11

Dolly

No.

No, no, no.

No.

This can’t be happening.

Oh, no. It just can’t.

I reach for my pants to tug them up. Before I can, Oscar is in front of me. His hands are on my wrists.

“No.”

“What?”

“Stay.”

“Oscar, I…”

I’m bare.

I’m completely bare before him.

It’s not like Oscar is some random guy, either. He’s my billionaire boss. He’s my boss, and I’m…

Well, apparently, I’m showcasing my damn pussy.

“You’re beautiful, Dolly.”

“What?”

“Has anyone ever told you that you have a pretty pussy?” Oscar asks.

“No.”

“Really? Oh, they’re idiots,” he says.

“I…”

I kind of like the idea of Oscar calling my exes idiots. It brings me a strange sense of satisfaction to know that he thinks they screwed me over somehow.

I feel that way, too.

“Take the compliment, Dolly.”

“Thank you,” I say.

“Try again.”

“Thank you, Mr. Shadowvale.”

“There we go,” he says. “I knew you had good manners.”

I flush.

Wait.

Am I supposed to be feeling this way?

His praise is doing so many weird things to me. Today has been such a fucked-up day.

“Did I really let you spank me?” I whisper.

“You didn’t let me do anything.”

“I could have resisted.”

“You were getting punished, Dolly. You were a bad girl today.”

“I’m sorry,” I say.

He reaches for my chin and tilts it up.

“You mean it this time, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because you didn’t deserve to have Craig take you. I’m so sorry. Oscar, I really didn’t know they were going to do that.”

“What did you know, Dolly?”

I ignore the fact that his hand is on my chin. I try to pretend like his other hand isn’t stroking my hip. His fingers are dangerously close to my pussy, and honestly, I want them to be right on top of it.

“I knew they were going to talk to you.”

“And that was your job? You had to get me to talk to them?”

“Yes.”

“What did they want to talk about?”

His fingers inch closer to my pussy lips, to my clit.

“Craig knows about your dad’s adoption scheme. He wanted to threaten you about it.”

“Why?”

“He wants money.”

“Why?”

“He gambles,” I say honestly. “And he spends. A lot. He owes people.”

The wrong people.

This has always been my brother’s issue.

“How was he going to threaten me?”

“He wanted to go public,” I say. “He knows a reporter.”

“What the fuck?” Oscar says. He drops his hands, and I instantly crave his touch. “What reporter?”

“I don’t know,” I say quickly. “Really. I don’t. I just know that he said he was going to talk to her about doing an expose on your family unless you gave him what he wanted.”

“Shit,” Oscar says.

“I really don’t know anything else.”

“I know, Dolly.”

Suddenly, I want to help him, though. I shouldn’t.

“You could have Phoenix hack his phone,” I say.

“Phoenix isn’t a professional hacker,” he says.

“He knows people, though. Don’t you know people?”

“I don’t know how easy you think these things are, Dolly,” Oscar says. He drops into the chair, and he closes his eyes.

I want to move to him, to touch him. Before I can convince myself not to, I do. I slide across the floor, and I reach for him. My hand lands on his hair, and I pet it softly. He reaches for my wrist, and he holds.

“What are you doing?”

“I was comforting you.”

“Don’t do that, Dolly.” His voice is firm.

Because I’ve betrayed him.

Because I’ve hurt him.

Because I don’t actually get to love him.