Chapter Nineteen
Romy
T raffic is backed up for miles, but I don’t mind. It means at least another half hour or so of not having to put on my heels that are destined to give me blisters. I’m not exactly looking forward to this event tonight, but having this newer version of Caius by my side makes it a little more palatable.
As if he can hear my thoughts, he squeezes my thigh, not missing a beat in his conversation with his father. Theo, who sat in the passenger seat this time, keeps interrupting to joke around with Kaitlyn, who’s sitting on the middle row.
It’s times like these, I feel welcome in this family. Like I chose to be here. Whatever the feeling is, it’s a far cry from when I first met this family. The journey has been a messy one, but I like where I am at the moment.
Bastian sends me another video. I have my earbud in one ear as I watch yet another one. They’re past news broadcasts about strange things happening with Earth. He told me in his first text it’s a puzzle I can solve and maybe I’ll go ahead and save the world while I’m at it. I’d been amused by his silliness, though it felt good to be getting back to a more normal place with my brother.
The third video I watch is about cryptocurrency mining and how, because of its extensive requirement for electricity, it’s adding to the atmosphere’s greenhouse gas emission. The video before this discussed how concrete production creates significant amounts of carbon dioxide, which also adds to the global emissions.
Caius briefly glances over at what I’m watching but is pulled back into conversation. I become enthralled by how horrible this mining for something intangible is such a terrible thing for our environment. They go on to explain it’s the same for AI as well. I wonder if Caius knows every time he uses his AI program to recreate people’s voices—aka mine—that it’s harming our planet.
I’m going down a rabbit hole. It feels different than my usual obsessive pulls. This one doesn’t sharpen my senses and needle me to where I need to go. It’s like rocks tied around my ankles, tugging me deep into a mental abyss.
Caius plucks my phone out of my hand and shoves it into my pocket. I blink away my confusion.
“What did you do that for?” I demand as I take the earbud out. “I was in the middle of watching those.”
“I know,” he rumbles as he brings his mouth close to my ear. “I like it when your attention is on me.”
My mind still races with thoughts of the freaking environment of all things, but he’s quickly distracting me. His mouth on my neck drives me wild with need. It’s dark in the vehicle, so unless someone is directly looking at us, his neck kisses are private.
“Have I told you that you look hot tonight?”
I grin and nod. “You can tell me again, though.”
“So hot, love.”
This version of him who doesn’t hide his desire for me is my favorite. He doesn’t flaunt it in front of his father or Theo, which I’m grateful for, but he doesn’t hide it either. After Bastian left earlier and Caius came back, we went shopping for tonight’s event. He easily found a tux to wear while my search was a lot more difficult. What do you wear to meet the president?
Does the president know how bad cryptocurrency mining is for the environment? Maybe I should share the video with him.
My thoughts are once again jerked back to Caius. His palm is lazily teasing over the bare skin of my thigh exposed with the high slit of my dress. There are other people in the car, but I’m wishing it were just us. The things I’d let him do to me right now…
“Did you ever hear anymore from you-know-who?” I whisper, needing to throw a blanket over the burning heat igniting within me.
“Nope,” he murmurs before fusing his lips to mine.
I guess that’s the end of that conversation.
I’m okay with the kiss instead of words. He kisses me deeply and with such possessiveness that I feel like I belong to him. It’s nice to feel so wanted and cared for.
For how long?
I ignore the negative thoughts. It’s easy to push them out and focus on the good stuff. The man I should be wary of knows how to play my body exactly as it should be played. His fingertips brush over the lips of my pussy over my thong, causing me to jolt in surprise. He kisses me hard, snuffing out the yelp of surprise coming out of me.
We can’t do this stuff with people in the car.
And yet I try to part my legs in this fancy dress. I don’t get much movement, but he’s able to add just enough pressure.
“Do you think there will be any hot models or actresses there?” Theo asks from the front seat.
Caius, while keeping his fingertip right where I want it, pulls away from our kiss to answer him. “Naturally. The beautiful people always get invited first.”
