Page 79 of Colton

He sighs, his hand coming to rest on my inner thigh, mindlessly rubbing circles with his thumb. The man sure likes to have his hands on me at all times. “Something’s been happening around this town lately.”

I frown. “What?”

“Robberies and a murder that was a message toward the five families.”

When the word murder falls from his lips, I freeze for a moment. My entire body goes rigid, and my breathing is shallow. Murder? And Colton’s directly involved? Immediately, a spark of worry starts to ignite inside of me, and I don’t know how to react.

“What?” I repeat.

“Don’t worry about it.” he kisses my forehead. “I’m handling it.”

“It’s dangerous!” I say, and I’m surprised how calm he is about this entire thing. “Why would anyone do this?”

“Well,” he pauses, looking at me. Ah, so there are things he hasn’t told me yet, and he’s debating how much to tell me.

“What are you not telling me, Colton?” I ask.

“It’s…” he stops himself again. “There’s an underground gambling ring.”

I blink. “Gambling is legal, though? You make it seem as if it’s a crime.”

“This kind is illegal, sweetheart,” he says, brushing a strand of my hair, tucking it behind my ear. “And we have a lot of powerful clients coming. Someone lost a lot of money, and they need to blame someone.”

My mind goes into overdrive as I try to piece it all together. Sure, I know that wealth of this amount couldn’t have been acquired legally. Not on this scale, at least. And considering how old this town and the family are, I knew from the get-go there were things I wasn’t informed of.

But illegal gambling?

It sounds like a terrible plot from a thriller novel where we'll all end up dead somehow.

“Avalon,” Colton’s voice breaks my chain of thought, and my eyes snap to meet his. “Talk to me. What are you thinking about?”

“It’s just…” I stop, not sure what to say. What am I supposed to say to this? I’m not at the academy where I can run off to Sophia for advice, and this isn't something I can postpone. “I don’t want to know.”

Colton stills for a moment. “About gambling?”

I nod. “Yes. I don’t want to know anything.”

“Then you won’t.” he leans in, kissing my forehead again. “I will never do anything that will be a direct risk to you, Avalon.”

“I know,” I breathe out, and I believe the words I’m saying. If anything, I’m pretty sure he’ll be protecting me from it all. But I’m not ready to know something like this, not now, probably not ever. Being involved, even with just knowledge, in something illegal is not on my list.

“Good.”

◆◆◆

The day stretches on, and I find myself bored. Colton’s been in meetings all day, and now that I know what it’s about, I can’t fault him. Emiliano kept me company for a while, but the man’s busy as well, and I find myself too bored.

A small idea forms in my mind, and it’s bold, reckless, and will probably earn me a good spanking later on. But hey, while I’m here, I want to make the most of it. So, I head back to Colton’s office, slowly pushing the door open.

His laptop is in front of him, and he has earpods in. He glances at me briefly, brows narrowing, before whoever it is on the other side of the screen grabs his attention again. The door closes behind me silently, and I make my way toward his desk.

“Yes,” Colton says, but I know his mind is anywhere but the meeting. “The budget will increase starting January.”

I can’t hear the other person speaking, and I don’t try to — this is not why I’m here. I get down on my knees, getting under his desk. His eyes widen a fraction, and he quickly glances down before clearing his throat.

A small smile tugs at the corner of my lips when I reach for his belt, my palm rubbing his cock. He stiffens in his chair, but the effect is almost immediate as I can feel him starting to harden under my palm.

“I’m aware,” Colton says, clearing his throat. His hand comes to rest on top of mine, a small warning that I choose to ignore. I swat his hand away, and slowly undo his belt, his zipper, and pull his cock out. “But if I raise the funds immediately, it’ll be suspicious.”