Page 45 of Desert King

I have feelings for Tarak, but Edge can kiss. He’s virile. Hot. And despite my heart, my body wants his touch. He chuckles low in his throat, dips a hand into the water and pushes mine away. He rubs my nipple, rolls it between his fingers. “Just like I knew it that night when you watched me and her… tell me, mouse. Are you wet for me? Did you want it to be you?”

I slap his hand away and move to the other side of the tub. “How did you do it? Did you hack my phone?”

“Remember that night after you first moved in? You awoke probably thinking something was off?”

My mind reels. There was a night I felt someone watching me. Something was off. I checked and re-checked the locks, Shut my open window…

“You?”

He nods. “You really should use a passcode. I took your hand while you slept, scanned your finger and transferred all those pics and videos. We could’ve done it the easy way, but you kept it all to yourself.”

“Are we done then? You got what you wanted. Leverage on Tarak.”

“Not quite. I need your blood.”

“What!!!! Get away from me!” I scream.

His eyes soften. “Please. It’s for my daughter…”

“You have a daughter?”

He nods.

Shit. I’m a sucker for kids.

“She has an autoimmune disease and a thyroid issue. Her mother took recreational drugs while pregnant Please. They won’t give plasma to kids. She had a reaction to the vaccine. Never got the booster.”

“Get me a towel and we can talk.”

“Thank you, angel.”

“Angel?” I roll my eyes. “I know what you think of me. I’ll always be mouse.”

“You’re beautiful and you know it.”

His soft words leave me stunned. I sink back down in the tub feeling more confused than ever. His touch is dangerous but feels so good. Tarak’s feels like home. But only when he thinks I’m someone else. Either Mandy or some mystery girl. Edge sees me for who I am. But does he want me or is he using my attraction to him to get what he wants and faking the rest?

He comes back with a towel. On his face, he wears a sexy smirk.

“Hand it over and turn around.”

“Whatever. I’ve seen the goods, doll.”

“So? That doesn’t mean you get a refill.”

He rolls his eyes but complies.

I rip the towel from his hand, stand and wrap it around me as I exit the tub.

“How many times have you come here? Taken things from me?”

He whips around, eyes narrowing. “I haven’t taken anything from you…yet.”

“Tell me about your daughter.”

“She’s five and a half. Looks so much like her mother it hurts every time I look at her.”

“Who is her mother? Your wife?”

---