Kaitlyn then asks Theo if there will be real princesses there. I’m unable to keep up with their conversation as Caius continues to tease me. Just when I think I might come, he stops.
My heart races out of control and I whip my head to glower at him. This makes him chuckle under his breath.
I’ve seen him smile—truly smile—and now I get a laugh out of him. Is this real life? Where’s the psychopath who held me at gunpoint on our first meeting and then proceeded to lock me back up under the floor? Or where’s the sinister man who had no issue whatsoever drugging me whenever it suited him?
I guess he’s there too.
This man has many layers.
Like our ozone? It probably has holes all in it. I’m curious how much in emissions does the state of New York alone put off into the air. I kind of wish I had my phone so I could look up that factoid. If I had to guess, China would be the winner since they produce a huge portion of what we use in our everyday lives.
Pleasure zings through me again, jolting me out of my thoughts. His finger is teasing me again, making the dark vehicle seem to light up with sparkles of light. So close. I want to come. I’m almost there…
And he stops again.
Can I kill him? Strangle him with his bowtie?
I shift in my seat, hoping he’ll get the message to continue along. He presses once against my clit before releasing. It’s just mean.
“You’re a cruel man,” I grumble quietly.
“It’s your punishment.”
I scoff. “For what?”
He doesn’t answer. His finger gets back to work. I grip his wrist, holding him right where I want him. My legs shake with the need to release. I’m unable to keep a whiney sound from escaping, but he quickly swallows it down with another deep kiss.
This time, he takes me over the edge. It’s an incredible feat to keep silent as I ride the wave of pleasure. His finger pushes deeper between my legs, rubbing me over the wet spot of my arousal. I’m still sore from our sex-fest, but if we were alone, I’d give it another go despite the pain there just to have that connection again.
He finally pulls out his hand and straightens my dress. Then, with eyes locked on mine, he crudely licks the tip of his finger. Heat floods through me, no doubt painting my skin bright crimson. I’m thankful no one can see in the dark car.
“You’re so gross,” I whisper, leaning my head on his shoulder.
He laughs again. God, how it warms my heart.
“There was nothing gross about what I just tasted.”
Kaitlyn and Theo are rapid-fire telling stupid knock-knock jokes that don’t even make sense, so they’re too busy to pay attention to what we’re doing.
His arm wraps around me, pulling me closer. I wish we didn’t have to go to this thing tonight. I’d much rather ride around the city glued to Caius’s side while we make out and play around with each other. I’m trying to imagine more filthy things he could do, but my mind keeps rewinding to those videos.
Do they want to kill the planet? What happens when the bad gas emissions finally do their worst work on the atmosphere? Will we all suffocate and die?
I need to discuss this with Bastian.
When I feel around Caius’s jacket pocket, looking for my phone, he grabs onto my wrist.
“No,” he says softly.
“Why not?”
“Because I said so.”
I bristle at his tone that reminds me of my father. My attempts to jerk my arm free prove futile. “Caius, give me my phone. I was watching something before—”
“I know.” His grip tightens and he doesn’t relent.
I’m irritated at his actions, but it quickly fades as I wonder what these cryptocurrency mining facilities look like. How easy would it be to get one shut down? Maybe I could bomb it.
Wait, what?
I get a cold, jittery feeling that has nothing to do with the bitter temperatures outside. Why am I so obsessed with those videos? Since when do I actually care about this stuff?
My mind wars with my own common sense and the seductive need to watch more.
“Maybe Dad will tell you all about the company one day. You deserve to know.”
Bastian’s words from earlier haunt me. The Crownes’ connection with my own family can’t be an innocent one. I’m in the trenches with the Crownes and know exactly what they get up to.
Was there a message Bastian was trying to send me?
Is our family somehow involved in damning the Earth’s atmosphere?
No.
That’s too… I don’t know, complicated .
It’s simpler than that.
It’s right in front of my face.
Think.
The more I attempt to wrap my head around what it is Dad does that’s so secretive, my mind loops back to the stupid video, the stupid cryptocurrency mining, and the stupid atmosphere.
Where does a girl buy a bomb anyway?
When I get my phone back, I’ll have to find that out…