Read Story: SEASON 2 EPISODE 125

Like Jessica, her breasts were natural and full… the kind that shifted slightly out of time with her stride. Her waist didn’t have Helen’s hourglass curve; it was more subtle in its shape, to support her broader assets. Her body didn’t seem to carry that gym-discipline definition, but there was a rich, palpable warmth to her—she was a woman who knew how to stretch across a bed without apology, with skin that didn’t merely blush… it held heat.

I would’ve bet dollars to packing peanuts that she would have been able to keep me extremely warm on those cold Norwegian nights.

And her face—round and soft, with a cute button nose, plush lips that looked perfect for kissing, and smooth lines all framed by silky, light-brown hair. There was no doubt that she was gorgeous.

She was also very taken.

“In my experience,” I said, “the fiancé is rarely okay with it.”

“So,” she said, seemingly unfazed, “you’re saying if I weren’t engaged, you would be interested?”

“I’m not falling for that trap,” I said.

Her smile became more vulpine. “I do not hear a ‘no.’”

“It’s not a ‘yes,’ either,” I quipped.

She chewed on her bottom lip as she studied me, seemingly not put off in the slightest by my attempt to stonewall her.

“If William were to give you assurances that he’s not a jealous man…” She leaned in a little closer, her lips slightly parted. “Would you want to kiss me?”

I felt like steel jaws were closing in around me, and I looked around the room to find that the only one watching us was Shea, out of the corner of her eye. Everyone else still seemed distracted or preoccupied.

“I’m very flattered,” I said, turning my attention back to her, “but I don’t think I’d feel comfortable with that kind of arrangement.”

Her stormy eyes looked me up and down, pausing a little too long on my lips before bouncing up to meet my eyes. Her free hand rose so that two fingers could play over her bare chest, tracing over the silky-smooth skin of her collarbone, then along the hem of her shirt. The movement drew attention to the generous cleavage on display.

I absentmindedly licked my lips as I admired the flawless, warm, cream-colored skin her fingers danced across. Finally, my gaze met hers, and her smile widened, dimples deepening into her cheeks in a way that looked utterly kissable.

Her tongue played across her teeth—the pink tip dragging across her incisors like a vampire teasing a bite. A note of amusement curled into a soft chuckle as she bit her lip again, clearly pleased with how I was looking at her.

“Just think about it, monsieur.”

She held my gaze a moment longer, then turned and strutted away, her fingertips reluctantly leaving my thigh as she walked just outside of arm’s length. I watched her go, her generous ass swaying in those tight, form-fitting pants.

Charity walked past her, giving Camille a cursory glance before approaching me with two drinks in hand. She passed one to me and took a sip from the other.

“What was that about?”

“Leftovers,” I said, taking a sip.

There was no doubt… the thought of Camille’s lips on my dick sounded delightful. Burying myself in her generous tits on a cold night was probably a hell of an experience… but I didn’t particularly like the idea of fucking another man’s girl—especially if he was still in the picture. The two other cases were different. Both had been about more than just sex. They’d been about dominance. Conquest. Ownership. Revenge.

What Camille was offering was none of those things—just pure sex. Tempting? Yes. Worth it? I wasn’t so sure.

My answer seemed to confuse Charity, but she didn’t ask for further clarification, and I didn’t offer any.

“How’s it looking on the roof?”

“Just about everyone’s still out there,” Charity said. “Have you had fun?”

“I have. Thanks for putting this together.”

Charity shook her head. “I couldn’t have done it without Erin and Emiko. They deserve as much credit as I do.”

“Funny. They said the same thing about you.”

That made her blush a little. Charity was adorable when she blushed, which was so easy to make happen.

“Thanks again for trusting me with all this,” she said as she tucked some of her charcoal hair behind one ear.

“Charity,” I said, “I have no doubt you’re going to be amazing.”

I looked her up and down, my meaning layered.

She understood and reached out to play with one of the buttons on my shirt. “I guess we’ll see.”

“Can’t wait.”

She gave a little hum, followed by a closed-lip, mysterious smile.

“And what do we have going on over here?” a male voice interrupted our banter.

