Page 133 of Explosive Prejudice

I did, but it didn’t mean he should do the same. My plan was a fucking masterpiece.

I smiled and put my hand on his shoulder as he lit his cigarette. “You just don’t get it. We have two devils on our back. What better way than to send them after each other?”

“With you in the middle?” He blew the smoke out. “There’s no fucking way.”

I snorted. “I’m just the bait, babe. Nothing will happen to me.”

Turning around, Camilo leaned his arms on the rail while smoking. The sounds of the waves crashing against the pier filled the silence as I came to rest beside him.

“You need to understand something about my father. He’s a possessive, jealous narcissist who sees me as his possession.” I took the cigarette from Camilo, brought it to my lips, and took a deep drag. Blowing the smoke out, I passed it back to him. “No offense, but to my father, you’re nothing but a small obstacle in his way. He doesn’t see you as a threat, and I bet my money he’s positive I’ll go running back to him any day now.”

“Fucker,” Camilo hissed.

“Dion is not the same. He’s a rival. Someone to watch out for. Someone who can take away his control.” When my father felt out of control, it was unsettling for him, and he acted on it. “Like you said, there are no coincidences in life, and my father visiting you at the club was intentional. Knowing him the way I do, he was there to check the grounds and to see who Dion was. I bet what he discovered pissed him off.” Camilo said nothing as I went on. “All we need to do is make my father believe I’m done with you and moved on to Dion, and that’s it. He’ll find a way to get rid of him while Dion does the same. And as they burn each other to the ground, so will the chains binding us to them.”

Camilo sighed and shifted his weight from one leg to the other before stretching his neck. “What if it doesn’t work?”

Stealing his smoke once again, I took the last drag, grabbed the collar of his shirt, and pulled him into a shotgun kiss. When he opened his mouth to me, I blew the thick smoke between his parted lips and waited until he slowly exhaled before deepening the kiss.

I broke the kiss and locked eyes with him. “It will. All you need is to trust me.”

Camilo held my stare for another moment before he nodded. “Fine.” He cupped the back of my neck and pulled me close. “But you better promise me you’ll keep yourself safe when I’m not there to do it myself.”

I smiled. “You know I will.”

Shay-Lee

“Neat on the rocks?” Dion offered, his back half turned to me.

“Always.” I gave him a sly smile while waiting comfortably on the leather couch in his office.

“That’s a good boy.”

Ignoring my urge to gag at his comment, I pretended to like it by tilting my head and biting my lips.

After pouring the drink on top of the ice cubes and adding a twist of orange, Dion returned to sit beside me on the couch. As always, he was dressed like a slut, with a deep V-neck shirt that showed off his pecs and tailored trousers that clung to his thick thighs. A few months ago, it would have worked for me, and I’d have licked my lips imagining sucking his cock, but now, I wanted to slit his throat with a knife.

“Thank you,” I said, oozing charm as I took the drink from his hand, brushing our fingers on the way before settling back against the couch and lifting my legs to rest them on Dion’s lap.

He seemed surprised yet pleased as he placed his hand on my ankle and caressed the strip of skin between my shoe and pants with his thumb.

“You’re behaving awfully sweet today.”

Taking a sip from my drink, I licked my lips. “Well, turns out you were right.” I picked out the orange slice decorating the glass and sucked it between my lips.

“I often am, but do you mind telling me what we’re referring to specifically?”

I dropped the orange back into the drink, then put the glass down. “About you telling me I shouldn’t be with a whore.” Resting my head on the couch, I lifted my leg. “Take off my shoe.” I watched his face gleam with pleasure as he slid off my leather loafers.

Now barefoot, I put my foot back on his thigh and gently rubbed him.

“Turns out you were right about that. I should never have wasted my time on a penniless whore.” Never before was a lie so painful on my lips, but I needed to remind myself that it was for a bigger cause. I kept up the act as Dion grabbed my foot and placed it right on his lap, letting me feel his growing erection.

“And what made you change your mind?” he asked, the pad of his fingers dancing over my skin, greedily sliding underneath the hem of my pants.

“Well, I simply realized Nero was nothing but a rebellious phase against my father.”

He perked up in his seat, eager to learn more. “A rebellious phase, you say?”

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