Page 83 of The Obedient Lie
That was enough.
My jaw tightened.
I didn’t care who he was. Didn’t care how she knew him. What pissed me off was that he had her attention—even for a second.
My fingers kept moving. Slower now.More deliberate.Working the knot of tension between her shoulder blades while the rest of my palm slid down, brushing over satin, catching on lace.
She was goingbreathlessunder my hands. Her answers turning to soft hums and half-whispers, like she’d forgotten she was supposed to be talking at all.
He must have noticed.
“You fall asleep on me or something?” the guy asked, joking.
A better man would’ve stopped there.
A man with self-control wouldn’t have done it.
But I’m not a better man.
And when it comes to her—I don’t pretend to be.
I leaned in just a little closer.
Loud enough for the mic to pick up every word as my fingers hovered over the delicate satin bow on her shoulder.
“Hey baby, can I undo your strap so I can get in better?”
There was a beat of silence—on both ends.
The best part?
She just nodded, completely dazed from my touch.
“Yeah,” she whispered, like it was obvious. Like nothing else mattered.
Like she’d forgotten who was still on the line.
I slid the satin bow loose with one hand, letting the strap slip gently down her arm.
Her skin waswarm.Flushed.
My hand returned to her bare shoulder, smoothing down the curve of it with quiet devotion.
That was the thing about control.
Sometimes the most dangerous kind wassoft.
That’s when the fucker on the phone yelled at her.
Sharp. Loud.
It snapped her out of the dazed state she’d sunk into—out ofmytouch,mycontrol, out of the spell I’d wrapped around her with my hands.
She tensed under me immediately.
The soft curve of her spine went rigid, her head lifting as if she’d forgotten where she was—remembered only whenshamehit.
I heard him, loud and clear now.
