Page 7 of Discretion at Its Finest

I placed a kiss on his lips to say yes,because that’s what I did.Because he needed me and I needed a distraction.

His mouth demanded mine. I let his hands tug the nightgown over my head, let him push me down onto the bed, and climb over me like he was proving to himself that he was still in control of something.

I closed my eyes and tried to give him what he wanted. I moaned when I was supposed to. I arched my back when histhrusts grew harder, faster, chasing a release he was certain he could give me if he just tried hard enough.

But every sound was rehearsed. Every gasp, every whispered “yes” was a performance. My body played the part, but my heart wasn’t in it.

In an instant, however, the atmosphere of the room shifted.

The weight of a stare,another person,pressed harder than Gregory’s body over me. My eyes snapped open, darting around the room discreetly before they froze, locking onto—

Reid.

My eyes locked on him leaning against the doorway, shirtless, his chiseled chest on display, one hand tucked in his pocket, the other cradling a glass that held what looked like his favorite scotch. His hooded eyes were still visible in the moonlit room, his jaw sharper than before, his hair more tousled but still styled enough to exude that same feeling of control he always had.

He didn’t speak or move. He just stood there, watching.

My breath caught, my body tightening as though every nerve had been pulled taut.

Gregory groaned my name, oblivious, rutting harder, whispering, “That’s it, baby. That’s my girl.”

But my gaze was locked to Reid’s. He sipped from his glass slowly, never looking away from me. And then it hit me… the reason my body was trembling, why the pressure was coiling tight in my core, why I suddenly could barely catch my breath.

It wasn’t Gregory.

It was him.

His gaze pinned me to the mattress harder than Gregory’s weight ever could, then—

An earth-shattering orgasm tore through me, so sudden and suffocating. I bit down on a cry, but it still slipped free from my throat, raw and broken. My nails clawed at the sheets.

I wanted to close my eyes, to block him out, but I couldn’t. He held me there. Every thrust, every sound, every broken gasp was his, even though Gregory thought it was his doing.

“That’s it, baby,” he groaned, but Reid knew better.

He raised his glass in a slow, mocking toast, the amber catching in the moonlight. His eyes burned with something darker than lust, deeper than hate.

Then, as silently as he’d come, he turned and vanished into the dark hallway.

Gregory collapsed beside me, chest heaving, content in his delusion. I lay rigid, staring into the darkness, every nerve still alive and firing.

Because I had performed for Gregory. But I had broken for Reid.

Chapter four

Genevieve

The next morning, the sun bled through the tall windows, the warmth of its rays lying about the prospect of a brighter day ahead.

Eugene sat beside me at the dining room table, swinging his legs as I cut his eggs into small pieces. He pushed one bite around with his fork, then looked up at me with his half-sleepy eyes that always undid me.

“Wanna play after. Please, Mom?” he asked, mouth still full.

“Yes, Lovebug,” I whispered, brushing his hair back. “Just a few more bites first.”

He nodded as he continued eating.

I watched him mindlessly, my ear drifting down the hall to Raymond’s office.