Page 198 of Toxic Temptation
Kovan glances at me, eyebrows raised expectantly. After a moment, I realize he’s waiting for me to take the lead.
My mouth goes dry. This is it—the moment where I either step up or back down.
I close my eyes and picture row after row of hospital beds filling a white room that stretches to infinity. A heaven filled with children who did not deserve to end up there so soon. I see blood staining those pure white sheets—and I see filthy money passed from filthy hand to filthy hand.
When I open my eyes, I see Shana.
And I know what I have to do.
“No,” I tell her. “You’re going to stay on the board. You’re going to keep playing the loyal colleague to Jeremy. And you’re not going to breathe a word about tonight to anyone.”
Standing here in her ridiculously expensive bedroom, looking at this woman who used to intimidate me with nothing more than her cold stare and cutting remarks, I feel something shift inside me.
She was never the powerful figure I’d built her up to be. She’s just another person who chose greed over conscience, profit over people.
And now, she belongs to me.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” I tell her. “From now on, when we say jump, you ask how high. You’ll vote the way we want you to vote. Say what we want you to say. Do what we want you to do.” I pause, letting the words sink in. “We own you now, Shana.”
New lines appear around her eyes. She looks like she’s aged a decade in the past ten minutes. “It’s not that simple?—”
“I don’t give a fuck about simple.” The words come from somewhere deep inside me, a place I didn’t know existed until tonight. “I care about fixing what you’ve broken. I care about saving the hospital you’ve helped destroy. I care about the patients whose lives you’ve put at risk for money.”
I take a step closer, and she actually flinches.
“And if that means ruining your comfortable little life to do it?” I shrug. “Well, I guess I’m learning that sometimes, you have to destroy one thing to save another.”
Shana is flabbergasted. Her mouth keeps opening and closing, but nothing comes out of it.
Kovan takes my hand, his fingers warm and reassuring against mine. “We should go. Let Dr. Reed get her beauty rest. It looks like she could use it.”
“Holy shit!” The words explode out of me the moment we’re back in the car. “That was… I can’t believe I just did that!”
Kovan glances over, his mouth quirked in amusement. “Did you enjoy yourself?”
“That woman has made my life hell for months, and I just…” I laugh, giddy with adrenaline. “I justruinedher.”
The euphoria is intoxicating. I’ve never felt power like this—raw and immediate and completely addictive. Without thinking, Ilean across the center console and press my lips to the side of his neck.
“Christ, Vesper.” The car swerves before he corrects course. “I’m driving.”
“Then pull over,” I demand. “I want you. Now.”
He shoots me a look that suggests he thinks I’m joking. To prove I’m not, I slide my hand over his lap. He’s already hard beneath his jeans.
“Fuck.” He yanks the wheel to the right, tires squealing as we skid to a stop on the shoulder.
By day, Baker Street is usually busy, but at 2:00 A.M., it’s deserted. Not that I care—the power and sheer exhilaration of what we just did has burned away every inhibition that might’ve ever stopped me.
By the time he puts the car in park, I’m already climbing over the console, straddling his lap in the driver’s seat. My skirt rides up as I settle against him, and the way he sucks in a breath tells me he approves.
“You were incredible in there.” I trail kisses along his jaw while my hands work at the buttons of his shirt. “So controlled. So dangerous.”
“This turns you on?” His growl is rough as I grind against his erection. “Intimidation? Blackmail?”
“Youturn me on.” I bite down gently on his earlobe. “The way you handled her. The way you let me take control.” I pull back to meet his eyes. “You make me feel powerful.”
His hands find my hips, guiding my movements. “Youarepowerful. You just needed to realize it.”
