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A bill from her favorite lingerie store.
Another from a sex toy shop. That one had said exactly what she’d bought. A little pink rabbit vibrator.
I’d signed off on that bill and tried not to remember that I knew, but it was burned into my brain. The image of her manicured fingers between her thighs, that pink vibrator against her clit.
She probably whimpered when she came, biting her lip to keep quiet.
I wondered how many times I’d worked upstairs in my office while she pleasured herself in her bedroom. What a waste when I could make her come so much harder and so many more times.
What a fucking waste I hadn’t touched her yet.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CLARA
I cried the moment I was safe in my room.
Of course I knew Merrick could get angry. Everyone got angry at some point in their lives. But I’d never actually expected to witness it, much less have it be directed at me.
It wasn’t even that bad. He’d never once raised his voice or said anything cruel.
It was the disappointment at the heart of his anger that hurt the most.
Stripping my cold, wet swimsuit, I crawled into bed. He’d been gentle and kind for so long that I’d forgotten he had teeth.
I was dangerously close to seeing another side of him that I wasn’t ready for. A little thrill of fear moved down my spine, coupled with something else.
Was that desire?
I froze, face buried in the pillow.
Did I actually want him? Or was I just flustered?
I turned it over and over in my head and came up with nothing. My body was betraying me again, shooting off signals I didn’t understand. I washed my hair and put on a pair of shorts and a tank top and crawled back under the covers.
It was only ten. I still had another hour before Merrick would be back, expecting me to apologize for embarrassing him. I chewed the inside of my mouth and stared up at the ceiling.
The clock ticked and one minute passed. The digital clock on the bedside table was thirty minutes off. I checked my phone. No, they were both off by a minute. It was nine-fifty-nine.
I got up and blow dried my hair and curled it in soft waves for tomorrow. Then I tied it up in a loose bun to protect it and went and sat on the edge of the bed.
It was ten-fifteen.
I chewed my mouth again, a bit of blood spreading over my tongue. That spot on the inside of my lip was sore and raised. A scarred mess.
He was doing this on purpose. Making me wait so I had to stew over my sins. It was the kind of thing my father had done. Never hitting me, just making me sit there for hours wondering if he would finally lose it.
Except with Merrick, it was different. He would never lose it with me, of that I was positive.
My phone pinged and I snatched it up, fingers shaking. It was Candice, responding to a text I’d sent her earlier before the hot tub. She was asking when I’d be home tomorrow and if we could go out to the club.
I hesitated and a little thrill of rebellion went through me.
Sure, let’s go out. I’ll be back around three.
Okay, what are you doing right now?
I considered lying, but it was Candice. She knew me better than that.
