“Who is she?” the stranger asks as he materializes beside Ben.
“Joseph Lawson’s youngest daughter.”
“Should I know who that is?” Saverio asks.
“He’s Lawson Pharma,” a man with salt-and-pepper hair and beady eyes says.
“He’s well-connected and fiercely protective of his daughters,” Ben explains. “If you hurt her, you’ll pay a price. He’s a billionaire with the resources to make your life hell.”
Saverio shrugs. “I can handle a disgruntled businessman.”
He clearly doesn’t know my father.
“It’s more than that though. She’s my ex’s little sister. I used to fantasize about doing her when she was older.” My eyes pop wide, and Ben smirks again. “Don’t pretend you weren’t doing some fantasizing of your own, Firefly.” He waggles his brows. “You drooled every time I came by the house, and I know you spied on Saskia and me.” Gripping my chin, he tilts my face up so I’ve no choice but to look at him. “Did you imagine it was you I was kissing? Did you lie in bed at night dreaming about me? Fingering your virgin pussy imagining it was my fingers inside you?”
A few chuckles ring out, and my cheeks inflame. I feel like I’m thirteen again, only this time it’s Ben I want to murder.
A knowing laugh bursts from his mouth. “Grab my jacket,” he tells his…friend? Colleague? Fellow deviant? I don’t know who he is or how he knows Ben or even who Ben is anymore.
The man walks off, grinning as he grabs a tailored black suit jacket, returning with it in his hands.
“Open the inside pocket, retrieve my wallet, and remove the folded piece of paper,” Ben instructs, and the man obliges. “Open it up.”
A strangled sound leaves my mouth as the picture is revealed.
“You kept it,” I whisper, fighting emotion. He kept the picture of the firefly I drew for him. It has my name and the date on the bottom right-hand corner.
“Aw, she must really love you,” Ben’s friend says, chuckling.
Saverio cracks his knuckles, looking ready to beat the crap out of both men.
“I know you had plans,” Ben says, staring Saverio straight in the eye. “But she’s not yours for the taking. I put dibs on her years ago, and I’ve waited for this night for a long time.” He grabs my hip in a firm hold that hurts, fixing Saverio with a challenging look.
“You’d deny me?” Saverio drills a dark glare at Ben.
“You’d denyme?” Ben coolly retorts. “That wouldn’t be a good start to our new working relationship.”
The man beside Ben looks over his shoulder, and three of the men with guns move across the room, flanking our backs. Behind Saverio, a line of men forms, and the atmosphere shifts, tension palpable. Blood pounds in my head, alarm bells ring in my ears, and I’m afraid to even breathe.
“I don’t take well to being insulted in my own domain,” Saverio says, looking like he’s ready to rip into Ben.
I want to say something, but I don’t know what, and getting in between these two wouldn’t be smart. I don’t understand what’s going on. I don’t know who Ben is anymore. But I suspect he’s trying to get me out of this, so I owe him my silence and my support. Very carefully, with no obvious visible movement, I place my hand on the small of his back. He stiffens, but it’s subtle, and I doubt anyone noticed except for the guy with the muscles who is staring curiously at me.
Ben clears his throat. “I mean no disrespect, and perhaps we can come to an arrangement in relation to the girl.”
“What arrangement?” Saverio grits out as I cast a quick glance at the seated area. The girls are all sitting dutifully on the couches, all still naked, looking bored as they stare anywhere but here. I wonder if they are drugged or just so immune to this world they don’t pay attention anymore. At some point, someone lowered the music, and it’s only soft background noise now.
“Let me have her, and I’ll owe you a personal favor.”
Ben’s friend jerks his head up, looking alarmed for a split second, before schooling his features into a neutral line.
“It can be anything, and you can call it in at any time.” Ben levels Saverio with a look I can’t decipher.
Saverio stares at him for an indeterminable period of time before looking at the tall man with the salt-and-pepper hair. They share a silent exchange before Saverio swings his gaze back around to Ben. “Agreed.”
I almost sag in relief, but I’m not out of the woods yet.
“But the girl stays and parties here with you.” All the blood drains from my face when Saverio fixes me with a smug expression. “And you take responsibility for her and her friends. If any of this comes back at me, I will hold you personally responsible. There will be consequences to be paid.”
