Read Online Sweet Southern Betrayal by Robin Covington - Free Book Online

face had sucked him in and thrown him under the power and control of his lust from the minute she’d begun her post-show meet and greet in the VIP area. An hour spent in her company and he was convinced that nothing else would do but to have her under him for several hours that night.
    Obviously, time and circumstance had not lessened her impact on his common sense.
    He swallowed, focusing on the question she’d asked instead of the one he wanted to ask as she leaned in even closer, her warm breath coasting over his jaw. “I’m missing the gene that would make me any good dealing with people’s personal problems. I’m better with CEOs. They yell, scream, and threaten to cut your balls off, but they never sit in my office clutching a box of tissues and weeping.”
    “Life is messy. It’s giving a shit,” Risa whispered as she shook her head, her eyebrows scrunched up in bafflement.
    “I give a shit. For eight hundred dollars an hour I care a whole lot.”
    “Really?” She sat up straighter. “People pay that?
    “I’m very good at what I do.” He grinned, draping his arm over the back of the couch and snagging a long strand of her hair to toy with. “I could help you with whatever made you leave town.”
    “Ah.” She dipped her head again, shielding her eyes and giving away another one of her tells. “You don’t miss much.”
    “It’s my job to see everything.”
    “It’s nothing, I just owe some money.” She looked back up at him, but only after she’d finished with her lie.
    “How much money do you owe and to whom?”
    “Why do you want to know?”
    “Because I could probably help you out with your problem. Maybe make it go away.”
    “Why is it that all you lawyers think you have to fix everything?”
    “Well, I don’t know about other lawyers, but I know I could probably fix it.”
    “And your modesty overwhelms me.”
    “I’m not bragging, sweetheart. I handle issues for CEOs of Fortune 500 companies every day. I think I can take care of your problem.”
    “I think you’re doing enough for me this week. Let it go.”
    “You aren’t going to tell me?” He scooted even closer, his curiosity killing him. Everything about her body language said she was worried, scared. “People owe money all the time. I’m sure I can help.”
    “So, if you’re so anxious to walk in and fix my life, why don’t you help some of the hard cases from Dad’s practice?”
    “I told you. I have no desire to spend my days dealing with strangers’ messy personal lives.” He shrugged his shoulders, unapologetic for his career choice.
    “Well, I’m a stranger and my debt falls squarely in the category of ‘messy personal life.’”
    “ How messy?” He didn’t know why he kept pushing; she didn’t seem to want his help and he couldn’t understand why he wanted to do it anyway. Maybe the piece of paper from the State of Nevada had triggered some primal protective streak in him. That annulment needed to go through before he started beating on his chest with his fists.
    “Teague, there is no grade of messy—when it comes to the problems of other people you are either all in or all out. You can’t half-ass giving a shit.”
    “But—”
    “Don’t worry about it, please. I don’t deser—. I’ve got it under control.”
    “Wait. You don’t deserve my help? What the hell does that mean?”
    She backed up a half step, the arm returning to wrap around her waist. “Nothing. I meant that you’re doing enough already with the annulment and everything.”
    The air crackled between them with her anxiety and his irritation at being shut out. He stared her down, waiting for her to crack, and finally giving up when it was clear she had a stubborn streak made of titanium. His bullshit meter was going off the charts, but he couldn’t force her to tell him if she didn’t want to.
    He’d make sure that Jack found it when he did his background search.
    He sighed. “Fine.”
    Her expression softened, a