Chapter 47: Could she be the blackmailer?

Ivy’s pov

"You’ll have to strip it naked down to the bones."

Donna’s voice was low, but all I could hear was the blood roaring in my ears. I watched her knife slide under the chicken skin, but my eyes weren’t actually seeing it. My brain was stuck on a loop, replaying the text message.

"...the woman who just swallowed his cum isn’t the real housekeeper."

My stomach lurched. Was it her? Donna? She was always here in the kitchen and closed around 3 pm as soon as she was done making dinner. She could have heard or seen something like that time with Malachi in the laundry room.

And some hours ago in the dining room. Ugh, it’s always that jerk. It couldn’t be Donna. The texts didn’t sound like Donna.

So, Harry? But he was just a sweet old man who hummed show tunes while pruning the roses.

Stop it, Ivy. Stop making excuses for the suspects.

Oh, this was a freaking mess. What did the blackmailer mean, "work together"? Were they another enemy of the Knights?

"Donna?"

"Oui, Chérie?"

"How long have you worked for the Knight brothers?"

Donna’s knife stopped chopping, and her eyes flicked up to me. "I used to work for them ten years ago, before they left. When they came back, they searched for me again."

"Why did they leave?"

Donna put her knife down flat on the cutting board. She wiped her hands on her apron and turned to face me, her eyes narrowed into slits.

"Do you know why they asked for me back, cherie? Because I am not nosy. And I don’t intend to start now. What the Master Knights do is not my business," her eyes bored harder into mine, "and you shouldn’t make it yours either."

Welp, scratch that; it wasn’t Donna. There was too much loyalty in her eyes and her words.

"Sureee," I laughed nervously. "Thanks, Donna."

My mind was already racing ahead. Harry. I had to find Harry.

The brothers were gone. Their private jet had taken them to LA hours ago. The sun was getting low, painting the sky in streaks of orange and purple.

I was running out of time. I needed their schedule. Gideon looked like a creature of habit; he would definitely have one, but it wasn’t in the files I had copied from his laptop. So it had to be somewhere else. Maybe an email or the cloud. How the hell was I supposed to get into that?

The heavy click of the front door latch echoed through the quiet house. My heart jumped into my throat. I rushed out of the kitchen and into the grand foyer to see Gideon walking in, a deep frown etched on his forehead, along with tired lines marring his gorgeous face.

His sapphire eyes found mine, and I inhaled because I could freaking help it. This man did things to me, and he hadn’t even laid a finger on me.

"Miss Harpley." His voice was a low, husky rasp, and it vibrated right through my bones.

"Mr. Knight. Welcome back." My voice came out squeaky. "I thought you were in LA."

He frowned, a deep line carving itself between his brows, and ignored my question completely. "Bring a bottle of beer to my room."

He turned and started up the stairs. Ugh, pompous much? I stuck my tongue out at his broad back, only for him to glance over his shoulder right then. I froze, my tongue still out like an idiot.

A ghost of a smile touched his lips before he faced forward again. My face went up in flames.

"Right away, sir!" I called out, my voice cracking as I bolted to the kitchen; Christ, that was embarrassing.

Ten minutes later, I was standing before the door to his room with a bottle of beer and a glass cup on a tray in one hand while my left hand rose to knock on the wood.

"Come in."

He was shrugging off his suit jacket when I walked in, his back to me. He let it drop to the floor, then started on the buttons of his shirt.

As the white cotton parted, it revealed that perfect golden skin and muscles, the shifting, powerful lines of his back. My mouth went dry. I looked away, my cheeks burning, and set the tray on the bedside table.

A black card was lying there, the word "EXTASIM" in slick gold letters. A keycard? Or some event pass?

What a funny name though. EXTASIM.

I twisted the cap off the beer, the hiss loud in the quiet room. Bending over the table, I poured the golden liquid into the glass, the condensation chilling my fingers, and then suddenly it was replaced by heat running through my entire body.

Why?

He was behind me.

I didn’t hear him move, but I felt him, his presence, a sudden, overwhelming wave of heat enveloping me. He reached past me, his arm brushing against mine, and picked up the glass. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

I couldn’t breathe. I watched, trapped, as he tilted his head back and downed the entire glass of beer in one go. His throat worked as he swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. The muscles in his shoulders and arms gleamed in the light. A hot, sharp ache pulsed low in my belly.

His arm brushed my arm as he reached past me and set the empty glass down on the tray with a soft click.

"More."

The word was a thick, husky command. I swallowed hard, my own throat suddenly tight. His heat was radiating off him, wrapping around me.

His eyes were fixed on me, a very intense blue, as my trembling fingers fumbled with the bottle and poured him another glass. I held it out, the space between our bodies crackling with heat.

His fingers brushed mine when he took it, and I dug my teeth into my bottom lip to hold back a gasp. Every sound, the clink of the glass, the rustle of his shirt, my own ragged breathing- it was all too much.

It was just... him. There was something about Gideon that made me want to just...obey. I was shaking, trembling, waiting... aching.

"Stay still."

A whimper escaped my lips, and my body locked in place. His blue eyes darkened, clouded over with a hunger so raw it made my knees weak.

I couldn’t hold his gaze. I glanced away, my heart hammering against my ribs; I was so sure it was about to burst right out of my chest.

"Look at me, Ivy," he murmured.

I couldn’t. Oh god, he called me Ivy!

"I said," he repeated, his voice quieter and deadlier, "look at me."

I forced my eyes back to his, my lips parting. His hand started to rise, reaching for my face. My heart stopped. But then, just as quickly, he snapped it back. He cracked his knuckles, making a sharp, violent sound that made me flinch.

"Leave."