Hunt's expression turned apologetic. "I'm afraid not."
"Why?"
"Because it isn't suitable. You'll have to take my word for it," he said.
Her brow furrowed. "But Iwantto see—"
"Excuse me." He consulted his pocket watch. "Devil take it, I'm late for the nightly report from my club manager. Stewart hates to be kept waiting."
"Can't I just take a small peek—"
"I'm afraid that's not possible." With a distracted air, he looked at his watch again. "My meeting won't take more than a quarter hour. Do you wish to see the rest of this floor on your own, or shall I summon someone to escort you back to my suite?"
"I'll stay here," she said immediately.
"You're to wait for mehere, Miss Fines. No wandering about." A muscle twitched oddly beside his mouth. "The club can be a dangerous place, and I won't be here to look after you."
"Please take your time." She kept her voice nonchalant. "No need to worry about me."
* * *
Perfect. He's gone.
Taking one last look to make sure there was no sign of Hunt's muscular form, Percy made a gleeful dash for the stairs at the end of the hallway. She could not bear the notion of waiting, twiddling her thumbs whilst a mysterious, forbidden realm lay mere paces away. As she mounted the steps, she told herself she would take a quick look and return before Hunt even knew she had gone. What harm could that possibly do?
The air in the top floor corridor was sultry and swirling with incense. At first glance, the narrow passageway resembled the ones on the other floors. She heard muffled sounds filtered through the walls; though the voices were indecipherable, something about their quality made her hesitate.You're already here. Just take a quick peek.With a hand that trembled slightly, she slid back the nearest wooden panel and pressed her cheek against the peephole.
Her breath stuttered.
Oh. My. Goodness.
A Bacchanal. Wickedness beyond imagining.
Against a backdrop of ancient ruins, people in various states of undress frolicked about, drinking, dancing… andfornicating. Percy's face blazed with heat. If she had ever wondered what the sexual act entailed, she got all her answers in a single, blinding moment. Before her stunned eyes, a man wearing a mask with horns grabbed a laughing rouged brunette and bent her over a fallen column. His member—sothatwas what a man's part looked like!—poked outward from his thighs like a lance. An apt analogy, for no sooner had he grasped the lady's hips, then he lunged forward...impalingher.
At the brunette's keening moan, sweat sprouted upon Percy's brow. She felt her turban slip as the woman looked over her shoulder, moaning to the man heaving between her thighs.Fuck me 'arder, get your cock good and deep... The man responded by pumping furiously, his hips slapping her bottom again and again while she screeched,Yes, luvie, like that! Oh, I'm goin' to come so hard…
Heart thundering in her ears, Percy's gaze flew to another couple. As the man lounged on a Roman bed, a redheaded woman knelt between his legs, her expression salacious as she stroked his member with her fist. Eyes heavy-lidded, the man twisted his fingers in her hair and pulled her head toward his lap. Percy sucked in a breath as the woman's tongue darted out and licked the flaring dome of his member. The man groaned, pressing her head down more firmly. Red curls bobbed as the fleshy pole disappeared within her lips…
On a nearby couch, a woman was on her knees betweentwomen, her frenzied cries blending with hoarse, guttural shouts as they jousted her between them…
Dazed and feverish, Percy stumbled back from the hole.Dear God, what am I doing?I have to get back downstairs, have to before—
The hairs suddenly lifted on her skin; even though she'd heard no footsteps, she knew he was there. His presence lived in the rapid tattoo of her heartbeat, the tightening of her nipples against her bodice. She whipped around.
Hunt stood there, watching her. Golden hellfire raged in his eyes.
Her throat squeezed. "I—I was only..."
"Didn't I tell you to wait downstairs?" As large and foreboding as Hades himself, Hunt stalked toward her. Her breath rushed in and out of her lungs as he bent his head and glanced into the viewing hole she'd been looking through. "My, what a naughty girl you've been," he drawled. He shut the panel, muffling the lascivious sounds.
Her cheeks pulsed hotly. "I didn't mean to—"
"Lie to anyone you wish, but not to me. You knewexactlywhat you were doing." In a quick motion, he disposed of her turban; her hair tumbled free. "You're a hot-blooded little baggage, Persephone Fines, and there's no use denying it."
Lips trembling, Percy lowered her head. He was… right. About her. She wasn't the good, proper daughter her parents had wanted—why did Hunt have to be the one to see her for the wicked girl she truly was? She wanted to curl into a ball and die of embarrassment. Heat burned behind her eyes.
A finger tipped her chin up. Eyes of infinite darkness held her.
