Page 36 of Cruel Riches

“Yes. You’re trying to scare me, and it’s not working.”

“Okay.” He clicked a few buttons on the phone and held it up to show me. “What does this look like?”

A grainy video started playing on the screen. It showed Francis Lockwood’s study in black and white, filmed from the window side of the room. A dark-haired girl was rifling through the Chippendale desk on the left, dressed in a black outfit and beanie.

“That… that’s not me,” I said. “You just recreated that night with some other girl to scare me.”

Nate smiled. “Are you sure about that? Do you really want to risk it?”

I wasn’t sure at all.

“What do you think will happen if I report you to the cops and give them that video?” Nate went on, sliding his phone back into his pocket. “My law knowledge is a bit rusty, but I’m pretty sure you’ll end up with some sort of record. That’ll make your life quite difficult, won’t it?”

There was a sinkhole opening inside me, gaping wider and wider with every second that passed.

“What do you want, Nate?” I asked in a hollow voice.

He rubbed his jaw. “I haven’t decided yet.”

I gritted my teeth. “Just tell me what I have to do to make you delete that video, and I’ll do it.”

“Okay. I want you to get on your knees and suck my cock,” he replied, eyes glittering like broken glass.

I scoffed. “You must be joking. I wouldn’t blow you even if you were the last man on the planet and your dick shot out diamonds.”

He closed the gap between us and pressed his body up to mine. “I don’t think that’s true,” he said, grasping my chin with one hand. His touch sent shockwaves ricocheting through me.

I tried to put on a brave face to mask the panic prickling down my spine. “Why’d you send that girl away if you’re so desperate for action? She seemed drunk and high enough to actually want to fuck you.”

“I didn’t want her tonight. I’d rather have your lips wrapped around my cock,” he said, leaning further down so that his mouth hovered only inches above mine. His hot breath was skating over my skin, but all I felt were chills of fear.

“I’m not going to blow you, Nate,” I said, wishing my voice wasn’t cracking from nervousness.

His muscular arms pinned me to the wall of the gazebo, one on each side. “Do it and that video gets deleted.”

“You probably have other copies,” I said, shaking my head slowly. “So even if I let you blackmail me into a blowjob tonight, you’ll just keep doing it.”

“I don’t have any other copies.” His lips moved even closer to my mouth, sending shivers down my spine. His thumb caressed my cheek, the gentle gesture at odds with his hostile gaze. “But I guess there’s only one way for you to find out for sure.”

I let out a shaky breath. “Why are you doing this?” I whispered, even though I already knew the answer.

It was about power.

He didn’t want me. He just wanted me to know he could control me and make me do whatever he wanted, like a puppeteer pulling on my strings.

His hands wrapped around my neck, and his smirk morphed into a cold sneer. “I’m giving you a chance here, Alexis. Take it before my patience runs out.”

He pressed against my throat until I could barely breathe. “Please, let me go,” I choked out. “I just want to go home.”

“And I want you to suck my cock,” he said, moving one hand to my hair. He fisted a handful of strands, pulling it until I yelped. “You aren’t leaving here until I get what I want.”

I stared into his eyes, finding them totally devoid of emotion. He wasn’t lying. I wasn’t going home tonight until he’d forced me to my knees.

I thought about kneeing him in the balls or spitting in his face, but then I remembered the video on his phone. Images of lawyers and jail cells flashed in the front of my mind, and I swallowed hard and bit my bottom lip.

I had to do it.

Nate must’ve seen the acceptance flit over my face, because he smirked and started pushing me down, one hand on my shoulders and the other still wound up in my hair, yanking it until my eyes watered. “Fight me if you want,” he muttered. “It’ll only make me harder.”

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