Run.Run.Run!
Yet his promise to honor a contract kept his feet firm, and he stated his business in a steady voice.“Leo Mitchell to see Iseult Orna.”
The gates bearing the crest of a spider parted and slid back with nary a sound to allow him entrance to Spiderus Mansion.Leo strode up the driveway, past the gardens, to where a petite woman waited for him.A brown mouse with brown hair, brown eyes and a secretive nature.She looked as if she wasn’t capable of spitting at a fly, let alone hurting one.
He knew better.
A snarl rumbled up his throat, and if he could’ve shot flames with his eyes, she’d be burning in hell.
Betrys Torin.
She was the traitorous bitch who’d lured him into this trap with her timid yet persuasive ways.His hands clenched at his sides.Weird, but she was also the sexy siren whom he’d fucked in his dreams.Confusion about the way his brain fired lately was an understatement.He loathed Betrys for getting him into this situation with Iseult Orna, yet during his dreams last night, he and Betrys had rolled around together naked, did decadent things to each other…
He shook himself, squared his shoulders and took a deep breath as if preparing for battle.In a sense, this was war.
Sure, Iseult Orna was beautiful, but her heart was as black as her hair and her sexual predilections were far from normal.
He’d been cocky during their first meeting, a little arrogant, but Iseult had soon slapped the swagger out of him.Shocked, traumatized after their first fucking, he’d tried to backtrack and renege on the deal.
Iseult, backed up by her muscle men, had disabused him of the notion, so he’d turned up for the second fucking and healthy payment.A fine tremor went through Leo, even though he struggled to maintain an impassive façade.The second encounter with Iseult had been even worse.
This third and final session might just kill him.
Chapter Two
Awhooshofreliefswelled in Betrys Torin’s chest, along with a serving of embarrassment.Her dream last night…
She shook herself and forced her mind to the important topic of the day.Leo was here.After the second meeting with Iseult, she’d had to help him don his clothes and stagger from the mansion.Part of her had wondered if he’d refuse to attend to Iseult’s needs for the third and final contracted session.It had happened before, and she, along with several of Iseult’s guards, had enforced the contract.No matter which way the third time went, the man would die.
She registered Leo’s wariness, the clench of his fists and the jerky steps, as if he had to force himself to enter the grounds of Spiderus Mansion.She felt her heart twist.
“Good, you’re here and on schedule.”Betrys shrugged away her sympathy, her sorrow at losing her dreamscape lover, and hardened her resolve.
It didn’t matter what she wanted.
At least dying in Iseult’s bed was the lesser of two terrible alternatives.Iseult’s guards would tear him limb from limb and gnaw on his bones.Goddess Juna, even thinking about it made her stomach bubble with nausea.
“You warned me what would happen if I reneged on my contract,” he said, his voice toneless, while his dull green gaze accused.“I need the currency.”
But he wouldn’t receive any shillars for his last session.The currency would go to his family because he was dying, although he appeared stronger than the others.He’d walked into the mansion grounds under his own steam.Iseult would be pleased.
He removed his hat, and she gaped at him for long seconds.
“What did you do with your hair?”
“It kept getting knots in it.It was annoying in the heat of Ione so I shaved it off.”
Iseult would hate the small mutiny.She favored her men strong, powerful and sexy.The prettier the better.Like Leo.“Iseult is preparing for you.”
His features went to hard rock.“Do you enjoy your job?”
Betrys ignored his question, tried to discount the sense of him standing so close.She thought about the beautiful man way more than she should.And the dreamscape opening between them…
“We shouldn’t keep Iseult waiting.It makes her angry.”She turned to walk away.
He grasped her shoulder, and a shudder sped from her head to toes.Thankfully, his hand dropped away almost immediately.Why this one, she couldn’t guess, but the pride in him, the way he straightened his shoulders even though he knew what awaited made her admire and desire him.
Leo—she’d started thinking of him as Leo after last night on the dreamscape—moved closer and sniffed her neck.
