“No sex until after the wedding, then.” I insist on it, not because it matters, but so I can feel like I still have some control over this situation that is quickly flying off the rails. There is a very thin line between a whore and trophy wife, but I’d still like to stay on the right side of it.
His smile is brief. “Done.”
I wonder if I’ve fallen into Wonderland, because everything has suddenly turned upside down. This is not the conversation I wanted to have with him, and I hate that he managed to turn it into this. I’d been so angry with him, ready to tear him into pieces, and now we’re talking about sex.
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”
“Unfortunately, that’s not how a negotiation works. If you want some time to come up with a list, then you should say so.” His hands glide over the steering wheel with the same strokes he would use to explore the contours of a woman’s body. From the heated look he casts me, the association is deliberate. “But just so you know, I’m already willing to offer you quite a bit. I even ate you out at the Founder’s Ball. I never do that.”
I want to ask him how he got so good at it without any practice, but manage to bite my tongue before the words spill out. This is surreal and not what I planned, but it also might be the most civil conversation we’ve had in years. I could almost pretend that the fragile friendship we used to have is still intact. If an uncomfortable sex talk gets Zion the help he needs, then I’m willing to put up with it.
And there isn’t any other reason to engage with Vin worth mentioning.
“Then you stopped before I came,” I scoffed. “Teasing is worse than nothing at all.”
“Is that what has you so upset? I guess Sophia’s face is as good an outlet for your sexual frustration as anything else.”
“It’s not sexual frustration, you dick. My fingers work just fine.”
I freeze, unable to believe I just said that out loud.
Too late to snatch it back, because Vin already heard every word. His head slowly turns to face me, gaze intent on my face. I shift to glare out the window before he can see my blush.
“Is that so?” His voice turns low and seductive. “Did you think about me while you were bringing yourself off, wishing it was my tongue between your legs and not your own fingers?”
I shake my head, still refusing to look at him. “Just forget I said anything.”
“Not a fucking chance.” He grips the gear shift hard, watching me as his fingers stroke the leather.
I stare down at his hand, trying to forget how much better those strong fingers felt inside me than my own. “Don’t get so excited. It won’t be happening again — I’ve learned my lesson about expecting anything from you aside from disappointment.”
“You couldn’t be more wrong if you tried. Just like everything else about you, that hot little body belongs to me. Whether you’re ready to admit it or not.”
A burst of heat hits my belly. “Stop doing that.”
“What?”
“Pretending like there is something more here than what there is.”
His quizzical gaze passes over me before his attention returns to the road. “You must know that you’re gorgeous. Sophia wouldn’t hate you nearly so much if you weren’t.”
I hate him for saying that, because I refuse to believe this isn’t just another manipulation. He doesn’t actually mean the pretty words. Empty compliments in the hopes of getting what he wants.
And I’m weak enough that it might be working, at least a tiny bit. But if I allow him to burrow further into my life, then it won’t be possible to get him out again. He will have the power to consume me. And when he finally grows bored and moves on, I won’t be able to rebuild what he will have inevitably broken.
“You need to find another girl you can marry to save your inheritance. This isn’t going to work.”
“Are we back to negotiation? Tell me what would make it work for you.”
“Anything short of you becoming a totally different person won’t be enough. Please, just take me back to school.”
“What kind of person?”
I turn to stare at his profile, midday sun setting his features aglow. “What?”
“You said I’d have to be a totally different person for this to work,” he replied patiently. “I’m asking you to expand on that statement. This will probably be your only chance to say exactly what you think of me to my face with impunity. If I were you, I’d take advantage of the opportunity.”
Vin’s voice is mild, but I hear the warning there. Even though his features are relaxed, tension simmers just under the surface.
I take a deep breath. “How about the kind of person who wouldn’t have his friends hold me down while he cuts me up?”
Whatever reaction I expected to that, it isn’t the one I get. He just shrugs. “I have my reasons for that, but okay.”
My hands ball into fists, and I resist the urge to wrench the wheel toward the guardrail. “What reasons could there possibly be?”
“I’ll tell you if you want, but I don’t think you’ll like it.”
I’m not sure what to say to that.
He drives slowly down the beach road and then parks the car in the nearly empty parking lot attached to the access boardwalk. This isn’t a good spot for surfers and it’s a school day, so the beach is probably deserted. Aside from any homeless people that might wander by, we are completely alone here.
The thought should scare me more than it does.
Screwing up my nerve after a minute of agonizing silence, I finally insist. “Tell me.”
Instead of answering, he gets out of the car and goes
