by Maisey Yates
For some reason, his words sent a shot of pain straight to her heart. Just a small twinge. But it was very real.
Because what she’d told him mattered, but only in context to what it meant for Sarah.
What? You expected something else? He was her friend. He’s nothing to you. He had sex with you once, and to a guy like him that means nothing.
Everything in her life was about what she could do to fix it for other people. To find ways to manage her own pain so it never got in the way of what she had to do. It always had been. It wasn’t a sob story and an invitation to a pity party. It was how things were. There was no point in bitching about it.
She had her life. She’d never been abused the way that Sarah had been. And because of her role in Trey’s life, she’d very likely spared him from going down the same path as her parents.
So yes, her life had often been about other people. Fixing things for them. Avenging them if it came to it.
But she couldn’t complain about it. Not really.
Not when it was so utterly necessary.
“Yeah, well. I understand,” she said, even though sometimes she didn’t. Sometimes she didn’t understand why jumping off a building was better than coming home. As soon as she’d thought it, she felt guilty for it. Because there were the pictures. The obvious evidence of what she’d been subjected to. Sex with her much older boss, probably under duress. Probably whether she really wanted him or not.
Maybe she’d felt too far gone to come home. Maybe she’d felt too changed. Too broken.
But she hadn’t been. She never would have been as far as Katy was concerned. No matter what she’d done, no matter what had been done to her. No matter how much she’d done willingly, and how much had been forced on her...none of it would have mattered.
Not if she could have had her back.
“You both felt a lot of responsibility,” he said.
“Yes.”
“For your brother.”
“Of course. He was so much younger.”
“And for your parents.”
“What?” she asked, freezing.
“You do. You feel responsible for them, and she must have, too. Because neither of you reported them.”
“Well...what’s the point, right? Of letting them go to jail. Getting us put into the foster-care system. We were made afraid of ‘the system’ very early on. The scare tactics were effective. Plus, there was strength in being together. Even when Sarah was gone, Trey and I had each other.”
“Sarah still has you,” he said.
“Yes,” she said, thinking about all the things in her life that had led her to this point. About what had motivated her. “Yes, she does.”
“Think you’re ready for another party this weekend?” he asked, changing the subject.
“The party planner attending as the son of the high-powered host’s lover? I’m not sure. What exactly will we tell them?”
“The truth,” he said. “That we met at the first party. That we went to a hotel together. And beyond that we can get a little creative.”
“Uh...meaning what?”
“Meaning we don’t have to tell anyone that we didn’t see each other for a few days after. Or that I made you lose your job.”
“And made sure I was homeless so I had to come live with you? Yeah, that sounds more like the story of How I Filed for My First Restraining Order. Not so much How I Met Your Mother.”
“So we’ll change it. We made love,” he said, his voice a caress, lingering over the words, making an illicit shiver wind through her body. They’d never made love. Of that she was certain. What they’d done had been great, but it had not been making love. Making love was something that grew between lovers, wrapped itself around them both. It was something that was for two people.
What they’d done hadn’t been that way. She’d wanted what she’d wanted. He’d taken what he’d needed. It just so happened those desires were compatible.
“We made love,” she said, trying not to blush.
“Yes, and then after that we were inseparable. We came back to my place. We ate takeout on the floor. We didn’t leave the house for days. We just stayed here, wrapped up in each other. And then, well, then I asked you to stay because I couldn’t bear to let you go.”
His words painted a warm picture in her mind. One she could see clearly. One she could feel without ever having experienced it. He made her feel like it might be real. Made her feel like she wanted it to be.
What might that have been like? To have been possessed by him, claimed by him utterly, and then...kept by him?
You don’t have time for that.
No. She didn’t. And she didn’t have time to sit here and weave fantasies about it, either.
“Nice case you’re building, Mr. Lawyer-man,” she said, as much for her benefit as his. To remind herself that words were his business. That spinning the truth from lies was what had bought him this house they were currently sitting in.
His skill had paid for her Thai food. Suddenly, it tasted a little bitter.
“Well, we may not have to say anything at all. But if we do, we both know the story.”
Yes, they did. And like the brief, false high she’d gotten from the drugs so long ago, she felt a warm glow in her chest connected to vapor. To something insubstantial and false. Something that would never be. Because it didn’t exist. Not outside of a pill, or a well-constructed story designed to make other people believe in a lie.
“Well, hopefully they won’t need it. But if they do, we can be all legit.” She continued to eat, even though the food didn’t really have a flavor anymore. Not to her.
“That’s the idea.”
“What would he do?” she asked. “I mean...if he finds out we’re out to get him, to take him down.”
