Page 24 of Liars and Liaisons

My brows arch, but she doesn’t turn around to see them. In fact, she hardly even seems to notice the hidden meaning in her words, and it strikes me as oddly titillating that she might actually be as innocent as all the research I’ve done suggests.

I’m not sure how Nathaniel managed to snag her, but I’ll relish in the knowledge that he doesn’t get to ruin her.

I do.

She pulls out a thin sweater and another pair of leggings—both black—and heads for a door in the corner of the room. Pausing with her hand on the knob, she tosses a glance over her shoulder. “I don’t need a chaperone. I can meet you outside.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

Clenching her jaw, she narrows her eyes at me. “If you want to watch me shower, that’ll be an extra five thousand.”

Amusement catches in my chest, and I cross my arms, taking a step toward her. To her credit, she doesn’t back away, even as I close her in against the doorframe.

“That so?” I quip on a swallow. “Suddenly, the girl who didn’t want me to look at her after waking up in bed with me is a luxury escort?”

Her chin tilts up. Sunshine glimmers in her eyes. “I didn’t say you could fuck me.”

Cloying heat spreads through my limbs when she saysfuck. I want her to say it again, want her begging me todoit. To take her, taint her,fuckher the way no one else would be able to.

Like the dirty girl she is.

I don’t voice my thoughts though. I need to get her to Duris before I terrorize her.

Instead, I pull out my checkbook again, maintaining eye contact as I fill out yet another blank sheet. I throw in an extra zero for good measure, watching her flinch as I slam it on the door beside her head.

“What do I get for fifty grand?”

She shakes her head, trying to slip out from where my arm is pinned. “I didn’t—”

My hand slides over, catching her chin before she can escape. “This isn’t a fucking game to me, Violet. I’m happy to pay whatever you’d like for your services, but don’ttestme. You say I can watch you for five g’s, I’m gonna sit my ass by the bathroom sink and think about sucking your perfect tits into my mouth.”

I stare, completely enraptured, as she swallows. Hard.

“You tell me what I can do for fifty, and I’m gonna fucking do it because I’m not agoodguy. I’m not helping you out of the kindness of my heart, and I don’t care that you’re holding a torch for my brother. I’ll blow the flame out and leave you in complete darkness if you let me.”

A small, distant part of me wants to plead with her not to let me, but the words don’t come.

Instead, she just blinks up at me in utter horror. Her eyes volley back and forth between mine, and I can tell she wants to bolt.

Smugness sings in my bones the way music once did, and I fold the check with two fingers, then slide it between her slightly parted lips.

“Don’t even think about trying to get out of this,” I tell her in a dark, almost-unrecognizable voice. Blood thrums between my ears, and I can barely think about anything other than the threats I’ve just presented her with. “I’ve already paid, and Iwillcollect.”

With that, I push off the door and stalk out to the hall, my dick throbbing painfully behind the zipper of my pants. A muddy, lustful haze seeps into my mind, clouding my thoughts of revenge and manipulation, spiking more irritation in me than usual.

I need to fucking create something.

Or perhaps I need to fuck.

Either way, when the shower in Violet’s bathroom kicks on, I’m tempted to head back in and make good on my threats. I even head back in, staring at the sunflowers on her white comforter with my hand clutching the doorknob.

But then I hear it—humming.

Soft and lilted, its cadence completely ethereal. Out of this world.

My hand retracts, and my muscles seize as a strange tightness grips my chest.

Violet’s humming while she showers, and the sound is unlike anything I’ve ever heard.

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