Page 21 of Duress
When Bryce finally made it home, well past midnight, Iwas lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling, my mind a swirling mess of guilt and arousal. I pretended to be asleep when he crawled into bed, so I wouldn’t have to face him. It was starting to feel like I was living in my own personal Groundhog Day hell. Avoiding my inattentive husband after making out with his brother for a second time. How in the hell did I get into this mess again? This can’t keep happening. Dane doesn’t deserve to be hurt by my emotional recklessness.
Clearly, I haven’t done a good job of hiding my emotional turmoil from my husband. “Sorry, I guess I didn’t sleep well. You know how crabby I am when I’m tired.”
Bryce pulls into the valet lane of The Magnolia Hotel, the nicest hotel in Birch Falls. Opened in 1909, built by the same railroad baron that built Whispering Grove, it is a majestic staple of downtown Birch Falls. It also is the site for all important social events hosted by the political elite of Birch Falls.
I move to open my door to escape the oppressiveness of being stuck in a car with my spiraling thoughts and my husband, but Bryce grips my arm, halting my escape.
“I need you on your A game tonight Everly. I want you to smile and be charming. Donotembarrass me. I have a lot riding on getting Skip Harrington on my side.” His fingers bite into my flesh in a painful squeeze, quelling the urge to roll my eyes at him. “Do you understand?”
“I understand.”
“Good.” Before I have a chance to react, Bryce tugs me toward him and crashes his mouth against mine. I let out ashocked gasp that he swallows as his tongue sweeps into my mouth, overwhelming my senses with his dominance. My body wants to stiffen and pull away, but I force my muscle to relax and become pliant under his touch. Fighting with him now is not going to make this evening any more tolerable. When he breaks the kiss and leans back in his seat, there is malevolent hunger in his eyes that sends a chill down my spine.
“Everlyyyyyy, you made it!”Veronica greets me with an air kiss, nearly choking me with the cloud of perfume that surrounds her. Forcing my face into a smile, I return the gesture.
“Veronica, how lovely to see you again. Thank you for inviting us.” I imbue as much false excitement in my voice as humanly possible. I can feel Bryce staring at me as I greet the hostess, the intensity of his gaze causing my skin to flush. After the dangerous look Bryce gave me in the car, I’m not looking to do anything that will cause him to be angry with me.
“Come, let me introduce you to one of my dear friends. She’s one of my sorority sisters from college.” Veronica loops her arm through mine and guides me away from tempest camouflaged as my husband. As we pass a server holding a tray of champagne flutes, I steal one, desperate for some sort of liquid oblivion that will help me get through the night. I risk a glance behind me and see Bryce watching me, his expression an unreadable mask. ThenSkip and Shane approach him, causing his icy exterior to melt away, leaving only the charming lawyer behind. It’s frightening how his demeanor can change in the span of a heartbeat.
I let Veronica lead me around the extravagant ballroom, making introductions. I smile, laugh, and make the appropriate interested noises to every new face, but I wouldn’t be able to tell you a single name, even if you held a gun to my head. My mind is too distracted, the swirling eddies of my conflicting emotions making it impossible to focus on the new faces in front of me.
After what seems like an eternity of making the rounds, Veronica gets caught up in reminiscing with one of her sorority sisters, so I make my escape to the open bar in the back corner of the ballroom. The two glasses of champagne I stole as we made our way around the room have done nothing to calm my nerves or make the people gathered here seem remotely interesting.
Just as I reach the bartender, I feel a large presence come up behind me, way too close for comfort. I turn to say something, but my mouth shuts when I see it’s Shane, with a maniacal look in his eye. “There you are, Everly. Veronica swept you away before I got a chance to say hello.” He wraps one large arm around my shoulders and pulls me into a hug, pressing my body so tightly into his, I can feel half-hard dick pushing into my hip. He holds me for longer than is appropriate for a friendly greeting, and I find myself looking over his shoulder, hoping to find Bryce coming to my rescue. As much as I don’t want to be around Bryce, I want even less to be anywhere near this pervert.Shane’s nose grazes the shell of my ear as he inhales deeply. “God, you smell intoxicating. Your husband is a very lucky man.”
Just then I see Bryce appear in the crowd, walking in our direction with a thunderous look on his face. I push away from Shane, with a fake smile plastered on my face. “Speaking of lucky husbands, there he is! Bryce, honey, you found me!” Shane steps back, but not far enough away for my comfort. Bryce slips in the space between us, capturing my lips with his, his hands sliding around my waist, claiming me in a possessive show of ownership.
