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Montgomery was a breed of a different kind and that was the point—he’d been bred to be this way. This was a small group of people whose bloodlines had been fostered, and in their flawed minds perfected, over generations with traditions and rituals that were almost as sacred as church. Maybe even more so, because their power and money made them gods in this kingdom on earth.
So yes, it was best if I didn’t mix too much with Montgomery’s kind. The aura of distant politeness we’d created over the past seven days suited me juuuuuuuuust fine.
Except for one tiny problem.
Every so often, I’d catch Montgomery’s head not bent over his work. Every so often, I’d catch him looking at me.
And okay, maybe sometimes, just sometimes… when I caught him looking? He was catching me back, because I was already looking at him.
Gah! Everything would be perfect if it weren’t for that damned buzz of electricity between us.
He might not be in the bed with me, but sometimes I still couldn’t sleep for knowing his hot, masculine body was only feet away from.
No matter how loud the crickets were outside, I could always hear his breathing. The way it settled out when he finally fell asleep. He didn’t snore like some of my boyfriends had in the past. It was more of a regular, loud-but-still-soothing exhale, like every ten seconds he was finally releasing tension he’d been carrying around with him all during the daytime with each heavy expulsion of breath.
Sometimes I wondered if he’d breathe easier if I were sleeping next to him. I wondered if he’d ever had anybody totally on his side, one hundred percent with no conflicts of interest. It seemed like a pretty convoluted, cutthroat world he lived in. Was there anyone he could actually trust?
And then I reminded myself it was none of my business.
I’d part ways with this gorgeous man who carried the world on his shoulders and a wicked dominant streak in his eyes when he got the hankering, and I wouldn’t look back. There were a thousand reasons why I couldn’t afford to.
I was just reaffirming this decision when another invitation came with our lunch. Ginger-apple chicken salad on a crisp bed of greens… and an invitation accompanied by another box.
My stomach flipped when I saw how small the box was. It wasn’t much bigger than last week’s, and surely it wasn’t big enough to contain much actual clothing.
“Thank you, Mrs. H,” Montgomery said to Mrs. Hawthorne. She beamed at him and then headed back out the door, closing it behind her.
I looked up at Montgomery for a second and got startled when our eyes met. Especially when the smirk I hadn’t seen all week suddenly came back, tipping up one side of his mouth.
“Ready to be outraged?” he teased.
I should’ve been mad, but seeing this completely different side of Montgomery all of a sudden had me feeling ridiculous. I swiped the box out of his hands and opened it.
“I don’t get it,” I said, looking down at the three differently colored collars in the white box. They were all made of leather. One was black, one was red, and one was white. I hadn’t expected clothes, though I had maybe hoped for at least some underwear. But I didn’t know what to make of this. Was I supposed to wear all three, on like, different parts of my body, or what?
I looked up at Montgomery and tipped the box in his direction to show him.
I expected some smartass remark, but instead I watched him swallow hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
“What? What does it mean?”
Montgomery looked startled by my question and his eyes met mine. He cleared his throat.
He took out the black collar and motioned for me to turn around so he could put it on. I did and tried not to tremble at the feel of his cool fingers against my warm neck.
“Well, the invitation for tonight is sort of a free-for-all.”
I tried to turn so I could look him in the face, but his fingers put pressure on my neck, and he ordered, “Stay still,” in a soft voice that immediately had me freezing in place.
He continued to talk while slipping the leather through the clasp and making sure it wasn’t too tight around my throat before fastening it.
“Many men tonight will have a female companion, and each of them will be given the choice of what color collar to give their woman. Black means she belongs to her gentleman alone and may not be shared. White means she belongs to everyone at the party and can be used by anyone who wants her.”
I couldn’t help my gasp at the revelation of that knowledge. My voice got tight as I asked, “And the red?”
I was still looking ahead, Montgomery’s fingers still on the back of my neck even though he’d finished clasping my collar—my black collar.
