I dump my laptop on the coffee table and collect up my tumbler, finishing off what’s left of my drink. “Well, today I wasn’t in the mood. We have too much shit going on.”
“Yeah, it’s work that has your mind in a tailspin, not a certain silver-haired beauty.” He chuckles, shoving me in the arm. That’s it for me, I’ve had enough of this shit. I slide my arm around his neck, tightening it into a headlock. With a grunt, I drag him onto the carpet, the plush pile muffling our struggle.
River tries to shove me off, but he’s laughing too hard, and it gives me the upper hand. “All I’m saying is you need to get laid, big guy. You’re obsessed with her. How many times you watched her on the surveillance today?”
“How old are you two?” Dove appears behind us in the doorway. Her comment is meant to be her having a go at us, but her voice is flat and she looks kinda strange. The dress Kasen picked out for her fits her to perfection and is sexy as hell. It’s not so much the way she appears, more her posture. Defeated maybe? Very unlike her when she’s normally all fight. Maybe Kasen is wearing her down with his powerplays after all.
I shove at River one more time just so he gets the hint then I release him. “Old enough,” I grumble.
River thinks the whole thing is hilarious and hasn’t taken a breath. But he won’t be laughing if she heard that last comment about us watching her. He takes his place back on the lounge with a stupid smirk aimed at me. “Hey, babe, how was lunch?” he calls to her, patting his lap for her to come join him.
She huffs out a breath. “Everything I expected.” She rolls her eyes, moving over to him with familiarity. She likes River, has let him get real close already, where she still keeps me and K at arm’s length. I get it, the kid is easy to be around. I think she’s going to keep walking and take a seat in the recliner but instead, to my surprise and River’s by his expression, she plonks down onto this lap, kicking off her extra-high heels. “You boys got anything decent to drink round this place? I need something stiff.”
I grumble out a laugh. Yeah, K might have gone too far this time. The girl is a mess. Needing a refresher myself, I stand and move across the room, finding the good stuff, top-shelf whiskey he saves for special occasions. Looks to me like she could use it. “You still on the pain meds?” I ask, holding it just out of reach.
“What do I need those for?” She smirks, all innocent. She’s such a brat. One of these days I’m going to teach her smart mouth a lesson—and every other part of her.
I slip the glass into her hand then go back to fill one of my own, knowing my chance of getting any more work done now that she and River are hanging round is going to be near impossible. Might as well enjoy my afternoon with the two of them.
She lies back on River, and he wraps a lazy arm around her, making himself comfortable. She sips on her drink, watching me for a secondbefore giving her attention back to him. “You need any help down at the bar tonight?” she asks.
He runs a hand up her thigh. The two of them together is quite a sight. I’m not jealous, more immersed in how comfortable they are. She trusts him, and for the first time since she got back here, I realize that’s what I want. I want her to look at me like she used to. With a fluttering of her long dark lashes and a blush on her cheeks. “Having a night off, babe. You can come with me tomorrow if you want?”
“Yeah, anything to get me out of this place,” she mutters almost absentmindedly. She’s really off this afternoon. Sad in a way I haven’t seen before.
“What happened at lunch?” I ask, sure it’s got something to do with her melancholy mood. I have the sudden urge to be the one to take away her pain.
She sits up, assessing me for a second before her expression changes. “You guys want to do something fun?” she asks before tossing back the remainder of what was a very full glass, meant for sipping, not chugging.
River grins at her, his eyes lighting up. “Always up for a good time, baby. What you got in mind?”
What was that, her change of mood? My eyes lock with hers in question. She can’t hide shit from me.
She raises a challenging brow. “Slater?” she says my name like a dare.
“Where’s K?” I ask her instead, knowing for sure she’s up to no good. Since when does she want to hang out with us and have fun? Something happened on that lunch, and I want to know what it was.
She shrugs. “Probably trying to destroy someone else’s life. That’s the shit he lives for, isn’t it?” Her eyes flash with mischief. “Hey, Slater, did you have fun with Gloria today? It’s a pretty messed-up kink, screwing Keller’s wife, she’s practically your stepmum isn’t she, butwhatever excites you I guess, I’m not here to judge.” Her bitchy-as-hell expression tells me that’s exactly what she’s doing, judging me.
Of course he told her over lunch, probably had a good laugh about it as well. I return her grin. “Yeah, kinks seem to be your specialty. I don’t think there was one you didn’t try, right? I think daddy’s little girl was my personal favorite. You pull that off better than most.” She’s a smart girl, knows what I’m implying, and it’s probably a low blow since I know how sensitive she was about the whole OnlyFans thing, but she’s the one who started it.
Anger clouds her pretty features. She pushes off River’s lap to standing, stalking across the room toward me. “Fuck you, Slater, where is my fucking phone?” she demands, both hands flying to her hips in outrage. In the fancy dress she has on, her snippy attitude looks comical.
I lunge forward, taking her elbows and forcing her down onto my lap, her legs straddling me, her short skirt riding up before she even knows what’s happening. “Don’t push me, if you can’t take the heat, sunshine.” Her scent wafts around me, summertime mixed with desire. I lower my nose to her hair and inhale, making it damn obvious what I’m doing.
She sucks in a breathy moan that I know I wasn’t supposed to hear.
“Guys, weren’t we going to do something fun? I’m thinking strip poker,” River suggests, tossing a deck of cards down on the coffee table, trying to defuse the tension, but I quite like it.
Dove’s filthy glare is locked with mine, heat radiating off her, some from embarrassment, some from something else. Something much more depraved. She will never admit to it, but it turns her on to imagine me watching those erotic videos of her.
“Did you have fun making them? I bet you did, dirty girl. Got yourself off thinking about all the men out there paying to watch youstrip off your clothes and play with yourself. How far did you take it? We found some pretty sizable dildos in your apartment. Did you fuck yourself for the highest bidder? Let them live out their dirtiest fantasies?” I rock my hips just a little, her warm pussy so damn close. Her breathing catches in her throat, and it’s not from my words, it’s because she can feel how hard I am underneath her. And she knows she wants me.
“Bodhi, man, too far,” River comments, but he might as well not be in the room right now. This showdown is between me and the brat, and I’m about five seconds away from forcing her over my lap and smacking her perfect ass until she learns to behave.
I’m not sure if she is aware of what she’s doing or not, but this time it isn’t me who’s moving to get closer. She brushes her sweet cunt over my hardened length, teasing me and I’m sure herself. Her lips twitch up at the sides into an almost evil smile that I have to say looks perfect on her. “Is that what you do? Why you fuck women like Gloria, because you’re trying to live out some mummy fantasy. You need help, Slater, you know that, right?” As the words leave her lips, the delicate fabric of her dress rips along the back seam. Her eyes go wide, realizing right at the same time as me.
I get my hands around there and feel it’s all the way up to her ass, exposing her cheeks in the panties she has on.
