Page 109 of Queen Of Dark Money

Ireached a hand out toRiver, and he took it in his own, kissing it in the gentle, patronizing way he had about him whenItried to get close. “Notat all.He’sjust downstairs right now, watching the ground floor for me.Idon’t trust anyone else to run this place in my absence.”

Inodded in understanding, my eyes refusing to let go of his gaze.Whenhe looked away first, it reminded me ofRafe’sdeparture, andIfelt like someone had shoved my boat back out to sea and taken my oars away, leaving me adrift again.

Jaspernoticed, the ticking in his lower jaw unmistakable.Histhroat worked as he struggled for words to say that wouldn’t leave him at his command.Whenhe did manage to get them to come out, they were stilted and rough, almost like he was trying not to cry, too.

“Youknow, it took me three days to figure out why my coffee tasted like half a mojito when you left.”Hissmile was genuine, but it didn’t reach his eyes, and that saddened me more thanIcared to admit. “Thesugar and salt exchange was a good one, too.”Hiseyes were swimming with unshed tears when he finally looked down at me, andIfelt the sheer force of his emotions bombard me as a single tear slipped down his cheek and dripped onto my chest, the only evidence that this strong, stubborn man was as affected by all this asIwas. “ShouldIbe worriedImissed a prank?”

Ilifted a hand and brushed away the tear tracks, hiding his weakness from anyone near enough to see it, determined to help him maintain his stoic appearance. “Nope.Ithink you got themall.”Hisattempts to sway me to happiness were working just a bit, andIwas glad for him in this moment, whenIneeded him most. “ButI’mhappy to come over and make more mischief for you, if you missed the chaos that badly.Underone condition.”

Hissmile was infectious now, and reflected in those gorgeous eyes as he chuckled, sliding intoRiver’sfoyer as the other man held the door open for him. “Nameit.”

“NexttimeIget on your nerves, you tie me up in your own house and punish me yourself instead of giving me to another man to deal with.”

Theheat that flooded his gaze was enough to scorch me to my bones, andIfelt the panic and despair slipping away in the wake of his sassy smirk.

“You’vegot a deal,Kenzie,” he whispered in my ear, depositing me on the couch next toRiverso he could march over to the door and check the locks.Supposethere was something to a man who didn’t trust anything when it came to safety.

Rivershifted against me, pulling me into his embrace as he tucked me under an arm and sighed. “You’vehad a hell of a day, haven’t you?”Hisgaze lowered, andIcould tell he remembered another night not so long ago when we’d been on the couch in his office, me wearing this same thing, cuddling up to hide fromRafeand his rage. “Youought to get some rest.Thingswon’t pick up here until later.”

“Willyou stay with me?”Iasked shamelessly, hoping he’d given up on thiscan’t touch the princessthing since it’d revealed thatIwasn’t who they thoughtIwas.

“Sure,Icould use a few extra hours of sleep,” he muttered, looking around the room forJasper. “Stone, you down to take a nap?”

Jaspershook his head as he emerged from the kitchen area, holding a mug of coffee in one hand, his laptop tucked under the other arm. “Nah, you go ahead.Ihave some things to see to.”Heheld out his free hand in my direction, waggling his fingers in agimmemotion. “Iam gonna need your phone, though.Iwanna check it for bugs, make sure they’re not tracking you by yourSIMcard or anything.”

Ididn’t think twice, handing it over without question.Iwas just pleased to not have to think about things like this for once.Thewhole trip toKhulaCitywas a rollercoaster of bad decisions, chaos, and drama.Iwas done making decisions for the day.

Riverdidn’t let me walk to the spare room.Instead, he hoisted me into his arms, carrying me down the hall and into his own room, kicking the door closed behind him.Igiggled stupidly when he dropped me on the bed and quickly scooted over to make room for him on the side that was obviously where he slept.

Hishand wrapped around my ankle and tugged me back to his side, nearly to the edge of the bed, as he stepped up and pulled me into a sitting position. “Youcan’t sleep in that, sweetheart,” he rasped, his eyes roaming over my half-covered body again with a look of pure lust. “Wantone of my shirts?”

Itwas intoxicating, this powerIheld over these men, the animal magnetism they seemed almost addicted to at my fingertips, waiting for me to utilize it.Abusingit wasn’t in my nature, butIcouldn’t resist the thought of tapping into such a power to bring them all to their knees for me.Turningthe tables on each and every one of them like they’d done to me when they plucked me from the party and became complicit in my kidnapping and concurrent captivity.

AndI’dwantedRiversinceIshowed up on his doorstep, the fucker.Sincehe’d fucked another man in front of me, watching my eyes and my body as he fucked and sucked and teased me with that cock of his without a single touch.

“Sure,”Iwhispered, grabbing him by the lapels of his fancy coat, dragging him against me, between my legs, beforeItoppledbackward on the bed, pulling him along with me. “Ormaybe you could just help me out of this getup, and we could share body heat.”

Hiseyes widened, flashing with a dangerous sort of look thatIrecognized from my years of dealing with bad men. “Thatsounds an awful lot like an invitation, sweetheart, andI’mnot sureI’mstrong enough to keep my hands to myself if we crawl in bed together this time.”Hiseyes crawled over my body again, noting the minuscule space between us. “Especiallyif you’re wearing next to nothing at all.”

Iwrapped a leg around the back of his calf and groaned, closing my eyes, wanting the events of the day to disappear.Hecould help me.Sure, using sex as a coping mechanism wasn’t smart or healthy in the least, but it was allIhad.

“WhosaidIwant you to keep those hands to yourself?”

Hislips were on me beforeIcould take another breath.

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

RIVER

Shewas perfection.Shewas everythingI’dnever knownIwas missing in life.Sincethe moment she walked into my home, strutting around half-naked to ward off the flooziesIwas insistent on bringing back for a tryst,Ihadn’t even so much as looked at another woman with lust or desire.She’dconsumed every waking moment of my existence, her body seared into my memory, the feel of her flesh under my palm asIswatted her ass for being such a brat the only thingIcould think about whenItook myself in hand at night.

Fuck,I’djerked off more in the past week thanIhad in my whole life, it felt like.Shewas everything, everywhere, in every little moment of my life, and now thatIknew she wasn’t whoI’dfeared she was, she was no longer off-limits.Icould do with her asIpleased.

Startingwith kissing the sass off those pretty lips of hers.

Fuck.

Sheparted her lips on a sigh, andItook full advantage, slipping my hands under her arms to hoist her further up on the bed as she wound around me like a cat, our tongues teasing and exploring each other in a tangoI’dforgotten could be so fun.

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