I was so focused on Charity that I didn’t notice Rajesh had gotten off the couch and approached. He bit off a piece of something that resembled a ‘pig in a blanket’ and proceeded to chew while still talking. “A little bit of flirtation?”

I bit my tongue to keep from saying something I’d regret and turned toward him, holding out my hand.

“Rajesh. Good to see you again.”

Rajesh looked at my outstretched hand, contemplating whether to take it. Then he shoved the rest of his food into his mouth and grabbed it for a vigorous shake.

“Oh, come now. You don’t have to lie. I know I’m not your favorite person. After all, I did vote against your interests last month.”

That was hardly the only reason I didn’t like him, but I wasn’t about to correct him.

“I guess I can forgive you, since I won.”

“You certainly did.” Desai took a sip of his drink and seemed to savor the memory of that experience almost as much as whatever was in his cup. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a maneuver quite like that.”

His eyes scanned my apartment as he worked a bit of food loose from his teeth with his tongue. He swallowed and said, “Between that and your place, it looks like you’re settling into the lifestyle pretty well.”

The way he said it suggested that my alliance with Carla had been planned. I wasn’t quite sure whether to correct him or not. Hiro hadn’t believed me when I told him what really happened. If the truth wasn’t going to win me a cease-fire with Tanaka, maybe letting the lie stand would make me seem a bit more competent.

“Starting to,” I said, already done with this conversation. “Well, thanks for coming, but I should get back outside.”

“Ehm… would you mind terribly if I joined you for a few minutes? I have something you might want to hear.”

I had to try hard not to roll my eyes. Everything about this man screamed entitled, boorish, and selfish. I despised him, and while a large part of that was because he annoyed the shit out of me, that wasn’t the only reason.

I was a little afraid that one day I might become him.

That thought scared the shit out of me.

“I guess you can walk with me,” I said.

I turned to Charity. “Catch up soon?”

She simply smiled at me and left to sit beside Shea.

Desai fell in next to me as I made my way down the hall—opposite the one where I’d just fucked Erin.

“I appreciate you granting me a few minutes of your time. I promise to make it worth your while.”

“It’s fine,” I said. “If I’d known you were in town, I would’ve invited myself.”

Desai laughed, genuinely sounding amused. “You don’t have to lie to me, Marcus. Considering how close the vote was, I wouldn’t take it personally if you held a grudge.”

“You said you had something worth my while?”

“Straight to business,” he said.

As I headed up the steps, he continued, “I’m not here of my own accord. Granted, I was interested to see your place—see how you were faring since you returned from that dreadful adventure.”

I opened the door to the garden and stepped out into it, not bothering to hold it open for my guest.

“Hiro Tanaka sent me.”

I made a show of looking around, pretending to decide which direction in the garden I wanted to go. Looking indecisive was better than telegraphing that my heart had just skipped a beat at that name. The last thing I wanted was for Rajesh Desai to think that invoking Hiro’s name actually spooked me.

“I told that old fuck to make an appointment. Not send one of his lackeys to ambush me.”

“Lackey?” Desai sounded mildly offended by my choice of words.

I finally deigned to look at him. “Yeah. You’re delivering his message. Lackey.”

Being a minimum amount of civil was all well and good—until I found out he was running errands for the enemy.

He seemed annoyed at the implication he was little more than an NPC. “Tanaka wants his son back.”

“Tell Tanaka I said ‘tough.’” As I headed down the trail toward the pool.

Desai continued to walk with me. “He thought you’d say that, based on your call earlier.”

“I can’t imagine why he’d think sending you would get better results.”

“Because you can’t hang up on me,” Rajesh said.

I stepped out of the garden to find everyone still having a good time. Erin and Natosha were hanging out in a couple of chairs, deep in conversation. Emily and Tara were tearing up the dance floor. Vikram, Venus, Jonah, and Honey were clustered in one corner of the pool, treading water and laughing.

Just as I moved to step out of the foliage, Desai grabbed my shoulder.

“Marcus. You need to listen to me.”

I looked down at his hand, then back up at him.

“Rajesh, there are at least six members of my security on this roof who can probably see you right now. If you don’t take your hand off my shoulder, I’ll get one of them to shoot it off.”

Rajesh did as I suggested.

“Very well. Just… listen.”

