Liars and Liaisons by Sav R. Miller

6

Violet frowns. “For what though?”

“We’ll call you a… glorified nanny.”

She frowns harder, and I find that I dislike that look on her more than I should. It’s better when she smiles.

“Nate never mentioned you had a kid.”

Ignoring the jealousy that ignites in my veins at the sound of his name on her lips, I shake my head. “No kids. The James estate is hardly child-friendly anyway. It would be wildly irresponsible of me to keep any there.”

“So… I’d be a nanny for… you?” Wrapping her arms around her middle, she gives me a funny look. “I don’t even know you.”

I refrain from noting that she didn’t seem to mind at the gala—although, technically, she didn’t know it was me. The mask stayed on, and she seemed to like it that way.

Perhaps because she thought it was my brother underneath, but still, I’m counting it.

“Maybe the better term is maid.”

Her face doesn’t change.

“Look, you don’t know me, but my brother knows you. Based on what I’ve seen and found out, you are a … relatively good person. Barring your abhorrent propensity to overspend, you don’t have any marks on your records. You didn’t finish college, but no one will care about that. Half the people in my family didn’t and went on to become massive successes anyway.”

“Is this some sort of publicity thing? You want me because I’d be good for your image?”

“Oh, no. I’m certain you’ll tarnish it actually.” I chuckle, enjoying the confusion swimming in her eyes. She has no fucking clue what she stumbled into when she met my brother.

Those brown eyes shift, glancing toward the single window in the room that overlooks the little garden she was kneeling in earlier. The entire room is lined with various potted plants—so much so that if I stay much longer, I might need to inject myself with an allergy shot due to the volume of pollen alone.

“I don’t understand. You’re blackmailing me in the hopes that I ruin your reputation?”

Sighing, I pinch the bridge of my nose. Impatience pumps through me, especially since I’m not entirely sure how long we have before the mayor’s security system connects to the internet again. Arsen separated the two with some sort of browser firewall, but I’m not certain it will hold much longer.

I want her there because it will make my family angry to learn that she is. They’ll think I’m trying to get back at Nathaniel and my father and in general losing my mind because the Grayson James they know would never stoop so low. Not when his livelihood somehow hangs in the balance.

But that’s the point. The Grayson they know is no longer. They’ll come to her rescue or die trying.

“Don’t worry yourself with the mechanics of it, Little Echo. Just acknowledge what you get out of this—room and board. Maybe you can actually start paying off some of that debt you’ve got.” I hold a hand out in offering. “Do we have a deal or not?”

She looks at my fingers like they’re tentacles. “What if I refuse?”

I shrug. “I wouldn’t advise it. You might find that life could become suddenly difficult if you don’t accept.”

“Why do you even bother asking then?”

“Choice is an illusion in this life. As humans, we’re bound by circumstance. But it’s up to you whether or not the experience is a good one.” When she doesn’t budge, I groan, dropping my head back a little in frustration. “It’s temporary. You’d make good money, and I’m… sure Nathaniel will be beside himself with envy. If you’re wanting to get him back still, I have it on good authority that the man doesn’t deal with jealousy all that well.”

Violet considers my offer for all of three seconds before nodding her head.

She does it just once, just barely dipping her chin enough for me to see.

But she doesn’t take my hand, and when she makes a move to step away, I lash out, wrapping my fingers around her wrist and tugging her slightly into me.

God, she’s fucking warm. Like sunshine itself. I want to push her back onto the bed and see if she’s warm everywhere, but I need to bide my time.

After a few uncomfortable seconds of her trying to shake her hand free, she manages to twist out of my grip, clearing her throat.

Satisfaction weaves around my internal organs. I didn’t think it would be that easy, though perhaps she understands her financial situation is… unfavorable, at best.

At worst, she owes several hundred thousands of dollars. Years of deferments on student and personal loans, as well as cash advances from shady institutions, and even a foreclosed home have taken a toll on the woman’s credit history. I’m positive it’s why she’s refused to return to her family in North Carolina and why she doesn’t have a physical address she can be tracked to.

Aplana Island is good for people like her. Its government is as corrupt as its citizens, and it tends to err in favor of criminals when it comes to justice. Hiding in plain sight is easy when the people around you don’t give a shit about anything but themselves.

