Page 151 of Twisted Play
Because I’m falling apart. Because your blackmail is destroying me, and I needed to quiet the panic. Because I’m sick and fucked up and I crave his control as much as I crave your cruelty.
“I’m sure there’s an explanation,” Tristan said quietly, wrapping his arm around Cole’s waist. But his eyes were hurt too, confused I’d left them without a word.
“Are you cheating on us with fucking Coach?” Cole asked.
“Or are you cheating on Coach with us?” Tristan added.
I said nothing, shivering under the combined weight of their stares, about to shatter into a thousand pieces. If I told the guys that Alek was using me too, they’d lose their minds. If I told Alek that Cole and Tristan were blackmailing me, he’d explode. And if I told any of them what I’d already done for Carter?—
Cole swore softly, his tone vicious and hurt.
“Don’t,” Alek said, his voice sharp.
“Aren’t you angry she was cheating on you?” Cole snapped.
I jerked back as if slapped. How dare he?
Alek chuckled, one side of his mouth tilting up in a rueful smile. “Do you think there’s a single person involved with the team who didn’t know you were fucking Eva?”
I winced, hating that he’d reduced my relationship with Cole and Tristan to such simple terms, true or not.
“Is that how you got the job, Eva? Any other perks come with fucking the coach?”
My lower lip trembled at Cole’s cruelty, twice as hurtful because I’d been blackmailed into applying for the job and then had to trade sexual favors to get it.
“Why does everyone blame women for sleeping theirway to the top, and not the men who withhold opportunities until women fuck them?” I said.
Tristan’s eyes widened, and his gaze ping-ponged between me and Coach. “Eva, are you saying?—?”
“I’m here because I want to be,” I interrupted, unwilling to watch the relationship between these men unravel as they discovered all my secrets. “And you can stay, or you can go, but this—”this has nothing to do with our deal, “—this is for me.”
My gaze flicked to Alek’s, pleading.Please don’t make me go. Please give me this one thing.
“That goes for you too, Sir.”
I could see the thought in the amused quirk of his lips—that this was his room, that if anyone was leaving, it would be me. Then his expression softened.
“All right, malyshka. Your rules.”
Relief made me weak, but it was short-lived.
“That wasn’t our deal,” Cole said through gritted teeth.
Tristan smacked him on the back of the head even as Alek’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
“What deal?” Alek asked, his voice dropping to that tone that meant someone was about to be in serious trouble.
“That’s right, Cole,” Tristan said with false cheer. “What deal?”
The silence stretched, heavy with unspoken secrets.
Cole scoffed, his jaw ticking with barely controlled fury. “This doesn’t change anything.”
I could feel Alek’s protectiveness ramping up, could see him putting together pieces of a puzzle that would destroy everything. But what choice did I have? Tomorrow it would all come out anyway. Tomorrow they’d know exactly what kind of person I really was.
I reached out and threaded my fingers through Cole’s,bringing his hand to my face. His skin was warm, familiar, and I pressed a soft kiss to his palm.
“Give me this weekend,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “No questions.” Even though I knew all I really had was tonight.
