Feenix Blaylock
Istuff my hands into my front jeans pockets as I glare at the roses on the table at the condominium, the one where we shoot at, which is practically my second home. Some asshole had the audacity to send roses to Charlie, and I have half a mind to throw them away, but I don’t because I shouldn’t have an ounce of possession in my veins.
But I do. And I just might chuck them out the window because of it.
She’s been texting me all day. I knew she was chatty, but by how talkative she was, I could tell she was nervous. She’s too good for this place, too good for this life that’s about to eat her alive, one bone at a time. No – one feather at a time – because that woman has wings. To work here, she’ll have to trade that halo for horns just to survive. I think on some level, she knows this, and it scares her. Hence the texts.
I didn’t have much time to look at the messages and respond the way any normal person would. The day was spent going through recorded video waiting for approval and watching Andre’s men prepare the warehouse for another auction. I need to keep my distance from Charlie anyway. The less she knows about this life, the more I can protect her from it, and the better off she’ll be.
The bell rings to the condo, and I know exactly who it is. I breathe deep as the front door opens and a soft, “Hello,” is called out.
I had told Charlie not to ever knock or ring the bell before she came in case someone was recording, but it seems she’d forgotten.
Heels clack against the floor when I don’t answer her, but when she rounds the corner into the kitchen, she spots me by the dining room table. I lift my gaze to her, taking in her appearance from toe-to-head.
She’s wearing bright red heels, another short black dress that barely covers her thighs, accentuates her wide hips, and pushes her tits up until they’re almost spilling out at the neckline. Resting on them is a necklace with a single red pendant that matches the shoes.
Her hair is gently curled like it was the other night, but she wears minimal makeup. I like that about her. She doesn’t hide who she is; the innocence is probably what called to the viewers on the website. Hell, it calls to me, especially the darker side of me who wants to watch that mascara run down her face as I choke her with my cock.
She sighs, and it’s enough to draw my attention to her eyes. “I forgot that I’m not supposed to knock.”
“You rang the bell,” I gruffly answer.
“Same difference. Anyway, sorry.”
I give a short nod and look back to the offending roses as if they’re truly the ones to blame for Charlie’s mistake.
She closes the distance between us, and in my peripheral vision, I see her expression light up. “Those are pretty.”
And I can’t believe I admit it, but I say, “They’re for you.”
I lift my gaze to hers and watch as shock takes over her face. “For me? Why?”
Clenching my jaw for a second, I answer, “An admirer.”
Her laugh is humorless, and when I don’t laugh with her, she asks, “Already?”
My shrug is small and indifferent, even though inside, a fiery inferno of jealousy blazes.
She blows out a breath and touches a rose. “That’s a nice little perk.”
I grunt in response and have the urge to take the rose from her hand and make the man who gave them to her eat it, thorns and all.
“You don’t seem happy about the flowers.”
No. I don’t seem happy that she thinks it’s a perk when I want to be the only one who gives them.Even though I’m not the kind of guy to give flowers. Maybe, once in my life, I was, but that part of me no longer remains.
I don’t answer her because anything I have to say is only going to give her the wrong idea, and I can’t afford that idea to form in her head.
She lets go of the rose when the silence stretches as she waits for an answer that never comes. “It’s so quiet. Where is everyone?”
“Usually, most come during the day to record.” It’s almost midnight, and everyone cleared out a couple of hours ago.
“But not me?”
“No.”
“Why?” Her head tips to the side, and her hair spills over her shoulder. The movement wafts her natural clove scent to me, and I discreetly inhale.
