Chapter Seven
Aftertwohoursof playing, the dealer announced it was time for a short interval. The sound of scraping chairs and men’s laughter filled the room, and I made my way to the bar, joining Alex’s side. I bugged my eyes out at him, making a face, and pursed my lips, letting a flurry of air slip through my mouth.
“Who knew our dear William kept such beautiful company. Tell me, what is it you do, my dear?” Wesley sidled up to me, his eyes dropping to my chest again. I moved closer to the bar and propped my chin on my hand, blocking the view of my boobs as I tilted my head.
“I’m a mattress tester,” I replied, with the straightest face I could muster. Alex almost spat his drink across the bar as he peered over my shoulder.
“A what?” he asked after managing to compose himself.
“Mattresses need to undergo rigorous testing to ensure spring load and flexibility,” I replied smoothly. “You don’t expect the company to pay people to have sex on their product, do you? No, they employ people like me who have to spend three to five minutes of consistent jumping to test their manufacturing.”
“And what qualifications does one need to become a mattress tester?” Alex goaded, as Wesley’s eyes ran the length of my body.
“You have to pass a physical test to ensure you are fit enough and have enough stamina to not get tired after thirty seconds of getting in bed,” I answered before biting my lip, “but from the look of you, I’d guess you couldn’t last longer than, hmm, say twenty-five seconds?”
I cocked a brow as Alex opened, closed, and reopened his mouth before keeping it closed, thinking better of whatever retort he was about to say. I fought my laugh just as I felt the hard press of Wesley’s body against mine.
“A stunning woman such as yourself, I’m sure I could think of something you could jump on for longer than five minutes,” Wesley muttered close to my ear, and the smell of stale cigars and cheap whisky filled my nostrils. I bit the inside of my cheek, forcing myself not to gag and to keep breathing through my nose. I turned my body to face his, giving him a sultry look with my green eyes.
“I’m sure you could,” I purred, holding eye contact for a beat before looking away. Wesley Reynolds’ eyes flared with arousal, and he licked his lips. As if taking my comment for some sort of permission, he leant forward with his lips pursed. I grabbed the almost empty glass from Alex’s hand and brought it to my mouth as Wesley’s wet kiss landed on my cheek.
No kissing targets – regardless of how vulgar they may be.
I chuckled as I put down the glass and patted my lips with my fingers. He watched for a second, then reached out his hand to capture mine, lifting it to admire a platinum serpent wrapped around my middle finger. Two red diamonds set for eyes sparkled in the strip lights as the head of the snake hung off the knuckle of my bent finger.
“This is a beauty,” he said. “I have a thing for collecting the most beautiful and most deadly creatures ever to grace God’s planet. I would so very much like to add you to my little collection. A gorgeous young thing like yourself would fit perfectly.” He circled my wrist with his fingers. “So delicate and slender, an ounce of pressure too much, and it would surely snap.” Clicking his fingers together, he spoke to himself, tightening his grip and muttering incoherently some more, as he seemed to forget I was attached to the wrist he held.
Alex slid an arm around my shoulders, tapping a fresh tumbler filled with amber liquid against my chest. The cold glass made my skin pebble, and I reached up, taking it from his hand and wiping the moisture away before it could slide to my tits. Now that his hand had emptied, he started grazing his knuckles along my arm, tickling up and down as Wesley’s face morphed into a dark look of competition, replacing all previous states of arousal. Alex excused us and pulled me away from the bar.
“What are you doing, Alex?” I asked in a hushed voice when we stopped at the other side of the room. I busied myself by fixing his tie, trying to mask the irritation threatening to cross my face.
“I can’t stand that guy leering all over you, Natalia,” he snarled, glaring back at the bar. “That sick bastard keeps women as prisoners, keeps them drugged up and uses them for sex until he’s done with them.”
“I know. I read your report, Alex, and this is why you’re never good in the field. Calm the fuck down, or you’ll draw suspicion.”
“It’s the stuff I didn’t add in the report that would haunt you,” he said with a shudder.
“Seems the deputy district attorney is fairly taken with our girl,” Will approached from behind and wrapped a hand around my waist, almost possessively, drawing me away from Alex. My body stiffened as I tried to remove his hand from me, but his hold only tightened. “Wouldn’t you agree, little brother?”
Alex’s glare deepened, and he nodded tightly. “She doesn’t need to get any closer than she already is, Will. I say, she just does it now and gets it over with,” he snarled, stepping forward to get in his face. I pushed out of Will’s grip and faced the two brothers, moving closer into our little triangle with a strained smile on my lips.
“It will work perfectly if you two back the fuck off and let me do my job. There’s a reason you asked for me here tonight, Will, and if it was to just micromanage, you should have done this yourself. So let me do my thing. And you…” I paused and shifted my gaze to Alex, prodding him hard in the chest. “I’m utterly fine to take care of myself, so stop feeling me up whenever Wesley gets close. It’s giving me the no feeling.”
His jaw ticked like he was about to argue, but I raised an eyebrow at my best friend, shutting down his protests. He sighed, cracking his knuckles. “Okay, okay, I’ll rein it in.”
I loved Alex, but he badly lacked the self-restraint required for this. Especially when his older brother was involved. He reverted to his twenty-one-year-old self, acting like a goddamn fool.
“Distract yourself, Alex. Start thinking about what you’re going to do about Jacob Weston.” I for sure knew I could distract myself by thinking about all the things I wanted to do with him anyway.
Alex huffed and nodded, knowing making plans settled his chaotic mind. I took a deep breath and looked at the brothers. “Now, if you both would excuse me, it looks like the dealer is ready to resume the game.”
I pushed past the men, tapping them both on the lapels of their suit jackets as I made my way to the table. My knee brushed purposefully against Wesley’s thigh as I took my seat, and I ran my hand down his arm.
