“So your plan is to whore yourself for a roof?” Anger lit those milky eyes, and Nyx paused. Had she struck a chord?
“No,” she sneered, rallying every ember of fury she could muster.
“What then? Do you think someone is going to allow you living space while you rob them blind and curse them into oblivion?” His voice rose an octave with each word as strands of hair fell free from their neatly styled hold.
That’s it,she thought. Show me what you’re hiding.
“It’s none of your fucking business!” she yelled.
“I am making it my business,” he roared, closing the small space between them and putting his face to hers. He withdrew the blade from the table and slipped it under the hem of her dress, pressing the tip against the junction of her thigh.
She tried to ignore where their bodies touched, how his breath heated her skin, or the racing of her heart. But more than that, she tried to ignore how much she fucking liked it. How sheseemed to hold this man in the palm of her hand as he held her by the throat.
“What use will you be to a man when you don’t know what to do with his cock?” His words were menacing and they stoked the fire in her belly.
“I know exactly what to do with a cock–”
His bellowing laugh cut her off, and godsdamn if she didn’t want to knock his fucking lights out. He was lucky her hands were tied.
“You wouldn’t know what to do with a cock if I gave you an instruction manual and a godsdamned tour guide.”
“You slimy motherfuck–”
A hand covered her mouth as the other grabbed the back of her neck, the forgotten blade digging into her spine as his hold forced her lips shut. “If you’re so confident about your skills, we will put them to the test, eh?” A sinful smile spread across his lips and she didn’t like the gleam in his eye. She’d intended to push him, force him to show his cards, but gods… Had she just pushed him over the edge instead?
“Level Desecration or a night in my Playground. You choose.”
Nyx’s stomach lurched. What kind of fucking options were those? Be put up for auction to a bunch of strangers or spend a full night doing gods knew what with a maniac? Her brain went straight to the BDSM rooms she’d seen on her way to his office and that was not something she wanted to be a part of now or ever.
Lies.
She looked pointedly at the hand covering her mouth as rebellious rage burned her chest. He smiled that wicked grin and removed his hand but kept his face pressed to hers. Their breaths mingled, the force of their crash reverberating in dizzying waves.
“I’m jealous of all of the people who have never met you,” she spat.
“Come now, kitten. That hurts me.” Anticipation sparked in his eyes, his muscles tense and waiting for those words of confirmation to fall from her lips.
Nyx leaned forward, their cheeks grazing as she placed her lips against his ear. “I would rather sell my soul than spend even one night with you.”
Chaos rippled through the air as a great pair of shadowed wings flexed on the wall behind him. Nyx held her breath, preparing for the onslaught that never came.
“Fine.” His cool mask slipped back into place as he took two steps back. “This arrangement could have been fun but now I suppose it’s just business.”
“What fucking arrangement?”
“Watch your mouth kitten, or I’ll fill it with something big enough to tame it.”
“Don’t you dare talk to me like–”
“She’s a cute one, you know. Evangeline.” His words were too matter-of-fact to cause the amount of destruction she felt in her heart. Bile burned the back of her throat, the heat from their argument dying like a flame under water. His smile was asinine. “You see, sweet Evangeline is having quite a nice dinner with my friend Epiales. Do you know who that is?”
“The black dream,” she breathed. Fear incarnate.
Oh gods…
“So smart for a little street cat,” he drawled. “I’ve made sure he fills her little belly to the brim with anything she’s asked. Meats, breads, cheeses, sweets… you name it. Little Evangeline has it.”
“Please don’t hurt her.” Tears splashed in her lap. “She’s just a girl. She’s never done anything to hurt anyone, please, you have to–”
