Obsidian Liquor (Lion Security #1)(26)
Author: Scarlett Dawn

We both heard the deep, shaky sigh from above, and then she said quietly, “I came in to get my interview done, but,” she groaned, “I fell asleep. Christ, I’m so sorry.”

I let my head fall on Daniil’s shoulder, muttering, “There’s no privacy in life.”

I heard a choked snort from above. “Full of ironies.”

Sighing, I crawled backward, shy when it came to nudity unless the person in my bed was supposed to be there. Daniil’s eyes were glued to my bare breasts, and he licked his lips, his gaze turning shark hungry in an instant. I ignored him the best I could, pushing out from between the bed and the wall, and still on my hands and knees, looked for my shirt.

Though my gaze snagged on my luggage and duffle. They were open and had been rifled through. My eyes narrowed, and I breathed deeply. Ember had come in search and had lay in wait for me to return to probably intimidate me or talk me into giving her the damn photo when she could not find it. Not for the interview as she had said.

Finding my shirt, I slipped it on and stood as Daniil sat up from the floor, but he did not get up. I glanced down and saw why. He was rock hard and it showed blatantly under his soft mesh shorts. I found his shirt and threw it to him, jerking my head to the bathroom. “Why don’t you go take a shower? This won’t take long.”

I was pissed. Embarrassment was not even a factor right now. Daniil was staring at me. I could feel it, but I was too busy glaring at Ember to look his way. She was sitting cross-legged on my bed; her cheeks slightly pinked, but she was gazing right back at me with remote eyes.

In the corner of my vision, I saw him sluggishly put the shirt on over his head, and he said coolly, “I wouldn’t mind hearing the interview.”

My teeth clenched as my gaze snapped to him. Of course, he would not mind hearing it, so he could fucking proofread it and try to edit it. I asked furiously, “Maybe you would just prefer to leave entirely?”

His eyes narrowed, and he got up slowly, pulling his shirt down enough to cover his erection. He opened his mouth, and my nostrils flared, knowing he was going to say something to ruin this before it even began. He stared, and then his mouth snapped shut. He brushed past me and stalked into the bathroom, slamming the door hard enough to shake the walls. A few seconds later, I heard the spray of the shower.

I did not have time to think about what that meant though, because I turned my attention to Ember, who was staring at the wall where the bathroom was with a shocked expression. Picking up my duffle, I threw it at her. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing going through my shit? I should report you to the police right now!”

She caught it easily even though she had not been looking at me, and sat it calmly on the bed. “I want the photo.”

“I never would have guessed,” I shouted, pointing at my door. “Now get the fuck out of my room. If you ever pull this again, I will report you to the cops.”

Bristling even more as she leaned back on the bed, getting comfortable, she stated evenly, “If you give me that photo right now, I’ll give your father’s church a two hundred thousand dollar donation.” She reached into her purse on the bed and pulled out what looked like a money order. “I had this prepared if I couldn’t find the photo.” She neatly placed the money order on my bed.

My mouth shut, my temper instantly gone as I stared at that check with so many zeroes.

“I did a search on you and your family,” she stated bluntly. “Under the donations section on your father’s website, it states that the roof needs repairs and the pews need to be replaced.” She tapped the money order. “This would more than pay for the repairs needed.”

I gulped.

My father had been stressed the previous week after church service. Donations had been down for so long with the continuing recession that everything in the church was starting to break. The church needed that cash. I was not a perfect Christian by any stretch of the imagination, but I could not picture my father’s church shutting down because of lack of funds.

I cleared my throat and blinked up at her. I could see victory already in her eyes. It did not thrill me. She somehow knew I could be bought in this manner. I stiffened, coming back to myself now I was not looking at the church’s salvation.

I crossed my arms and leaned back against the dresser. “That money order, plus three off the record questions of my choice, right now, for a copy of the photo and a guarantee from you that you won’t give it to anyone else to publish before I do.” I paused thoughtfully. “And you can’t get pissed at me because of the photo and try to back out of our deal for your interview.” I was still planning to get that interview with her. It was pay dirt material.

Her eyebrows snapped together. “Why would I get upset about the photo? It does show them kissing, doesn’t it?”

I shrugged. “Yes, the photo shows them kissing.”

Her nostrils flared like mine had earlier, and she stayed quiet, watching. At least a couple minutes passed as she stared me down. I just waited patiently, thinking about what article I was going to write tonight and get it sent off before deadline, which was coming up…I glanced at my watch…pretty damn quickly.

“Fine,” she muttered. “You have a deal.”

I nodded, but did not move to get the memory card, asking my first question I wanted to know. “Question one.” I saw her shoulders tense, which told me she was wary, planning to tell me the truth. “Have you and Grigori ever been lovers?” Daniil had said, kind of, that Grigori loved her, but that did not mean she’d had sex with him. It could be unrequited love, and if that was the case, I was barking up the wrong tree in my effort to drag the Donovans in the mud.

Ember froze. Her gaze hooded even as her eyes went frigid. That pretty much gave me my answer right there. But ‘pretty much’ was not fact. “Why do you want to know?”

I shook my head. “Your responding with a question wasn’t part of the deal.” I waited.

She eventually dropped her gaze, staring at the bedspread, not moving. I finally got my damn answer when she stated, “Yes.” She was so stiff she looked like she was going to break.

I sucked in a breath and rested more firmly against the dresser, and took my own turn to stare at the bedspread. Its green embroidered tropical flowers blurred as I tried to decide what question to ask now. I had not been sure before. It had all depended on what her answer might have been, since I had several routes to take. And really, big stories often came from people following their heart or the money. I knew she already had money, even after she gave all of Brent and Cole’s worldly possessions back to them when they returned. She had been rich from her late-grandmother, her late-father, and her late-husband. I tried not to stress over the fact there were a lot of ‘lates’ in there.