“You have captured the eyes of not one but both Jones’ brothers tonight,” Wesley wheezed, unbuttoning his jacket to let his bloated belly free, clearly assuming the gold band around his marriage finger meant as little to Will as it did to him. I waved a hand through the air, dismissing the idea, and shook my head.
“They’re not the ones I am interested in this evening, Mr. Reynolds,” I whispered, dragging my eyes up his thickset legs, bulging stomach, and neck rolls that were too glistening with sweat. He groaned and rearranged himself in his chair, and I turned my attention to the dealer, internally applauding my gag reflex and the ability to keep the grimace off my face.
The second half of the poker game was more exciting than the first, with big losses and even bigger wins. I was completely immersed in it, regardless of the number of times I had to fold following my fluke of a win before. The game was addictive, and I could see how people get obsessed with it.
Wesley lifted his glass of cheap vodka to his mouth, nearly missing it completely as the alcohol dribbled down his chin, staining the front of his shirt. He looked down, wiping at the wet patch and clearing the mess from his face with the back of his hand. Then he placed the hand on top of the obscenely large mountain of chips piled in front of him, plucking one between his thumb and forefinger.
“For my lucky charm,” he slurred, his knuckles grazing the swell of my breast as he pushed a single green chip down the front of my dress, the white shaped diamond etched on the outside visibly peeking out from the black fabric of the sweetheart neckline. Goosebumps rose on my skin as bile mixed with the little champagne in my stomach. Wesley’s eyes widened, his pupils dilating as he mistook repulsion for desire and dropped his lips to my shoulder, groaning as he peppered my skin with sloppy open-mouthed kisses.
“So soft,” he moaned against my arm, and Alex’s agitation became more evident with each touch of Wesley’s lips against my body. His knee bounced restlessly, and his concentration on his cards lapsed as his attention was firmly fixed on the drunk deputy D.A. beside me.
“I think you’ll have to accompany me to every game,” Wesley murmured, sitting up to trail a finger down my forearm. He dropped his hand under the table, his fingertips landing close to the inside of my thigh, and began toying with the hem on the slit that spilt up the dress, slowly dragging it to reveal my skin.
Alex stood, his chair clattering to the ground. “I need another drink,” he growled, his jaw clenched as his dark eyes bore into Wesley’s stroking hand. He turned to glare at Will, who was a picture of indifference at the unfolding scene, relaxing against the back of his chair, fingers steepled in front of his lips, watching and observing as usual. Alex let out a huff, anger pulsing off him in waves as he made his way to the bar.
Wesley’s hand greedily held my leg, his grip kneading into my muscle as his lips curved into a smirk at Alex’s retreating form.
I looked at the silver serpent tightly coiled around my finger. It was a truly beautiful custom-made piece of jewellery designed especially for my new friend, Wesley Reynolds. I turned it around, so the head and tail were resting against the inside of my hand and gently twisted both ends to angle away from its silvery body. Sharp points protruded out the tip of the tail, and where I assumed the nose of a snake would be, replicating an accurate distance between two fangs at this new arrangement.
I placed my cards on the table, folding from the current game, and listened as Alex’s steps grew louder as he stormed back to the table. “Please excuse me, gentlemen, I need to use the ladies’ room,” I said, quickly getting to my feet and knocking into Alex upon his return. I stumbled, losing my balance, and toppled into the side of Wesley. His eager hands reached for my waist, his shirt sleeves riding up and baring his radial artery.
I stuck my hand out and roughly slapped it onto his skin, the sharp needles piercing deep enough to allow the venom encased in the body of the ring to fill his vessel as I wrapped my fingers tight around his wrist.
“Thank you. I think I may have had a bit too much to drink, please accept my apology,” I said sweetly, running my thumb across the tiny puncture wounds, then released his wrist to put my hands behind my back and twist the ends of the ring back into place.
“My pleasure,” he mewled, as he absentmindedly rubbed a hand over his wrist and stood up. “I was thinking I’d had about enough myself and should call it a night. William, thank you for all your money tonight. Same time next week?”
Wesley’s hand reattached itself to my hip, pulling me into his side. Will nodded tightly, his eyes dropping to where Wesley held me. He rose to stand, joining Alex, who had never sat back down, his inked hands balled into fists at his sides and his jaw stiff as he watched Wesley pull me in closer.
“Wesley, I think you should let Natalia go,” Will said in warning. Wesley chucked low, his eyes flashing with excitement at the prospect of danger. He nuzzled his nose against my neck, inhaling in deep.
“Your guard dogs aren’t happy with me tonight, Natalia,” he muttered, sticking his tongue out to lick a line up the column of my neck, his alcohol mixed breath washing over me. “Down, boys!” he bellowed in a laugh, vibrating as he said it. I glanced at Will, my eyes wide, urging him to relax. He had to trust me to handle this before the venom took full effect. Wesley moved his hand down the dress’s sheer skirt, palming my ass.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Reynolds, I think they’re more pissed the better man wiped them off the table,” I placated, turning to fasten his jacket buttons and directing him towards the exit. Will already had his hand on the handle, moving to the door at some point between Wesley giving my ass a tight squeeze and me fighting the urge to vomit on his shiny leather shoes.
The bouncer glared at me from the hallway, still holding his broken hand to his chest, eyeing me up like he was planning my death for embarrassing him in front of his boss. Unfortunately for him, what he would think up wouldn’t be anywhere near as creative as I could imagine for him.
“Ensure Mr. Reynolds gets to his car, Oscar,” Will instructed the bouncer, giving Wesley one last clap on the shoulder. He gave a sharp nod for the card dealer and bartender to leave too, closing the door firmly behind them.