Page 63 of In Love and Revenge

‘Oh, um, thanks. Do you want one?’ I ask.

‘I’m good.’

He bends down to scoop up a meowing Benedict, who’s rubbing himself around his legs. I’m going to have to ask Dove what the deal with his cat is. I’m sure Dove said he rescued him from somewhere. The way he dotes on Benedict is sweet. He doesn’t baby him, but instead talks to him like he’s talking to a business partner, explaining all the cyber-stuff he’s doing. I don’t understand half of what I’ve overheard him saying.

‘Okay. I’ll not be long,’ I tell them both, already used to addressing Benedict as well because he’s constantly glued to Gabriel’s side.

‘Take your time. We have some things to check on,’ Gabriel answers, spinning his chair back to face his desktop computer. His fingers are already flying over the keys at lightning speed whilst Benedict sits comfortably in his lap when I leave his office.

Heading in the direction of the staff lounge, I can’t prevent my steps from slowing as I near Rafael’s office. The door is wide open, and his rich, deep voice is floating out whilst he talks on the phone.

I never thought about the huskiness of his voice before. The way it’s rough enough to send a shiver up your spine and set your pulse racing.

The way it sounded when he growled my name.

Walking past the door, I’m unable to resist peeking inside. He’s sitting at his desk, reclined in his chair, phone glued to hisear, and one ankle resting on top of his other leg. The pose screams arrogant, big-dick energy.

I don’t turn away fast enough, and he catches me looking. His eyes heat before he drags his gaze down and back up my body with an entitled air, like I’mhis.

I hate that my pulse quickens and my cheeks heat. Ihateit.

But what I hate most is the way my nipples stiffen against the thin silk of my blouse at the exact moment Rafael looks at them. Like they’re doing it because of him. Like it’s allfor him.

I tear my gaze away and stride down the corridor.

‘Get a grip,’ I mutter under my breath.

I need to shake off the weird feeling I’ve been having since I saw him in his office bathroom this morning.

He was watchingmyvideo. He was groaningmyname. He came all over his phone. Hewantedto watch it. It wasn’t a mistake. That much is clear, the more I’ve thought about it.

Rafael Fairfax has my videos in his wank bank.

And I have no idea why.

Neither of us has made a secret of the fact we’d rather stick pins in our eyes than spend unnecessary time in one another’s company. I’ll never forget the comments he made about my father. Maybe that’s what this is to him – a perverse power play. Perhaps he laughs behind my back when I look at him, all innocent, with no idea about the sordid little sexual fantasies he might have had me acting out in his imagination with that stupid giant dick of his.

But I’m not oblivious any more. I’m not going to do nothing. I’m going to use Rafael Fairfax’s secret to my advantage.

I’ve been unable to concentrate on anything except how I can do it. No wonder Gabriel told me to take as long as I want on a break. I’m too preoccupied to be useful. To him, at least. But to my father ... to him I might finally be able to get somewhere.

I’ve been approaching it wrong, waiting for an opportunity to find out something that could help me. Hoping that Dominic Ainsworth might visit so that I can ask him about the client my father had started working on just before he was arrested. But I need tocreatean opportunity. I need to distract Rafael so that he’s not paying attention to what I’m asking him. If he and Dominic are as close as I’m led to believe, then maybe Dominic’s mentioned this client, or told Rafael something useful. And if he has, I need to find out exactly what that something is. I need him to be so consumed that his brain doesn’t register that he’s telling me exactly what I need to know.

I’d rather kiss roadkill than flirt with Rafael Fairfax.

But sometimes we have to do things that make our skin crawl in order to survive.

And I don’t just want my father to survive in prison.

I want him free.

Chapter 18

Rafael

There’s a knock at my office door.

‘Come in!’ I call, tapping out the final line of my email and hitting ‘send’.