“You also taught me the incriminating value of a photograph.” He flashed a wicked smile, before patting the bed beside him. “I want you to have sex with me. Right now. No questions. Of your own free will. If you don’t...I’ll see that these photographs get to every major tabloid in Cleveland. That they’re plastered at every coffee stand. That they make their way into the mailboxes of all your old clients. Your parents will be getting a copy too. For Christmas.”
The room went quiet. There was a dull ringing in her ears. A strange numbing sensation that was spreading through her entire body from the ground up.
“And if that isn’t enough to convince you...I’ll have to go with Plan B.” He flashed another smile, gesturing to another rather graphic photograph of her and Logan having sex on the stairs. “I’ll send a few of these over to Skylight Resorts in Miami.”
For the first time since entering, Lacy’s skin went ice cold. It was one thing when she was only scared for herself. When she was the only target. But Logan? What the hell would he do if these pictures ended up in the hands of his board, or even worse, in the hands of his competitors? With his international fame, she couldn’t imagine that there was a magazine on the planet that wouldn’t bend over backwards at the chance of publishing naked photos.
It was the classic celebrity scandal. And they would drag him over the coals.
“Think about it,” Peter urged, lowering his voice to a quiet murmur. “The fallout would be incredible. International business mogul disgraced. He’d lose his company, his reputation. Any chance of him expanding to the west coast to be with you would be ruined. He would be ruined. And it would be all your fault, Lacy. I would make your life a living hell.”
Her head snapped up with a vicious glare, one that didn’t entirely hide the fear beneath.
“My fault?” she hissed. “And how exactly would it be my fault?”
“Because you can stop all of it right here.” Peter’s eyes glowed in the darkness as he patted the blanket beside him. “You can buy yourself the life and the love you always wanted...it will only cost you one night with me.”
...one night with me.
He made it sound so simple. When it was anything but. The entire idea was repulsive, it churned Lacy’s stomach and made her want to light the room on fire rather than stay there for even another second.
And yet...
Everything that Peter was saying was true. If she didn’t do something, it wouldn’t just be her life that was ruined, it would be Logan’s as well. The company he’d worked so hard to build, the reputation he’d worked so hard to cultivate. It would all go up in smoke. All because of her.
“How would I know that?” Her throat tightened up and she paused, unable to believe she was actually considering it. But her eyes flickered to the pictures of Logan’s naked body on the window behind her, and she forced herself to keep going. “How would I know that this would be the end of it? I mean—you were in my house. How would I know that—”
“Take another look at the pictures, Lacy. They’re polaroids. Didn’t you notice that there was something different about my camera when I met you two at the lake?” He gestured once more to the window. “Every picture here is one of a kind. Not made digitally, so there are no digital copies. If you do as I ask tonight, then you can leave with them in the morning.”
She absorbed this silently, but found herself completely unable to say a word. Her shaking had gotten to the point where she had to place a hand on the wall for balance, and every time she tried lifting her head to look at him, she felt like she was going to throw up.
“I know what you’re thinking...” He
pushed himself slowly off the bed, walking forward to stroke the side of her cheek. “You’re thinking that you can’t possibly do this. That there has to be a way out, another alternative.” His lips twitched up in a smile, as his thumb stroked along her bottom lip. “But if there’s one thing you taught me, Lacy, it’s the power of blackmail. You can end this—all of this—right now. You just need to say the magic word.”
One night...in exchange for an entire lifetime of happiness. One night...to save the man I love. One night...and I never have to think about it ever again.
Her hands trembled as she lifted her chin to look him in the eyes. He was very close to her now. Too close for comfort. She could feel the heat rising off his body, smell his breath as it clouded across her face.
One night...and it will be like it never happened.
She clenched her jaw and took a deep breath, closing her eyes as he gathered her up in his arms. If she was going to surrender to this, at least she wasn’t going to watch it happen.
But that one moment turned out to be her undoing. That split second changed everything.
She shouldn’t have closed her eyes. The second she did, the room and all of its horrors melted away, and she was left with a single image. A beautiful, smiling face. One that in no way resembled the stolen ones that were plastered across the wall, despite it being the same man.
He wouldn’t want this. No matter the cost, no matter the price.
Logan would kill before he let this happen.
Just like that, Lacy’s eyes snapped open and her body came back to life. What had she been thinking?! She wasn’t going to let this happen! She’d rather kill the man herself!
A wave of bile rose up in her throat as she pushed Peter away with all her might, then turned desperately to open the door. She’d just yanked it open, when a heavy boot kicked it shut.
“And where do you think you’re going?”
The smile was gone. As was the false façade of charm. What remained was a man driven mad with thoughts of revenge. A man willing to do anything in the world to get what he wanted.