Treachery

Watching Luca squirm is worth the years I’ve waited.

Seated across from me, she winces to realize that if anybody is bringing sex to the table, it’s her. Relaxing against my seat, I lock my eyes with a set of baby blues, my amusement plain to see, the game I’m playing drifting further into the background.

Concealed - just the way I prefer it.

But like every fun moment, this one has to wrap up and come to an end. I have her where I want her...in more ways than one.

“Okay, fine,” she stammers, scrabbling to regain her footing and climb her way out of the hole I’m slowly digging beneath her.

“If it’s not sex you want, then just tell me what I have to do for you to stop helping Clayton.”

I almost laugh at her assumption that sex is no longer on the table. It isn’t my price, but it’s still very much in play.

Tsking, I shake my head and refuse to reveal the trap I’m setting around her. “You know that’s not how it works.”

From across the table, I study her closely, note every movement of her body, every tiny quirk in her expression that so clearly paints her thoughts. A muscle tic above her eye makes me smile, a reaction I’m not sure she knows she has when pushed to a breaking point.

How many times had I’d watched that tiny muscle jump at Yale?

“You’re not going to tell me what you want, are you?”

Luca crosses her arms over her chest, her gaze glued to mine. Of all the people I’ve toyed with in my life, she has been the only one to present a significant challenge.

Maybe that’s why I could never move past her. I’d hoped the years would weaken her, that her failed marriage combined with the loss of her career would have pushed her to a point where she would easily succumb to those around her.

I should have known better than to think Luca so weak.

If anything, all those failures have ignited a fire inside her that scorches my skin.

Instead of crumbling beneath years of misfortune, this woman has fashioned a shovel out of unfortunate circumstances and is digging her way out of the muck.

She reminds me of me in that way. Which means I have to be careful to play this game just right.

“Actually, I had every intention of telling you what I want tonight, but given your behavior, it’s more fun to keep you in the dark.”

Is it stupid to keep her waiting? Yes. I should make my demands and be done with this mess, but I’m weak when it comes to screwing with this woman. She’s one of the only people I’ve met who can genuinely entertain me.

Standing from my seat, I round the table, taking note of the way she watches me with wary eyes, her head just slightly turning to keep me in her peripheral vision. When I lean a hip against the table and still in place, Luca turns in her seat to face me.

“How long will I stay in the dark?”

“For as long as it takes. You can hate me for it, or try to have some fun. It’s your choice.”

Rolling her eyes, she shoves her seat back and pushes to her feet. “Nothing about you is fun.”

I grin.

“You wouldn’t be saying that if you were standing in my shoes at the moment.”

Her expression tightens, heat brimming just beneath the skin of her cheeks.

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Ta

A bark of quiet laughter shakes my chest. “You say that as if it’s a bad thing.”

The red color deepens in her face, a crimson shade that highlights the blue in her eyes, contrasting sharply against the pale skin of her face. I wonder if that color chases down her body like it did at Yale. How long will it take to get Luca Bailey in my bed again?

“So this is it then? You had me come all the way over here so you could tell me I have to pay your stupid price, but you won’t tell me what it is? Haven’t you grown out of these bullshit games yet?”

Pushing away from the table, I stroll over and shove her chair farther back, the legs scraping against the floor with a grating sound, her body jumping up from the seat and inching away from me until her butt slams against the edge of the table.

I press my palms against the wood surface on either side of her hips, my eyes holding hers without remorse for intruding on what should have been her personal space.

Despite her clothes, she smells incredible, floral notes drifting beneath my nose from whatever she used in her hair, the delicate and feminine musk of her body affecting me in ways I’m sure she wants.

Leaning down, I keep my mouth a teasing inch from hers, our eyes still locked in battle. “I don’t play the same games I did in college.”

She arches a brow. “Really? Then why do I feel like the thimble on a Monopoly board right now?”

The hitch in her voice makes me smile. She’s affected, whether she wants to admit it or not.

“Because I didn’t say I stopped playing games. I just said I don’t play the same ones from college. I can promise you the games I play have only improved with age.”

My hips press against her body, a shiver coursing over her so violently I can see her shoulders shake.

Dropping my gaze, I lick my lips to see her mouth slightly parted, her breath pouring out on tremulous puffs.

“And you’re not the thimble.”

My eyes track back to hers.

“If anything, you’re the pawn.”

Her brows tug together in that ridiculously adorable way I remember, confusion and a touch of smug satisfaction glimmering in her eyes.

“And here I thought you were intelligent. The pawn isn’t in Monopoly.”

“Precisely,” I answer, my voice a dark whisper, our mouths so close together we’re breathing the same air.

“In my house, I get to choose the game and assign the pieces. And I just happen to hate the one you chose.”

It’s not intentional, the brush of my lips against hers, but the minute our skin comes together, an electric spark shoots down my spine, igniting the desire I have for her and the anger I feel for the way she’d challenged me at Yale.

If anything, toying with her now will only teach her a lesson for having such shitty taste in men.

The pulse point in Luca’s throat flutters wildly, her cheeks blushing with want while her eyes narrow on mine in hatred.

“But that’s beside the point,” I say, breaking the moment by shoving away from the table to leave her flustered and confused, agitated and ready to claw my eyes out if the sudden clench of her teeth has anything to say for it.

Anything worth having is worth working for, and since I’m worth having, she will have to tap-dance a hell of a lot better to earn her first meal.

“You’re coming to a party with me next weekend.”

“Like hell I am. Just tell me what you want from me so I can forget I ever knew you.”

Crossing the room, I pull open a side table drawer, extract a pad of paper and a pen, and write down the date and time she can expect a limo to be waiting for her outside her apartment.

I don’t bother looking at her again as I leave the dining room, my lips kicking up into a grin when she calls after me.

“Damn it, Ta

Like a puppy on its very first leash, she follows, her uncoordinated feet stomping over the floor as best she can manage in cheap flip flops. The sound of thwacking plastic somehow takes away from her attempt at the pissed off, tough girl act.

“I’m walking you out.”