Bastards and Scapegoats
it’s fair compensation for a job well done. I’m about to be on a rig with fourteen other men for two weeks. It’s the least you can do.”I rolled my eyes. Hamilton smirked. The room was dark, but a small light illuminated his hungry face. One impulse was all it took, and I was boldly reaching under the skirt of my dress and rolling the drenched panties down my still trembling thighs. “So obedient,” he teased when I slapped it in his palm. “Pleasure doing business with you, Vera.”
The pleasure was all mine.
11
As I walked back through the ballroom with my blushing skin and messy hair, I knew it was only a matter of time before someone guessed what we had done. I was still buzzing from the pleasure Hamilton coaxed from my body. Every step teased me. Every press of my legs together sent an aftershock of need through my body. “Stop fidgeting, you look suspicious,” Hamilton whispered with a satisfied grin. He looked way too proud of himself as he licked his lips and followed after me.
Many people were already sitting down, prepared to enjoy their overpriced meals as they gossiped. I’d completely lost my appetite.
“I am suspicious,” I hissed. “Stop following me.” I didn’t actually want Hamilton to stop following me. Aside from my mother, he was the only familiar face here. But it was for the best. We’d taken things too far. This was exactly the situation I was trying to avoid. If word got out that I was lusting after Joseph’s younger brother, it would be a media shit storm. It was taboo and wrong.
“Who else am I going to talk to? This party is stuffy. Want to leave? I’ve got a couple of steaks marinating at my house. I’ll even break the rules and give you a glass of wine. You really need a fake ID.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and kept walking toward the buffet table. I needed a drink. I needed to go home and wash Hamilton off of my skin.
“You look hot all flustered like that,” Hamilton whispered. “It’s kind of cute how your cheeks turn red. Are you thinking about it, Vera? Are you thinking about how I still have your taste on my tongue?”
“Stop talking,” I pleaded. “It’s like you want to be caught.”
“What’s the worst that could happen? I mean honestly.”
“People could talk,” I forced out. “It could make my mother look bad.”
“I didn’t realize you cared what people thought about you. It’s a shame. Life is so much more fun when you let go of all the expectations the rest of the world puts on you.”
I stared at Hamilton, at his shiny lips, his wild eyes and his ruffled hair. “You don’t care what people think of you?”
“No. I care about having fun, feeling good, and doing whatever the fuck I want to do. Life is too short to live by someone else’s rules, Vera.”
“I feel like I’ve got a flashing neon sign over my head telling everyone what we just did,” I huffed out while fixing the strap of my dress.
“It’s kind of hot. Would you be into people watching us sometime?”
I blushed and avoided looking at him. “This was bad. Really bad.”
“I thought by the way you screamed my name, it was fucking good, Vera,” Hamilton replied in a low voice. “So fucking good that I’m going to be stroking myself to thoughts of you coming in my mouth. You’re so sweet.”
I let out a slow breath. “Why me? I’m sure you could have anyone.”
“Why are you so quick to doubt why someone would want you, hmm?” I thought about his question for a moment. Why was it so difficult for me to wrap my head around the idea of being wanted? Just before I could reply, my mother’s voice stopped me in my tracks.
“Vera, baby, where did you disappear to? You missed the toasts.”
I snapped my attention to my mother and let out a shaky exhale. “I was just taking a walk. I needed some fresh air. You know how crowds make me anxious,” I replied.
She peered at me, and Hamilton being the asshole he was, slung his arm over my shoulders. “Hello again, Lilah. How are you? Congratulations on the move. You’re going to love DC. It’s a great place to raise kids, too.”
My mother glared at Hamilton. The open hostility was unexpected and out of the ordinary. What did Joseph tell her that was so bad? “I’m very proud of my husband,” she said in a pleasant tone that felt forced. “He’s worked hard to follow in Jack’s footsteps. He’s got that Beauregard ambition.”
“That’s such a picky gene. I hear it skips younger siblings,” Hamilton replied with a wicked smirk.
“Well, what a coincidence. I heard the very same thing. In fact, I’ve heard lots of things recently,” Mom snapped.
“I’m sure only ninety-nine percent of them are true. Did my brother tell you about the time I bought him strippers for his thirtieth birthday? What a wild time that was,” Hamilton replied while cocking his head to the side and looking my mom up and down.
Mom frowned and rolled her eyes. “Vera, let’s go stand with Joseph. This is a party celebrating his accomplishments, and you haven’t even spoken to him. It looks bad.”
I ground my teeth together. If she was worried about appearances, then she was going to be pissed when she heard I let Hamilton eat me out in a storage closet. “Of course.” I didn’t want to go stand with Joseph. I didn’t even want to be at this stupid party, and for the first time in my life, I wanted to get the hell away from my mother. She was like a complete stranger to me.
Hamilton cleared his throat before speaking directly to me. “I’ll stop by tomorrow, then.”
Mom’s eyebrows raised. “Tomorrow? What’s tomorrow?”
“I’m leaving for the oil rig. They asked me to come early, and I needed a dog sitter. Vera so