“I don’t know. Because I didn’t know he would go as far as he did. He’d probably make up some great stories about my childhood. Me? He’d cut me off at the knees in my professional life. He’d make sure I couldn’t get cases. That I was discredited. You? I don’t think you’d be that lucky. Which is one reason I need to keep you safe.”
She couldn’t remember anyone ever trying to protect her before. And even if it was for Sarah, it was real. He was taking care of her. That was such a strange feeling. And it was a little bit magical.
Suddenly, dinner tasted good again.
“So the next party is this weekend,” he said.
“Yes, I remember. I planned it.”
“So you did. What’s on the menu?”
“It’s going to be good. There’s this little appetizer with a bit of tortilla, some quail egg and an heirloom-tomato relish....”
“They were stupid to fire you.”
“Or they felt intimidated by the big bad son of the man signing checks. Well, and the man himself. I think your father is hoping I’ll come to him on my knees and beg for work. As it were.”
“Oh, it’s going to make him angry that you didn’t,” Austin said, smiling. “That you got on your knees for me instead.”
She blinked rapidly and tried to ignore the pricks of heat in her face. She had indeed done that for him.
“So what are we doing at this thing? Besides poking dear old dad with a stick?”
“Again, I’m playing at reconciliation so that I can get closer and hopefully get a small bit of...something. And I need to get enough evidence to bring to my mother.”
“You’re really going to do that? To your mother?”
“I don’t want to,” he said, sounding weary. “I don’t want to do it at all. But the fact is, she shouldn’t be with him. She should get free. Cut ties. I need to make sure that Addison doesn’t even get near these sorts of men.”
“Addison?”
“My sister,” he sai
d, his voice rough. “My younger sister.”
“I didn’t realize you had a sister.”
“I know what it feels like to care about someone like that,” he said. “Wanting to protect them from...everything. Unfortunately, I think the best thing I can do to protect them both is make sure they know the truth.”
“The truth sucks.” It did. She could remember, very well, being the one to tell eight-year-old Trey that Sarah was gone. Telling her parents. She could remember the desperate sadness that had surrounded her. The feeling that she couldn’t give in to her own grief, because if she did, if she stopped holding tight to everyone, they would all just splinter apart.
“But it has to be told. And in order to do that...I need something convincing. It doesn’t have to hold up in a court of law. Just the court of Lenore Treffen.”
“I think that’s possible. Although, I will need something fabulous to wear.”
“Will you?”
“You’re designer-suit man. I can’t go off the rack,” she said, her tone dry.
He leveled his gaze with hers, sending a spark down to her toes. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you.”
Yes, of course he would. Because he was Austin Treffen, and hadn’t he taken care of everything already? Her job. Her apartment. Her virginity.
Yeah, he was good at taking care of things.
But she wouldn’t leave everything up to him.
He could manage the wardrobe for the event, but she would be the one making sure that they didn’t lose sight of their goal.
Jason’s blood might be in him, but Sarah’s was in her. And that meant she would be the one, in the end, who would make sure it was avenged.
Chapter Seven
“It’s a bit much, don’t you think?”
He damn well did. He hadn’t anticipated her looking quite that good in the gown. But he’d seen it in the window on his way to work and he’d known that she had to have it.
Katy had, after all, demanded something fabulous. Something to match his custom suits. And just any dress wouldn’t do.
Austin had passed a little bit of time, more than he wanted to admit, looking at dresses online. The current trend of frothy and sparkling for the holiday season just wasn’t suited to a woman like Katy.
A woman who could twist the most tragic moment into a snarky comment. A woman who had a backbone of steel and a razor-sharp tongue.
He thought if he put her in a frothy skirt it might wither and die on her body.
And that was when he’d seen the black dress in the window. Fitted to the mannequin. With bands of satin and sheer mesh in strategic places over the bodice, all dark so that the hints of skin would be subtle.
At least, that had been his thought.
On her, though, the subtlety was lost. Or maybe it was only lost for him.
He could see, very clearly, where heavy satin gave way to chiffon and showed the pale loveliness of her skin. Then there was the shape of it.
The mannequin had possessed the simple, androgynous shape so well loved by the fashion industry. But God had not embraced that shape when He’d made Katy.
She was an homage to the female form from the days when a lush shape had been a thing to celebrate. All rounded curves, from her breasts to a slow indent of the waist, and another sharp curve for her hips. Hips that he knew were perfectly shaped to fit his hands...
The dress followed the line of her shape, tapering in at her knees before flaring out and falling in soft folds to the ground. As she walked toward him, it made a soft, whispering sound that reminded him of quiet breaths in a dark hotel room.
Her hair was loose, in dark, glossy waves around her shoulders, her eyes outlined in black with hints of gold in the corners, making the blue in them stand out even more.
And her lips were red. Like candy. Just begging to have the sweet sucked off of them.
