Chapter Thirty
Thirty
Margot
I don’t believe Caine Underwood one bit, but I have mercy on him anyway.
I let him roll us, enjoying the feel of his weight over me.
He’s feral with desire, hands everywhere, hips pumping so hard we’re inching across the floor.
I’ll have bruises from this tomorrow, and they will absolutely be worth it.
His lips are right above mine when he murmurs, “After all this, don’t you dare make me come by myself. ”
The urge to kiss him is so strong I could shriek. Instead, I slip my hand between us. Barely brushing my clit with my pointer finger almost sets me off. Caine will definitely not be coming alone. “I would never.”
Groaning as I tighten around him, Caine swears, one hand sliding between my head and the floor to pull my hair.
The sting does it. Biting my lip to stifle a cry, I come.
Pleasure soars, filling me up the same way he does.
We’re a panting, clinging, writhing mess, both of us drawing out the pleasure as long as we can.
In the aftermath, I run my fingers through his damp hair, smoothing it.
Caine sighs with satisfaction. “Hate to break it to you, but that was not much of a deterrent.”
Smacking him on the ass, I wiggle until he lifts up, freeing me. “I’ll think of something else for next time, then.” We rise and Caine tugs his sweatpants up, then stretches his arms over his head. I can’t keep from checking him out, even though I just had him. He laughs.
“Damnit,” I mutter. “I can’t judge you, not when I’m in there fucking myself for twenty minutes only to practically hump your leg after.”
“Forty-three minutes,” he says as I grab his hand and tow him toward the bathroom. “You went for forty-three minutes.”
“You timed me?!” Yet again, I’m scandalized and somehow flattered.
Caine shrugs. “I was curious.”
We’re in the bathroom now. As I flip on the water, he amuses himself by jiggling my ass cheeks. “Have I told you how great your ass is? Because if I haven’t, that is something I need to repent for. Probably could use another punishment.”
Sighing, I motion to the shower. “Get in so I can aftercare you.”
“Aftercare me so hard, baby.”
I give him a withering look.
But I do.
· · ·
The next morning, I wake up with Caine in my bed.
Gremlin is tucked in between us. Caine declared that as a very good boy he had earned the privilege of sleeping in my bed.
I think we unlocked a praise kink last night.
It’s a blissful moment, and the pang of happiness I feel looking at them terrifies me.
Forget haunted houses, or even rattlesnakes: this is the fear that makes me want to tap out.
Being this happy, while knowing Nicholas is somewhere doing god knows what, feels like building a house in a dry riverbed.
All’s well now, but I keep my eyes on the sky, knowing rain could ruin everything.
We go out for breakfast and to grab groceries, but the pleasant domesticity only makes me feel worse.
So I do what I do when I feel out of control: throw myself into work and pretend my other problems don’t exist. I hole up in Shane’s office as soon as we return to the house.
Caine deals with the technician who comes out to inspect the generator midday.
The night of the first rattlesnake delivery, the generator didn’t kick on automatically, and I want to make sure there isn’t anything wrong with it that might be a fire hazard.
While I may have brought all kinds of chaos to Claire and Shane’s door, the very least I can do is not burn their house down while they’re gone.
It’s after three when my phone chimes on the desk beside my laptop.
Caine: Generator guy is gone.
Caine: Want a grilled cheese?
Caine: I accidentally made an extra.
Me: How do you accidentally make a grilled cheese sandwich??
Caine: Tripped.
Caine: Germ wants it if you don’t.
Me: I want it. On my way.
Caine: Knew that would make you run. ;)
I don’t run to the kitchen. It’s a brisk walk, and if the soles of my bare feet squeak on the wood floor as I take the corner, so be it.
Caine is standing at the counter. Beyond the halo of light through the kitchen windows, he’s pure sin.
Every obscene thought I’ve ever had wrapped in a tight white T-shirt, worn jeans, and combat boots.
He glances over at me and grins, damp hair, like he’s just showered, falling across his forehead. “Hope you’re hungry.”
You have no idea.
No. Down.
I can compartmentalize my emotions, but my sex drive is a lost cause.
If anything, the numbness I feel only makes me want Caine more.
This horniness is my brain and body seeking a way to self-soothe, but I don’t want to use him.
It isn’t fair, especially because I know I’m going to retreat right back to the office.
I should try to explain to him what’s happening in my head, but finding the words requires more energy than I possess.
Talking it out requires much more effort than fucking it out.
Feigning nonchalance I don’t feel, I move closer, parking my ass against the counter. “You didn’t have to make me lunch.”
“Told you. It was an accident.” Muscle cords in his hands. The rolling movement beneath the ink stirs heat under my own skin as he lifts the pan, sliding a sandwich onto a plate.
“Looks good.” Fuck. I practically croak the words, and when he gives me a confused glance, I panic. “I’ll get us drinks.” Pulling out the water pitcher slowly, I let the cool air of the fridge soothe my flushed face as long as I dare. Can’t have him asking what I’m doing.
What? Oh, me, with my head in the fridge?
It’s nothing. Just got a little hot and bothered lusting over your hands.
Moving back to the counter, I open the cupboard and pull down two glasses, pouring us each a drink.
The pitcher goes back in the fridge, and we head to the table.
Not the formal one, in the dining room just off the kitchen, but the breakfast nook, which is really more of a booth.
In my back pocket, my phone clunks against the wooden bench.
Caine passes me a sandwich, and I pass him a water.
Nodding his thanks, he doesn’t touch either.
“So the technician said someone messed with the battery on the generator, and that’s why it didn’t kick on.
” He delivers this information without preamble.
“He fixed it, so it should be good to go now, but he said it definitely looked like vandalism.”
The first bite turns to ash in my mouth. Nicholas. Right as I’m thinking, What do I do? Caine bursts out, “What the hell are we doing, Margot?”
I bristle. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t like this. We can’t just wait for him to do the next fucked-up thing. What’s the plan? Just keep reacting to everything he does?” He stares me down. “Or can I take care of it?”
Frustration hangs on every word, and I understand he’s tired, but I’m tired too.
Too tired to be reasonable. I fling my arms out, grilled cheese still in one hand.
“What should we do? What are my options? Tell the cops I think it’s him?
They’ll say he’s in Sedona. We’re putting up the damn cameras when they get here; for now we wait.
He’ll be back; he’ll do something else.” I finish the sentence in my head: And we’ll have proof that killing him was clearly self-defense.
“It doesn’t feel like enough. We didn’t tell the cops about the snake in your car for a reason, right? We could get him first,” he presses.
For starters, I don’t know how we’d find him, and beyond that, there is a very big difference between killing someone in self-defense and just killing someone.
“I can’t have this conversation right now.” Taking another bite of the sandwich, I rise from the table. “I need to get back to work. Thank you for lunch.”
Caine makes an incredulous sound. Gremlin flips over her food dish with a clang, even though it’s hours too early for her dinner.
“What are you doing?” he asks as I leave the kitchen. “What is this? Are you running away from me right now?”
Pausing in the doorway, I turn back to look at him.
“I will deal with Nicholas exactly how I planned. Paper trail, evidence, absolute proof, so that the cops cannot say it is all in my head or it is a misunderstanding.” It comes out harsher than I mean it to, but I can’t stop.
“I am going to deal with my problem the right way.”
The muscle in the side of his jaw ticks, but he doesn’t snap back. Just looks at me, disappointment and frustration clouding his face.
As I retreat to the office, I almost wish he had yelled at me.