“Yes, dear.”
I grab a bottle of chilled Chardonnay from the wine fridge and begin opening it as the boys round the corner. Smiling up at Bennett as he moves in behind me, I turn my head so that he can take a kiss.
“What are the two of you discussing?” I ask.
“Just a couple of merger opportunities, that’s all.”
Setting the bottle down, I respond, “I didn’t know you were interested in something like that.”
“We’re not,” Richard blurts out. “We’re not entertaining any of the offers.”
I turn to face Bennett, and he doesn’t even seem to acknowledge Richard as his eyes are focused on me with a slight smile. It isn’t until I raise up on my toes to give my husband a kiss that Richard speaks again, saying, “Jacqueline mentioned you girls having lunch yesterday. Said you had the attention of another man.”
He’s such an asshole.
“Who?” Bennett asks.
“Declan,” I tell him and then step away to face Richard, adding, “He’s the owner of the hotel the party is being held at tonight, but I’m sure that small detail was left out of whatever gossip was being slung around about me. I’m sure you’re well aware of maintaining good graces with people you do business with, am I right?”
“No need to get defensive, honey,” Bennett says.
“Not defensive, just cankered with offhanded suggestions,” I defend while eyeing Richard.
His wink peeves me as he says, “Well, you know how women can be.”
Mustering up the most gracious smile I can, I say, “As charming as this little interaction has been, you must excuse me while I get ready for the party.” I turn to Bennett, give him a kiss along his jaw, and whisper suggestively, “Join me in the bathroom,” before walking away and saying to Richard, “I look forward to seeing both you and your wife tonight.”
Whatever Jacqueline’s intentions were when she decided to tell her husband about my run-in with Declan, I know I need to play it off as nothing to Bennett and be on my best behavior tonight so that he isn’t the least bit tipped off about what I’m doing. So when he walks into the bathroom after a few minutes, I turn to face him, and silently strip off my clothes as he watches. His growing erection is noticeable through his slacks as I sit myself up on the sink counter and spread my legs open, inviting him to take what he wants.
I watch him loosen his tie, and when he starts working the buttons on his shirt, I lick my fingers and drag them down to my clit, rubbing soft circles. I think about anything but Bennett, working hard in my imagination, attempting to get myself wet. Leaning my head back against the mirror, I prop my feet up on the ledge and close my eyes. When the vision of Declan hovering over me with his hand inside my panties in his hotel the other night flashes in my head, my eyes pop open.
Fuck. I can’t think about him.
In an instant, Bennett is crouched down in front of me, hands spreading me open wider before dipping his tongue inside me. I continue massaging myself as he laps me up like I’m the only one who can quench his thirst. He sickens me, and as soon as I feel the swirl of hate manifest, I turn every part of me off and simply go through the movements I know he likes. I’m a well-oiled machine at this point, flawless in my performance.
He has no idea that I’m the poison in his bones, making my home in his soul. I’ve crept under his skin, and he never suspected a thing other than everything I’ve wanted him to, but he’s made my life a hell, and payback is a wicked bitch that comes in the form of me. I’m the devil seeped within the cracks of him. What he doesn’t know is that it’s because of him that I am what I am, and he’s fallen into the cobwebs of my lies like a fool. I guess I should love him for that, because when he least suspects it, he’s going to give me everything I’ve been seeking—vengeance.
“WOULD YOU MIND zipping me up?” I call out to Bennett from inside my closet.
I stand in front of my floor-length framed mirror that rests against one of the walls. The strapless black satin gown is adorned with a scattered crystal beaded bodice that fades down into the slim, silky black skirt that falls to the floor. When Bennett walks up from behind, his smile is wide when he catches the zipper and slowly drags it up the center of my back.
“You’re beautiful,” he tells me before dropping kisses along my bare shoulder.
“Bennett, that tickles,” I giggle as I shimmy away. I look at his reflection in the mirror as he laughs and then ask, “Can you help tie my sash?”
Looking down at the wide, burnt orange, satin sash that’s draped around my waist and down my hips, he shakes his head, holding the two ends and says, “What do I do with this?”