The Deception (Filthy Rich Americans 3)

So, I didn’t watch his reaction when I set two fingers on my clit and rubbed a sluggish circle, but it didn’t matter. He inhaled with satisfaction, which was a sound I couldn’t block out, and with my back against him, I rode the swell of his chest.

The way I was touching myself was devoid of pleasure, but it still made it hard to organize my thoughts. “What do you think his next step will be?”

“Word will break about Ascension’s greed. Either he’ll leak it or someone else will at his direction.” His pause forced me to stir another circle, and only then did he continue. “It will shake the HBHC shareholders’ confidence, and they’ll be looking for someone to blame.”

“Which would be you.”

I jerked to a stop when his right hand grabbed mine. The words were on the tip of my tongue to tell him he wasn’t allowed to touch, but I caught myself just in time. He hadn’t violated the rules. My hands were fair game. He dragged it upward, and my gaze with it, until my fingers were in front of my mouth.

“Open.”

In this position, he felt the shudder rattle my body. Did he think it was with disgust? Anxiety? Or excitement? It was terrifying that, at least to some degree, I felt all three emotions. My lips parted, and he pushed my first two fingers deep into my mouth, damp with my own taste.

He pulsed them in and out as he spoke. “The moment everything is at its worst, Royce will strike.” His lips were so close, they moved the air beside my ear. “He’ll call an emergency board meeting and demand a vote of no-confidence in my leadership.”

Oh, my God.

Macalister knew everything.

SEVENTEEN

IRONICALLY, I WAS GLAD MACALISTER had forced my fingers into my mouth because it muffled the gasp I made. I stared at my reflection, whose eyes were so wide they were practically white, and willed myself to remain calm.

I wanted to ask how he’d figured it out, but he made that impossible. The image in the mirror was of a scared girl sucking on her fingers while her disapproving daddy loomed large behind her.

His voice was villainous. “Are you wondering how I discovered his attempt to usurp me?”

With no other way to communicate, I nodded.

“It’s what I would do if I were him, and he learned everything he knows from me.” His grasp on my hand tightened, and he guided me to withdraw the wet fingers from my mouth. “My son is smart, but he’ll never rise to my level. He thinks he knows me well—and it’s likely he does—but as he studied me, I studied him.”

Down my hand went under his direction. I swallowed a breath as he placed it between my legs and urged me to move. This time, it was harder to ignore the sensation, and a faint tendril of enjoyment curled its horrifying, beckoning finger, asking me to follow it.

I squeezed my eyes shut and pictured Royce.

If Macalister knew about the no-confidence vote, why hadn’t he done anything to stop it? “I don’t understand.” As his hand encouraged mine, it swirled the thoughts in my head. “You’re going to allow it?”

“Of course. I’ve already informed the board of what I suspect is coming. Royce stayed silent about the trap we were walking into with the takeover, and his deception did not sit well with the directors. I’ve secured assurances of their loyalty, and they won’t vote against me when the time comes.”

My eyes cracked open. Now there wasn’t anything to hold back the sharp exhale from me. It burst from my lungs, taking all my hope with it. Macalister wasn’t just two moves ahead of Royce—he’d already won.

“When he loses the vote,” Macalister said, “hopefully he learns a valuable lesson, and it should dissuade him from any further attempts.” His voice swelled with absolute power. This was Zeus speaking. “I am the chairman of the board, and chief executive officer of HBHC, and will remain so until I choose to step down.”

His left hand closed on top of mine, and then he was forcing me to move that one too. His fingers threaded through mine, curling around my palm as if it were his now, and together he made me cup my breast.

Because I was leaning back against him, I could feel him rapidly harden, and his erection dug into the small of my back. It was dangerous and made the air in the room evaporate.

He issued his order in a warm and pleased voice. “Look.”

I already was looking at us in the mirror, and on a basic level, I responded to it. The physical sensations paired with the visual were too much to stay immune to. Uncomfortable heat bloomed inside me, pooling in my limbs and flickering in my center. He pushed my right wrist to stroke faster, bringing more pleasure into my body physically with my own hand, but really his.