Reveal (Wicked Ways #2)(4)

“Think what you will,” I say with a nonchalant shrug that could play either way for me before tilting my drink up. The burn of the alcohol doesn’t do shit to abate how much I hate this man. I nod and decide to wing it. It’s the only chance I have of figuring out what exactly it is he has on her. “I only have Vaughn around because of the sex. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

“Well, you’ve gone to the right place if it’s sex. Lucky bastard,” Carter says and pulls my attention to his smug smile and bullshit bravado. “Vaughn’s a madam and a whore all tied into one neat little bow you get to open up one thigh at a time.”

Rage simmers. My fists clench. All I can think about is bashing in that perfectly straight nose of his.

But the challenge in his eyes tells me that’s what he wants. The man wants a fight, while I want to nail him to a goddamn wall. First with my fist to his face for being a prick and second in the courtroom if I can get proof that he’s willing to cheat—with an escort, no less. The senator who pays for sex. Getting him to admit it outright on my cell phone’s recorder will benefit my case, but hell if this isn’t fucked up. Throw Vaughn to the wolves—figuratively—to gain an advantage. The only redeeming prospect in this whole conversation is that hopefully he’ll spill what he has on her.

He quirks an eyebrow, and a smile plays at the corners of his lips as he weighs the situation.

I do too.

Time to play.

“You can have her if you want her, Preston. Fuck, I’ll even pay for your time with her.”

Come on, fucker. Take the bait.

I should choke on the lie, but I don’t. It comes out smooth and seamless, and for a brief second I wonder what the hell is wrong with me. Vaughn’s perfume still lingers on my skin, and yet I have no qualms about saying shit like that?

Maybe I’m not cut out for this kind of thing. A relationship. Love.

Fuck.

As I struggle with my own desires, I watch the emotions play over his face. Caution. Curiosity. Bravado. They range from wondering whether I’m playing him to being so damn arrogant he actually thinks he has me under his thumb.

“You’d pay for me, Lockhart? Why the generosity all of a sudden?”

“Senator, even I know when it’s time to share the wealth. Besides, aren’t you the one who has the most to gain here?”

“You let me down, and then you try to soothe me with pussy.” Carter’s chuckle rumbles through the air. “A man after my own heart.”

Stroke a man’s ego, offer him easy sex, and he’ll believe any fucking thing you say. It’s a sad fact that we’re such simple creatures.

“I wasn’t aware you had one,” I say, selling the lie by clinking the edge of my glass against his in a toast.

His smile widens. “What I don’t get is how’d you manage to corral her? She needs a real man to put her in her place. Show her who’s boss . . . no offense.”

“None taken.” I speak the words, but every part of me hates myself right now.

Oh shit.

Am I really having this conversation?

Did I really just offer Vaughn to this fucker?

What did I do?

What the fuck am I actually doing?

But when I look up at Carter and see the smug smile on his lips and his posture relaxed, I think he’ll actually fall for it. More ammo for me with Bianca . . . and maybe if I play it right, I can find out what the fuck it is he has on Vaughn.

“What’d you do? Fool her into believing that she means more to you than a good lay?”

I think of last night on the kitchen counter—cookie dough and Vaughn—and earlier in the bedroom—pure need and greed—and I hate myself even more for feeding him this bullshit.

I don’t trust my own words not to betray me right now, so I just shrug and give an unapologetic smile.

“You’re a cruel and brilliant fucking bastard.”

“So they say.”

He waves his cigar at me. “You better not be playing me, Lockhart.”

“Playing you?” Sell the lie, Lockhart. “Not you, Preston. You’d see right through it. Everybody else, though? Definitely.”

Your justification is bullshit.

“It looks like you might need the shit I dug up on her for yourself. You’ve played her well enough that I think she’s seeing forevers when all you’re seeing is what you want between her thighs. She’s going to be pissed when you stop calling.”

“True. I could definitely use the dirt you have on her. Two people knowing something is always better than just one. That way we’d both be protected.” I sit back down and force a laugh to play it all up when I’d rather down another goddamn drink in misery. “Since we’re looking out for each other and all.”

“And that’s why you’re offering her to me?”

“Like I said, it’s the least I can do, given the circumstances.”

“Pass the pussy, please.” The senator laughs, and I join in as my stomach churns at the thought of his fucking hands on her. At knowing everything she’s been through at the whim of her uncle and how men like them think it’s their right to take regardless of consent. “How do you know she’ll go along with it?”

“Tell me the time and place, and I’ll have her ready and willing for you,” I offer, ignoring the senator’s question and making his eyes light up. Now it’s time to tell him I want the info on Vaughn beforehand. Tit for fucking tat. “But first you’ll need to give me—”