The Man I Thought I Trusted - E. L. Todd Page 0,26
I said politely. “I’ve heard a bit about the parties and the strip clubs.”
Clint smiled, clearly one of the arrogant ones. “And let me guess, Dax won’t be joining us for those events anymore, now that he has you.”
“I don’t tell him what to do. If he tried to tell me what to do, that shit wouldn’t last.” I was a wild horse that couldn’t be saddled, so I would never cross that line and manage Dax’s life. If he wanted to go out and party, so be it. I was secure in our relationship, and I knew he would always be faithful.
Clint raised his eyebrows and looked impressed. “Wow, it just got hot in here because she brought the fire.”
“Oh honey, you have no idea.” These guys didn’t intimidate me; their looks and money meant nothing to me. People were always surprised that I could step into a world where I didn’t belong and thrive. It was because I knew nobody was better than me.
Clint released a laugh before he took a drink of scotch. “Now I’m understanding your fascination a little better.”
Dax returned his arm around my waist. “Oh honey, that was just the opening act. Wait until you see everything she can do.”
We sat at the table with his friends, while his sister and William sat elsewhere. The guys were exactly what I assumed them to be, a bunch of rich manwhores.
“So, we’re at my place in the Hamptons, and she’s bent over the bed, right?” Clint shared every detail of his life with Dax without a filter.
Dax raised his hand and interrupted him. “Maybe we can tone it down a bit?”
“I hope it’s not for my sake,” I said from Dax’s other side. “It doesn’t bother me.”
Clint gave me a nod of approval before he continued. “So, I’m ramming her from behind, everything’s great, and the doorbell keeps ringing and ringing… It won’t stop. So, I have to pause what I’m doing and go downstairs. Guess who was at the door?”
Dax shrugged.
“Jessica. The lingerie model I was seeing. Apparently, I’d invited her up for the weekend when I was drunk off my ass and totally forgot.”
Dax shook his head but seemed slightly amused.
“You know what happened then?” Clint said. “Jessica yelled at me for a bit, but I’m such a smooth talker that I ended up fucking both of them that night—side by side.” He raised his fist in the air. “Who’s the man?”
Dax shrugged. “Would have to be you.”
“But you’re the man, too,” Clint said as he lowered his voice. “It wasn’t that long ago that you—”
Dax quickly interrupted him. “Come on, Clint.” He didn’t raise his voice, but he definitely turned a little angry. “Don’t do that shit.”
No, I didn’t want to picture Dax with other women or imagine the wild sex he had as a playboy in Manhattan, but I also saw that as his past, not his present. “Babe.”
It took him a long time to turn back to me, as if he dreaded it.
My arm hooked around his shoulders, and I leaned into him, my hand moving over his thigh. “I don’t care who was there before me. We both know none of them could compare to me anyway.” I pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth before I rose from the chair and headed to the restroom.
When I was still within earshot, I heard Clint say, “Damn. You’ve got one hell of a woman on your hands.”
The pride in Dax’s voice was unmistakable. “I know.”
I crossed the room and headed to where the restrooms were located. There were a lot of people mingling, up from their seats and away from the tables, catching up with other socialites. I tried to get through a group of people talking, but that was a dead end, so I took another route around.
Then halted when I walked right up to somebody I knew.
Simon Prescott.
CEO of Kerosene Pharmaceuticals.
Aka, my new nemesis.
He was young, probably younger than thirty-five, definitely not a typical CEO, who were usually in their sixties.
He gave me a smirk like he recognized me. “I know who you are.”
I’d always been quick on my feet, so I fired back. “And I know exactly who you are. Small world, huh?”
He stood with his hands in his pockets, standing tall in his tuxedo. “I know you’ve been trailing me everywhere I go. You journalists are all the same. But I can’t say the reporters ever took it this far…”