Page 59 of Let Me
He sits down and spins me around, my back to him, before he pulls me onto his lap, his hands all over me, everywhere. He yanks my hair back, forcing my neck up, and his tongue is on my throat, teeth scraping against my skin. He bites that sensitive spot between my shoulder and my neck, and I let him, let him sink his teeth in.
I grind against him, feel him swell beneath me.
“You’remine,” he says against my skin. “Mine.”
I can only moan, my neck still pulled upward by his hold on my hair. I’ve only ever wanted to be his. I’ve only ever wanted this. I don’t want to be anywhere else, ever again. I want him. I don’t give a fuck about Rolland Virani. I’ll tell Caden. I’ll confess all of my sins after this night is over.
And then his phone rings.
It’s loud, vibrating underneath me.
I choke out a laugh and he snarls, annoyed.
He wraps one arm around my front, uses the other to pull his phone from his pocket, but then I feel him freeze beneath me.
“I’m sorry,” he says, his voice hoarse. “It’s my dad. He never calls, and it’s almost two.” He says the words more to himself than to me, and I hear him answer the phone.
Hear him say, “Hello?”
My heart sinks.
I feel like I’m going to throw up.
I stand to my feet and turn around to face him. Even in the darkness, I can see his golden skin has gone pale. He swallows and then nods. Then, seeming to remember his father can’t see him on the other end of the phone, he says, “I’ll be right there.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
Present
ANOTHER NIGHT OF NO SLEEP.
Benji texts me at three in the morning. He gave her plenty of time. She didn’t book a flight. Which means tonight, Riley is going to get what she deserves.
I work out in the gym at four, swim laps outside afterward to calm down. The swelling in my nose has, thankfully, gone down.
I drive to the office in the Infiniti, after I dismiss Angie for the day. And night. She’s going to her sister’s, and she seems to know I want the place to myself because she doesn’t ask questions or complain. I arranged for a driver to take her across town around noon.
Vivian comes into my office after I’ve settled behind the desk. She closes the door softly behind her, her heels clicking on the floor as she comes to stand in front of the desk. She’s wearing a pencil skirt that shows off her slim, tan thighs, and she runs her manicured nails down her sheer stockings.
“Can I help you?” I ask, keeping my eyes on hers.
She frowns. “What’s wrong with you?”
She has no idea that would take a good ten years to dissect.
“Do you need something?” I take my eyes off of her, and open up my laptop, scrolling through the nearly-endless emails that I need to reply to. I got work done yesterday, but not a lot. Not as much as I would have if Riley hadn’t been in town. If I hadn’t been thinking about her and my fucking father.
Or those last three words scrambled.
I close my eyes.
“Caden…” Vivian’s voice has gone soft, and she walks around my desk and I know she’s going to try to put herself in my lap.
I stand up, take a step back.
“I have work to do. If you don’t need me for anything work-related, please get out of my office.”
I see her lip tremble, and it just pisses me off even more. She has a boyfriend. I’m not it. I don’t want to be it.
