Chapter twenty-four
For the last three nights in a row, I’d laid in bed on top of the covers, staring at the ceiling, surrounded by a cloud of smoke. The weed quieted my mind and relaxed my body, but actual sleep was an illusion.
Anniston was a poison I couldn’t let seep into my bloodstream.
She thought that because I never looked at her that I didn’t notice the way she watched me from my doorway. I didn’t need to see her there. Her sweet scent invaded my space. I felt her eyes on me, heating my skin. If it wasn’t for the sound of my Lincoln’s voice in my ear, my dick would’ve gotten hard from all that eye-fucking she was doing.
As much as I enjoyed seeing the way her body responded to mine, it made me feel vulnerable. I was never vulnerable. Her little knife play had fucked up my door, making it impossible to close all the way and taking away the only barrier between us. So, I went into her room to make sure she was vulnerable too… and got the shock of the century when I caught her lying naked in the bathtub, eyes closed, with her fingers on her clit.
Fuuuuuuck.
I almost groaned.
I almost let her finish.
I should have let her finish.
But the greedy little demon that darkened my soul wanted her all to himself.
I stashed her doors in my office. Then I got dressed and waited downstairs next to the kitchen island, buttoning the cuffs on my tuxedo jacket. I poured myself a drink. Typically, I was a beer guy, but tonight called for bourbon.
Behind me, the elevator doors opened, and Leo walked into the open room. Uninvited.
He looked me up and down. “Oh shit. Tonight’s that thing,” he said as he walked into the kitchen and leaned his butt against the counter. “I forgot.”
I took a sip of my drink. The amber liquid went down smooth. “We talked about it this morning, asshole.”
Leo opened his mouth to answer, then quickly closed it again when Anniston appeared at the top of the stairs. “Holy fuck,” he mumbled under his breath. I practically heard his dick groan from across the room.
I let her choose her own dress to wear and didn’t care when she refused to show it to me. Honestly, at the time, she could have worn a plastic bag and it wouldn’t have made a difference to me.
Now, I wished I hadn’t left her alone to choose.
The black satin fabric clung to every dip and curve of her body. The dress was long, all the way to the floor, with a slit on one side that ran from the hem to her hip. Every time she took a step, it revealed every inch of her lean, toned legs. Thin straps curved over her slender shoulders. Her long dark hair hung down her back in loose curls.
Fuck.
How the fuck could one woman be so fucking beautiful?
Taking her to the gala looking like that was like tossing a steak into a den of lions. These men had no morals, no boundaries, no conscience telling them not to pounce on her the moment they caught her alone.
What the fuck was she thinking?
“Damn, dude. No wonder your balls stay swollen,” Leo interrupted my train of thought. “That shit is lethal.”
“She’s a princess, not a plaything.”
“Who says she can’t be both?”
I glared at him. “Don’t even fucking think about it.”
He pushed off the counter. “Too late. I’ll be thinking about that shit all night long,” he said, making a motion with his fist like he was jacking off.
“Leo…” I warned, but it fell on deaf ears. He was already walking to meet her at the bottom of the stairs.
He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips. Something stirred inside me at the sight of him touching her—a shot of heat inside my chest. “You must be the princess I keep hearing so much about.”
She glanced around him to me as though she couldn’t believe I’d been talking about her.