Page 5 of Reveal

Rage simmers. My fists clench. All I can think about is bashing in that perfectly straight nose of his.

But the challenge in his eyes tells me that’s what he wants. The man wants a fight, while I want to nail him to a goddamn wall. First with my fist to his face for being a prick and second in the courtroom if I can get proof that he’s willing to cheat—with an escort, no less. The senator who pays for sex. Getting him to admit it outright on my cell phone’s recorder will benefit my case, but hell if this isn’t fucked up. Throw Vaughn to the wolves—figuratively—to gain an advantage. The only redeeming prospect in this whole conversation is that hopefully he’ll spill what he has on her.

He quirks an eyebrow, and a smile plays at the corners of his lips as he weighs the situation.

I do too.

Time to play.

“You can have her if you want her, Preston. Fuck, I’ll even pay for your time with her.”

Come on, fucker. Take the bait.

I should choke on the lie, but I don’t. It comes out smooth and seamless, and for a brief second I wonder what the hell is wrong with me. Vaughn’s perfume still lingers on my skin, and yet I have no qualms about saying shit like that?

Maybe I’m not cut out for this kind of thing. A relationship. Love.

Fuck.

As I struggle with my own desires, I watch the emotions play over his face. Caution. Curiosity. Bravado. They range from wondering whether I’m playing him to being so damn arrogant he actually thinks he has me under his thumb.

“You’d pay for me, Lockhart? Why the generosity all of a sudden?”

“Senator, even I know when it’s time to share the wealth. Besides, aren’t you the one who has the most to gain here?”

“You let me down, and then you try to soothe me with pussy.” Carter’s chuckle rumbles through the air. “A man after my own heart.”

Stroke a man’s ego, offer him easy sex, and he’ll believe any fucking thing you say. It’s a sad fact that we’re such simple creatures.

“I wasn’t aware you had one,” I say, selling the lie by clinking the edge of my glass against his in a toast.

His smile widens. “What I don’t get is how’d you manage to corral her? She needs a real man to put her in her place. Show her who’s boss . . . no offense.”

“None taken.” I speak the words, but every part of me hates myself right now.

Oh shit.

Am I really having this conversation?

Did I really just offer Vaughn to this fucker?

What did I do?

What the fuck am I actually doing?

But when I look up at Carter and see the smug smile on his lips and his posture relaxed, I think he’ll actually fall for it. More ammo for me with Bianca . . . and maybe if I play it right, I can find out what the fuck it is he has on Vaughn.

“What’d you do? Fool her into believing that she means more to you than a good lay?”

I think of last night on the kitchen counter—cookie dough and Vaughn—and earlier in the bedroom—pure need and greed—and I hate myself even more for feeding him this bullshit.

I don’t trust my own words not to betray me right now, so I just shrug and give an unapologetic smile.

“You’re a cruel and brilliant fucking bastard.”

“So they say.”

He waves his cigar at me. “You better not be playing me, Lockhart.”