Her jaw clenched.
“Luna? Can you do that?”
Blue eyes met mine but flicked away again before I could read her thoughts. She nodded once.
Pulling out my knife, I sliced through the silk holding her right wrist. She was right-handed. It would be easier for her to untie her other hand this way. Once she was free, I took a step back out of her reach. But I needn’t have worried. All she did was lower her arm with a wince, and then waited.
My eyes raked over her naked form one last time before I hoisted the body over my shoulder and opened the window. I threw him outside, then followed, closing the window behind me and replacing the screen.
Next time I had her naked and alone, there would be no interruptions.
CHAPTER 13
Luna
Three days later
Irubbed my wrist as I sat on the bed, waiting for Gino to come tell me he was ready to go. I didn’t know why I was doing it. There were no marks from the silk hose. Not anymore. My wrists and ankles had only been slightly red the following morning, and by that night, any discoloration had mostly faded. By the next day, there was no physical evidence at all of what had happened.
But the memories were still there.
Even now, I could feel the wet heat of Tristan’s tongue between my legs, just like I was still tied to that bed. I could feel the scruff of his beard and the tickle of his hair on my inner thigh when he tilted his head. The hard, muscular cords of his shoulder and arms holding me in place. I could smell the dark forest scent of him and hear the way he moaned, with surprised pleasure, when he first tasted me.
My pulse picked up, and a delicious throbbing ache began low in my belly that made me want to spread my legs and touch myself. I shifted my weight on the bed, trying to find a position that would give me some relief. I’d been on the precipice of the best orgasm I’d ever had in my life when Gino’s guard had walked into my room that night. And my body’s reaction to what happened had been unexpected and…
Disturbing.
I tried to tell myself it was just the fear and the fact that there was nothing I could’ve done to stop him that had my body strung so tight, and it had just naturally transitioned into lust. That’s all. Some kind of instinctive animalistic reaction.
You could’ve screamed. You could’ve screamed and brought Gino and his guards running.
I pushed the thought away, uncrossing my arms and rising from the bed to pace restlessly around my room. Screaming wouldn’t have done me any good. I had no doubt in my mind that had I done that Tristan would’ve killed them all, instead of just the single guard. He would’ve started a war when Gino’s sons found out. People would’ve been hurt because of me.
And more importantly, I didn’t have access to Gino’s money. I would’ve been left penniless and I’d have to start all over again for me and Logan.
I paused near the window, the near-silent struggles of a man fighting for his life ringing in my ears before I violently shoved the memory away. That sound would haunt me for the remainder of my days, and I was now a witness to a murder for the second time in my life.
What did that mean for me?
There was no way that a man like Tristan would just let me live, knowing I could bring him down at any moment. As had been happening off and on for the last three days, my palms began to sweat, and my chest tightened to the point I felt I could barely breathe. He was going to kill me. That was the only possible outcome of this scenario. I was only surprised that he hadn’t done it already.
I forced myself to calm down and think. Maybe there was a way out of this. Tristan was obviously attracted to me. And maybe I was still alive because he’d been interrupted while taking what he wanted from me, and he still wanted to finish what he’d started. Which meant I’d see him again. Andmaybe, if I could prove to him that I’d keep my mouth shut, he’d let me stay alive a while longer. Long enough to convince him not to kill me at all.
I wouldn’t let myself feel guilty about how, despite everything, that attraction was reciprocated. Because that meant nothing. It was just a physical reaction between my body and his. Nothing more. And if that attraction would help me make things realistic enough that he didn’t kill me, then I would use it, and hope like hell I could keep everything secret long enough to get me out of this mess.
Ignoring my racing pulse, I checked the time. Gino had ordered me to stay here until he came for me. It would be the first time I’d seen him since the day after Tristan had snuck in here. I thought he might ask me about the dead guard, but he hadn’t said a word. And now we were going to a dinner party for one of the other family members. A birthday or anniversary or something. I was wearing a simple black dress this time, with my long hair curled into waves, pinned back on one side, and pulled over the opposite shoulder. My shoes were four-inch heels, and the fur wrap he’d gotten me was lying on the bed. I was even wearing the new perfume he’d left in my bathroom at some point. I only wore it when we were going out, so I wasn’t sure when he’d made the swap, but I had to admit I liked this new scent a lot more than the other one.
My door opened. But it wasn’t Gino who told me to follow him. It was some new guy I hadn’t seen before. About my height, with dark hair and eyes and olive-toned skin, he reminded me a bit of a younger Richard Gere. A replacement, I assumed. “Come with me,” he ordered, not unkindly, then stepped aside and waited for me to precede him.
Grabbing my fur wrap from the bed and my clutch purse from the top of the dresser, I walked past him into the hall and started toward the front door.
“He’s in his office,” the new guy informed me.
I stopped at Gino’s office door and waited while my escort knocked. At Gino’s response to come in, he opened the door for me, stepped aside to let me enter, then closed it behind me, staying out in the hall. Gino was just finishing up a call, so I waited near the door.
As soon as he finished, he stood and buttoned his black jacket. This suit, I noticed, had discreet pinstriping. It reminded me of the old-school mafia guys in the movies. He eyed me with approval as he approached. “I like that dress on you.”
“Thank you,” I told him, trying to hide my nervousness with a smile.
