Page 68 of Bastard

I take a humiliating second to smooth out my dress, covering my embarrassment by mimicking his cavalier manner.

He reaches for my hand once more and without a word, leads me to the door.

“Do we report this?” I hear one guard ask.

“Why would you?” Sabine protests in our defense. “Let them have their fun.”

I match Hayden’s long strides as we find the stairwell, hurrying downstairs and out the first exit we come to. We follow a trail to the sandy beach below.

Once out of earshot, he stops. “That was—”

“Intense? Crazy? Wild?”

“Unfortunate.”

“Unfortunate?” I hiss.

“Look, Luciana. I’m—”

I touch a finger to his lips. “I’m embarrassed. Mortified. But there was only one reason why we’d be in her room. I understand.”

“You’re not angry?”

“Angry? No.”

“I was careful. No one saw you.”

I draw in a breath. “No one saw my body.” But they saw me, and the way he makes me feel. Every. Single. Time.

He runs a hand through his hair. “Can you face Sabine again if we stay for breakfast? Say no and we’ll leave tonight.”

I kick the sand beneath my heel, watching it resettle a few feet away. Wishing my emotions would do the same, that my heart would stop racing, that I could escape him to regroup somewhere in private. “Barrington didn’t set the terms for purchasing the uranium last night. He’ll need to do so tomorrow morning before guests leave. We’d draw suspicion if we leave tonight.”

“Look at me,” Hayden grinds out.

My eyes go wide.

“I don’t fucking care. If you feel more comfortable leaving, we’ll leave.”

I search his earnest expression. Is he upset by what happened or upset for me? A familiar emotion rises up inside me. Hope.

“Would you feel better if I knocked you off your feet for what you’ve done?”

It takes a full minute before he replies.

“You already have, Luciana. You already have.”

22

We’re side by side on the king-sized mattress in our room after silently preparing for bed. Faces washed, teeth brushed, dressed in matching silk pajamas—we’re like an old married couple. But with everything that’s happened, I can’t fall asleep.

Why did he recruit me for this assignment?

It’s this thought that is the chorus of the complicated song we’ve written. One that, based on past experience, will end with sadness.

“Come here,” his voice rumbles.

I wiggle across the mattress until my back is against his chest. I don’t dare face forward, not with the tide of emotions sweeping through me. One more word about tonight’s events, and I’ll slip. I’m off balance. Shaken. Barely pretending like he hadn’t tongue-fucked me to orgasm earlier. “You want me moaning?” I whisper.