AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She had to have been aiming, though I didn’t realize until after the cork hits Wes square in the nose and he yelps, cupping his face in his hands. “Oops,” Claire giggles, pressing her red-stained lips together. At the same time, Rhea slams her hand over her own mouth in shock.
“You fucking bi—”
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what he was going to say, but it’s stifled when Dimitri shoves a napkin against Wes’ nose. His yell is deeper this time, and when he shifts, I see the blood that’s dripping steadily over his fingers.
“Oh my,” Claire says, her voice sickly sweet. “I’m so sorry, Wes. Are you okay?”
Elaine’s mouth falls open when she returns with the rest of the glasses. Claire takes them and pours a small measure in each glass, just enough to toast with, and hands them around the table. When she passes the last one to Wes, he drops the napkin, showing that the blood has stopped. He’s obviously attempting to look unbothered.
Claire leans across the table, and for a minute, I want to be where Wes is. I’m sure he has an eyeful as she leans into him and wipes blood from his lip like a concerned friend, smearing it just a little. “That’s perfect, Wes. You’re a natural at this.” She says, so softly that it’s clear the words are only meant for him. Combined with her touch, it looks like some sort of foreplay, an intimacy that has Elaine looking quickly away. “So fucking sexy.”
Her voice is dripping with sex, and for a moment, I’m pissed. Rage laces my spine, making me tense. The words echo in the base of my skull, and my anger grows— until I recognize where I’ve heard them before. When I do, I have to take a sip of my champagne to stifle my laughter. She’s throwing his own words back at him. The context might not be exactly the same, but Claire is making no effort to hide her intentions from him.
She’s fucking brilliant.
“Well,” Rhea chuckles. “I’d say get a room, but you’ll have to wait ‘til after dinner because I promise you don’t want to miss this. Elaine’s been slaving all day over this.”
“Slaving?” Claire blinks innocently. “How sweet of you, Elaine.”
Despite her words, she doesn’t exactly look charmed. Maybe she’s having a hard time differentiating right now between her cutting attitude toward Wes and everyone else. It’s worth whatever casualties we have to endure just to see her put Wes through his paces… hell, it’s worth it to just see her like this. She looks like a new woman.
“It’s my pleasure.” Elaine says, slipping into her seat. “So, what are we toasting?”
For the first time since she came downstairs, Claire turns to me. Just her attention on me is enough to send a static shock through me. It’s primal. Raw. I want her—now more than ever. It’s all I can do to not throw her on the table in front of all of them and take whatever she’ll let me have.
The absurdity of that idea washes away with the smile on Claire’s lips. She lifts her glass first to me, before turning to Elaine, quickly glancing at Rhea before swiveling on Wes.
His face is sour as he raises his glass, his jaw set in anger. “To good health.” Claire says, smiling wide enough that she flashes her brilliant white smile. “And good fortune.”
It’s a simple toast, but it’s full of implication for those who are aware enough to hear it. She may be acting right now, but if she is, she’s putting on a show worthy of the academy awards. Claire won’t let Wes think he broke her.
Honestly, I’m not sure he did.
Chapter sixteen
Claire
I stick to the bottle of prosecco that I opened on my own as Elaine pours everyone glasses of wine, and I make it a point not to touch the water pitcher she places in the center of the table either. I will hydrate after dinner, when everyone is gone, and I can be sure that I’m not having something slipped into my drink. As for the food, I only take a small amount of each thing, looking all around to take note of whether Remy and Elaine are eating, what’s on their plates. Not even a small part of me thinks that either of them would poison Rhea, so when she samples everything and then reaches for seconds, I feel a small measure of relief. But I couldn’t eat a lot even if I wanted to. I’m full of fire, purpose, anger.
It's well contained. Like a pot that’s bubbled over and been reduced to a simmer, my nervous energy is just rippling the surface, enough to keep me alive but not enough to show on my face. I hate Wes for what he did to me, what he was going to do, how stupid he made me feel.
I just refuse to let it show.
“So,” Rhea says, leaning across the table toward Wes. She’s a few glasses of wine deep, and the red that she spilled across the tabletop five minutes ago is also spilling across her cheeks. It’s weird… with her complexion, I don’t notice her blush very often. In fact, I’m not sure she ever has blushed in front of me, given that nothing seems to embarrass her.
I notice I’ve been watching her a second too long when I glance up and my gaze collides with Remy’s, sending a shockwave through me. I suppress the shudder that wants to lace my spine, sinking my teeth into my lip to distract from the other things he inspires with a single look.
“How long are you here for?”
I’d like to know the answer to that as well. I’d like to know what Remy is planning to do with the waste of air sitting across the table from me, his lips quirked in an insufferable smirk as his bright eyes glance over me. “Indefinitely.” He says.
It’s not much of an answer, but it’s enough for Rhea. “Perfect!" She claps her hands together like that’s just settled something, startling Dimitri, who looks up from his plate to see what the commotion is. I see his arm move, his hand drifting to his waist, and though it’s obscured by the table, I can tell he’s reaching for a gun just in case he needs to be ready.
It seems ridiculous to have a man who’s easily startled be in charge of anything such as ensuring Wes doesn’t escape, but I don’t know anything about Dimitri. For all I know, he’s just nervous to be promoted given Jovich’s death. For all I know, he was working with Jovich and he’s trying to finish what his mentor started. Maybe he’s the one who’s been poisoning me… he clearly clings to the shadows like he’s made of them. It probably wouldn’t be too difficult for him to slip past Elaine and sprinkle a bit of arsenic in my water.
Except, I wasn’t poisoned with arsenic. It was methanol. Formaldehyde. Someone tried to embalm me alive.
I almost laugh at the absurdity that is my life.
