“Shhh,” he soothed.
“Please,” she murmured, voice slurred and barely audible.
“What was that, lass?” he asked, making sure his affected Scottish accent was in place for the cameras.
“Please, Eric,” she breathed the words, so low he almost didn’t hear it.
The Spaniard froze.
Not many years after that one and only fateful meeting with his father, Angus read a story about two wolves in one of his precious books. This one a language primer full of fables and folktales from America. Written in simple English appropriate for early learners.
In the story, a boy, angry with another child who’d been cruel to him, went to his grandfather.
The grandfather told him that two wolves live inside every man. One wolf was evil, full of anger, greed, and hate. The other was good—calm, loving, and peaceful. The grandfather explained that everyone feels the battle inside them as each wolf tries to take control.
And when the boy asked his grandfather which wolf would win, the grandfather said simply, “The one you feed.”
Angus had been feeding the evil wolf for a very long time.
Now with a familiar cold jealousy burning inside him, it was time to feed the wolf again.
Keeping himself hunched over Nikolett to obstruct any cameras’ view, he did what he’d come here to do. Mindful that this had to look like passion not punishment, he stripped Nikolett naked.
Starting with the lace panties.
He touched the skin he bared, driving home how vulnerable she was. Manipulating her arm by hooking it over his neck and holding it there with his shoulder so that on the video it would look like she was an active participant, he stripped off her shirt and skirt, tossing them onto the floor on top of her discarded panties. After easing her down, he rolled her onto her side, unfastened her bra, then slid a hand down her bare back to cup her ass.
When the bra was fully off, he traced the curve of her bare breasts with his thumb. Then wrapped his hand around her neck.
She never again murmured Eric’s name, but once was enough.
Rising to his feet, he swept his gaze over her naked body, sprawled helplessly on the bed.
Something inside him clenched, twisted, broke, and he turned away.
There had been more to the plan, things he would do to her once she was naked, but this was all he could manage. Disquiet rode him as he went into the closet, finding what he thought were her pajamas and then carefully helping her into them. She was slightly more responsive than she had been, the fast-acting sedative wearing off.
“Gus?” she murmured at one point.
And when he looked at her, she smiled, her eyes open only a slit, but her gaze focused on him. Seeing him.
Her hand reached up to brush his cheek.
Every muscle in his body went tight. He closed his eyes, leaning into her touch before her hand fell back to the mattress.
He dressed her in her pajamas and tucked her into bed, then rushed from the room as if fleeing the very wolf he was trying to feed.
He smoothed out his expression as he slipped into the main room of the suite, sure there were cameras here. It took everything he had to move slowly. To write her a note using the pen and pad on the desk. To gather his coat. To stop at the table to pick up a half-full wineglass and drain it.
Hopefully no one watching the video of this moment would notice it was her wineglass he chose, and that he turned it to press his lips to the same place her lips touched. Hopefully the drugged wine would kick in once he was off-site, and he’d be able to sleep rather than lying awake thinking for what was left of the night.
Then the Spaniard left the suite, making a show of yawning and smiling awkwardly at the guard sitting in the hall, who was casually flipping a knife. The fact that the man was surprised by his exit meant he’d been right—there was no live video monitoring, and maybe no live audio.
“Er, goodnight,” Angus said awkwardly. “Will you tell, er, Nikolett that I left her a note? I didn’t know if I should stay after…”
The stony face of her guard revealed no emotion, but the man nodded once.
With a final awkward smile, he stepped into the elevator.
