Page 53 of House of Deceit

Trying to push the jealousy down and remind myself I was the one that suggested this angle in the first place, I grind my teeth.

“That’ll definitely help. People really seem to love Charlie, and Parker is hot,” Sheila says.

This conversation is doing great things for my temper, but I can’t let Sheila see my feelings for Charlie are starting to progress past the professionalism I should be holding tightly to.

But the tighter I try to hold to the rigidity I’ve relied on most of my life, it seems the faster it slips away. Charlie has a way of getting into people and taking root there. There’s not been a single episode or interview where a contestant didn’t like her. Even Cain is keeping any negative feelings he might have to himself. Playing the good guy.

“If that’s all, get out.”

I smirk at her dismissal, pushing myself out of my chair, checking my watch, counting down to my interview with Charlie.

Charlie walks into the room, her long legs clad in cutoff shorts and a shirt with a deep v displaying her perfect cleavage and suddenly my mouth waters at the sight. Her skin looks so soft, begging me to run my finger along the neckline of her shirt. I feel my dick starting to stiffen in my pants. After watching Parker touch her so freely, all I can think about is how much I want to feel her skin.

The intensity of my attraction takes me by surprise. I’ve always known she was lovely in a logical way, but the knowledge going from analytical to physical catches me off guard.

“Hey, I need to win another elimination challenge. I already miss the Head Deceiver room and being able to sit in complete silence,” she says, unaware of the effect she’s having on my dick.

“Yeah, I’m sure it’s nice,” I say.

“Are you okay? You’re sweating. I’ve never seen you sweat before. Did another stick get shoved up your ass?”

“Nope, still just the one up there, nestled against my prostate.”

All the blood in my head moving its way down to my dick can be the only explanation for the fact that sentence came out of my mouth. I have never joked around with a contestant before. I have barely joked around with ex-girlfriends and yet here I am, using words like “prostate” in casual conversation.

Charlie’s face is completely shocked until, suddenly, she’s bent over laughing.

Her laugh is beautiful. Carefree and unrestrained. I feel my cheeks lift in an answering smile and the distinct desire to make her laugh again comes over me.

“What do we have to talk about today?” she asks, settling down in her chair.

Moving toward mine, I tell her the good news.

“You’re the deceiver this week.”

“Oh, fuck yes!” she exclaims, pumping her fist in the air. “I’ve been waiting for this.”

“Do you have some plans for what you want to do?” I ask.

“Not a one, but I figure since I’ve got you on my team, we’ll come up with something good.”

Her trust in me is comforting and I want to give her an idea great enough to deserve that confidence.

“I definitely think we should have a tailor mess with more of Ezra’s clothes. People have really been enjoying that as a running joke. But the real question is, how mean do you want to get?”

I cross my leg, resting my ankle on my knee, thankful my crotch has finally calmed down.

She closes her eyes, hiding their sapphire color from me.

“The person cutting up the photos everyone brought from home last week was really harsh. I’m glad I was in the private room for that one, I would have cried. So, nothing that bad. Courtney and I did watch The Parent Trap, studying in case I was the deceiver,” she says.

I agree about the pictures. Copies of the pictures were made and replaced the real ones so something irreplaceable wasn’t damaged. Each wrangler found their contestant’s original picture on their desk the next day. Luckily, they couldn’t get to Charlie’s with her being in the Head Deceiver room, because it would have killed me to keep it from her.

In situations like this where the prank is actually a ruse, the contestants are never told until after they are eliminated so as to keep tensions high in the house. I want to tell Charlie after watching her console Molly about the picture of her grandparents for an hour, but I don’t.

“Anything out of the movie sound good?”

“I was thinking about the honey on the floor in front of the beds thing would be good.”

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