my wife, though.”
I lean forward, my forearms on the table. “Come on, Bruce. I’m offended. You know me better than that. If I wanted to fuck your wife, you would never know.” He opens his mouth, but I continue. “But I have a proposition for you.”
He can’t mask his surprise at my words.
We don’t work together. We’re enemies.
All part of my plan.
“I’m listening.”
“My dad also told me that Austin’s mom wants her to live with you until graduation, and you want her out as soon as possible.”
“She doesn’t belong here.” He fists his hands on the table.
“I don’t disagree.”
“I’ve already spoken to her mother. Today. I offered to send Austin back to California with twenty thousand. She said she could return.”
I tilt my head to the side, choosing my words carefully. “I know how you can get rid of her and keep your money.”
“How so?”
The bastard is so money hungry, he’s already sold his soul once. And the devil is going to be coming to collect soon. He just doesn’t know I’m the one who will deliver him. “Give her to me. Let her stay here. I’ll make sure she stays out of trouble.”
He leans in, his eyes narrowing. “No.” He stands from the table.
I knew he’d say no. That’s why I came prepared. “What if I told you I have something you want?”
He comes to a stop. “What could you have that I would possibly want?”
I dig into my pocket and pull out the single key. I toss it onto the table.
He looks at it, and his eyes flare with anger. “You son of a bitch …”
“It’s all yours. If she stays.”
“It is mine! You stole it.”
“I found it.”
His fisted hands bang against the table, making our glasses rattle. “You fucking stole it!”
I smile up at him. “I dare you to prove it.”
He snarls.
“Do we have a deal or not?”
“You planned this,” he claims, eyes flaring with rage.
I knew I’d need insurance.
He looks at the key longingly. His eyes go from it to me, and he nods. “Done.”
“How do I know you’re not gonna fuck me over?” I ask, picking the key up and twirling the chain around my finger.
“Haven’t you heard of honor among thieves?” he snarls.
I have. I also know how he operates. “She stays.”
His eyes shoot to the direction of the kitchen and then back to me. “Until graduation. And then she’s gone.”
That’s all I need.
“Why do you want her? She can’t be that great of a fuck. Her mother sure as hell wasn’t.”
Sick bastard.
I stand from the table and ignore that statement. “Oh, and just a heads-up. My car will still be here in the morning.”
Just then, Austin enters the dining room. “Let’s go to the media room,” I tell her. “I wanna watch a movie.”
She frowns but nods.
“I’m leaving town tomorrow morning,” her father scowls. “I’ll be gone for two weeks.” Then he walks off.
AUSTIN
“What was that about?” I ask as we enter the media room.
“Nothing,” he says, closing the door behind us.
“Cole?”
“What?”
“Why do you blow off everything I ask?” I plop down onto the circular couch.
He walks past it and goes to the glass table that sits underneath the screen. Grabbing the remotes, he bends down, looking at the stacks of movies underneath it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I shove off my shoes and lean back, crossing my arms over my chest. “Yes, you do,” I argue.
He stays silent while he picks out a movie and pops Gone in Sixty Seconds into the DVD player. He flips the lights off and comes to stand in front of me. I glare up at him as the movie begins.
Then being the bastard that he is, he reaches up and grabs his shirt and pulls it over his head, tossing it to the floor.
“What are you doing?” I ask, the room getting hotter by the second. I hate how my eyes run over the marks that my nails left just an hour ago when we were up in my room. The way he hissed in a breath as I drug my hands down his skin. I want to mark him just as much as he wants to claim me. It’s very unhealthy.
He then reaches for the button on his jeans. “You.”
“Cole.” I look around as if we’re not alone. But we are. “We could have done this in my bedroom.” But my heart starts to pound at the thought of doing it in here while my dad and Celeste are downstairs.
“I wanna do you