Page 48 of Friends with Benefits (Club Risqué)

Katie rummaged in her beaded clutch and withdrew a tissue that she proceeded to dab her eyes with. "Sorry," she sniffled. "I'm not usually prone to this kind of nonsense." She waved a hand in indication, but Trinity wasn't sure if she was referring to the upset or the exchange that had preceded it. Maybe it was the whole lot.

Katie huffed out a breath that blew out her bangs. "It's just her!" She referenced the woman she’d addressed as Bea. "Sorry, we were just having a light-hearted chat about dessert and now, here I am falling apart on you. You must think I'm a complete flake."

"Of course not," Trinity reassured. "And I'm right here if you want to offload and get it off your chest."

"She tried to seduce my husband," Katie confided, her voice wavering until it broke on the final word.

Trinity gasped and placed a comforting hand over Katie's where it gripped the arm of the chair, her knuckles showing white. "I'm normally a really confident person, but it's like she has some sick ability to zero in on whatever vulnerabilities a person has, and then she'll either stab you or manipulate things for her own ends. Either way, you can guarantee that when she finds it, she doesn't hesitate to stick the knife in. You might not even feel it right away, but the outcome only depends on what she wants from you."

Katie turned her hand over and squeezed Trinity's with her own, nodding across the room to where the woman in question was now hanging all over Christian.

"Oh God!" Katie muttered agitatedly. "Please don't let her get her talons into Christian again. I'm surprised you didn't say anything to her, yourself, you know, Taryn. You're obviously a bigger person than I am."

Trinity felt her stomach lurch and only barely acknowledged Katie's words. Her attention trained, instead, on how Christian had his head dipped as if he was listening intently and how the woman's hands clutched hold of him, her body arching into his as if she knew him intimately.

ChapterThirty-Four

Trinity watched them quietly, nausea bubbling in her stomach and threatening to have her revisit the too many desserts she’d indulged in during the evening.

Giving a quick glance around the ballroom—was he looking to see if she had spotted the two of them?—he grasped the woman's arm and hurried her out of sight.

It seemed like an age before he reappeared, thankfully alone this time, though it had probably only been ten minutes. Nevertheless, he sought her out upon his return and told Trinity he needed to leave.

The drive home was strained and it was clear from his taciturn demeanour that he didn't plan on staying over, as he had every other night since the Sunday he had turned up at her apartment.

He didn't provide any reason or excuse for his hasty exit as he pulled up outside her apartment block. Just bid her a somewhat strained goodbye, without so much as a kiss goodnight, before he drove away in such a hurry that she could hear his tyres spinning,

So, what the heck did all that mean?

Trinity couldn’t help the way her mind ran away with her. Had he arranged some kind of secret assignation with the mystery blonde? Was that the cause of the all fired hurry to get back to his hotel after they disappeared from the ball? Was she waiting for him back at his hotel, waiting for Christian to dispatch his date, so they could move on to their own brand of dessert?

No! Trinity scolded herself as she walked slowly across to the double doors leading to her building's vestibule, trying her best not to dwell on the fact that he hadn't even stopped long enough to ensure that she made it inside safely.

You're being stupid and reading into things that aren't there. There's probably a perfectly good explanation as to why he cut the evening short and chose to go back to his hotel for the night. And it's not as if he left you miles from the entryway. It's just a few yards, and you're perfectly capable of looking after yourself! You’ve been doing it for years.

Trinity kept up the internal monologue all the way into her building and up the escalator. By the time she crawled into her bed—alone—she’d almost managed to convince the devil on her shoulder that it was wrong.

But as she pulled the covers up over herself and snuggled down into the bed which suddenly seemed too big and lonely, she couldn't help the shiver of apprehension that shuddered down her spine.

She closed her eyes and wagged a metaphoric finger at herself, determined to maintain some positivity.

You're just cold!

ChapterThirty-Five

Christian barely contained the urge to punch his hand right through the plasterboard wall of his hotel suite.

Frantically pacing from one side of the lounge area to the other in an attempt to work off some of the fury and frustration he was feeling, he stilled, let out a fierce, frustrated growl, and rubbed his hands harshly over his face before tunnelling them into his hair and fisting them tight.

The unrelieved pinpricks of pain went a little way to easing his rage, but nowhere near enough. He huffed out an audible breath then sucked it all back in again in an attempt to calm himself.

He knew he hadn't treated Trinity with the care and respect she deserved when he'd cut their night short and dumped her outside her apartment building before tearing off. But at the time, he hadn't been thinking straight.

His mind had been one thick blur of red rage and molten lava that was straining to erupt, and he hadn't wanted to put Trinity in the firing line when he knew his temper was right on the tipping edge of pure fury. Better to get her out of the way and deal with those consequences later…and pray to God that she was prepared to listen.

Christian grabbed his phone and tried his lawyer yet again. Must be the fourth or fifth time tonight already. He knew it was late, but goddamn it, he was desperate! He barely avoided launching the handset and smashing it into the ground when his call went to voicemail yet again. The only thing that stopped him was the chilling knowledge that he desperately needed to contact his bloody lawyer, and he wouldn't be able to if his phone was smashed to pieces.

Hanging his head and pausing to try to get his brain into gear, Christian struggled to think of an alternative avenue of counsel.

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