Page 56 of Corruption

“P

retty girl. Kiya. You have to get up.”

I moan sleepily, and when I finally open my eyes, I’m met with darkness, and a glance to the window shows it’s not just the room. It’s still dark outside too.

“It’s still dark,” I mutter.

“I know. But you have to go back to your room before someone gets up and finds you.”

“What do you…”

“Does she have to?”

That’s when I become aware of the hard body against my back. Alik’s body. And his hand stroking up and down my thigh.

Right. I didn’t spend the night in their room after all, not like I’d imagined. Just begging Alik to… tofuckme before he refused. I find myself heating up as I recall his reasoning. And then heating up more as my eyes adjust to the darkness some and I realize Nadia is naked still, which only reminds me of what I did to her with Alik’s instructions.

“Don’t worry, my love. After today, we’ll take her home and keep her in bed as long as we want with no interruptions,” Nadia says. “Now off with you.”

I reluctantly and sleepily slide out of bed and leave the room. I softly close the door behind me and turn to go back down the hall to my room. Only to jump in startlement when I find Adrian standing silent and watching me.

“I… Adrian… Dad,” I correct. “You… You scared me.”

“I see,” he replies simply.

He doesn’t say anything, but with dawning horror, I realize that he had to be there long enough to see me slip out the room, even though when I walked out, I swear there wasn’t anyone there, and I didn’t hear anyone either.

But maybe he didn’t see me come out. Maybe he only saw me closing the door. There are a lot of ways to spin that. Living with my mother taught me that often, she tricked me into telling on myself when she really didn’t know as much as I thought she did or that she pretended to know.

So I pretend that I wasn’t doing anything that I wasn’t supposed to be doing and mutter, “Have a good workout,” before starting to walk past him back to my room.

Adrian grabs my arm before I can go.

I should have known it wouldn’t be this easy.

“Why don’t you join me on my workout this morning?”

Technically, it’s a suggestion, but I know Adrian enough to know that his suggestions are just nice ways of giving orders. So I simply nod without protest.

“Good. I’ll see you in the gym in fifteen minutes.”

It takes me less than fifteen minutes to throw on some tights and a workout tank, but I still take my slow sweet time making my way down to the home gym. Adrian is already warming up on the treadmill when I get there. I join him on the treadmill next to him but set the speed for a walk rather than the jog Adrian is going at.

“Sleep well?” he asks, not having any trouble talking and keeping his pace.

“Yes,” I say.

“How have things been with Vaughn?”

“Fine.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

I shrug. “We’re getting to know each other.”

“Seems to me like you’re doing more to get to know Nadia and Alik than him.”

“I… I don’t know—”

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