Page 48 of Beautiful Cruelty

I reach for a handkerchief, and clean myself up.

I knockand enter Lacey's room, finding her perched on the edge of the bed. Her ankle is propped up on a pillow.

"Your belongings." I hold out her purse and phone.

She takes them carefully, her fingers brushing mine.

"Did you hack my phone?" Her fingers tighten around the device and her voice is steady without a hint of accusation, like she's stating a plain fact.

"Yes." There's no point hiding the truth from her.

"And what did you find?"

"A very concerned sister who now knows you’ve returned what belongs to me, and who now believes that you're going to be spending quite some time in Paris."

"You had no right doing that." Her jaw drops. "Lying to her!"

"What part of what I said is a lie?" I ask. "Go ahead and read the messages yourself. Every one of them is the technical truth of what happened after our paths crossed at the Vorobyov event."

"I'll be the one to judge that." Her eyes narrow slightly. "What else did you find?"

"Your photos. All of them."

Her breath catches, and a delicious flush spreads across her cheeks. The way she shifts on the bed, even with her injured ankle, draws my attention to her legs. Her fingers tighten on the phone as if she could somehow delete those photos through sheer force of will.

But it's too late now. I've seen them all.

There's something else in her reactions. A slight parting of her lips, her pupils dilating just a fraction. She's embarrassed, yes, but there's unmistakable desire there too.

The same desire I saw in those photos.

Her tongue darts out to wet her bottom lip, and the movement sends a shiver of desire up my spine. Unable to resist, I reach out and tuck a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear, and move my hand to cup her chin.

It's taking every bit of restraint in me to not go further, to not act on the urge of making my fantasy a reality.

"Did you like them?" she whispers against my palm.

I meet her gaze, tracing her lower lip with my thumb. "Very much so."

"What else did you do?" There's a challenge in her voice now.

"I looked at them very carefully." My admission is heavy between us. "And I touched myself imagining you recreating these photos, one by one, until I came all over my hand."

Her breath catches. It's the only reaction I manage to elicit from her.

"Was it enough?" she whispers.

"No." I step closer, mesmerized by her big innocent eyes. My hand slowly moves from her chin until it grips the back of her head, and my pants start to tent.

Lacey's eyes dart down for just a quick second, and her breathing quickens. "What would make it enough?"

With a start, I realize she's doing to me what I was doing to her at the Vorobyov event. She isn't just teasing me, but forcing me to confess.

To admit that I want this as much as her, perhaps even more.

To exert her power over me, even though she'smyprisoner.

Clever girl.

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