"Carl, no I’ve never watched anything like that. At most it was guys who were, you know, partially dressed. That’s it."
Whitney stared at from her bed with an expression of deep, personal disappointnt, as if she couldn’t believe I was even bothering with that defense.
Lewis stepped closer and tilted my chin up with two fingers, studying my face with quiet amusent. "How did I never see this side of you?"
I was completely cornered. "Riley sent that video. I watched maybe half of one clip one and before I could even decide whether I was interested, it was over. I barely had ti to look!"
Wallace, still holding the used syringe with the energy of a man who had nowhere else to be, added helpfully, "Correct, Mr. Hale. Mrs. Hale didn’t watch anything inappropriate. She rely watched a man’s abdominal muscles."
"Exactly!" I pointed at him. "Dr. rvin just confird it. I would never watch sothing actually inappropriate. That could cause eye strain."
Wallace was not finished. "She also ntioned wanting to visit a club and select approximately ten male companions to look at. Her reasoning was that viewing attractive n has health benefits and may extend one’s lifespan. The logic is sound, actually variety stimulates the mind. Looking at the sa person every day can beco predictable." He paused thoughtfully. "Not that you’re dull, Mr. Hale. Mrs. Hale is clearly devoted to you. Pregnant won simply develop unusual cravings. In her case, it appears to be n. Just different ones."
I turned on him with my full attention. "Dr. rvin, your na and your personality are completely mismatched."
He looked untroubled. "Thank you, Mrs. Hale. And don’t worry I won’t ntion the part about hiring male companions."
Lewis’s expression shifted into sothing that was not quite a smile. "Hiring. Male. Companions." He said each word separately, like he was testing their weight. "Elena."
"Carl, just listen "
He was done listening. He swept off my feet in one easy motion and headed for the door. "We’ll talk in the room."
I threw one final look at Wallace over Lewis’s shoulder as we left, silently promising absolutely nothing good.
Lewis set down on the bed with more gentleness than the situation deserved, then stood there loosening his tie with one hand, his expression unreadable. "Elena. How many tis have you hired male companions?"
I edged slightly toward the headboard. "Just once or twice."
"Once or twice."
"Two tis total. And I didn’t do anything, Carl. I was helping a client. I didn’t even touch them."
He let out a low, cool laugh. "So you didn’t touch them. Is that what you regret? Is that what you’re still thinking about? What else did you want to touch?"
I stared at him. "That is not what I said. I can’t believe you just " I stopped, noticing his hands still moving. "Why are you still untying your tie?"
"It’s uncomfortable."
"You put it on yourself this morning!"
"Elena." He sat on the edge of the bed, and his voice dropped to sothing that sounded almost patient. "I know you weren’t doing anything. I know you were just keeping Whitney company. But Wallace " He paused with the ghost of a smile. "Wallace is very thorough."
Before I could respond, he reached over and, with one practiced motion, looped the tie around my wrists.
I looked at my hands, then up at him. I switched to my softest voice. "Carl. My sweet, reasonable Carl. I’m not even three months along. I cannot do anything that could be considered remotely inappropriate right now."
He raised one eyebrow. "You can watch inappropriate things but not do them?"
I opened my mouth. Nothing ca out.
He plucked my phone from my hands before I’d processed the movent. I went completely still.
"I believe in trust," he said, scrolling with unhurried focus. "I would never normally go through your phone. But you’ve been very active lately, and I think I deserve to know what I’ve been missing."
"Carl, please don’t look "
He was already in the app. The algorithm had done what algorithms do one video leads to ten, ten leads to a hundred. The feed had taken on a very specific and very enthusiastic character. Shirtless n cosplaying, n showing off abs, n in suits looking important, n in masks dancing. The full spectrum, curated by my own viewing history into sothing that could not be explained away as casual.
Lewis scrolled in silence for a mont, then glanced at sideways. "Your taste is... broad, babe."
"It was an accident. All of it."
"You accidentally liked over a hundred videos."
"My thumb slipped. Repeatedly."
He kept scrolling, and then a notification appeared at the top of the screen. Riley. I lunged for his sleeve with both bound hands. "Carl, don’t open that "
He opened it.
The chat history between Riley and was not sothing I could defend. She had been sending videos without waiting to be asked, then providing her own comntary underneath each one in the kind of language that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. I had, on several occasions, responded. Enthusiastically. Out of boredom. That was my story and I was keeping it.
Lewis read through it with the calm of a man who had already accepted his reality. Then he screen-recorded the entire thing and sent it to Harlan without comnt.
He set the phone down and looked at with an expression that mixed amusent with sothing that was definitely not innocence.
"Elena. I clearly haven’t been paying enough attention." He reached out and brushed his fingers gently across my cheek, his voice going quiet and slightly dangerous. "I didn’t realize my mate had developed such varied interests while I was busy working."
"I don’t have varied interests! I only have one interest and it’s you, and I swear I will never touch that app again if you just untie right now "
"I’ve been too easy on you," he said, almost to himself, looking genuinely thoughtful about it. "Didn’t realize you liked things a little more complicated."
"I don’t! Carl, the baby is right there "
"It’s still very small," he said serenely. "Barely ford. It won’t understand."
"Lewis "
His fingers traced the line of my cheek, then pressed gently against my lips. His eyes t mine with an intensity that made the room feel several degrees warr. "Hold still," he murmured.
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