Betrayed by Trust Read Online Free Page A

remnants of my orgasm. “You can’t do what? Have sex? I think we just did.”
    “Don’t be dense! I can’t let you go through with this plan to do Conrad.”
    I looked up at his broad back, startled by his vehemence. We were only three days away from initiating a mission that had been in the works for over a month. “It’s too late for us to back out, even if we wanted to.”
    Barry looked over his shoulder at me, his stormy blue eyes narrowed with suppressed emotion. “Not we. You. You can’t do this.”
    I sat up and shifted so I could face him. “You picked me for this yourself! You and Kincaid and Foxworth. I’m exactly Conrad’s type.”
    “I didn’t know you then.” He wouldn’t meet my eyes, and he sounded defensive. “I’ve changed my mind.”
    I ducked my head so I could stare into his baby blues. “What are you saying, Barry?”
    His mouth twisted and he ran a hand through his sun-bleached hair, making it stand on end. “I care about you, okay? This is wrong! Foxworth should never have asked it of us. Of you.”
    Two months ago I would have been delighted to know Barry cared enough to put a stick in the spokes of his career, but I’d gotten to know him better since then. I liked him well enough to make our temporary marriage work, but I knew it would most likely be just that: temporary. Just long enough to make the child legitimate and protect our reputations. Ultimately, I knew Barry was more attuned to his own self-interest than he was to mine. “Why did you wait so long to say anything?”
    Barry shrugged and his pecs rippled with lean muscle. “I didn’t believe you’d go through it. I thought you’d back out.”
    He didn’t know me very well if he thought that. “What does Mr. Foxworth say?” Unless Foxworth wanted a change, I was going through with this.
    “He won’t have anything to say about it if you pull out. He won’t force you. He can’t. He’ll find someone else.”
    I shook my head, not really believing Barry wanted me to quit. Maybe this was another test, to see if I was committed. To be sure I wouldn’t freeze, or screw things up by backing out at the last minute. “I never imagined doing something like this, but the more I learn about the Golden Path, the more I want to stop them. I can make a difference.”
    Barry’s normally unflappable expression distorted with distress. “You want to let that bastard Conrad grope you? Fuck you? Put his bastard in you? Do you really want me to help pimp you out to that frat boy?”
    His words stung. Did he really think I was prostituting myself?
    “What I want is to stop the people who stole my brother from me!”
    Barry reached for my hands. “I understand, but I can’t do it, Marianne. I can’t help you sleep with another guy.”
    Did he really care? Then I remembered he’d dated me on orders and slept with me that first time just to see if I was liberated enough to consider the project. More likely he just didn’t want to share his toy. Maybe I shouldn’t have continued to sleep with him. Maybe I should have kept it professional. He’d gotten possessive.
    “That’s the mission, Barry. That’s the point of all the research and prep we’ve done, all the planning.”
    Anger twisted his face and he jerked his hands free from mine. “If you won’t stop this, I will. I’m pulling out. I can’t do this. I can’t pretend to love Altesse’s child. I won’t marry you. Foxworth needs you to be married to help hide the child from anyone looking. He’ll have to start all over again.” Barry threw off the sheet and jerked on his pants.
    So that’s what this is all about. “You don’t think this is wrong. It’s okay if some other woman spreads her legs for Conrad, just not the girl you’re screwing. You don’t want to share, and every time you look at the child you’re going to be reminded that I was with someone else.”
    Barry turned abruptly to face me. “Is that so strange?”
    Fury prickled over my skin.