FOURTEEN
ARLO
Once upon a time, these parties were my favorite thing to come to. I enjoyed them tremendously. But now, as I step through the doors and spot all the members of our Society, I wish I could turn around and walk straight back out. This is the last place I want to be tonight. I would rather be with a cute little real estate agent, making her think she doesn’t want me when her body clearly does.
I once had a thing for chasing women. But with her? I don’t want to chase her the way I’ve chased other women. Most of the others understood the chase, which would end up with us fucking on any surface, with my beads wrapped around their throat. But it baffles me in so many ways that I don’t want to scare Cora. Well, not much anyway. Just enough that her cunt would squeeze and flutter around my cock as she decided if she wanted to push me away or have the beads dig in tighter around her slender neck.
“Arlo, good you came. No date tonight?” Rylas says as he comes up next to me, holding a drink in his hand.
“No.”
“Believe it or not, I didn’t bring one either.” That actually surprises me because he always brings a date. Rylas is a fuckhead. How he became such a powerful attorney is beyond me. But I think he likes to play the stupid game when he’s really playing his smart game. I see straight through his bullshit and know there’s a reason he didn’t bring a date tonight. He either couldn’t get one dumb enough to come to one of these events, or he has other plans.
“Soren was looking for you earlier,” he tells me, and without another word, I turn and walk away.
As I make my way through the crowd, a few members tip their heads at me in greeting, and I see some of their girlfriends are barely dressed. These events get a little debauched. People start getting touchy and grabby, and they end up sharing the person they brought. They’re lucrative events, and I quite enjoyed dabbling in them in my twenties. What man wouldn’t enjoy fucking beautiful women? Because, make no mistake, the women at these events are stunning. They just aren’t wife material.
Every time I’ve brought a woman to one of these events, I’ve been very clear about what I expected from her and what she should expect from me. I don’t give anyone false hope because that would be misleading.
When I fuck a woman, I want to fuck her because she wants me. Yes, I enjoy choking them, and I understand that comes from years of growing up at the hands of an abusive woman. But I’ve also come to understand that just because one woman was a fucking cunt, it doesn’t mean the rest are. I have slowly dealt with a lot of the hatred I’ve harbored all of my life. It’s probably one of the reasons I’ve flourished so much in the Society because it lets me live my depraved ways.
“Arlo.” I turn at the sound of Soren’s voice to find him dressed as if it were still a business day.
He never brings a woman to these events, and he has never been married—even though the Society prefers you to be married by thirty. However, it protects our fucked-up ways if we have an alibi, and it basically makes our image more appealing to have someone at home.
“Reon just arrived. I’ve warned everyone not to touch Lilith, but you know how nights like this go,” he tells me.
I simply nod my head.
Turning, I see Lilith straight ahead. Her hair is back to a soft shade of copper, and she is dressed in a tight-fitting dress. Reon has his arm around her waist as a few members stop to greet him, while others stay clear.
They’re afraid of him after what happened last time someone touched Lilith—he blew their head off. Literally.
As soon as they reach us, I lean in to greet Lilith, and she gives me a one-armed hug before she pulls back to stand next to Reon.
“Reon,” I say in greeting. He nods at me but looks at Soren.
“We won’t be staying long.” He pulls Lilith closer and narrows his gaze into the crowd.
“I understand.” And he does because Soren never stays long either. He always leaves when the night starts to shift. “Lilith, I hope you’re well.” Her gaze moves to Soren, and she looks him dead in the eye without saying a word, then looks away. Reon’s mouth twitches with amusement as I smile. She holds grudges. However, if someone tried to have me killed and then held me up by my hair, I would hate them too. She did break the rules by sneaking into Forsaken parties and basically making Reon end the relationship he was forming with Soren’s sister, Maya, even if Soren did try to make it up to Lilith by allowing her to hunt, which is forbidden for a woman.
“Reon.” We turn at the sound of Boston’s voice as he stands there as tall as everyone else, dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, his lips set in a hard line. He greets Lilith and then turns to me. “Arlo, a word?” He motions for me to follow him to the bar. He stands there, tapping his closed fist on the counter while he waits for me.
“What’s wrong?” I ask him.
Boston is a detective and a good one. When he comes to these events, he doesn’t bring a woman. Actually, I don’t recall if I’ve ever seen him with a woman.
“I did a background check on Cora Ashford, as you requested.” He hands me a folder, and I open it to find her face staring back at me from a photograph. “She’s clean,” he says, and I quickly scan her history. Nothing major to report. A minor felony when she was eighteen for stealing, and that’s it. So her good-girl image isn’t just an act. It is who she is. I wonder if she would let me corrupt her.
“Thank you.” I slide the folder into my jacket. “How long do you think Reon will stay?” I ask as we observe the group we left behind. Soren tries to talk, and Reon gives him the bare minimum in return.
“Not long,” he replies, then turns his attention to two of the members not far from us as they start removing the clothing of a woman. Her dress drops to the floor, and it’s then that I realize who it is. I once brought her to a dinner as a fill-in date. Her eyes lock on mine as one of the members lowers his mouth to her breast. Weeks ago, I would have been moved by the sight in front of me, but now, I just look away.
“She’s doing it to tease you,” Boston says as he watches her. We spot Reon turn and leave with Lilith as Soren makes his way over to us.
“Did you scare him away?” I tease.
“One of your previous dates is here with Jordan. Though I think Rylas is enjoying her more.” Rylas is the one sucking on her breast as she continues looking our way.
