tightened on my arms when he saw my face.
“Damn,” he said. “Damn. I didn’t mean for it to be like
that.”
“I want it to be real
between us.”
I swiped at my cheeks. “It’s okay.”
Philip sat down heavily in the armchair and let his head
fall back. “Tell me, then. What was so horrible that it sent you running to the
likes of me at three in the morning?”
I slanted him a look as I fiddled with the jagged hem of my
dress, the cheap fabric torn somewhere during our fight or flight. For maybe
the first time in so many years, I mumbled at the floor. “It’s possible I’m the
lead suspect in a multiple homicide.”
He stared at me for a moment and then burst into a laugh.
“Bet your cop shit a brick.”
Sure, right before he promised to turn me in. “Do you have
to find this amusing?”
“Tell me you did it, that you murdered some bastard.” He was
grinning. “Fuck, you didn’t. Oh, that would have made my night.”
“You really are perverted.”
“I know.” He sobered. “They would have deserved it, if you’d
done it. But okay, to business. Who knows you’re here—anyone?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think we were followed. If we
were, there would have been cops knocking on the door by now.”
“Sweetheart, cops know better than to knock on my door.”
A smile tugged at my lips. Was that what I sounded like?
“You’re an ass.”
“Go.”
He pulled me to standing and pushed me gently toward the
door.
“Get some sleep. We’ll figure it out in the morning. And if we
don’t, you can just live here forever.”
There was a note in his voice that said he wouldn’t mind
that outcome too much; I shivered. As I shut the door, he was still chuckling
to himself. “My little murderer,” I heard him say.
I slipped through the hallways, the shadows both foreign and
familiar, but I turned away from the cold guest room I’d been assigned. Metal
stairs shook under my weight as I climbed up to the observatory. Philip’s
mansion was like a life-size dollhouse, made for play, not living. But there
were a few perks, and the stargazing nook at the top of the tower ranked high
among them.
I nestled among the pillows there, hoping that whatever
girls Philip had brought in to replace me hadn’t found this spot. The thought
of another person’s left-behind hair and skin and fluids on the pillows, of
touching those things, was enough to mar the experience—almost. At least until
I let out a breath and looked up at the sky.
At first I had thought it was stupid to build an observatory
in the heart of Chicago, where only a few stars ever pierced the blanket of
smog and bright city lights. But one night, after leaving Philip’s bed, I had
slunk up here like a dog hiding away to lick her wounds.
The small windowed room gave me space to fall apart. The
endless black expanse above let me do it in privacy.
I still smarted where Philip’s hands had smacked me, where
his cock had branded me. Small acts, almost innocent compared to what I had
done in the past, but it felt all new to me now. All dirty and so wrong, when
it was with anyone but Luke.
And Luke. Oh, Luke. I had called Philip perverted, which was
accurate enough, considering. But here I had access to a face chiseled from
marble, and I wanted the one studded with stubble. Here I lay swathed in silks,
wishing they were coarse blue cotton sheets instead.
Why did he have to turn on me so quickly, after what I had
done for him? I supposed that showing up so late, frantic and with a black eye,
it was conceivable that I had just committed murder.
Although, after the messages he’d left me, I believed he
didn’t mean for us to be hurt. A small comfort, when he might have gotten us
killed. He trusted the system too much. He thought his precious fucking
colleagues would exonerate me if I was innocent.
Maybe that was the problem. I didn’t just want him to
believe in me. I wanted him to think the worst and protect me anyway.
* * * *
A
“Damn,” he said. “Damn. I didn’t mean for it to be like
that.”
“I want it to be real
between us.”
I swiped at my cheeks. “It’s okay.”
Philip sat down heavily in the armchair and let his head
fall back. “Tell me, then. What was so horrible that it sent you running to the
likes of me at three in the morning?”
I slanted him a look as I fiddled with the jagged hem of my
dress, the cheap fabric torn somewhere during our fight or flight. For maybe
the first time in so many years, I mumbled at the floor. “It’s possible I’m the
lead suspect in a multiple homicide.”
He stared at me for a moment and then burst into a laugh.
“Bet your cop shit a brick.”
Sure, right before he promised to turn me in. “Do you have
to find this amusing?”
“Tell me you did it, that you murdered some bastard.” He was
grinning. “Fuck, you didn’t. Oh, that would have made my night.”
“You really are perverted.”
“I know.” He sobered. “They would have deserved it, if you’d
done it. But okay, to business. Who knows you’re here—anyone?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think we were followed. If we
were, there would have been cops knocking on the door by now.”
“Sweetheart, cops know better than to knock on my door.”
A smile tugged at my lips. Was that what I sounded like?
“You’re an ass.”
“Go.”
He pulled me to standing and pushed me gently toward the
door.
“Get some sleep. We’ll figure it out in the morning. And if we
don’t, you can just live here forever.”
There was a note in his voice that said he wouldn’t mind
that outcome too much; I shivered. As I shut the door, he was still chuckling
to himself. “My little murderer,” I heard him say.
I slipped through the hallways, the shadows both foreign and
familiar, but I turned away from the cold guest room I’d been assigned. Metal
stairs shook under my weight as I climbed up to the observatory. Philip’s
mansion was like a life-size dollhouse, made for play, not living. But there
were a few perks, and the stargazing nook at the top of the tower ranked high
among them.
I nestled among the pillows there, hoping that whatever
girls Philip had brought in to replace me hadn’t found this spot. The thought
of another person’s left-behind hair and skin and fluids on the pillows, of
touching those things, was enough to mar the experience—almost. At least until
I let out a breath and looked up at the sky.
At first I had thought it was stupid to build an observatory
in the heart of Chicago, where only a few stars ever pierced the blanket of
smog and bright city lights. But one night, after leaving Philip’s bed, I had
slunk up here like a dog hiding away to lick her wounds.
The small windowed room gave me space to fall apart. The
endless black expanse above let me do it in privacy.
I still smarted where Philip’s hands had smacked me, where
his cock had branded me. Small acts, almost innocent compared to what I had
done in the past, but it felt all new to me now. All dirty and so wrong, when
it was with anyone but Luke.
And Luke. Oh, Luke. I had called Philip perverted, which was
accurate enough, considering. But here I had access to a face chiseled from
marble, and I wanted the one studded with stubble. Here I lay swathed in silks,
wishing they were coarse blue cotton sheets instead.
Why did he have to turn on me so quickly, after what I had
done for him? I supposed that showing up so late, frantic and with a black eye,
it was conceivable that I had just committed murder.
Although, after the messages he’d left me, I believed he
didn’t mean for us to be hurt. A small comfort, when he might have gotten us
killed. He trusted the system too much. He thought his precious fucking
colleagues would exonerate me if I was innocent.
Maybe that was the problem. I didn’t just want him to
believe in me. I wanted him to think the worst and protect me anyway.
* * * *
A
Similar Books
