Page 30 of The Devil's Daughter

I frown at the sharp pang of envy that slices through me. But as much as I’d love to be the object of her attention, that darker part of me wants just as much to watch things unfold between them.

I feel Ben’s gaze on me and swivel to meet it. He narrows his eyes and tilts his chin. “This is your kink, isn’t it? Watching. Whatever happened when you were a kid, it did that to you.”

My neck prickles with shame, but I nod. “I can’t let myself watch strangers, or watch women who don’t know I’m watching, but I can’t purge myself of the need to watch.”

“Well, I think we all need to keep it in our pants for the rest of the week. Too much is at stake for us to let down our guard, sowatchingis all you’ll get to do.”

15

Baz

Concentratingon my work is a chore with Elle so close. I didn’t want to tell her not to help—she’s brilliant when it comes to research like this—but I’m about to crawl out of my skin with the need to touch her. Chances are I’d have been no better off working alone though, my thoughts where they are, so I keep at it, half my brain fixated on what Ben might’ve experienced last night, the other half doing a deep-dive through digital footprints of all the names on Drake’s guest list.

After about the fifth time I pause to look at her, she pushes her chair back, saying, “Okay, you need to loosen up. Whatever’s going through your head isn’t as bad as you think.”

She moves behind me and starts digging her thumbs into my lats, and for the moment I can’t even speak, it feels so fucking good. She massages for a minute, and when her hands reach my neck, I hang my head and sigh.

“What’s going through my head isn’t what I’d callbad, Elle. But it can’t happen. You’re technically a client. What Ben did shouldn’t have happened either.”

“Ben didn’t do anything. He had a bad dream, that’s all.” When I narrow my eyes at her, she huffs and shakes her head. “Fine. I’ll leave it alone and let you guys do your jobs. But I’m not apologizing for last night.”

“Thank you.”

We manage to maintain some level of professionalism for the rest of the day, though it becomes clear that night that Ben is suffering from keeping his distance. He wakes up all three of us with his night terrors. Drake and Elle come running, and it only takes Ben’s look of desperation when he sees them to put together what probably happened last night when I wasn’t here.

He wants them both, yet he sends them away, rising instead to head up to the galley as the pair shut themselves back in their rooms. I don’t miss a silent look that passes between them, but the only thing I read is genuine concern.

I join Ben in the galley, digging around in the cabinets until I find some herbal tea bags. The place is equipped with a commercial coffee maker that has a hot water dispenser built in, so I make us both cups and set them on the counter to steep.

“Talk to me,hermano,” I say. “I know you’re keeping something inside. Something about last night.”

His eyes have dark circles under them, and his hair sticks out in wayward spikes. He leans on the edge of the steel countertop watching steam rise from the mugs between us.

“Thought it was a dream,” he finally says, then chuckles as he shakes his head. “Itstillfeels like a fucking dream.” He pins me with a direct look, eyes narrowed. “You thought I slept with Drake, didn’t you?”

“Did you?” I ask.

His nostrils flare and he looks away again, eyes haunted. He always seems so fragile after one of his dreams, like if I push too hard, he’ll break. “Sort of. I mean, weslepttogether. With Elle between us. Holding her …”

He heaves a breath, and his tortured look is back when he returns his gaze to mine. “I don’t know if I can stay away, Baz. After being with her, she’s all I think about, and you know as well as I do that she monopolized our thoughts already. But now there’s Drake too… It doesn’t make sense that I want them both so much.”

I silently curse and reach for my mug, dipping the teabag a few times before lifting it to test the temperature. It’s not too hot to drink, so I take a swallow while I gather my thoughts.

“Well, we know for a fact that kind of thing can work. Look at Leo with Mad Dog and Celeste.”

“But it can’t. Not right now, anyway. I just don’t know how to move forward after last night. How are you managing it?”

A bitter laugh escapes and I shake my head. “You think I’m managing? Jesus, you must not be paying attention. Knowing youbothslept with her—together—is killing me. I wish I didn’t know. I could’ve at least kept up the same old ruse that she doesn’t affect me as much as she does. We’ve managed to fake it so long it’s second nature by now. But knowing she wanted me for even a split-second in the middle of all that... It’s fuckingtorture, brother. I don’t know how long I can stay sane with this. I want her so much I can taste it.”

“Fuck. I didn’t know,” he says in a subdued tone, reaching for his mug. He leans back against the opposite counter with a dejected look. We don’t speak again after that, just sip our tea in silent misery until we head back to our rooms to sleep alone.

The next day is much of the same, with Elle joining me to continue hunting for leads on who’s trying to blackmail Drake. Drake and Ben hole up in Drake’s office on a lower deck, discussing the security plan for the gala. I almost hope the pair are taking out their frustrations on each other, but when they reappear for dinner, neither look any more relaxed.

That night is a repeat of the night before, but this time Ben and I liberate a bottle of tequila from Drake’s liquor cabinet and sit up on the bridge deck overlooking the water. The twinkling lights of Two Harbors sparkle like fallen stars in the distance.

“Nothing like a little tea-quila to settle your mind late at night,” I say, grinning as I crack open the cap and take a healthy swallow straight from the bottle. “Should’ve thought of this last night.”

Ben chuckles and sits back, propping his feet up on the rail. “Man, I don’t look forward to Saturday. You know Sam’s going to be there with Toni. I still can’t fucking get used to seeing those two together, and I definitely can’t stand the looks he’s giving us, like we might sullyhissister’s honor.”

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