I chortle, keeping my arm around the headrest of the passenger seat. “You’re a fucking tease, Ms. Alex. You walk around like you’re a goddamn princess among peasants. I can smell the desperation on you, so don’t even try to play pretend.”
“You’re an asshole.”
I wink in her direction. “Thank you.”
“It wasn’t a compliment.”
“Clearly, you want to be controlled and punished. Why else would you set yourself up as bait? I sorely underestimated how much you play innocent. Lev made it sound like you do the mildest of teasing. But no, baby, I can see right through you.” I dare to break my view of the road to meet her gaze. “Sweetheart, you’re a fucking nobody without your precious daddy around. How does it feel to know you don’t have any worth when that fucker is eating worms?”
The look of horror on her face causes me to chuckle.
“Don’t give me that look, sweetheart. You already know how worthless you are.”
“How can you be such a monster? What did I do to you?”
My features lose some hint of humor, growing more serious as I scan the road. “You’ve been a naughty tease, Ms. Alex.” I drop my hand to the gear shift, enjoying the way she squirms in her seat at the prospect of me touching her bare thigh. “We plan on getting our payback—one act for each time you didn’t put out.”
“You’re sick.”
“Far from it. My immune system is impeccable.” I toss a devilish grin in her direction. “And my performance is stellar.”
“I’m not doing anything for you.”
I chuckle. “You’re not doing anything until you know exactly what I like. No teeth, hollow out your cheeks when you suck, and swallow the head so far down your throat that it bulges in that sexy throat of yours. Real easy, Alex. Real easy to please me.” My gaze darkens when I glance at her again. “You better not disappoint me.”
“Talk about worthless.”
My eyebrows shoot into my forehead. “Excuse me?”
“You’re nobody without your parents either, you know.”
I grin as I pull up to the winding black road leading to her mansion. “Ms. Alex has fangs, huh?”
“Shut up, Soren.”
“Nope.”
An amused chortle bubbles from me when I pull up in front of two white columns. After popping the car into park, I hop out and round the vehicle, making sure to hit the appropriate button on the key fob for her door. Her exquisite leg extends from the car, drawing my eye to the way her skirt rides up her thigh.
Fucking tease, I think as I gently take her hand. She did that on purpose.
Knowing I have eyes on me, I take Alex’s bag and sling it over my shoulder, guiding her up the steps to her front door as any gentleman might.
“Soren Pershing!” Ophelia chimes while folding her hands together under her chin. “How kind of you to drive my daughter home after what happened at Thasos.”
I flash my Hollywood star grin and wink at Alex, the flush on Alex’s cheeks just sealing the performance perfectly. When I hand over her bag, I say, “It’s no big deal. See you at school, Alex.”
Easy as fucking pie to win over an adoring mother, especially one as invested in her daughter as Ophelia. It makes breaking Alex down far more achievable—and sweeter, too.
“Yeah, see you at school,” Alex huffs.
When she darts inside, I jog back to my BMW, hop inside, and zip off, rolling the windows down as I make my way to my home.
Villa Pershing is a modern structure, one of a kind in Macedon, made of cement box cubes and glass. Rolling into my usual spot produces a sense of accomplishment. Though the day is hardly over, I feel like I made headway with Alex.
But when I walk inside, all that falls apart.
“You must marry Alex due to the contract.”