Sliding wet fingers to my tummy, I closed my legs. “Tell me you finished before you sent him home.”
“Yeah. I did.” Each word caught thickly in his throat. He strode into the room and disappeared into the en-suite bathroom. A moment later, he returned, carrying my favorite vibrator with the fluttering clit stimulator.
When he reached the bed, gray light from the windows landed across his upper body, revealing drawn eyebrows and a grumpy scowl. Knowing Collin, he was anxious to clear the air between us and verbalize whatever internal war he was waging. Did it make me a sucky friend because I wanted to skip the emotional argument? “Collin, I’m fine. Let’s not do this.”
His face turned to stone. “Let’s not do what, Kaci? Let’s not communicate? Let’s not talk about how I just fucked the shit out of a man who lied to us?” The vibrator dangled from the hand at his side. His other hand scrubbed roughly over his mouth. “I don’t know if I’m more pissed at him for lying about being into you or at myself for not seeing through the bullshit. I mean, fuck, I’m known for my ability to read people.”
That was mostly true. There was a list of powerful individuals who refused to be interviewed on his show because they feared he’d sniff out their secrets and expose them on TV. Strange how he didn’t have the same intuition about the people closest to him, like me and our parents. “Seth isn’t one of your political adversaries.”
“Tell me about it. Soon as that hot little fuck struts through the door, my fucking brain scrambles.” His hand flew angrily through the air, circling around his head. “He’s turning me into a bottom.”
“Did he fuck your ass?”
His eyes widened in appall. “No.”
God, he had so many hang ups he couldn’t fit them all in his ridiculously oversized closet. “The thing with Seth was bound to happen eventually.” I kept my voice quiet, calming. “We’re safer with the escort service anyway.”
He sat beside my hip, facing me, and set the vibrator between my breasts. “I like him.”
Oh. “You like him like him?”
His shoulder lifted. “I don’t know, but I can’t stop thinking about how badly I want to find out.”
Which explained the turbulent emotions clouding his face. He didn’t tolerate deceit, yet he liked Seth despite being lied to.
“Invite him back and punish his ass for lying to you.” I poked him in the ribs, the same spot I’d been torturing since before his voice dropped.
“Arrgh.” He grabbed my wrist. His lips twitched then descended into a sulky arc. “I’m not going to pursue a relationship that excludes you.” His thumb stroked my palm, his gaze lifting to the windows. “It’s fucking selfish.”
I lunged up, and the vibrator and tablet tumbled to the mattress. “Fuck your guilt, Collin. If you enjoy sharing your partners with me, that’s one thing, but it was never the arrangement we’d agreed on.”
Seven years ago, we filled the headlines as the nation’s most celebrated marriage amongst traditional conservatives. Privately, we vowed to take lovers, separately or shared. It didn’t matter as long as our adversaries never found out.
“I’m not going to fuck around,” he muttered, “if you’re going to be in here by yourself, doing…” He waved a hand at my groin.
“Doing what?” I bit my lip to hide a grin.
He dropped his arm and gave me a pointed look. “Spanking the kitty.”
“The kitty likes to be spanked.”
He raised a brow. I released the smile and nudged him with a knee. “Explore this thing with Seth. Just be careful. The way he looks at you worries me. Hell hath no fury like unrequited love and all that. We don’t need any more enemies.”
His gaze didn’t waver from mine. Stubborn and determined, he was thinking too hard, likely circling around how this potential relationship would impact me.
I met his eyes. “If I had my own man, a straight man, you would give me your blessing to fuck him without you.”
He nodded, and the corner of his mouth ticked up. “After I ran a full investigation on him, of course.”
“Of course.”
He raked a hand through his hair. “If I continue with Seth”—he peered up at me—“I’ll set better boundaries. But I will not leave you unattended.”
Meaning he would continue to hire gigolos to get me off. Jesus, that sounded so pathetic. “I’m perfectly capable of finding my own companion.”
He laughed, the ass. What the fuck ever. So I’d never arranged my own one-night stand. Only because I was terrified I’d sleep with a man who would expose our lifestyle. Collin went to great lengths vetting our partners with the help of the PI on his payroll. And he required a non-disclosure agreement before a single seductive glance was exchanged. I could do all these things myself. I’d just never needed to.