Page 14 of Mr. Risky

Disgusting, vile man.

I took a big gulp of my champagne, hoping something would distract me from this horror show.

Hayden began asking me about my graduate studies, and I tried to focus on that.

But, as always, Granger seemed to overshadow everything. It wasn’t just his height. It felt like everything here revolved around him, and it was disorienting.

“Shit, is that a cormorant out there?” he said, pointing out into the sea. “It’s mighty early in the season for that.”

Pippa and Hayden craned their necks around to see what he was talking about, but I smelled bullshit, and that was my damned mistake.

My suspicious glance only made that slow, wicked smile spread across his face and he deliberately took a big gulp of his champagne, throwing it back so I could see his throat working.

Then he bent over and spat it all back in my almost-empty glass.

I gasped.

Disgusting. He was a filthy, foul, disgusting man.

“A toast,” Granger said. “To the newest member of the Sirens.”

I wanted to throw it in his face, my heart pounding so hard my chest ached.

They all clinked glasses and drank, but I was frozen in place. Would it be too conspicuous if I dumped it all on the ground? Would they think I had gone mad?

“Something wrong with the champagne?” Pippa asked frostily, and oh yes, she had always resented when I didn’t properly appreciate any of her charity.

Fuck, I couldn’t show that anything was wrong.

“No, everything is fine.”

“Then why aren’t you drinking it? It’s a particularly rare bottle Hayden chose for your debut.”

I raised the glass to my lips, hoping she would look away, but she didn’t, her eyes slightly narrowed.

Oh, so maybe she did remember certain. . . incidents from before they were married. Times when Granger seemed to prefer me. Maybe they hadn’t been completely forgotten yet.

I closed my eyes and drained the glass, swallowing down his filthy attempt at domination, the champagne burning my throat and settling like a stone in my belly.

“Delicious, isn’t it?” Granger said, and put his arm around Pippa’s waist, drew her closer so their bodies looked fused together.

What was it like to have sex with Granger every night? To feel those wicked hands on you every day?

I swallowed hard, trying to force the jealousy down my throat too.

I couldn’t stand being here a second longer.

“Oh, I think it’s my boyfriend,” I lied, looking down at my phone. “I’ve gotta take this.”

“Liar,” Granger murmured as I brushed by, so quietly I wasn’t sure if I had heard him right.

But I didn’t look back.

My skin crawled with a heady mixture of nausea and arousal, and as I didn’t even wait for them to acknowledge me leaving, just fled as fast as I dared to the big, marble-tiled bathroom on the first floor.

Fuck.

“Get yourself together,” I demanded at my reflection as I splashed cold water on my face.