Duris won’t be better per se, but it doesn’t really matter. I don’t intend on letting her leave the estate.

“Fantastic.” No emotion bleeds from my tone, though I have to force it to stay even. “Change, clean up, and we can leave.”

She cocks her head, glancing down at the worn T-shirt she has on and the leggings with a hole in one knee. “What’s wrong with my outfit?”

I gesture to the stains, the dirt beneath her fingernails. “You’re filthy.”

If a dash of heat splashes against her gemstone irises, we pretend not to notice. Memories of our singular shared kiss assault me, the sensation of her bright red lips parting for my tongue filling my chest with hot, heady air.

Violet licks her lips, and I watch the movement for a beat too long.

“Fine,” she snaps, stepping past me to the white chest of drawers across from the bed. “But I like being dirty, so you should get used to it.”

My brows arch, but she doesn’t turn around to see them. In fact, she hardly even seems to notice the hidden meaning in her words, and it strikes me as oddly titillating that she might actually be as innocent as all the research I’ve done suggests.

I’m not sure how Nathaniel managed to snag her, but I’ll relish in the knowledge that he doesn’t get to ruin her.

I do.

She pulls out a thin sweater and another pair of leggings—both black—and heads for a door in the corner of the room. Pausing with her hand on the knob, she tosses a glance over her shoulder. “I don’t need a chaperone. I can meet you outside.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

Clenching her jaw, she narrows her eyes at me. “If you want to watch me shower, that’ll be an extra five thousand.”

Amusement catches in my chest, and I cross my arms, taking a step toward her. To her credit, she doesn’t back away, even as I close her in against the doorframe.

“That so?” I quip on a swallow. “Suddenly, the girl who didn’t want me to look at her after waking up in bed with me is a luxury escort?”

Her chin tilts up. Sunshine glimmers in her eyes. “I didn’t say you could fuck me.”

Cloying heat spreads through my limbs when she says fuck. I want her to say it again, want her begging me to do it. To take her, taint her, fuck her the way no one else would be able to.

Like the dirty girl she is.

I don’t voice my thoughts though. I need to get her to Duris before I terrorize her.

Instead, I pull out my checkbook again, maintaining eye contact as I fill out yet another blank sheet. I throw in an extra zero for good measure, watching her flinch as I slam it on the door beside her head.

“What do I get for fifty grand?”

She shakes her head, trying to slip out from where my arm is pinned. “I didn’t—”

My hand slides over, catching her chin before she can escape. “This isn’t a fucking game to me, Violet. I’m happy to pay whatever you’d like for your services, but don’t test me. You say I can watch you for five g’s, I’m gonna sit my ass by the bathroom sink and think about sucking your perfect tits into my mouth.”

I stare, completely enraptured, as she swallows. Hard.

“You tell me what I can do for fifty, and I’m gonna fucking do it because I’m not a good guy. I’m not helping you out of the kindness of my heart, and I don’t care that you’re holding a torch for my brother. I’ll blow the flame out and leave you in complete darkness if you let me.”

A small, distant part of me wants to plead with her not to let me, but the words don’t come.

Instead, she just blinks up at me in utter horror. Her eyes volley back and forth between mine, and I can tell she wants to bolt.

Smugness sings in my bones the way music once did, and I fold the check with two fingers, then slide it between her slightly parted lips.

“Don’t even think about trying to get out of this,” I tell her in a dark, almost-unrecognizable voice. Blood thrums between my ears, and I can barely think about anything other than the threats I’ve just presented her with. “I’ve already paid, and I will collect.”

With that, I push off the door and stalk out to the hall, my dick throbbing painfully behind the zipper of my pants. A muddy, lustful haze seeps into my mind, clouding my thoughts of revenge and manipulation, spiking more irritation in me than usual.

I need to fucking create something.

Or perhaps I need to fuck.

Either way, when the shower in Violet’s bathroom kicks on, I’m tempted to head back in and make good on my threats. I even head back in, staring at the sunflowers on her white comforter with my hand clutching the doorknob.

But then I hear it—humming.

Soft and lilted, its cadence completely ethereal. Out of this world.

My hand retracts, and my muscles seize as a strange tightness grips my chest.

Violet’s humming while she showers, and the sound is unlike anything I’ve ever heard.

Hauntingly angelic, just like…

Sydney.