I lifted my foot out of the water and turned the knob off with my toes.

Sinking further into Kelly’s deep jet tub, I kept my head above water despite my wanting to drown.

My talk with Mom hadn’t gone as well as I’d planned, and the surprise visit with Madam only made me want to curl up in a ball and drop off the face of this earth even more. Worst of all, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking that ending my relationship with Kelly might actually be the best option I had. At least, then, all this pain and suffering would stop.

I stared over the glassy water’s surface, not interested in using the jets at all.

It all sounded like the relief I craved until I thought how I still needed Kelly’s expertise in my civil suit.

My eyes fluttered closed as I thought about the puzzle piece Madam had given me. I could still see the date, time, and location written on the business card instructing me where to hand over the flash drive I’d been given. After having come home and taken a look at it myself, I knew that I had no choice but to leak it to the press.

Sylvia was finally going to get what she had coming for her.

Just as she’d made the case against Kelly, this article retaliated against her. The only difference between her article and the one Madam had given me was that I believed this one was actually true.

Sylvia got away with murdering Maria Greer—just like Kelly had said. In the process, she had let an innocent man—Mario Jimenez—take the fall. The twist in this story was that she should also be charged with Mario’s death.

Treading my hands through the warm water in front of me, I despised Sylvia.

Since she had manipulated me into stealing Madam’s delivery—and threatened my life in the process—she was the one who made this personal. Now, I held the key to make her life a living hell, just as she did mine.

When I heard the front door open, I turned to listen.

The movements of his routine were familiar enough to be sure that it was just Kelly. A second later he confirmed my suspicions when he leaned his shoulder against the doorframe.

His gaze heated as he drank in my naked body.

“Well, you just going to stand there, or are you going to join me?” I asked with a hint of playfulness as he folded his arms over his chest.

Without saying a word, he undressed and wedged his sculpted body behind me. I watched the water rise before turning on the faucet, feeling the need to add new heat to the tub.

Settling back into his caring embrace, I let him hold me for what felt like hours. His gentle kisses behind my ear added to the relaxation of the massaging jets.

I knew something weighed heavily on his mind. The way he kept combing back my hair, tucking it behind my ear, and how I could feel when he let his head fall back against the side to close his eyes.

Appreciating the calm silence we shared, I hung off his muscular arm, hugging it close to my heart, loving having him near.

I felt guilty for thinking that I needed to end our relationship and I hoped that he couldn’t sense the confusion roiling inside my brain. I wanted to ask for help—tell him what Madam had given me, what I now had on Sylvia and how I was going to use it to help bring her in. Instead, words escaped me. I didn’t want the peace filling this room to disappear.

There was no arousal. No eagerness to make this moment sexual. Though it was strange for us, I couldn’t deny the thrill it presented. Like the way Kelly masterfully edged me to orgasm after denying me the pleasure for so long.

“How did your visit with your parents go?” Kelly’s hand collected my hair between his fingers.

I shook my head just enough for him to see it.

“I’m sorry.” He pressed his lips to my shoulder.

“Something tells me Marvin got the will from my dad.”

“Because it was his parents who gave it to you?” Kelly said knowingly.

I nodded with wide, disbelieving eyes.

“How did your father react to the accusation?”

Lost inside my head, I murmured, “Mom wouldn’t let her whore of a daughter see him.”

Kelly cringed, wrapping me up inside his arms. He squeezed tight. “You’re not the woman your mother thinks you are.”

“She’s right, though.” Kelly released his hold and I glanced over my shoulder to meet his wrinkled brow. “Your thirty-day purchase proved it.” I snaked my hand between his legs, taking his limp dick inside my palm. Kelly clamped his hand around my wrist, telling me to stop. “Have you forgotten your own demands?” I asked.

Kelly’s mouth pinched as pain flashed over his pupils.

“C’mon, Counselor.” My lips brushed over his. “I’ll do whatever you like. Tell me, how would you like to have me?”

Taking me by both wrists, he brought them close to my chest, pushing me away.

Swallowing back the pain of his rejection only made me feel more like the whore my mother said I was. Splashing water at him, I said, “What? You don’t find me attractive anymore?”

Water dripped off his body as he stepped his foot over the tub’s side. Reaching for a towel, he murmured, “Not when you act like this.”

Slapping my palms down on the water’s surface, I spat, “I told you you’d lose interest.” When Kelly turned to look at me, sadness wet his eyes making me want to cry with him. “I’m damaged goods.”

He shook his head, wrapping a towel around his waist. “Don’t forget we have Angel’s party tonight. I need your behavior to be flawless. There is too much at stake for you to be feeling sorry for yourself.”

Inside, I had already given up.