Page 46 of His Dark Vices

"Hey Danica!"

"You're energetic this morning. Didn't catch you at a bad time, that's for sure." She laughs.

"No, perfect timing. What's up?"

"I just wanted to touch base with you. I like the work you've been doing lately. Super good job on spinning the story."

"Thank you," I say, remembering the nightmare writer's block I had—before Sam helped me break through that.

"So what do you say about writing your own story?"

"My own story?" I repeat, suddenly much more interested in what she has to say.

"Yeah, I want to see where you go with it. You've got your finger on the pulse, so bring me a gem."

"Yes, you got it!"

"Christmas is coming up. Think you can give me something before then?"

My mouth pops open, but no words come out. Christmas is coming up, alright. In three days. But I can't blow this opportunity, even if it's starting to feel more like she just doesn't know what to write about and needs me to save her ass.

"Uh, yeah. I can do that, for sure."

"Good, let me know by the end of the day what you're going to write about. Real tight deadline on this, but I know you can do it."

"Yeah, sure. I'll get back to you."

I try not to let any uncertainty creep into my voice as I end the call. How the hell am I supposed to come up with?—

Then it hits me. Obviously! What better way for me to help Sam than to publicly expose his parents? I could write an exposé on them before they do too much damage. Leeching Parents Set Their Eyes on Billionaire Son, something like that. And no one else knows. I'll have the exclusive scoop.

I let out a whoop as the excitement rushes over me. This could work!

I just have to ask Sam about it first.

I glance back at my phone. No messages from him. The excitement quickly curdles into guilt.

Right now, he thinks my interest is waning, attaching to some other guy. He might even still think I have that date planned, but nothing could be further from the truth. He also doesn't know I know about his spying. I could drop him at this very second. Hell, instead of writing about his parents, I could write about how he used the app's data to keep track of my activities. That's the bigger scoop, without a doubt.

But despite his controlling behavior, I don't detect any malice in him. He's been spoiling me this whole time. What if he just wanted to get to know me better and went about it in an unethical way? Who would have caught him?

I still do wonder how long this has been going on, though, and that thought is what I'm really afraid of. But I want him to tell me, in his own words, what's going on. I want to give him the chance because…

Because even in this moment, with the fear of what I don't know gnawing at me, I still remember the thrill of being with him, of having a scene. A part of me aches to have his hands around me, guiding me, spanking me. When I'm surrendering to his control, when he's pulling me into the moment with his voice and strength, nothing else matters but him and us. I've never felt that way before.

And I want to feel it again, with Sam.

I need to feel his intensity.

Yeah, the situation is fucked up, and his parents are only complicating things.

But I don't want to let go.

CHAPTER 17

Bree

Ihope like hell his parents aren't here.

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