A Harmless Little Ruse (Harmless #2)(31)

“I know.”

“No, Lindsay, I don’t think you do.”

Her face morphs. Emotion flickers in ten thousand licks across the fine bones of her face. The moon conspires against me, giving her a grey shadow as clouds cover the light, making her eerie. Dangerous.

My heart seizes.

“You cannot fathom how hard it was to be drugged and -- ” Helpless.

I cannot say that f*cking word.

“ -- and unable to stop them.”

“I can now. Now that I know the truth. They hurt you too, Drew.”

I jerk. What’s she implying? Does she know the full truth?

I stay silent. Don’t give away a thing. She’ll reveal what she knows, and I can make sure I don’t tip my hand.

“They drugged you. Made it so you couldn’t stop them. And that blood on you in the picture – they beat you up, didn’t they? I know.”

I hold my breath. What else does she know? Because yes, they beat me.

But they did worse, too.

“You told me,” she continues. “I believe you. I rewatched the video.”

“You what?”

She shrugs, her breast sliding down my rib, nipple peaking. “I had to. After you told me what happened, I went online and watched it.”

“You found the video online?”

She makes a huff of laughter, a sad sound. “I have my ways, as you know.”

“I thought we’d put a stop to that,” I say tightly.

She bats at my chest. “You can’t outsmart me.”

I snort. Her eyebrows go up. She kisses me.

As her lips brush mine, I find the passion is gone. In its place there is a sense of regret. Of peace. A kind of sad acceptance that the past has damaged us, but somehow we’ve found our way back to each other. We’re scarred and battered, bruised and broken, but we’re together again.

That is its own miracle.

Bzzzz.

I groan. “My phone.” I stand, searching again for my clothes, finding the damn device and checking.

Seven a.m. staff meeting in two hours. You want me to get a suit for you? Senator Bosworth plans to be there, Gentian texts me.

I should be worried.

I’m not.

Worst case, he fires my company from covering Lindsay.

Best case, he yells at me for punching Blaine.

There is no option for being praised.

“Who’s the text from?”

“Gentian.” I walk closer to the window, careful not to make my body viewable from outside. The pre-dawn light makes the sky a strange color. I’m wiped and wired at the same time. A long, hard day followed by too many beers, a six-mile run, and a lovemaking session that qualifies as the best of my entire life.

All the good and bad in the world crammed into the same single day.

“Hey,” Lindsay whispers, coming up from behind me and wrapping her arms around my waist. “Everything okay? Is Silas texting because there’s a problem?”

Understatement of the year.

“Your dad plans to attend our seven a.m. staff meeting.”

“But he’s in D.C.”

I shrug. “Maybe he’s on video feed. Or maybe his schedule changed. My little stunt with Blaine might have worse consequences than I anticipated.”

She sighs, hot breath tickling my shoulder blade. Pressing her cheek against my back, she melts into me. “They don’t tell me anything. I’m relieved now, though.”

“Relieved?” I text back a quick yes to Gentian, then put the phone down and press my palms against her hands. Having her touch me is an anchor.

“I think they’re happy I performed the part. They’re done with me, for a week or two at least. I smiled, I was vibrant, I played the good daughter in a highly public role. I’m not some sex-crazed kinky deviant who is an embarrassment to the good senator.”

“Lindsay,” I protest, my voice low with anger. “No one thinks that.”

A bitter laugh vibrates against my back. “Everyone thinks that, Drew. Daddy said he couldn’t believe I let it happen.” I rotate her around so she faces me.

“He said that to you? I remember Harry saying it to me.” Fury turns the room a dark shade of red, her sadness making me protective..

She blinks rapidly as she struggles to remember. “Oh. Maybe that’s when I was eavesdropping on you two.”

“When you were what? Excuse me?”

An impish smile stretches her lips and she shrugs. “It was my first day back. I was desperate.”

All I can do is sigh.

“At least I didn’t punch a California state representative,” she needles. “My only saving grace is that the news media cycle is so fast. Everyone cares more about a boy in a tiger display at a zoo than they do about me now. The media is fickle. The more boring I am, the better for Daddy.”

“You’re anything but boring.”

“You know what I mean.”

My temper flares up. “Yeah. I do. And I hate it. You’re so much more than a pretty face on a stage, filling a spot on a politician’s checkbox.”

“Am I? Are you sure?”

I tighten my hold, my thighs pressing into her hips, my cock dragging across that soft skin right above her mons. As much skin as possible needs to connect between us. If I touch her enough, I can erase time, right?