He kisses the top of my head in a move that’s meant to make me feel safe and loved—two things I’ve never been.
“I need to make some calls. You going to be okay?”
I nod. “I’m going to shower. Then you can talk to me about your plans for our security and your first campaign events.”
“I’m so lucky I have you.”
“Me too.”
Then I walk down the hallway to the bathroom.
I close the bathroom door and take a deep breath as I slink to the floor. I close my eyes, trying to push Langston out, but he floods my head.
His hands on mine.
His body pressed against mine.
His lips…
STOP! I can’t think about any of that.
Langston’s body is replaced by his words in my mind. He said I have twenty-four hours to decide if I want to finish the game here or back on his island. But if I choose to finish our game here, he threatened Waylon.
I don’t want to risk Waylon’s life, but it’s not about choosing between keeping him safe or not. Langston will hang Waylon’s life over me no matter where I fight Langston.
This is about choosing between the two men. Who do I trust? Whose side do I want to be on?
The choice is easy—Waylon.
It has to be Waylon. I can’t choose Langston.
All that’s left to do is to convince my body it wants Waylon, not Langston.
I shower and get dressed.
I listen while Waylon talks to me about hiring security and starting his campaign.
Then I kiss him goodnight. I should fuck him, remind my body whom it craves.
I can’t.
I’m exhausted, and my body is buzzing for another man. I need space and time. Only then will I be able to reconnect with Waylon.
“I’m here if you need me, but I need to finish some calls before I come to bed,” Waylon says.
“I’m going to take a long, relaxing bath, and then I’ll meet you in bed.”
“You deserve to relax.”
I walk to the bathroom and start filling the tub when my cell phone rings.
If it’s Siren or Kai, I’m not answering. I’m pissed at Siren for ratting me out, and I don’t want Kai’s sympathy. If it’s anyone calling about any of Waylon’s plans, I’m too tired to listen.
I stare at the name. I intended to turn the phone off, to not answer.
But with one flash of his name, my heart skips, and my insides warm.
My thumb hovers over the button.
Just turn it off. Turn off the phone and enjoy your bath.
Somehow, my thumb brushes against the answer button. I bring the phone up to my ear, and I speak.
6
Langston
Liesel answers the phone.
I wasn’t sure if she would or if I would have to sneak over in the middle of the night to drag her out of bed and force her to talk to me.
“Hello,” her voice is breathy as she answers.
“Have you decided? Are we finishing this here or on the island?”
She shakes her head on my monitor screen. I’m watching her from my hotel room across the street from her building. “Really? We aren’t even going to talk about the fact that I tricked you and won? How does your wife feel about you kissing me?”
“My wife is none of your concern,” I snap back.
She turns off the tub faucet but keeps the phone near her ear.
“I have eighteen hours left to decide according to you. I won’t give you an answer until then.”
“But you’ve already decided.”
She frowns but doesn’t speak, which only confirms my guess.
“Are we done? I’m sure you’ll find me when my twenty-four-hours are up so you can get my answer then.”
“We aren’t done.”
“I would like to enjoy some peace and quiet, so can we hurry this along?”
“Why? Anxious to get into that bath so you can touch yourself to the memory of our kiss?” My voice is a low, deep timbre that practically vibrates through the phone and down her body.
She shivers at my words.
“You’re watching me?”
“Yes,” I hum.
More shivers. Her cheeks pink. Her eyes search the bathroom.
“Where did you put the camera?”
“Does it matter? Are you planning on putting on a show for me?”
“I’m planning on showing you what you will never have.”
She grabs the hem of her black T-shirt, stretches it over her body, and then her breasts are staring back at me.
Fuck, I shouldn’t have called her when she was headed into the bathroom. I’m not going to be able to concentrate on pulling the truth from her when her body looks like that—smooth, curvy, and welcoming.
I close my eyes when I see her start on her jeans, but they only stayed closed less than a second. Then they are glued to the screen, watching her jeans slide to the floor, followed by her panties.
She’s standing naked in the bathroom with the phone still to her ear. “I hope your wife walks in and sees how hard I make you. I hope she slaps you and takes all of your money before she leaves your cheating ass.”
“I don’t cheat.”
“So you aren’t really married, then?”
A beat passes.
She smiles like she won again before she steps into the tub. Her body disappears under the water’s surface while resting her head against the tub’s edge.
I exhale—her spell on me breaks as she slips under the water, her body no longer as visible to me.
“We are going to continue our little game. You tell me the truth, and I give you more time to live. You tell me a lie, and I give you less time. I don’t care if we are here or back on the island. The battle continues until I pull every last truth from you, or you run out of time.”
She smirks, her seductive eyes glancing up, looking right at me. “What makes you think I’ll answer you? I’m not your captive anymore.”
“Because I’ll start hurting and killing people you care about. And I’ll automatically take a month off your time every time you don’t answer me. Your time will run out very quickly if you don’t start talking.”
She closes her eyes and leans her head back on the back of the edge of the tub. “What do you want to know?”
I was expecting more of a fight. Apparently, I’ve knocked all the fight out of her, at least for tonight.
“Tell me the truth of how you and Waylon met.”
She keeps her eyes closed, which makes it hard for me to read her expression or emotion. When she does finally speak, the tone of her voice is my only clue as to whether or not she’s telling the truth. Doing this from a distance is going to be difficult.
“A blind date,” she finally says.
I narrow my eyes, trying to read her.
Her eyes softly open. “We are both lawyers. We run in the same circles. We have mutual friends. Waylon was looking to settle down, for someone serious to help him build a long-lasting political career where he could make a difference. I was looking for a partner with power to keep me safe from men like you.”
I laugh at her comment about Waylon being able to protect her. I don’t even think Liesel believes that. Even if Waylon could keep her safe, she wouldn’t want that. She wants to control her own safety.