Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 65066 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65066 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
“I’m not here to braid your hair and wear bead bracelets or some shit. You and I have a contract.”
“We do,” the king confirms. “But surely we can renegotiate. There must be other needs you wish filled. Desires. And surely we can fill them here, in this pleasure paradise.” He spreads his hands to encompass the whole club, then motions. The blonde I saw earlier slinks by me, heading toward the master vampire. At his invitation, she sits on the arm of the throne, angling her body to best show off her breasts and thighs. Frangelico slides a hand up her supple calf. “Surrounded by such delights, surely you have been tempted.”
I ignore the blonde smiling at me. Creeps me out the way Frangelico handles her like a slab of meat. I guess to him, all humans are food. “You know what I want. You’ve known from the beginning.”
“Ah, yes.” The vampire’s long finger taps the submissive woman’s knee, as if she was a part of the furniture. “Are you any closer to getting what you want?”
“I play the long game.” Frangelico is the best chance I got at getting what I want. If it takes the rest of my life, fuck, so be it.
“So you do play games?” The finger stops tapping.
I sigh. “What the fuck is this about?”
Frangelico releases the blonde and waves her away. “I’m wondering what happens if neither of us get what we want.”
I shrug. “We go our separate ways.” Not like there’s anything keeping me in Tucson.
“And if I don’t want you to go?”
“That would be unfortunate.”
I don’t look the vampire in the eye—I’m not a fucking idiot—but I do level a glare at his chin. I haven’t challenged or threatened the king—yet—but he gets the message and sighs, settling back in the throne. His velvet dressing robe flops off one shoulder, revealing powerful muscles. He may act like a lazy playboy, but he’d be no slouch in a fight. Even if he didn’t have super vampire reflexes and powers.
“So you see why I called you here. I wish to explore alternatives to our arrangement.”
Fuck. “There’s only one thing I want.” And if Frangelico can’t give it to me, I don’t know how I’m going to get it.
“Surely there’s something else you want. Or, perhaps, someone.”
The redhead. The image of her pops into my head before I can squelch it. The sweet freckled face greeting me when I come home, angling up for a kiss.
I force the fantasy away. “No. Nothing. I told you in the beginning. It’s all or nothing.” My course was set long ago.
A woman shrieks. I stiffen, but don’t turn. I don’t like that sounds of people’s pain have become routine. Then the auburn color catches my eye and I whirl.
Benny has the redhead—my redhead—strung up on a rope dangling from the ceiling. He’s painting her back with a heavy flogger, each snap of the leather leaving marks. She’s naked, dancing on tiptoes, twisting away from the blows. The leather strands wrap around her hip and flick her breasts. She screams and I hear fear in the pitch, not the lower notes of pleasure.
Before I know it, I’m across the room and in the vampire’s face. The flogger’s on the floor between us, in two pieces.
Benedict registers surprise before stuffing it down and sneering at me. He turns back to the trembling redhead, and I clamp a hand on his arm.
“No. You don’t get to hurt her.”
“I have permission,” he snarls. I snarl back and he blurs away, ending up across the club. Fucking coward.
I turn back to the redhead only to find another vampire has taken Benny’s place. A tall, patrician-faced vampire who was giving the redhead orders earlier. There’s no sign of his male sub.
“What is the meaning of this?” he barks, looking down his nose at me, even though I’m almost his height. “Benedict had my permission.”
“Show’s over. Cut her down. She’s done.”
“She’s mine, and I’ll say when she’s done.” The vampire takes a step towards a table full of implements and I block him.
“Call off your dog,” he says to the king.
Frangelico raises a brow. You don’t give orders to the king.
“I’m not a dog,” I growl. “I’m a bear.” My grizzly’s about to burst from my skin and brawl in the middle of the club. We’ll see how sturdy the furniture actually is.
“Augustine,” Frangelico drawls with mild disapproval. I tense up. I’ve never seen him before, but I know Augustine is one of Frangelico’s lieutenants. “You know as well as I, I do not give him orders. Which is why I hired him. He’s here to make sure you’re following the rules.” And with that, the vampire king turns away, effectively dismissing us.
Augustine’s lip curves up, showing a fang. “I didn’t break the rules.”
“You loaned your girl out to a vampire who was hurting her.” Beside us, the redhead slowly spins from the rope noose around her wrists. Fuck, is that good for her circulation? Welts mar her skin, as numerous as her freckles. Some of them even show spots of blood. Benny really worked her over.