“Roman will take you home and will retrieve you for work tomorrow at six sharp. I hope you don’t mind the earlier hour. I forgot to mention as my assistant the hours are longer than you are used to. When you arrive, come straight to my office. We have a lot to discuss. So you won’t be caught off guard this time, all the men will be there.”
He blatantly overrode her desire to leave, thankfully. Otherwise backtracking over her emotional outburst would have been uncomfortable. “Tonight was a one-off. What happened tonight won’t happen again. That I promise.” As soon as the words left her mouth she knew she had just cursed herself. This most definitely would not be the last time she felt his lips on her, his fingers caressing her so deeply.
Rhia felt lightheaded. Hopefully, the dim lighting hid the wash of red burning her face.
She had no right to feel ashamed. He, nor the others, hadn’t done anything she didn’t want, but at the same time hadn’t it been him who lured her into his private box? No way in hell he hadn’t planned tonight.
He drew closer and lowered his voice. Placing his lips against her ear he whispered, “Why are you upset, kroshka? What can I do to make it better?”
Take her to bed. Give her the night of her life?
Rhia stared at her trembling fingers. “It’s fine. I’m fine, Sevastyan. I’m just tired.”
His question yanked the anger from her sails, and she felt utterly deflated. He made a very good point. She wasn’t mad at him, the anger sat within her and at herself.
She waved a hand. “Honestly,” she said in a distant voice. “Just never mind.”
The doors of the elevator opened behind her. “Come. I’m tired of everyone’s attention on you.”
Sevastyan gently took her arm and led her inside. Alone, she chanced a look his way, not knowing which version she would be getting—her hard-ass boss or the mysterious man she couldn’t figure out and could kiss the sense out of her.
From beneath lowered lashes, she felt his gaze roam over her curves, leaving behind a blazing trail of desire. From the way he stood, shoulders pinned back and a mask of indifference on his face, he was apparently unaware of the effect he had on her.
“You make me want to commit murder.”
“What?” She was robbed of any other words.
“Not a man in this place hasn’t mentally undressed you tonight. Every one of them wishing they could be the ones to break you, teach you how to pleasure them, mark you before someone else can sink their teeth into you. Women too. Breaking you to their will would be looked on as a sport. Especially the fucking DOMS with years of experience. They’re bored. Always looking for their next doll to toy with.” He didn’t look at her as he spoke, but she saw the disgust in his expression at the mention of the other men in the club.
Rhia’s mouth dropped open. “And what about the dark kings? Do you like to break your lovers, too?” She pushed on before he could answer. “Do you want to break me, Sevastyan?”
Silence greeted her question for several heartbeats. It was the only manner she had to measure the time it took for him to stop staring at her in complete horror. And for the briefest of seconds, Rhia entertained the idea of breaking her word and kissing away the pain she saw in his eyes.
For a span of time, she could sense it was not her he saw.
She shook her head because this conversation had gone into territory that wasn’t even on the map of her mind. What did it mean to be broken as Sevastyan put it? None of it made sense. But one thing was for sure. No one would break her.
He turned until he had her pinned to the back of the elevator. Every inch of his massive body holding her in place. “You don’t know how beautiful you are, do you? How seductive you look in this just walking across the room? You have every fucking dick in the place hard. I’ve watched you for weeks now as you served Haven’s guests. We all have. You haven’t seen our dark sides. The reason why people fear us. And you’re better for it. Don’t fucking push me to do what my demons demand, little birdie.”
The longer he spoke the richer his accent became.
He trailed off for a moment, his eyes touching every inch of her body. “Your beauty makes you stand out and your innocence paints a bulls-eye on your back. And the dangerous part is that you have no idea.”
“What are you talking about? How do you even know that? I’m no different from all the other women on the floor tonight and any other night.”
He looked studded by her words. “Fuck me.”
Sevastyan tore away from her and shoved his hands through his hair before he came back to stand in front of her like a raging man ready to fuck something up, nostrils flaring. His expression went from flatline unreadable to pissed in the span of a second.
“How do I know? Because it’s what I want. You’re a virgin in so many ways and you don’t see it. So inexperienced.”
She gasped.
“The truth is also in the way your eyes linger a little too long, and the beautiful blush along your cheeks when someone makes eye contact with you while they are balls deep in another woman.” He paused before expounding further. “Let me make one correction to what I said earlier, kroshka, and believe this. The men in here, they don’t want to break you.” He shook his head. “These men stare at you and fear if they ever let you in that you’ll be the one breaking them.”
She has a feeling by men he meant him and the other kings. But she wisely kept her mouth closed and listened.
He stroked the back of his fingers along her jawline and traced the pad of his finger over the bottom lip. He moved to collar her throat with his hand and gave a gentle squeeze. “You’re too beautiful. Too precious,” he muttered to himself with the conviction of a saint, but she caught every last syllable.