Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 130048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
A shiver ran down my spine.
For a cop, he sure knew how to speak like a psychopath.
“Fine.” Victor sniffed. “You paid for her so take her however you wish.”
Henri tipped his head. “I appreciate—”
“However. Just to ease matters along. Allow me to help you. Diana?” Victor barked, looking into the shadows where a few waitstaff flitted about, ready to serve. “Bring a decanter of whatever alcohol Henri is drinking.”
“Yes, sir.” She curtsied and dashed away, returning a few moments later with a crystal bottle with a stopper. After placing it carefully next to Victor on the table, she faded into the background.
Victor splashed a very healthy amount into a glass and shoved it toward Henri. “Drink.”
Henri frowned. “I’m not thirsty.”
“Drink anyway.”
Holding Victor’s stare, Henri curled his hand around the glass. “I’ve already had one. That’s my limit. I make it a point to never get drunk. Not after last time.”
“You shot drink after drink back at the club when I told you to strap Ily to the table.”
“That was… extenuating circumstances.”
“But why deny yourself indulgences? Do you say things you’re not meant to if your tongue is oiled with booze?” Victor kept a very careful eye on him.
Tread carefully, Henri.
Please…
“No.” Henri raised the tumbler and sipped the amber alcohol. “I tend to do things that break the law if I’m smashed. That’s what got me into this mess.”
“Mess?” Victor’s tone turned chilly.
“Forgive me.” Bowing his head politely, Henri forced a smile. “I only meant, I might’ve been able to keep fooling myself if I hadn’t gotten drunk and did what I did. I might not have awoken such needs.”
“Yes, these needs you keep talking about.” Victor narrowed his blue eyes. “I’m yet to see them come out to play.”
“You saw me fuck her against the pole.”
“You did, and you paid a small fortune for the right to do it again. So…do it.” Planting his palms on the table, he leaned forward. “I see you, Henri. You think you do a good job of hiding, but you don’t. You’re stalling. Yes, you might have enjoyed fingering your jewel, but you’d enjoy fucking her a lot more. Especially if she fights you.”
Henri sucked in a breath.
I dropped my eyes, not wanting to witness the truth of his struggle.
“I see the blackness in you,” Victor murmured. “I see it swallowing you whole. It’s who you truly are, yet you keep fighting. You’ve been fighting all day, and I must admit, you are beginning to test my patience.”
Buffing his fingernails on his shirt sleeve, Victor shrugged. “You keep asking for membership. You keep saying you’ve found freedom here, but all I see is a man still trapped in a cage of his own making.” Pointing at the glass, he ordered, “Drink. Let loose. Fuck her as your main course. In fact…” A huge grin spread his lips. Spinning on the spot, he clapped his hands. “Treasured guests, who would like to watch another show tonight?”
A round of applause scattered, along with a few shouted, “I’m keen!”
“Hell yes!”
“The more the merrier!”
Turning back to Henri, he smiled like the devil. “It’s settled. Get on stage, mon ami, and take your jewel with you. It seems you’ve gotten her sufficiently wet, so take her as hard as you can. I want to see you start giving in to these needs of yours, understand?”
Standing, Henri thumped his fists onto the table. “I’m not a fucking pawn you can order about, Victor. I’ll screw her in my own goddamn time. I paid for her. My money is now yours. You saw me fuck her this afternoon, and I’m pretty sure I bought the right to do whatever the hell I want to her in the privacy of my own room tonight.”
Oh no.
My heart raced.
My skin prickled.
Henri shifted on the spot as if trying to figure out how to smooth out the mess he’d just made.
However, Victor beat him to it with a calm, cultured sniff. “You’re not the first to get tetchy with me, Ward, and you won’t be the last. You think you’re pissed at me for rushing you, but really, you’re mad at yourself for wanting things you still don’t think you can have.”
Locking eyes with Henri, he smiled. “I’m here to tell you, you can have them. You can have all of them—every sick and sadistic little fantasy is yours for the taking. Do you want to know why I’m determined to make you snap? It’s because I want to see the truth you keep denying. I want to see who you truly are.” Leaning over the table, he patted Henri’s cheek like a condescending asshole. “How else am I going to know, once and for all, if you deserve to be a lifetime member of my little club, hmm?”
Dropping his hand before Henri could slap him away, he pulled out a black device. Before I could tense or brace, he aimed it at me and pressed the button.