“It’s perfect,” he said, extending his arm and ignoring the burn when the heat from her body connected with his as he slipped his arm around her waist and drew her close.
“I feel like I’m on display,” she said, kicking the skirt to one side as she walked with him out of his penthouse and into the hall.
“Well, you are,” he said, letting his eyes drift down to her breasts, which were on spectacular display, speaking of displays.
“I feel as though I should have a tiara.”
“We can swing by the tiara store on our way there.”
“Oh, well, I don’t want to hold things up. It seems a little bit precious.”
He pushed the button for the elevator and waited, his arm around her waist, the feel of her under his palm a slow burn. A good burn.
“A little bit, maybe. But then, perhaps being precious isn’t a bad thing. You are playing mistress to a billionaire.”
“Shut the front door,” she said, leaning against the back of the elevator and pulling out of his grasp. “You are not a billionaire.”
“I am, I’m afraid.”
“How? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m sure you’re a kick-ass lawyer, but seriously, where did the money come from?”
“Investments,” he said, flashing her a smile he didn’t feel. “Kick-started by my father, naturally, because...”
“Well, because he has money. It seems fair that you should get a head start with it. I mean, maybe fair is the wrong word, but unsurprising. I inherited my parents’ poverty. Seems about right that you’d inherit your parents’ wealth.”
“I multiplied it,” he said.
“That’s the problem,” she said drily. “Damn multiplication. You know what happens when you multiply by zero, I assume? Yeah. Math has always been out to get me.”
“You don’t have nothing,” he said, his stomach tightening. “You seem to have done well for yourself.”
“I’ve done okay.”
“Your brother is in school?”
“On a football scholarship. He worries me a little bit. I mean, because he’s so lucky to have it and if he screws it up... It gives me heartburn.”
“I can imagine.”
“There are no safety nets when you’re in our position. Which I think is a really terrible metaphor, all things considered. But that’s the fact. There is nothing to catch you if you fall. Not when you’re alone like we are. Not when there are no stacks of dollars waiting to catch you.”
“Let’s hope that wads of cash don’t cushion my dad’s fall, huh?”
A small smile curved the edge of her lips. “Yeah. I really do hope so.”
* * *
The party was perfect. And it should have been since Katy planned it. She had loved the job. She knew a lot of people would find something like that frivolous. But Katy loved it. The attention to detail it required. The organization.
There were binders dedicated to food. One for decor. Another with contacts for various bands and orchestras that were available to play for different events.
There was control and order available for every area of a party. And all Katy had to do was make sure it was planned, so that it went off without a hitch. She was good at that. Because the budget was all set, and she had the tools she needed to pull it off. It was nothing like trying to play the bills game she was used to playing.
Pay the bill you had to pay, put the other one off until they were threatening to shut off your power. Then pay that. Don’t pay the car payment until they’re threatening to take it. Rinse, repeat.
No, planning high-profile events was nothing like that. It gave her a neat and orderlygasm. And she missed it.
Especially standing there on Austin’s arm like a piece of bling. There was no control in that at all. No way to control the fact that everyone was looking at her, making judgments and speculations. Whispering behind their hands about who the wom
an with Austin Treffen was.
No, she didn’t like that feeling at all.
Though, it wasn’t half as bad as the way having his arm around her waist made her feel. Because that was a whole new level of out of control. It made her shake. Not just a little tremble in her fingers, but a bone-deep tremor that started inside of her and radiated out.
Like an earthquake was moving in her. She knew exactly where the fault line was, too.
Her wretched, unruly lady parts. Oh, she was not happy with them at all.
If not for them, she could keep her head in the game. If not for them, Austin’s nearness wouldn’t send her into a spiral of lust and need. Of hot memories and hotter desires.
But she had them. And they had woken from their slumber. And now they would not settle down.
He leaned in, his lips brushing her neck, just beneath her ear. “Look, my father is charming the masses,” he said.
She looked up and saw Jason, laughing, with a large group of people around him. Austin’s mother was on his arm, a pristinely put-together blonde with a slender figure and expertly applied makeup that verged on the line between full coverage and a full-on mask.
“He’s good at that. But I suppose if the devil looked like the devil...”
“No one would listen to him.”
“Exactly,” she said. “Do we have to go talk to him?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “We don’t have to.”
“But should you? I mean, reconciliation yada yada.”
He let out a slow breath. “I suppose. We used to talk all the time. But then, he used to be my role model, so things change.”
“I guess they do.”
“But I won’t ask you to do something you find too difficult.”
“I’m not afraid of him,” she said. “In my head he became a monster. But then I met him, and I realized he’s just a man. It’s the power given to him by other men that makes him dangerous. And it can be taken. So whatever we have to do to see that happen? We’ll do.”
