The Punk and the Plaything (When Rivals Play #3) - B.B. Reid Page 0,99

him? Surely, you’ll be eager to search for your next mark?”

I knew then that neither Four nor Ever were the ones to tell Jamie about my father being broke. If not them, then who? Whoever the culprit, they clearly hadn’t told Jamie everything. Suddenly weary of the secrets weighing heavy on our souls, I finally decided to free us both.

“It was my father’s idea to marry me off for money, and it was Ever’s idea to make him think that he would. I have no intention of marrying anyone, Jameson. I never did.”

I could hear the wheels turning in his head, but it wasn’t long before they came to a screeching halt. “Explain.”

I knew he must have worked most of it out for himself, but his broken heart wouldn’t allow him to trust again so easily.

“My father is willing to do whatever it takes not to just survive but thrive. Your family is worth billions, and Ever is going to control it all. If it weren’t for the promise of your family’s money, my father would have forced me to marry anyone willing to bid high enough the moment I’d turned sixteen.”

Jamie was silent for so long that I would have thought he’d gone if it weren’t for his hands still holding me and the calm rise and fall of his chest. I expected an explosion, but when he finally spoke, his reaction was as if I’d told him it was going to rain today.

“Is that right?”

His vapid tone made me think he didn’t believe me. And why should he? I’d been lying to him for five years.

“It’s true, Jamie.”

“I’m sure it is.” He spun me around to face him, and the gentle kiss he placed on my lips mocked me more than his tone. “Would you like to know a secret? Just between you and me?” Jamie’s grip on me tightened, keeping me from getting away. His hard dick warned me of his intentions. “You preyed on the wrong McNamara, kitten. My trust fund has more zeroes. Dick’s bigger, too.” His lips brushed back and forth against mine before saying, “If you wanted a knight in shining armor, you should have looked right in front of you.” Snorting, he toyed with the drawstring on my satin sleep shorts. I was vaguely aware of him pulling it free. “At least now you know there are limits to what Ever is willing to do for you.”

“Your point?”

Gently, he tucked my hair behind my ear before placing his hand on my nape and pulling me to him. Jamie’s grip was tight enough to keep me from getting away but not harsh enough to hurt. Somehow, tears still stung my eyes. “I had no limits, none whatsoever, when it came to you, Bette.”

“James…”

He was kissing me before I could tell him that I’d been afraid of that.

Jamie would have torn down mountains for me and not have blinked once at the destruction he caused. Even to himself. If he’d known about what my father planned, known about the abuse I suffered at his hands to make me compliant… I couldn’t risk it. Every lie I’d told in the five years since I pushed him away was to protect him as much as myself.

“There’s nothing innocent about you, Barbette.” Slipping his hand inside my shorts, Jamie cupped my pussy, making me gasp. “Well…except for this.” My hand flew to his wrist when his finger began to press inside me. “You haven’t been fucked here yet, have you?”

I whimpered as he withdrew to circle my clit instead. My eyes fluttered, wanting to close, but I couldn’t look away from the lust in his eyes. Jamie had every intention of fucking me tonight.

And I was going to let him.

Pressed against the wall with nowhere to run, I let him toy with me, bringing my most secret desires to light. Jamie’s long fingers so gentle yet brutally relentless had my legs trembling in no time. He freed his hand the second I came, and then he yanked me away from the wall. When he tossed me on the bed is when I began to panic. Maybe we’re going too fast.

“Jamie,” I whined. Grabbing my shorts, I tried to keep them up when he began pulling them down. “Maybe we should talk about this first?”

“You’ve had a year to talk to me and four before that. The time for talking is over.”

He gave up trying to remove my shorts and snatched the engagement ring from my finger instead.