Cruel Money (Cruel 1)

I arched an eyebrow in question.

“There are only two things my brother has any interest in—sex and drugs. Do you want to do either of those with him?” he snapped aggressively.

“No,” I spat back. “But you don’t have to ask me about it like that. Why would I have any interest in doing anything with Court? I know that you said he’s a train wreck. I just didn’t know that you actually hated him.”

The anger dropped off of Penn’s shoulders, and he sighed. “I don’t hate him. We just…don’t get along. We have a rich history of mistrust, and he has a constant need to make me miserable.”

“Well, he’s not going to ruin our night.”

“He has the uncanny ability to do that without trying.”

“Who knows? He might surprise you anyway. He seemed pretty into Jane. Is that normal?”

“Yes. He usually has some kind of woman who is infatuated with him. He destroys their life and then leaves them out to rot.”

“Don’t know anyone else who has ever done that before,” I said with a pointed look.

“That was different.”

“Maybe,” I concede. “But only because we’re together now.”

“He’s not a good guy,” he told me. “And…he doesn’t even care. He and I couldn’t be more different in that regard.”

“You struggle with your demons. Your philosophical notion of right and wrong. And I adore that about you. It makes you so real, Penn. But you came around to that, Penn. He could still come around too.”

“Unlikely,” he grumbled. His hands gripped the corset and then ran down to my ass. “Let’s talk about something else.”

“All right, just forget your brother.”

“I take issue with these wings,” he said.

“Why?”

“I want to turn you around, and they get in the way. Plus, I have a feeling, they’ll be a problem later tonight. I was thinking of throwing you against a wall.”

I laughed and stood on my toes to kiss him. “Sounds like you’re going to make me lose my halo.”

He smirked. “I’m a hundred percent sure that I will be the one to do that.”

I swatted at him. “You.”

He laughed and pulled me in for another long, sensuous kiss. Our bodies moved together in time to the music. Our hands drifted invitingly. I was half-tempted to grab him and drag him out of this party. I was in such little clothes, and he was taking full advantage of that.

“Penn,” Lewis said suddenly. There was a note of something I’d never heard in his voice. Almost frantic. “Penn!”

“What?” Penn asked. He whirled to face Lewis in frustration. He’d almost effectively slipped his hand inside my leotard.

Lewis tilted his head to the side. Penn looked like he was going to question what the hell Lewis wanted, but then he froze. He sighed heavily and then turned back to face me.

“Can you excuse me for just a second?” he asked.

“Um…sure.”

“I’ll be right back.”

“All right,” I said warily. “What are you doing?”

“I have to talk to someone. Dance with Lewis until I get back.” Then, he pointed at Lewis. “Watch your hands.”

Lewis laughed and then sidled up to me.

“What’s going on?” I asked in confusion.

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“You know, it’s amazing. When people say that, I tend to worry.”

“There’s no reason to,” Lewis tried to assure me.

But it was Katherine who gasped beside me. “Jesus Christ, when is Emily going to take a hint?”

“Katherine,” Lewis ground out.

“Who’s Emily?” I asked.

“Penn’s ex-girlfriend,” Katherine said.

She pointed to the front of the room. The thing about our booth was that we could see almost the entire first floor. And there, standing in the entrance to the club, was a girl with dark hair in a black patent leather cat costume that hugged her body like a second skin. Standing beside her with his hand on her arm…was Penn.

My mind reeled a bit at the news. I hadn’t known that he’d had a girlfriend. When I’d asked about exes when we went sailing, he’d said there was no one important to talk about. And he hadn’t even wanted me to say. I didn’t know if that was a lie or if Emily really didn’t matter. And if she didn’t, then why was she here? And why had he rushed off to talk to her?

“There’s nothing going on with them though,” Lewis added quickly.

But my eyes were glued to him. I didn’t know what he was saying. And from a distance, it was impossible to read his expression. Except that they were speaking intently, and his head was tilted down toward her. His hand was still on her.

And then they were kissing.

My jaw dropped, and I whipped around, so I didn’t have to watch. Didn’t have to burn my retinas with that display. My stomach was churning. My head ached. Suddenly, I desperately wanted to be out of this room. Out of this party. Away from these people and this miserable world.