Page 37 of Cruel Shame

Kendrick picked up his drink and took two long sips. “She wasn’t nearly this erratic last year. And you said yourself, she acted as though she was high on cocaine.”

The server came and guided us out of the bar area and into a gorgeous sunroom restaurant. Three of its walls were floor-to-ceiling glass, with a vaulted glass atrium that reflected the cloudy, dark sky. Outdoor lights beyond the windows illuminated manicured gardens of snowdrops and violas growing among colored shrubs.

Moments after we sat at a corner table, the waiter brought our first course, cured salmon on a bed of roasted fennel and aioli, a garlic mayonnaise sauce.

“You want me to appeal to her better nature?” I asked.

“Appeal to her weaknesses.” His gaze swept down my body. “With hindsight, I understand why she got those other girls expelled. They were blonde, petite, pretty, and had refused her advances. She would do anything to stop the knowledge of her preferences from going public.”

I clutched at my knife and fork. “If you’re saying I should seduce her—”

“Not at all.” His cheeks turned pink, and he lowered his forearms over his crotch. “Elizabeth spent years leading others to believe they stood a chance at winning her. In doing so, she amassed a crowd of followers, willing to do her bidding.”

Nodding, I cut a slice of salmon and let his words percolate in my head. I’d feel shitty about pretending to like someone, even if it was Elizabeth. She was also as strong as an ape and powered by insanity. Getting into a room alone with her could be disastrous. I shook off those thoughts. Kendrick’s idea was outlandish. Not because of the girl-on-girl part, or the potential danger, but I couldn’t look at Elizabeth without wanting to cave in her face with my fist.

“Think about it.” He picked up his water glass and gazed at me with a twinkle in his eye.

I leaned forward and grinned. “Admit it. The thought of her and me together gets you hot.”

He huffed a laugh and took another sip. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“You can’t hide from me.” I pulled my foot out of my shoe and trailed my toes up his muscular calf.

“Lilah Hancock,” he said through clenched teeth. “Restrain yourself.”

I dropped my foot and leaned back in my seat. Maybe things weren’t so bad, after all. Even if Mother didn’t turn up at the hotel, I had an entire plane ride to tease Kendrick to make up for the disappointment. If I could drape a blanket over his lap, I might work him into a frenzy.

Kendrick dropped his gaze from mine and focused on his salmon. I suppressed a smile. If this had been Orlando or Maxwell, they would relish the chance of an under-the-table footjob.

Later, as we ate a main course of roasted pheasant with celeriac mash, glazed parsnips, and Brussels sprouts, Kendrick put down his knife and fork. “About that police raid. Were you terrified?”

I finished my mouthful of food and swallowed. “No right-minded person could take something like that in their stride.”

“But they brought dogs.”

I set down my knife and fork and gazed into his eyes. The old me might have made a joke about it, but my family had been through too many machinations to brush off the ordeal. “It was a living, humiliating, and terrifying nightmare.”

“We didn’t know you had a phobia.”

Nodding, I dropped my gaze to my plate and tried not to think of the German shepherd that jumped on my chest. The chef had arranged the food Michelin style—placed into a pretty pile at the center like a work of art with swirls of a rich sauce to provide both color and taste.

“Lilah.” He reached across the table and placed his hand on mine. “We would never have subjected you to something so horrific if we had known.”

“Why did you agree to something so shitty?” I asked.

“Revenge.” He brushed his thumb over my knuckles. “At the time, I thought you had lured my best friend and brother into a trap and uploaded incriminating videos of them in a compromising position. Max was almost disinherited.”

I pulled back my hand and placed it on my lap. “How much about the raid did you know?”

“Elizabeth told me you were dealing cocaine and needed Max to go undercover and gain your trust.” He exhaled a weary breath.“So, while I took Max’s punishment, he was supposed to gather information and get you in place for the raid.”

“That’s why she was so outraged when she discovered we’d had sex.”

“It was a surprise to us all,” Kendrick said with a half-smile. “You were supposed to be a dangerous element bringing the academy to ruin.”

“Right.” I rolled my eyes.

“I want to tell you how sorry I am for my role in that horrible injustice.”