Page 95 of Nothing to Deny
As the debate raged over what they should do before bed, she could already tell this would be a night more of conversation than activity.
The chill in the air prompted her upstairs to grab a sweater from the bedroom. As she came out into the hall again, Nickson was disappearing into his own bedroom. The door stayed open and she didn’t hear voices. She could go talk to him. Would that be a good idea? She shouldn’t meddle. Roxie would meddle. Baer didn’t want them getting too involved.
This was her cousin. A woman she’d known her whole life. Whether she had a right to say something or not, didn’t she have a duty to speak up?
Aware he could come out at any time, she took slow steps, craning to hear for signs he may not be alone. The affianced couple’s bedroom was opposite her and Baer’s. At the top of the stairs, she lingered. Do or die. Either she went back downstairs to join the merriments, or she kept on going and got herself involved.
Screw it.
Bypassing the stairs, she went around the banister and tapped a knuckle on the ajar door without giving herself a chance to hesitate. It was one thing injecting herself, it wouldbe another if she was caught just standing there like a snooping eavesdropper.
The door was opened by Nickson and, immediately, he frowned. She bobbed a little left and right, up and down, trying to see around his formidable form, checking for his fiancée.
“Are you alone?” Maybe not the best opener; his puzzlement intensified. “Is Kelly here?” she asked, clarifying her reasoning. “And you know why am asking.”
Their locked eyes fought a battle. Of judgment? Hostility? Without saying a word, she called him out.
“No.” He went back into the bedroom, leaving the door open. “She’s downstairs, if you want to talk to her.”
“It’s not her I want to talk to.” Despite the lack of invitation, she crossed the bedroom’s threshold and nudged the door with an elbow. Catching it as she leaned back to balance against it, she kept it open, almost closed, with the squeeze of her elbow holding it in place. “We haven’t had a chance to talk. You and me. By ourselves.”
She didn’t cut the most intimidating figure, no kidding herself there. In that moment, being innocuous worked, this shouldn’t be adversarial, she wanted him to see sense and had no interest in strongarming him… unless it was necessary.
“I say we don’t need to talk.” He was rifling in a holdall open on the bed. “Though I was surprised. You? Squires gets all kinds of clients. But a woman like you…? Just what are you worth? How many billions? And looking the way you do… You have to pay for sex? Fuck, you must be into some helluva kinky shit.”
The tone was light, sort of conversational, yet the mocking was more than apparent.
“My crime, if one has been committed, hurts no one. Yours, by comparison, deserves its own scrutiny, wouldn’t you say?”
There was a time for etiquette and breeding to be practiced. This probably wasn’t it. She was tense, it came out all on its own. Maybe she should’ve called Roxie, asked her friend to feed her appropriate words for the moment.
“I’m not committing a crime, babes, not anymore. Your guy on the other hand…” That hung in the air, sinking and floating, trying to find its level. A statement? Threat? Whichever, she wasn’t afraid. “If you’re here to offer me cash—”
“Cash? Why would I offer you cash?”
“To get rid of me? I’m not going anywhere. I’m marrying your cousin.”
“Are you? My whole life, others have scrutinized my relationships, I know what it’s like. I know it’s none of my business—”
“None of your business, that’s right.” He flipped the lid of the bag over again, not finding whatever he was looking for. “Stay the hell out of it.”
“You’re lying to her,” she said, beseeching him. “How can you possibly marry her when there’s this blackhole in her knowledge?
“Don’t turn this into some sanctimonious crap. Admit it, there’s only one reason it bothers you.”
There was, yes, the lie. Somehow, she doubted that’s what he was referencing. “One reason?”
“You’re scared for your reputation. That’s all it is. Don’t come in here all righteous, telling me to do the right thing, when you’re trying to destroy a man because of his history.”
Slack-jawed, she could hardly believe it. Did he really just…? The gall! Who the hell did he think he was?
“For your information…” she said, affront blasting out all on its own. “I don’t care what you used to do. I spend my nights sleeping next to a man who does the same job. Would I do that if I had a problem with the profession?”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s just it. You don’t want the world to know you pay for it, I’ve met plenty of broads like you. The ones who are happy to take it every which way, so long as it’s in secret. You’re disgusted by it.” With one long stride, he put himself at the footpost of the bed. “You think if it gets out that your cousin is marrying a guy who used to make his money dirty, the world will find out your kinky secrets.”
“If my concern is so selfish, why wouldn’t I tell Kelly the truth? Why wouldn’t I poison her against you?”
“Because if you share my secret, I’ll share yours.”