“There’s my gorgeous wife. I was wondering where you disappeared to. Thanks for finding her for me, man.” He nods toward Shane, and Shane leers at me, not even acknowledging the fact that my husband is now here. What the fuck is wrong with him? I burrow further into Bryce’s side, keeping him between me and Shane as we turn our attention back to the bartender, patiently waiting for our drink orders.
“I’ll have an Old Fashioned, and a pineapple martini for the lady.” The bartender nods and turns to make our drinks.
“I’ll have an Old Fashioned as well!” Shane steps up on my other side, leaning so close his body presses into mine from behind. His breath tickles my neck, sending a shudder of revulsion down my spine. I am already as close as I can get to Bryce and suddenly feel claustrophobic being trapped between the two men and the chest high bar. Shane begins chatting with Bryce about some case they are on opposing sides of. He doesn’t stepaway, just leans his body into mine discreetly while I mentally calculate how pissed Bryce will be if I make a scene right now.
“You know I’ve got your guy dead to rights. He’s not getting off with anything less than twenty years if this goes to trial. There is DNA evidence and cell phone records putting him at the scene. Just take the deal and save us both some time.” Shane’s hand brushes against my thigh, where the hem of my skirt ends. I jerk at the touch, and Bryce shoots me an annoyed look before steering us away from the bar, drinks in hand. I let out a sigh of relief as we move away from Sleezy Shane.
He leads us over to a table off to the side, away from the crowd. My respite from Shane is short-lived when I realize he is following us. The table only has two chairs, so when Bryce takes a seat, he pulls me down on his lap, leaving the other chair directly across from me available for Shane. The skirt of my dress slides up my thigh, and Shane’s eyes track the movement. Shifting uncomfortably, I try to tug the fabric back down but Bryce’s hand rests on my thigh, blocking the way.
“Come on, Shane. You gotta do better than twenty years with the possibility of parole. I want manslaughter, five years, with time served. It was an accident. A stupid mistake by a young kid. He’s got his whole life ahead of him. There’s no reason to ruin a bright future.”
Suddenly Shane’s skeezy looks aren’t the thing causing my stomach to turn. Bryce’s casual defense of a man responsible for someone’s death sends a chill down my spine. I take a long swallow of my martini, trying to quell the shudder my body wants to release.
“Got that girl wasted beyond reason, convinced her to have sex in a pool, and drowned her because he was too fucked up to realize he was holding her head underwater. I am sure I can get the jury to convict him.” Shane leans back, resting his hands on his bulging stomach, a smug sneer on his face, like a cat who just got the canary.
“It was consensual sex; they were both fucked up. He said she told him she was into breath play and had read some kinky scene in a book that made her hot. It’s not his fault she couldn’t hold her breath. It’s not worth ruining his life over. You know I can just bring up her dating history and past drug abuse and have him get a not guilty verdict.” Bryce’s hand trails up my thigh, tugging the dress up with it. I slap my hand on his, stopping his progress.
“Bryce, stop!” I hiss. I’m so distracted by his hand, I don’t entirely process what he said.
“If you’re so sure about that, why are you trying to make a deal with me?” Shane doesn’t take his eyes off me as he speaks to my husband. Disgust roils in my stomach.
“I’m not opposed to the kid learning a lesson. Learning how to be careful and discreet is an important skill to have. He won’t forget this lesson if he has a stint behind bars, but we need to be able to brush it off as a youthful indiscretion. This is the Governor’s son, and having him owe me a favor would be quite a feather in my cap. I’ll be happy to let him know how amenable you were to making sure his son got off with a warning. Surely we can come to some sort of agreement?” Bryce’s fingers curl up more, dragging my skirt up another two inches. My muscles freeze, and Iforget how to breathe as my brain processes Bryce’s words and actions.
I’m sure we can come to some sort of agreement.His words ring through my skull like a klaxon.Danger!my mind screams, but I am paralyzed by horror as their implication sinks in.
I dig my nails into the back of his hand, praying this conversation isn’t going where I think it is. Bryce in turn squeezes my thigh so hard I let out a whimper.
“F-fuck, Bryce…”
Shane leans forward, leering at me, a hungry look in his drab brown eyes. “What did you have in mind?”
