“Don’t do what?”
“Don’t ask me a Luke question.” I am notorious for getting bitchy when I’m hungry, and at some point, when we were on the verge of arguing for real, Luke learned to ask me that question. It’s frankly embarrassing how many arguments died a quiet death the moment I got some protein in me.
Casimir may have Luke’s face, may be asking me Luke’s question, but that can’t mean anything. Softening toward him, sharing a smile in acknowledgment that my blood sugar is probably low, letting two years of knowing a person make me believe his lies? Out of the question.
He watches me closely. “I’ll call for some food.”
“I’d rather leave the room and get it myself.” I glare. “You know, stretch my legs and shit.”
“You’re going to run.” Now, finally, he moves, easing off the mattress and pulling on his pants. “Haven’t you figured it out yet, baby? There’s nowhere you can run that I can’t find you. I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth if that’s what it takes.”
My stomach does that strange swoopy thing again, but I’m too twisted up to tell if it’s good or bad. Maybe it really is just hunger. “Because I’m the heir.”
His brows slam together. “Because you’re mine.”
“Tomato-tomahto.” I grab the silk robe that’s been left on the hook in the bathroom. It’s short and slinky and leaves nothing to the imagination, but at least I’m not naked.
I stalk to the door and bang on it. “Let me out. I’m done.” I am not ready to cancel the contract, but surely they have surveillance—whether digital or a person lingering in the halls if something goes wrong.
“We’re not done.”
“I am.” The lock clicks open, and I shove out into the hallway.
Casimir is right on my heels, not bothering to put on a shirt or shoes. This feels as unbearably intimate as fucking him, but I can’t stop. I pick a direction at random and charge down the hall.
To his credit, he doesn’t touch me. But there’s no escaping his presence as my shadow. I can sense his anger growing. That’s fine; mine is too.
“Ruby, stop.”
“Fuck you.” I hear voices nearby and take a sharp turn to head in that direction. Even now, I don’t really think Casimir is going to hurt me, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to let me leave without him. I need to find the Concierge or . . .
I turn another corner and catch sight of the auctioneer. Reaper. That was his name. He’s standing in a large arched doorway, talking to a pair of people. They move into the room behind him, and he sees me coming. His grin is sexy and a little dangerous. “Nice collar.”
Help.
I open my mouth to say it, but instead what comes out is “What’s going on here?”
“This?” Reaper shrugs, the gesture toward the room elegant. “It’s a little tradition among old friends.” His gaze slips past me to where Casimir has stopped behind me, so close, I can feel the heat coming off his body. “Wolf.”
“Reaper.” There’s a rumble to his voice that feels particularly dangerous. “Ruby is hungry. We’re headed to the kitchens.”
“I’m not hungry anymore.” I peer past Reaper into the room behind him. There are couches and chairs arranged artfully around the space, and along the perimeter are a number of suspension racks, spanking benches, and other large kink equipment.
The room is full, the gathered people ranging from an older couple in elegant eveningwear sharing wine on a love seat to a handful of people my age who are wearing little more than their skin.
What’s great is that I don’t know a single one of them.
I take a step forward, but Reaper tosses out an arm, stopping me without touching me. “Sorry, love, but the Mad Wolf is a nightmare to play with, and our voyeur ranks are filled.”
“I don’t want to watch. I want to participate.”
Reaper studies me for a beat and then turns his attention on Casimir. “Well?”
Casimir makes another sound that’s suspiciously close to a growl. “A moment.” He takes my arm and practically drags me a few feet down the hall.
“Let me go,” I say under my breath.
He spins me to face him. He may be manhandling me a bit, but I don’t miss the fact that he’s being very careful not to actually hurt me. The fool inside me wants to look into that. The rest of me wants to punish him for all the horrible feelings tangling inside me. I don’t know what to think, what to feel.
“You want this.”
“Sure do.” I don’t know if it’s true, but he looks distinctly irritated. It’s there in his clenched jaw and the way he holds himself a little too still.
He studies my face. “If I agree to this, you are going to sit down and hear me out at the end of it.” His grip on my shoulders shifts, and his fingers start stroking up and along the rubies of my collar. “And you’re going to keep this on the entire time.”
“Can’t really take it off without the key you have.”
“I’m serious, Ruby. We’re talking after this. No theatrics. No bullshit. No lying.”
Not likely. I smile up at him and lie through my teeth. “Fine. We can talk after this.”
Casimir curses under his breath. “You’re lying again. Whatever. Let’s go.”
I step away quickly before he can guide me to where Reaper watches us with undisguised interest. As I walk back to Reaper, I catch sight of a woman kneeling at his feet. I hadn’t noticed her, because he’s so damn entrancing. She’s a pretty white woman with long dark hair and angry blue eyes. My eyes go wide. She’s the one before me in the auction, the one who sold herself for a single dollar. Was Reaper the winning bidder? It doesn’t matter. He’s my priority right now, and so he gets my best charming smile. “We’re in.”
“Very well.”
I start to move past him, but he blocks my way again. “Not so fast, love. If you want in, you have to prove yourself.” There’s a teasing note to his voice. I might be shit at reading Casimir, but I understand power plays. Casimir undermined Reaper at the auction, and now he’s all but whipping out his dick to piss on Casimir’s foot.
I can work with this.
“That’s not—”
I ignore whatever Casimir is about to say and drop to my knees before Reaper. He’s shirtless again, so it’s easy enough to hook my fingers into the front band of his pants. I give him wide eyes. “Like this?”
He arches his brows, his grin downright sinful. “Don’t let me stop you, love.”
“Stop calling her that,” Casimir snarls. “Ruby, get off your knees.”
“He said I need to prove myself. So I will.” I wait for Reaper’s slight nod to unbutton his pants and drag down his zipper. His cock is already hard and just as impressive as Casimir’s.
The woman kneeling at my side tenses, but she’s not my problem. I glance at Casimir, who’s glaring at me. He says something scathing in Russian and then switches to English. “You want to suck his cock? Do it.”
“I don’t need your permission. We broke up, remember?” But what little hesitation I had is gone. I lean forward and take Reaper’s cock into my mouth. He’s attractive in the way of a fallen angel who’s taken to the vices of the world, all sharp lines and sharper angles. And he does have a nice cock.
Best of all, Casimir is watching.
That, even more than the act of sucking Reaper’s cock, gets me wet. I slide my hands down Reaper’s thighs and back up to his hips as I swallow him down. I muscle past my gag reflex and give him my A game. Put on a show for the glaring man at our side.