I, Porn Star (I #1) by Zara Cox

soothing hand his wife places on his chest.
    Delilah sighs.
“You two wear me out with your constant wrangling. Darling, I think you should
go pour yourself a drink, let me speak to Quinn for a minute?”
    Maxwell starts to
shake his head. Delilah steps in front of him, demands his attention. “Max. Go.”
    Fury aimed at me
is tampered, and he stalks back into his study and slams the door.
    Delilah whirls to
face me, her eyes fierce and determined. “I want to see you again. This week.”
    “No. Tell me why
he wants to see me.”
    “Agree to see me
first.”
    I turn around and
head back down the hallway. “Fuck off, Delilah.”
    She rushes after
me. “Don’t speak to me like that!” she hisses.
    “I’ll speak to
you any way I damn well please.”
    She reaches my
side and lays a hand on my arm. I’m about to shake her off when I see Felix
heading my way, a sterling silver tray with a single glass on it. Delilah’s
hand falls away without an ounce of guilt.
    I snag the glass
from the tray and knock back ten thousand dollars’ worth of prime whiskey in
one swallow. I swear I catch a wince from Felix as I set the glass back on the
tray. “Thanks, old man.”
    “Always a
pleasure, sir.”
    “Tell my father
something came up, would you?”
    Felix opens his
mouth. Delilah beats him to the punch. “Really, Quinn. Do you have to be so
difficult? You bothered to come all the way here. And you’re just going to turn
around and leave again?” There’s a frisky little fire in her eyes that I want
to stoke, but being in this house, with so many reminders, risks setting me
off.
    “Tell him to send
me an email or you tell me what this is about.”
    Delilah transfers
her attention to Felix. “That will be all, thank you.”
    The old man
retreats with a stiff nod.
    “I mean it,
Quinn,” she whispers fiercely. “I need to see you. It’s been months.”
    “And the last
time you asked me nicely, I accommodated you. I believe the you-owe-me-one box
is ticked in my favor?”
    She swallows.
“That…it wasn’t the same.” Her hand finds my arm, her grip firmer. “Please,
baby. I can’t function.”
    I ignore her plea
and jerk a thumb toward the study. “What the hell does he want? I won’t ask you
again.”
    She waves an
impatient hand at the question. “It’s something to do with schedules and the
campaign.”
    My brain ticks
over for a minute. “What about the campaign? Is he thinking of not running?”
    She frowns. “No,
quite the opposite. Since you played an integral part last time, he wants to go
over a few things with you. He just wants to get the ball rolling asap, that’s
all. But I don’t want to talk about that. I want to talk about us…”
    I exhale slowly,
let her words drift over me. My plans would remain the same regardless of which
course Maxwell takes, but this is a better outcome.
    I thought he
intended to discuss Blackwood Estate business even though he no longer plays a
day-to-day role in the company. Now I know what the summons is about, the cogs
in my plans resume spinning.
    “Quinn?” Delilah
presses harder.
    I step away from
the clinical analysis of my plans and stare down into her face. She swipes a
tongue over her lower lip, leaving it glistening in the hallway light.
    I cover the hand
on my arm with mine. “Fine. I’ll be in touch in a few days. Are you able to
bear waiting that long?”
    Relief and
triumph swirl over her face and she gives a sultry laugh. “I’ll manage. Just
about.” I start to walk away, to head back to the study. Her grip tightens.
“Will it…I want it to be just you and me this time.”
    I tap the tip of
her nose. “You know better than to make demands, Delilah. You get it the way I
give it to you. Or you don’t get it at all. Is that going to be a problem?”
    Her face drops
along with her hand. “I don’t know why I tolerate this from you, Quinn.”
    My finger traces
the side of her pursing mouth. “Spare me the affronted routine, hmm? We