Most women would be shocked by my words.
Most women would want to slap my face.
Most women would be offended, pissed off, and snap back.
Most women would be scared at the honesty and the reality I painted of their mortality.
But Lyriope shows me she is not most women.
“I’ll choose the gun,” she purrs as she darts out her tongue and licks my lips in one long and sensual swipe.
She then turns and walks toward the window to look out.
Chapter Three
Lyriope
Fear is toxic.
Fear will destroy.
I will not let it control me.
I chant the words over and over in my head, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other as I struggle to breathe. I need air. I need to run, scream, rage. But I also need to not show the chaos swirling inside of me. I don’t need this man to know just how terrified I am.
I’m aware I pissed off the powerful Sidorov family known for their ruthlessness. My stepfather spoke of all these deals he was waiting on to pay out. And even if they fell through, I thought I’d figure out a way to pay them back myself. I thought I could meet their deadline and their terms. And I know that hiding from them only made it worse.
So yeah, I’m fucked.
I don’t have the money to pay them off.
I’ve missed the deadline.
And I was foolish in believing my stepfather had a way to get the money in time.
Did I know there was a hit on me?
Did I know I was a walking dead woman when I entered this party?
No. Not exactly. I think I’m in denial, or at least I was. It’s all clear now that even Nick Hudson knows who I am and my situation.
It makes sense.
I stare out the window, knowing it’s not going to be the escape I need. I’m sure the house is surrounded by now. I need a moment to figure out what I’m going to do. Being able to take deep breaths without feeling like my heart is going to be strangled will be a good start.
I stare at my reflection in the glass, the flames of the fire lighting up some features and shadowing others. On the outside, I’m still put together. My makeup and hair are still on point, and there is no outer sign of the hurricane of emotions rushing through me.
One of the emotions being lust.
The other being panic.
“Fuuuuuuck,” I whisper on exhale.
Nick Hudson wants to fuck me. He wants me. Me.
He also wants to save my life tonight.
A fuck for my life? Is it as simple as that?
I stare at the reflection of a woman I don’t recognize. Of course he wants the woman in the mirror. On the surface she represents everything that makes a man like him tick. But on the inside… he has no fucking clue who I am.
Protection. He offered me protection for tonight which I clearly need. Who knows what will happen next if I refuse him? Death most likely. Or torture. Or both.
Stupid. Why the fuck would I turn that down? He’s trying to help, and I’m letting my game of “hard to get” get in the way of my safety.
“Fucking beautiful,” I hear behind me, forcing me to turn around to face him again.
The scared little girl in me wants to beg for help. But the rejected woman who has had to fight for everything in her life forces me to still keep up my guard. Ice Queen is better than cowering weakling.
“You like what you see?” I ask, straightening up and taking a step toward him. I won’t allow him to see my distress. Never.
“You know I do.”
“So, what happens now that I turned down your protection?”
“Nothing, because I won’t allow it. You have been claimed by Nick Hudson for tonight. That ship has sailed, my girl, and you are on it. There isn’t a killer in the entire state who would touch you with a ten-foot pole. Not yet at least. Not while you’re with me. Maxim’s out there. He’s pissed, no doubt. But he won’t cross me.”
“The Sidorov family may disagree with just how powerful you think you are.”
He rocks his cane back and forth nonchalantly. It’s jovial and, yet, sinister at the same time. “There are rules in our dark underworld. I’m playing by the rules. I claimed you for a night, and there isn’t anyone who will argue with that. So, rest easy. You’re safe.”
“As long as I suck your dick, right?” I ask, crossing my arms against my chest. I can feel the beating of my heartbeat, the knocking of fear against my chest. “That’s the price for my life tonight?”
“You’d suck my dick by the end of the night regardless,” he says with a smirk. “You and I both know that.”
“You’re an asshole,” I snap.