Page 101 of House of Lies

She hastily shakes her head, putting down what’s left of her burger and watching me warily as she deliberately chews.

“Good girl.”

Her cheeks turn rosy, and she ducks her head before taking another—much smaller—bite of her cheese-and-bacon burger. Her fries are long gone. She smothered them in hot sauce and gobbled them down as soon as Jim brought them up.

If I’d known it would be this much fun to tease her, I’d have been doing it all day, every day.

“I need you to be on your best behavior tonight,” I tell her, toying with a fry. My appetite isn’t what it should be. Asking Myles for a favor is like striking a deal with the Devil. You always end up paying more than you bargained for.

I don’t know what he’ll want from me in return. I just know things will turn violent if he expects to get anything from Cassidy.

“You just told me I’m a good girl,” she snarks back, cocking an eyebrow at me as she licks barbecue sauce off her lips. Fuck, how I wish it was my cum.

I shift in my seat, ignoring the way my cock hardens at the thought of filling her mouth and throat with my seed.

“I mean it, Cassidy. Myles is…dangerous.”

She puts the last few bites of her burger down, frowning at me over the kitchen island. I didn’t think it was a good idea for us to sit at the dining table, not with such a fresh memory of what happened there last night. And from the way she keeps glancing over there, I’m sure she’s happy I pulled out a kitchen stool for her instead.

She’s quiet for a few seconds, picking up her burger and studying it from various angles. “What do you mean, dangerous? Like he carries a gun or something?”

I smile. “He doesn’t have to.”

She frowns at me. “What the hell does that mean?”

“You’re safe with me, as long as you do exactly what I say.”

Cassidy doesn’t seem impressed with this answer, but she finishes her burger without interrogating me further.

Good.

The less she knows about Myles Balmont, the better. I wouldn’t even have involved him in her mother’s disappearance if I didn’t know how desperate Cassidy was for answers.

I’m just hoping he has more luck finding Rebecca than he did finding Becks.

I sent him a message this morning when I woke up to let him know I was back in the city and that I needed a favor. He hasn’t replied yet, but he’s read the message. Knowing him, he won’t bother responding. He’ll just come through when it’s most convenient for?—

There’s a soft ping from the direction of the elevator.

I’m on my feet in a second. “He’s here.”

Cassidy stands, her throat moving as she swallows nervously.

I glance over at her and then do a double take. She’s still wearing the t-shirt she slept in, her chestnut hair in loose curls around her throat and shoulders. The thin fabric does little to hide her luscious curves or her dark nipples.

“Christ, go put on some clothes.”

She flinches at the tone of my voice, but I guess she doesn’t want to receive a guest in her outfit either, because she hurries down the hall like the Devil’s nipping at her heels.

An apt metaphor.

Chapter 41

Cassidy

I stare into the empty laundry hamper with rising dread. Where the hell is the yellow dress I wore yesterday? Don’t tell me he sent it to be cleaned! I rush back into Ethan’s bedroom, tossing his pillows onto the floor and pulling back the bedsheets, hoping to find the dress cramming into a crevice somewhere.

“Shit.”

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