“Then why did you let that man call me a whore?” The last word comes out a pained rasp that grates across my conscience.
If only Phoenix knew what I did to that man upstairs in the kitchen. My jaw clenches. If she knew, she’d never stop screaming. I should make her leave this instant, but she has to know that my silence on Monday morning was in no way in agreement.
“Acting as though you were a hired submissive was the quickest method to get him away from you.”
“So, you didn’t think I was a whore?” she asks as though my first answer hasn’t registered.
“Never.”
She closes the distance between us until we’re breathing the same air. It’s about that time I realize that I’m still holding onto her wrist, but I fail to let go. The tension in the room thickens until it presses against me with an urgency I’m barely able to resist.
“And the money was like a love language?” she asks.
“In a way.”
“Oh.”
“Will you stay away from Veer Bestlasson?”
“Of course,” she says in a breathy whisper and places a hand on my chest.
The warmth of her palm seeps through the cotton of my shirt and jumpstarts my heart. My erection surges against my fly, informing me that I’ve screwed up. I overshot my mark in assuring Phoenix that I didn’t see her as a whore, and now she wants me back.
It would be so easy to restart our relationship, easier to growl at her to kneel and suck my cock. Even easier to bend her over the table and fuck her until she swears on her life never to associate with the Bestlassons.
But I can’t.
Phoenix’s pupils dilate, until her irises are tiny rings of gray. I would bet every Bitcoin I own that her pussy is soaked.
I clench my jaw so tightly that the ache spreads down my neck. The temptation is so strong that I have to remind myself of the facts once more. Until I find Crius and put him in the ground, he’ll twist any and all attachments as leverage to get me under his control.
The man has lost his legitimate son to Seacroft Prison, and he’s desperate for a means to break him out. I refuse to allow Phoenix to fall into his clutches.
When she drifts forward and rises onto her tiptoes, I tighten my grip on her wrist until she winces.
“Run along, Miss Stahl,” I drawl. “You no longer hold my fascination.”
I turn my head, not wanting to see that beautiful face crumple.
“Go fuck yourself,” she snarls and storms out of the room.
ChapterThirty-Eight
PHOENIX
I step out into the hallway but spin around to have the last word again. A soft body bumps into me from behind, and I turn to meet the mischievous dark eyes of Thalia Grace.
“You left in a hurry,” she says, her words heavy with innuendo.
“What do you want?” I snap.
She draws back, her nose wrinkling. “Excuse me?”
I glance from Professor Segul, who stands in the doorway, to Thalia, who leers down at the blush that’s spread down my chest as though she’s just discovered my dirtiest secret.
Shit.
“I came to complain that I got a third,” I blurt.