The only belief I have about Tobias at this point is that we’re a treacherous mistake.
He stares at me with expectancy to answer his question, and I give him the same damning silence he and his brothers have given me countless times before.
“Do you still believe they’re coming for you?”
He flips me with his hand, smoothly turning me from back to front for better access, running his knuckles along the side of my breast, his eyes lingering on my skin before they lift to mine. “Or is it because you wait for me?”
“I despise you.”
“That means nothing. You could have gone anywhere. Instead, you chose to prowl around the bar I own to try and make your point.”
“You may have taken a great interest in learning everything about me, but I assure you, I couldn’t give a shit less about you, who you fucked at your junior prom, or what bars you own. Nor do I care about the psychology behind why you act the way you do.”
He stops his hand and raises his brows in mild surprise.
“Someone’s in a mood.”
“Blame it on the hormones rather than the backbone. I guess that’s easier for a sexist like you to believe.”
“Pussy wielding predator,” he chuckles darkly. “I have to admit, I almost laughed.” He’s had more than one drink, and I assume it’s the excuse he’s allowed himself to be here.
“That’s not who I am, as you well know, but feel free to make all the assumptions you want about me.”
He sets the rocks glass down and leans forward, his nose running along my collarbone. “Have you been smoking weed?”
Daily.
“Who would have thought?” He chuckles, ghosting his lips along my jaw. My nipples spike to life as I try not to inhale his scent. I don’t want to be wet. I don’t want to react. “And what message were you trying to send?”
“It has nothing to do with you.”
“Did you think I would come for you? Stake my claim?”
“I wasn’t thinking about you.”
“I don’t have to give chase. I have you.”
“You’ll never have me. Not in the way they did.”
His eyes flare and I grip his hand just as he snaps the strap of my dress.
“I just bought this, you bastard.”
He doesn’t so much as flinch as I sink my fingernails into the flesh of his hand while he lowers the fabric to cup my breasts.
“Under my fat thumb,” he muses, lifting the bodice before he slides his thumb along my stomach, and down, past my pelvic bone and through the thin smattering of hair, inching lower before pressing it against my clit.
“You hate me,” he presses harder and I wince, releasing his hand before he licks the pad of it and resumes his touch, massaging me in dizzying circles. “I have some hate for you, as well,” he exhales a gin-infused breath. “But you’ve given me a sort of gift. I never imagined I’d be here under his roof, touching what he treasures.”
He pauses his movement when I let out a self-deprecating laugh. “You’re sadly mistaken if you think I’m anything close to his treasure. He’s incapable of feeling anything. Just like you.” Instinctively, I buck my hips against his touch and close my eyes. “Why just months ago, Daddy told me he didn’t love me over lamb chops.”
His finger stops altogether, and he withdraws it.
I open my eyes to see him staring raptly. I tilt my head, nothing but malice in my voice when I speak. “Don’t act so surprised, I told you his only child is his company. Did you think I was bluffing? That inheritance he’s granting me is a payoff. A payoff for every recital he missed, for every father-daughter dance he avoided, for every Christmas morning he skipped, for his absence.” I pull his hand back to my center, spreading my legs wider to grant access. “My mother put together my first bike, built me my treehouse. My mother did those things. So, like I told you, I’m here to collect, for her. Unlike you, every word I breathe isn’t a lie.”
I might as well have slapped him, judging from the look on his face. He earns a lazy smile from me due to my victory. “You really didn’t think a monster like Roman Horner is capable of a pesky emotion like love, did you?” He stares down at me deathly still. “Like I said, you’re one and the same.” His expression has my blood boiling. “Don’t you fucking dare pity me, Tobias, play your part. In case you forgot, you’re the bad guy.”
“What is this?” He asks, leaning in, his tone laced with suspicion. “What are you doing?”