With every word Delilah recognized what he was describing. It was an actual place, a place she knew, a place she’d been to. There was no explanation how he could know about it. It wasn’t possible.
“How did you find out about this place?” She had to know if the background check had revealed it, as impossible as this seemed. Nobody knew what the meadow represented for her. It was all she had left from her childhood. The only good memories she had left of her baby brother, before the unthinkable had happened.
She doubted that even her parents ever knew what the place meant to her. A place where she felt at peace with the world. Happy.
Samson gave her an incredulous look. “You mean the place exists?”
“Of course it does! How did you find out? The background check on me?”
He shook his head. “No. I told you, when you kiss me, you take me there. I feel it. It’s as if you teleport me to it. I can feel it with all my senses. I can smell it, I can touch it, I can hear the sounds, see the sun. All of it.”
“It’s not possible. You’re lying.”
The shrink interrupted. “Tell us about the place. What’s its significance?”
“I don’t share this memory with anybody. It’s private.” She lowered her eyes.
Samson moved closer to her and crouched in front of her chair, looking up at her. “You’ve shared it with me before. You’ve taken me there before. Doesn’t that mean you wanted to show it to me?”
She shook her head. This was too close. If she let him too close, he’d hurt her.
“Don’t shut me out, please.”
“What do you want from me?” Delilah shot up from her chair. “Can’t you find another sex toy to play with?”
“I’m not playing with you. And this is not about sex.”
“This is not about sex?” the doctor interrupted.
“What makes you think this was about sex?” Samson gave his shrink a frustrated look. “Has anybody here been listening to a single word I’ve said? What the hell do I pay you for? Do I have to spell this out? This is about me wanting to blood-bond with Delilah.”
FIFTEEN
Ilona paced the full length of her eighth-floor condo, holding her cell phone pressed to her ear. Without interest she glanced out the floor-to-ceiling windows with the city lights sparkling just below. Tonight she wasn’t in the mood to admire the stunning view.
“No, you’re listening now. I’ve had it, you incompetent fool!” Her voice bristled as she let out a frustrated huff. “If we’d done it my way in the first place, we wouldn’t be in this predicament. But, no, you thought you could handle it better. Don’t you dare interrupt me.” She paused briefly, but the caller on the other end had finally started to listen to her and didn’t let out a single peep.
“Good. Here’s what you do, and I really don’t care how, as long as you do it tonight. I want her gone. Not only is she going to figure out what we’re trying to do to his company, but now he’s even made her his lover. Do you know how that stings? Do you?”
There was no reply. “I’m talking to you.” She was furious. No wonder everything was falling apart if she had to rely on family.
“I thought you didn’t want me to say anything anymore,” her brother finally said on the other end.
Did they really have any DNA in common? It was hard to believe.
“Idiot! I can’t believe I’m related to you.”
“Hey, I’m not as stupid as you make me out to be. I got you all the inside information you wanted. Don’t forget that. At least I can keep my mouth shut, not like you.”
“Don’t you dare bring that up again!” Her own failure still stung, even after nine months. She’d been so close! She’d virtually been able to taste victory.
Her brother flared up. “Oh, yes I will. If you had just continued to suck his dick until you were blood-bonded to him, all his money would have been yours, and you could have just let me kill him, but no, my big sister can’t swallow, can she?”
“Maybe you should have sucked his dick instead!”
“I’m not his type. So don’t make this sound like I’m the one who screwed up. You got yourself into this situation. Do you have any idea about the things I have to go through to fix this for you? No, you think it’s so easy.”
Ilona stomped her foot, not that her brother would know, but she needed an outlet for her frustration. Too long she’d worked on this, and finally the prize was within her reach again. Just another few days and all of Samson’s money would be hers.