Page 18 of Sensual Games

This was it. The straw that officially broke the camel’s back. Sitting in a beautiful room in a beautiful lodge, forced to stay with a man whose skills in bed in no way outweighed his capacity for being a vindictive asswipe.

“I hope you’re proud of yourself.” I couldn’t look at him. My entire body was so tight and tense I could barely move. It took everything I had not to start screaming and maybe break a few things for good measure.

“It doesn’t have to be so bad,” he offered with a shrug after closing the door. The man lived on another planet. That was the only explanation I could come up with for his blasé attitude. “Everybody was pleasant and helpful about sharing rooms.”

“Stop talking,” I warned. He had the nerve to wander the room and make it sound like I was being irrational. My heart was breaking, and I was on the verge of collapse after working my ass off to put this together in no time, but this spoiled baby couldn’t let me succeed without throwing one more wrench into the works just because he could.

“You can always stay with one of your friends.” He set his bag on the bed and unzipped it as he spoke, already getting himself settled in. “That Brad guy would share his room with you,” he mused with a nasty little chuckle like it was all a big joke.

“I’m pretty sure I told you to stop talking.” My head snapped up so I could glare at him even as I fought back frustrated, weary tears. “And you have no right to make jokes like that. Why don’t you go and stay with Brad, instead? Or literally anyone else but me.”

I might as well have recommended major surgery with no anesthesia. “News flash… it’s not going to happen.”

“Right. Because you are so much better than everybody here.” The worst part was he didn’t bother contradicting me, only lifting a shoulder as he began to unpack.

“Stop.” I groaned. “We are not sharing this room, and we are not sharing a bed.”

“We’ve done it before,” he reminded me with a knowing laugh that made me wonder how he’d look with only one eye after I clawed the other one out.

And yet, my entire body insisted on reacting favorably to the memory. It didn’t matter what my brain thought about it. A shiver ran through me and made goose bumps race up and down my arms while heat exploded in my core.Not the time, not the time. He’s literally the devil.

“That was then,” I reminded him back. “Like I told you, I didn’t know at the time we would be working together, and neither did you.”

“You’re still going with that argument, Poison?”

I would lose teeth before much longer if I kept grinding them every time he called me that. “So help me, God, I will throw you out,” I whispered. When he had the nerve to snort, I stood and held him in place with my unblinking stare. “Try me.”

“Okay, for fuck’s sake.” He raised his hands like I was holding him up. “Things have happened, but you know, we might actually be able to enjoy ourselves.”

“Unlikely.” A horrible thought crossed my mind and almost made me forget how furious I was. “We can’t have people knowing we share a room. This isn’t going to work. You have to go.”

“Nobody needs to know. Unless you decide to start bitching about it to your friends.”

“I have more important things to worry about. Such as keeping this whole event on track.” When he didn’t seem impressed, I added, “You know, you don’t even have to be here. Why are you here, anyway?”

He paused in the middle of placing socks in the dresser. “This is my company.”

“It’s your father’s company,” I reminded him. He could pretend, but I wasn’t fooled. The reminder irked him to no end. “And considering how you think you’re so far above sharing a room with one of your employees, I can’t imagine you getting anything out of the experience.”

“Let me worry about what I’m going to get out of the experience.” He slammed the suitcase shut, his jaw tightening. “You worry about everything else. And don’t worry about what will happen if we have to share this king-size bed. Right now, I wouldn’t touch you on a dare, Poison.” He had a talent for sounding brutally dismissive.

“So long as nobody knows,” I reminded him, and his only response was a sigh.

What could I do? Short of killing him, which was still not completely off the table, I had no choice but to accept this infuriating turn of events. Since we were already running late, and my schedule for the evening was completely screwed as a result, there was no time to hash things out. “I need to get down to the banquet room. I need to make sure everything’s all set for dinner.”

“Don’t let me stop you.”

I knew I should walk away, at least let myself cool down a little before I said anything that would get me fired. Then again, I had already said more than enough that would’ve had me packing my things under any other circumstances. Somehow, I was still employed.

“I just want to know why.” With my hand on the doorknob, I turned to him. He had the nerve to arch an eyebrow like he was genuinely unconcerned. “Why did you do that? Why go out of your way to sabotage me? I wouldn’t have done it to you.”

His features shifted, and for a second there, I thought he might genuinely feel sorry, but it didn’t last long. By the time he took a breath to speak, he was wearing the same unconcerned expression. “Maybe you deserved it after undermining me.”

“After you cut me out of that meeting,” I reminded him, my voice shaking with barely suppressed hatred. That was the excuse he was going with? “You know, it’s no wonder your father didn’t trust you to run things on your own because you are a complete child.”

Satisfaction spread through me at the sight of his jaw falling open as I made my exit. Good. Let him figure out he’s not playing games with somebody who would turn the other cheek when he insisted on acting like a bastard.

I only wished I didn’t feel slightly bad about saying it as I hurried down the hall on my way to the banquet room. If his feelings were hurt, he deserved it. Maybe he would learn not to cross me. Though, I doubted anybody had ever stood up to him the way I did.

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