I led him over to a couple of chairs, plopped down in one, and gestured to the other. “All right. You have my undivided attention.”

Desai sat across from me. “Thank you.”

“What does Hiro want?”

“He wants his son,” Desai said again.

“Yeah, that’s not—”

“—Or, alternately, his wife.”

I paused. “His wife?”

“He’ll take either one in exchange for an immediate cease in hostilities.”

I thought about that. I’d been asking for a cease-fire since the beginning. Getting Tanaka off my back would allow me to focus on the other problems plaguing me—my brother, the Roger VanCamp mess, Amber Bell, the computer, and flash drive… all those things that had been left at the Wayside because the Tanakas were insane and bloodthirsty.

Rajesh continued, “He wants to save face. It’s a good deal, Marcus. You should take it. Give him the woman, and you can probably negotiate even more for his son.”

“Be honest with me,” I said. “If I gave him Carla, what would he do?”

“To Carla?” Rajesh sat back in his seat, glanced toward the dance floor, considering. “He would kill her.”

Well, that ruled that out. I hadn’t seen Carla in a month. I didn’t have any particular affection for her. According to Chandler, she was a professional pain in the ass.

And yet… I didn’t want to condemn her to die.

That left releasing Ryo—the little toad who had almost killed me.

If I understood correctly, Hiro was far from a world-class father, but honor dictated that he retrieve his only living male heir. Desai was right… if he was willing to negotiate peace for a wife he wanted to execute, what was he willing to do for his kid?

“What if I say ‘no?’” I asked.

“He thought you might ask that,” Rajesh said.

“Well?”

“He told me to tell you that he would go after your mother and stepfather—Shawna and Henry. He also stated that your sister, Emily, would never be able to act again, as performing in public would be incredibly detrimental to her health. Richie, Jacob, his wife and child… they all have lives to lead. Sooner or later, one of them will be in a vulnerable position that you won’t be able to protect.”

I felt my blood boil and wanted to shove Rajesh’s head underwater until the bubbles stopped.

“Are you threatening my family?”

“I’m not. Tanaka is. I’m simply the messenger.”

“If you’re such good pals with Hiro, and we’re fighting, what’s to keep me from locking you in a room with Ryo and making you guys fight it out?”

He grinned lopsidedly, pointing a finger at me like he had my number. “Thought you might ask something like that. First off, we are hardly friends. If I were to die tomorrow, Tanaka would probably lament me as an occasional business partner, but nothing more. Holding onto me would give you very little leverage with Hiro.

Second, if I’m not home by noon tomorrow, information about your family’s business dealings will be leaked to the authorities as well as the press.”

“Information?”

“I’m sure you’ve heard by now,” Desai said, “that your grandfather was far from a saint.”

“Fuck off,” I said, waving a hand dismissively. “It’s not the first time I’ve heard this threat. VanCamp made the same one.”

“Yes. And now he’s unhorsed and hiding in Europe… disgraced while you plow his beautiful blonde wife.”

Rajesh moved to the edge of his seat, propping his elbows on his knees as he looked directly at me.

“I’m not Roger VanCamp.”

I simply stared at him. “Why should I believe you? Why the fuck would you know anything about my grandpa’s shady business practices, if there were even any?

“Ever heard of mutually assured destruction?” Desai asked.

“Yeah.”

“That’s what this is. You don’t become this wealthy without getting your hands dirty. Everyone has dirt on everyone else because, at the end of the day, we are the movers and shakers. We conduct business on levels that most people can only dream of. The only ones who can match us… is us. It’s intimate—incestuous, even. But it also means we all know each other’s dirty little secrets. It’s a contained community. And if someone’s betrayed, they will take their betrayer down with them.”

That made sense. Scary sense. Who else can you trust to make shady, illegal, or downright immoral deals… but others who are just as afraid of the light?

The blood drained from my face as the realization struck.

Desai must’ve noticed my poker face slip. He gave me a cocky grin.

“Exactly. Your grandfather was a paranoid old ass. He knew more than most. But he kept his secrets closer to the chest than most.”

Taking a sip of his drink, Desai studied me. He swallowed and said, “This entire time, most of us have been afraid of what you knew.”

He narrowed his eyes.

“But I’m starting to think… you don’t know anything.”

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To Be Continued