve her things with or without his cooperation. Besides, she hadn’t asked to be taken and sure as hell hadn’t asked for them to invade her house. From what she’d seen, no children worked for the OS, so they were all adults and well aware of what they were getting into.
    “Okay.” She rolled her eyes. “Were they damaged badly?” She had difficulties in being compassionate.
    “Damaged,” he muttered beneath his breath in disbelief and then said clearly, “They’ll live.”
    She shifted to another hip on the desk edge. Why should she care that he looked disappointed with her? She cared about the orphans at St. Vincent and he was using it against her.
    “Listen, I don’t know what you expect. You’ve got me where you want me figuratively and literally. By controlling me through your threat about the orphanage, you’ve proved attachments of any kind are dangerous in our line of work.” She mentally shook her head. He’d shown her how she’d grown attached to more than she realized.
    Hell, she was now explaining herself to him. Why did she care so much what he thought of her? She stood and paced across her antique rug from Turkey. She refused to explain anything she did to anyone. One of the best ways to live a long life as an eliminator for The Circle was to keep her mouth shut. This time her life depended on her talking.
    She wiped her hands down the sides of her sweats. Tall, dark, and handsome hadn’t commented on her ramblings. The only emotion she caught on his face besides disappointment was interest. At least she had that, his interest in her body, though he fought it by snapping at her. It was obvious each time his gaze followed her around the room. His attraction toward her might help in her escape.
    “Excuse me while I shower.” She turned and pulled off the back of her sports bra and looked over her shoulder at Collin. “Want to join me?”
    When he remained on the couch, his eyes half-closed in contemplation, she shrugged. “Well, come in if you change your mind. If you don’t, your loss.”
    W hat was she up to? The look she gave him before announcing her shower warned she was planning to use him somehow.
    Collin stared at the hallway long after he heard the water running. The tightness in his groin frustrated him. He needed his mind clear while dealing with her.
    From their research, he learned that Olivia had lived at the same orphanage until age ten when a woman fostered her. None of the papers explained why the orphanage waited so late. Even after papers were filed for the woman to adopt her at age twelve, they never followed through. Olivia’s foster mother died and no explanation provided why the woman’s brother was given permission to take Olivia. By the time the orphanage reported the woman’s death and the sequential questionable guardianship to social services, Olivia was fourteen and a runaway.
    The last bit of information they scraped together pointed to The Circle recruiting her at eighteen. What she did to survive for four years, he could only imagine. The woman was a survivor.
    He dug into his pocket as his phone vibrated, irritating the hell out of him because he didn’t need another problem. Maybe he should be thankful the reminder of his duty to the OS eased his hard-on. At the same