“You had someone draw this up,” he said.
“Obviously. I’m not an idiot.”
He lowered the paper, looking at me with a shrewd gaze. “Why are you doing this? I have to know.”
“I’m the reason Hunter is in this mess. I’ll be the reason he gets out. I owe him that much.”
Rodge squinted. “Why else? You don’t owe him your dignity.”
I sipped my wine, remembering Kimberly’s comment about editing. “I love him.”
Rodge laughed heartily at that, putting the waiver down on the table and taking up his wine glass. He took a large sip before shaking his head. “Now I see. Ensnared. You think this will make him love you back. What a fool you are. You should be after the money or power.” He shook his head again. “My son doesn’t love, Olivia. You must know that. He won’t get soft-hearted because you risked yourself for him.”
“I don’t plan to tell him. I’d hoped you’d do the right thing and let me go…”
He stood smoothly and crossed the room to a small desk in the corner. From it he extracted a pen, his eyes sparkling in the firelight when he was on his way back. When he returned, he casually signed and dated the form, leaving it where it was when he was through. He tossed the pen across the coffee table, took another sip of wine, and twisted toward me from the edge of the couch. His gaze roamed my body.
“No. But if you’re good, and you scream real nice, I won’t tell him. You have to let yourself thoroughly enjoy it, though. I’m not the man you think, Livy. My hands can be surprisingly gentle…”
I tried to swallow past the lump in my throat. I knew he was being crude just to make this worse for me. He was playing mind games. I also knew he would try to get me to enjoy it so I hated myself for it. He’d take more time with that goal in mind.
I had no intention of being around that long.
Chapter Ten
I took up my glass of wine and eyed the bottle. “Do I have to be sober for this?”
He smiled as I took a big gulp of my wine. He followed suit, drinking most before setting his glass down and waiting for me.
“Seriously. More.” I held out my glass. Smirking, he filled it, and filled his as well, emptying the bottle.
“Why Blaire?” I asked, allowing him to hear the tremor in my voice. I wanted him to think I was stalling because I was nervous. Which I was.
He leaned back with his body facing me. He strung his arm across the top of the couch, bending at the elbow so he could flick my hair with his fingers. “Her father had a struggling business when the economy crippled him. I wanted in on it, so I offered a bailout. Little did I know my shares wouldn’t be worth much when all was said and done.”
“Why didn’t you marry her yourself?”
“And take something her father wanted to get rid of? The woman is wild. She’s a handful, and she spends like the spoiled brat she is. I wanted nothing to do with her.”
His fingers trailed down my cheek.
I shivered, but prevented myself from jerking away. His oily smile said I didn’t prevent the grimace, though.
“So you pawned her off on your son.”
“Yes I did. I figured he’d just get used to her and eventually try to get her knocked up so he could finally have a child.” His delighted smile set off warning bells.
“And why does that amuse you?” I asked in a weak voice, trying to ignore his hand trailing down my neck.
“Because she can’t have babies. Or so her father said when he’d had too much brandy. She got her tubes tied—never wanted the little leeches, apparently.”
“And Hunter doesn’t know that?”
“Of course not.”
I blinked in disbelief. “Are you a sociopath? You’re his father! How can you be so cruel?”
“Like I said, he left me. My company wasn’t good enough for him. Too small. I don’t let betrayal go unpunished.”
I rolled my eyes, and then shuddered in disgust as his hand dipped in toward my chest and ran over the swell of my breast.
“I can’t—” I jerked away, hating his touch. Hating this house and everything about this.
I squeezed my eyes tight, desperately wondering why I hadn’t used two pills. “I need to use the bathroom.”
“Stalling just prolongs the inevitable,” he said with a smile in his voice.
I opened my eyes, my hate-filled glare landing on him. It made his smile burn brighter. I looked at the waiver lying on the table.
“I’ll do you right near, then you can take it and go. No sassle.”
The lump in my throat was back. My eyes stung. I hated this. Only then did what he had said leak into my brain.