Page 8 of The Inquirer

“Yes,” he said quietly. “You do.”

Dammit.

“Her name is Antoinette Houston. She’s my ex. Really ex.”

I must’ve looked like I didn’t believe him – I didn’t – because he kept talking.

“Look, we started dating in college. I was a senior, she was a junior. We were serious.” He scratched at his cheek, an absent gesture that, for some reason, annoyed me. “A little over a year after she graduated, she and my dad started having an affair. It was nearly six months before I caught them.”

My eyes widened, my drunken brain still functioning well enough to remember what I’d found in my investigation. Something about Bradyn leaving his father’s campaign and an affair Clancy Traylor’d supposedly had.

“She’s the reason you left your father’s campaign.”

His mouth tightened. “You’ve been doing your homework.”

“I’ve been doing my job, actually.”

Shit, I was losing some of my buzz. That was the last thing I wanted, especially around Bradyn. If I got sober, I’d be relieved that he hadn’t slept with Antionette, and that would be a bad thing.

“Yeah, we’ll need to talk about that job of yours, but not now. In the morning, after you’ve sobered up.”

I glared at him, even though collapsing on my bed right now sounded like a good idea. I didn’t need him telling me what to do. I didn’t need anyone for anything.

“Fuck you.”

He took a step toward me, and I barely stopped myself from backing away. “Is that a fuck you and the horse you rode in on, or is it a I want to fuck you six ways from Sunday?”

I swallowed hard and tried to remember that I was pissed at him. Except I couldn’t really remember why I was supposed to be pissed at him. The naked woman thing wasn’t what I’d thought, and what I’d assumed about him and his family might not have been what it’d looked like either.

How the hell was I supposed to think when he smelled so damn good?

He came close enough for me to feel the heat of him, so different from the heavy, humid warmth of an early October night in Georgia. His eyes met mine, and I couldn’t look away. I was frozen in place, desperately wanting him to touch me, even though another part of me never wanted him this close to me again.

He raised his hand and pushed some hair back from my face, his fingertips practically singeing me. For two long seconds, I thought he’d kiss me, and I knew I’d let him. If he kissed me, I’d be lost. We’d end up in one of our cabins, tearing each other’s clothes off. No matter how much my body wanted that to happen, my head insisted that it’d be the worst idea in the history of worst ideas.

“Which is it, little firebird? I think we both know which one is more fun.” He bent his head down so that his mouth was next to my ear, his voice rumbling through my body and setting me on fire. “I could bend you right over that porch railing and have you screamin’ my name in no time. Or you could ride me into oblivion, squeeze my prick in that tight cunt of yours until we’re both cross-eyed and can’t walk straight.”

I let out a shaky breath. Fuck.

He straightened. “I think I can trust you to get into bed without any help. Good night, ma’am.”

I stared at him, jaw hanging open, not really believing he would leave me here like this…until he disappeared into his cabin and shut the door behind him.

Motherfucking bastard.

Five

Bradyn

Congratulations, Bradyn, I thought as I entered my cabin and closed the door behind me. You’ve managed to completely let your dick take over.

That wasn’t entirely true. If my cock’d had its way, it would’ve been buried deep inside Nyx already. That would’ve been bad for numerous reasons, not the least of which was because she was drunk.

After her friend’s wedding, she’d been a little tipsy, but I hadn’t doubted her ability to consent. Tonight though…I wasn’t so sure. She’d been damn lucky Isaac had been there to bring her back. If she’d met a guy like that prick at the hotel bar the first night she arrived here, I wasn’t sure things would’ve turned out the way they had.

I might not trust her anymore, but I wouldn’t wish harm on her, especially not that. A man would have to be a special kind of bastard to think that way.

I walked over to the window and looked outside, careful not to move the curtains. I wanted to make sure she went into her cabin rather than wandering around in the dark, but I didn’t want her to know I was checking up on her. She’d be even more furious at me, and that would be one more thing to deal with in the morning.

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