Page 36 of Brutal Sin
He frowned and shoved the book back into place. “I thought you said you were married for eleven months.”
“I did.” She sipped from her glass, her eyes trained on his. “It’s a long story.”
“Do you mind if I ask what it’slike?”
“Cancer?” Her forehead wrinkled.
“Yeah. What’s the process? The endgame?”
Her mouth opened and closed. Her eyes remainedwide.
“Sorry, is that a shitty question?”
She snorted through a sip of wine, then placed the glass down on the coffee table. “I guess it depends why you’re asking.”
He could’ve given a lame excuse. He could’ve lied. “My mother has terminal cancer.”
“Oh, Bryan. I’m so sorry.” Her face scrunched with genuine sympathy, masking all her beauty and replacing it with pathetic emotion.
“Don’t be.” He stepped over her legs and took a seat beside her. “We’re not close.”
“But still, she’s your mother. The news must be devastating.”
The fact his mother had withheld the information from her only son was more traumatic.
“Feel free to take any of the books home with you. They’re no use to me anymore.”
“No. I’m good.” He could ask a question or two to feel connected to a family who disowned him, but he refused to spend hours researching his mother’s downfall. He never should’ve mentioned her in the first place.
“Well, I’ll leave the offer open if you change your mind.” Her voice turned somber, her expression, too. “I’ve been meaning to get rid of them for years. Having the reminder stare me in the face every day is getting a littleold.”
“Thanks.” He concentrated on her fingers, noticing how they dug deeper and deeper into the sole of her foot, as if trying to massage the painaway.
“Do you want to talk about it?” She flashed him a look, one that told him she’d battle through this painful conversation, if only for his benefit.
“No.” He shook his head. “Not atall.”
“Okay. I get it.” She flexed her feet, feigning relaxation. “So, tell me, why a class?” The pain didn’t leave her features as she blatantly changed the subject. “What will you get out ofit?”
“Satisfaction.” At least that’s what he’d told himself in the planning stages. He’d wanted to tweak the club on the most intimate level. To mold the greedy Vault patrons into more selfless participants.
But that aim didn’t hold his interest anymore. Now, the only thing he wanted from the demonstration night was a one-way ticket between Ella’s thighs. To sink under her skin, the same way she was crawling underhis.
“I don’t buyit.”
“I don’t need youto.”
“That’s exactly my point. You don’t seem the type to willingly help others for the sake of it. And you already have a posse who think you’re the messiah of the female orgasm.”
“You’ve got me pegged. After what? Two conversations?”
Her lips curved, the grief gradually seeping away. “Don’t you think I deserve to know, considering I’m contemplating helpingyou?”
“Helping me? We both know this is mutually beneficial.” He jerked his chin toward her feet and indicated for her to lift them in his direction with a crook of hishand.
She frowned, remaining immobile.
He slapped his lap, trying not to make a big deal out of the offer. He wouldn’t be able to stop fixating on his parents until she stopped thinking about her husband. And neither thought process was conducive for what he had planned. “Put your feet uphere.”
