Beautiful Scars Read Online Free Page B

woman.
    She turned around and he found himself staring into Chaili’s blue eyes.
    Marc had a fondness for her eyes. He didn’t know why, exactly. Maybe it was because they were blue, and such a vivid blue they almost looked purple to his screwy eyesight. He didn’t know why. Didn’t care. He just knew she had amazing eyes.
    It was a punch. A hard, brutal punch straight to his gut and he closed one hand into a fist as he continued to stare at her. Okay. She wasn’t here for him. Chaili wasn’t one of his sister’s girls. She had something else going on… Then it occurred to him—Shera had absently mentioned setting up a line of male companions. Was Chaili…?
    No.
    Just. No. Even thinking about her paying some guy to take her out pissed him off.
    What the fuck—
    Shera appeared from the back office. “Hey, Marc.” She had a smile on her face. An overly bright one. The kind of smile she’d always given him when she’d done something she shouldn’t have and she wanted him to help keep her out of trouble with Mom. Except she was a grown woman.
    Oh, shit.
    Swinging his gaze back and forth between the two women, he lifted a brow and waited.
    “Awesome news.” Shera still had that wide, too-bright smile plastered across her face. “Chaili is going to keep you company tonight.”
     
    He was staring at her like she’d grown a second head.
    Chaili felt like she might have.
    Her heart raced and if he didn’t say something, she was pretty sure she was going to start babbling like a fool. No, you won’t, she told herself. He was here because he needed an intelligent, level-headed woman at his side for the night. Somebody who could carry a conversation without babbling, and that probably started now.
    “Hello, Marc,” she said, angling her head to the side. She could make polite small talk. She could do it, and do it well, even if it bored the hell out of her.
    Something flashed in his golden eyes as he continued to study her.
    So far, he still hadn’t said a word. He prowled deeper into the office, looking oddly out of place. He came to stop a foot away from her, watching her with narrowed eyes, the gold in his eyes burning hot as he studied her face. “Just when did you start doing the companion thing, Chaili?”
    She’d half-suspected he might ask. With a lazy shrug, she answered, “It’s fairly recent. I’m…picky, we’ll say, about those Shera pairs me with. But I get tired sitting at home and well, you have to admit, this is an easy way to make money.”
    “So you’re in it for the money.”
    Careful…careful… She knew he had more than a few people trying to get at his bank account. “Honestly, Marc, I told your sister I’d be happy to keep you company tonight without…” she waved a vague hand at the office and sighed, “…this. But your sister is something of a stickler about the rules. Since you came here, she’s kind of adamant about doing it this way.”
    “Yes. I am.” Shera came up and held out a hand, smiling at Marc. “You came in wanting a companion for the night. I’m providing the companion. Pay up.”
    The tense moment shattered and he scowled at his sister, reaching into his pocket. He shoved some bills into her hand and then looked at Chaili. “Shit, if I’d known you were up for going to stupid parties, I could have saved myself some money and the headache of dealing with Shera.”
    “Ahhh, but you’re doing your part and investing in the local economy,” Chaili said, smiling. She turned away and went to get her wrap and purse. Although she doubted she’d need the wrap, she’d rather have it than not. Before she could pick up the wrap, though, Marc was there and the fragile silk looked even more delicate in his hands. She swallowed and tore her gaze away from those long-fingered, agile hands. She’d always loved those hands…
    Stop it , she told herself. He moved behind her and she closed her eyes, counted to ten.
    As he draped the silk over her shoulders, she