Page 51 of Devious Gambit

“Why don’t you tell me about your family, since you know so much about mine?” I asked him.

He ripped his eyes away from his phone. “Okay. Fine. My great grandfather started a company called Luxon Soap. You might’ve heard of it.”

“I have for a matter of fact. But I don’t particularly like that brand. I don’t like the smell. No offence.”

“None taken. Anyway, he started off making the soap in his house, and the company grew from there into a multimillion dollar, multinational business. And…I’m expected to get a degree in business and management, which I hate, so I can step into the Luxon cog.”

“Is that what you want?”

“No. But it’s complicated.”

“How?”

“My older brother, Max, disappointed the clan by announcing he wanted to start his own business in construction. He’s done really well for himself, but that’s not enough to please the clan leaders. So now, they’re expecting me to step up where my brother refused to.” He messed his black hair up with his fingers in frustration, and I trembled in desire at how sexy he looked.

“What would you rather study?” I asked, enjoying him opening up and that the conversation wasn’t about sex lessons and my father.

“Marine biology,” he answered swiftly, patting the octopus tattoo on his arm.

“Really?” I wondered if he was joking.

“I have a great fascination with sea creatures and I dive any chance I get.”

“Why did you choose an inland university to study at?”

“I didn’t choose it. It’s the university my father and grandfather went to, there’s even a sculpture in the university gardens dedicated to them. Luxon is a well-known name here in KV, just like Wheeler, Harrington, Fontaine, Buchanan, Sweeney…”

I said, “You’d think they’d erect a sculpture in the bathroom where the soap is.”

He snorted. “Luxon donates a shitload of soap and shampoo products to this school…as well as money, of course.”

I screwed my face up. “I know. I can tell by the smell left on my hands when I use the bathroom in the library.”

“Have you ever been diving in the ocean?” he enquired.

“I haven’t been to the ocean.”

“Really? You’ve never experienced the sand between your toes, or exploring rock pools, or listening to the waves pound the shore.”

I glanced up at him as he spoke, heartened by the expression on his handsome face. The ocean was his happy place and even going there in his mind relaxed him. “No. I’ve only visited our great lakes.” The memory of Tris pushing Sweeney further into the lake with his oar haunted my mind and I shuddered, suddenly feeling cold.

His curious eyes met mine, as he pulled the blanket up to my neck to keep me warm. “Maybe I should take you one day.” He turned on his side and snuggled up to me, draping his arm over my stomach, nestling his face into my neck. It was a gorgeous feeling to be cradled and nurtured in such a way, but I knew it wouldn’t last.

“Don’t promise anything you can’t keep,” I whispered.

“I didn’t promise. I said ‘maybe’,” he clarified mid-yawn. “You’d look good in a bikini, by the way, if you got some color on your pasty skin.”

“I’d burn and blister.”

“Wear sunscreen lotion.”

“You smell nice,” I said, because he did. He always smelt nice, a lovely mix of citrus cologne and manliness. I could feel his untamed penis gently prod my side as he tangled his legs up with mine. That thing was a great fascination to me, just like men were. They’re such frighteningly alluring creatures and I was constantly curious as to how they function and think. I wondered if anyone had done a comprehensive study on the male human species. If there’s a book out there, I needed to find it.

“You smell like pesto and beer,” he replied.

“Is that a good smell?”

“It’s not a bad smell.”

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