“Seriously?”
She sits up, pulling the sheet with her, and I sit up too. “Seriously. Part of the divorce settlement was my mom and I had to come back for special events, and we told everyone she was working away and I was being home-schooled, or working for charities in Europe, or—”
“Building orphanages?” I say, dragging a hand through my hair.
She laughs again. “That I actually did do, but yes.”
“Why the fuck did he want that? Wouldn’t it have been easier for him to say he was divorced and you were living with your mom?”
She chews the inside of her cheek. “My dad is the mayor, Samuel. The people who put him into office want a good, wholesome family image. A divorced man whose daughter doesn’t even want to live with him was not the image they wanted. The chief of police has been after his job for a long time now, so my father couldn’t give them any ammo.”
“And what’s in it for your mom?”
“A lot of money. You can’t tell anyone about any of this, though. My dad was supposed to be sworn in as mayor for the next five years in a couple days, but it’s gone to a vote because someone is standing against him.”
“The chief of police? Fuck, I can’t believe I didn’t know any of this.” Clearly, I’ve had my head up my ass and missed all of this going on. Or maybe I just didn’t care. That Lillian woman, and her brother being all cozy with the chief, then my task to get bribing material on the mayor isn’t a fucking coincidence.
She laughs. “No one does. We made sure of it. But look, my mom has been thinking about coming back here. She misses New Orleans—and strangely enough, my dad. But Mom and I…we have a life back in California, and if I’m honest, I don’t know if I’m ready to give that up.”
I nod. “But she’ll do what she thinks is best for you,” I say, my head reeling from the information overload. “If you stay, she will too, and if you go back home—”
“So will she,” she finishes. “I chose to live with my mom all those years ago because I wanted a fresh start. My dad was drinking a lot, and I had no friends, no future here. But things are different now.” Patience entwines her hand with mine before looking at me shyly. “If I had a reason to stay here, I would. I’d give it all up.”
I squeeze her hand, feeling the guilt burning in my chest.
“Dad’s prepared to leave, though, if Mom won’t come back home. He’s going to come with us. It would mean kissing his career and family goodbye, though.”
Things start to lock into place.
The Elite.
The mayor.
The task.
If I break her heart, she won’t want to stay. She’ll leave, and maybe The Elite are going to expose the mayor’s double life and bribe him with the evidence of my task to put someone else in charge.The chief.
It all seems too good to be true. Too carefully concocted, and yet I know I’m right. It shouldn’t matter—the reason for my task—yet it does.
“Are you okay?” Patience asks, her voice sounding far away.
I nod, but I’m not okay. How can I be knowing what I have to do?
It’s worse now, knowing the reason behind it. They’re destroying a man’s life, Patience’s life, and I’ll be helping them do it.
It doesn’t feel right, any of it.
But what choice do I have?
TWO WEEKS LATER.
“Oh my God!” Patience cries out my name, and pride flares in my chest at my name on her lips.
I run my tongue up and down her sex, spreading her wider so I can devour her sweet pussy. I fuck her with my tongue until she’s quivering against me and gripping my hair in her hands. And then, just as she’s about to come with my tongue deep in her cunt, I pull the beads out of her ass and she falls apart beneath me.
“Sir!” she screams, her thighs clenching around my head as I suck on her clit.
I let her ride the tidal wave of euphoria from her orgasm until she opens her eyes. I smile wolfishly, and she smirks.
