Chapter 40: The Things I'm Into

The photo on Dean’s phone felt like a sucker punch to the gut. It was not even a photo. This was worse. Way fucking worse. At the top of the glaring white webpage: VIP Guest List— The Velvet Desires. My eyes darted over the names, my pulse hammering. Roman’s full name was right there in black text. No mistaking it. No alias. Roman Nicholas Blackwood. Below his name was a glittering parade of scandal waiting to happen. Oil tycoons, tech billionaires, heirs to conglomerates, political leaders, CEOs of corporations that had their own skyscrapers. Even two prominent pastors whose smiles I’d seen plastered on TV every Sunday morning. My stomach churned. How did Dean get access to this? “I take it you’re just finding out about your fiancé’s double life now.” Dean’s voice was all smug satisfaction as he slipped the phone back toward himself. “I warned you about this dude. Rich guys like this have crazy kinks.” My fingers twitched, wanting to slap that smug look right off him. My heart was sti