Page 19 of Hayes
One hour—not nearly enough. And yet, far too long.
I run out of the room. Two steps out, and I hear the men from the living room discussing playing poker while they wait.
These fuckers have too much money to just keep it in their pockets all day. They have to spend every waken moment trying to spend their money. They couldn’t possibly think of a way to use that money to help others.
I need air.
I noticed a balcony off one of the guest bedrooms in my earlier tour of the room, and I beeline for it. Keeping my head down, I don’t look at the others, and I don’t ask permission from Peter or tell him where I’m going. I’ll be back when my precious hour is up.
Vengeance sweeps through me like a bat through a cave. This is why I was born. This is my purpose.
The cool air hits my face as I burst through the sliding glass door and out onto the small balcony. Most of the space is taken by two small chairs and an end table. I run straight for the railing and hold on as I take a deep breath, my entire body rejoicing at the air going through my nostrils and deep into my lungs.
“You’re not going to jump, are you? I couldn’t live with that on my conscience,” Hayes says from behind me, his playful, charming voice unmistakable.
My heart snaps back into place, my shields go up, and the monster stirring tries to decide which battle I’ll choose.
“It wouldn’t be your fault if I did.”
“Wouldn’t it be? I’m here, betting on you. I’m a willing participant driving you to want to end it all rather than endure a bunch of horny, vile men, thinking they can pay money to have the honor of doing whatever they want with your body.”
“You didn’t bet on me.” I raise an eyebrow and turn my head to face him.
“No, I didn’t.”
“You got to kiss me for free. Are you going to out me? Let Daniel know that he overpaid since it wasn’t my first kiss?”
He takes a step toward me. His eyes glisten behind his full-framed glasses, a secret in them he’s teasing me with. His gaze matches his overzealous grin. Why the hell is the man always smiling? He can’t have something to be that happy about all the time.
An ache builds between my thighs, and my nipples harden under his greedy gaze. He doesn’t shy away from looking at my body. He doesn’t hide the fact that he’s staring through my too-thin fabric, memorizing every curve of my body. And I don’t hide my annoyance that his staring is doing things to my body that I can’t control.
“Stop that,” I say.
He cocks his head, his grin curling higher as he chuckles deeply. Then he takes another step closer, invading my space but not touching me. The fresh air that I came out here to breathe becomes dense. Suddenly, I’m hit with an undeniable urge to rip out his hair tie and run my hand through his brown locks as I kiss him, knocking his stupid grin off his face.
“Stop what, exactly?”
I shake my head. “What do you want? Why did you follow me?”
His smile instantly drops, and a shadow falls over his face. His features dull, hiding the bright, flirting persona he uses as a cover to hide something dark within him. Or maybe that’s just me projecting on him, and he really is this happy, joyful person all the time.
No one is this happy all the time. He’s hiding something.
“To save you.”
His words snap me out of my head. “Save me?”
He nods, his eyes studying me carefully as he puts his hands in his pockets.
“Save me? You think I need saving?”
He nods again. It’s annoying.
“I don’t need saving.” I narrow my eyes, and my lips curl into a snarl.
“Ten million.”
“What?” His words stop me in my tracks from wanting to rip out his throat.
