Page 45 of Beguiled

“Wait!” she snapped, her nose wrinkling as soon as she made the exclamation. “Do you really need to go inside yourself? You already told me your goons are thorough.”

Now I was eager to see what was being kept in Pandora’s Box. “A rule of thumb, mychastnaya tantsovshchitsa, check and recheck.” I was halfway in the door when her hand was placed on my arm, surprising as fuck, every muscle tensing.

“What did you call me?” Immediately, she pulled her arm away, curling her fingers, but as I’d seen before, the look in her eyes was not only stunning but let slip her dark cravings.

“My private dancer, because as of now, that’s all the dancing you’ll be doing.”

I moved inside her apartment, immediately absorbing the atmosphere. Upon an initial scan of her surroundings, I could more easily read her like one of the classics she had on her bookshelf. She was a homebody, preferring time curled up on her couch under her cozy throw blanket. With artistic yet plushpillows on both ends of her couch, I had a feeling she spent a good portion of her off time right here.

What also struck me was that while her furniture was either purchased at IKEA or perhaps snagged from Goodwill, she’d artfully decorated everything. There was no light needed other than the shimmer provided by the moon through the blinds to gather a sense of her.

A noise caught my attention and I swung around, the weapon in both hands.

The next sound was a hiss coming from ankle level. Very slowly, I peered down, snorting as soon as I did. “Hello, kitty.”

“If you touch my cat, I will hurt you,” she called from the hallway, which prompted the huge feline to meow incessantly.

When the cat raced by me toward the door, I almost tripped. There was a reason I didn’t like pets. With a sigh, I secured my weapon.

I moved through the few rooms quickly, turning on the light in her bedroom, spare room, and bathroom, even checking the closets. There was nothing amiss.

Still, I had an instinctual gift regarding attacks. Even if she hadn’t been the subject of the invasion, if her true identity was discovered, she could be labeled as collateral damage that wouldn’t be allowed to survive. What she had going for her was that no one knew who she was.

Sean protected the girls who worked for him, one additional reason I’d agreed to fighting at the club. Anything else and I would have buried the man myself.

For right now, the lovely Saige was safe.

Just before I turned off the light in her bedroom, I noticed what was perhaps the reason she’d been so nervous about my invasion of her privacy. It was impossible not to smile as I walked to the corner of her bed. With a single finger, I twirled it around the stiff metal of the pink fuzzy handcuffs artfully placed on the post of her headboard.

The sight stirred something within me that should be controlled, a darkening desire to defile someone who didn’t deserve to endure my burning passion.

I fingered the cuffs, drinking in the same perfume she wore that lightly blanketed the most intimate parts of her life. The fact they were left dangling in plain sight was an invitation in my mind. Dropping my hand, I ran my fingertips across her nightstand, taking in everything around me.

The erotic romance mere inches from her bed, which had been left partially made, as if she had been eager to crawl under the covers, returning to her fantasy. I opened the nightstand drawer to find a treasure trove of scandalous items.

In response, my cock twitched. I’d be damned. No wonder the frisky feline had allowed the night on the terrace to occur. She’d hungered for a dangerous tryst.

A flogger in purple was positioned next to an incredible array of vibrators in various shapes, sizes, and colors. There was even a selection of anal plugs, some with smaller vibrators as well. My naughty private dancer had a pristine collection of sex toys. I selected the first battery-operated dildo that captured my attention. Also purple in color, as I held it into the light, my finger managed to find the on switch.

To high.

One of a half dozen I longed to sample, every one of them on her voluptuous body.

A sudden presence behind me caused my usual trained reaction. Without thinking, I spun around and pulled my weapon once again.

CHAPTER 11

Saige

Horror tore through me, leaving my body swaying and my mind clutching at words that refused to be spoken.

Not from having a gun pointed in my face, although I twisted my body instinctively to protect my little kitty. From the fact my nightstand drawer was open and his hand was wrapped around my favorite vibrator, the one I often used in the shower just to make the day go by more quickly.

The whirring sound was horrible enough without the smug look quickly drawing attention to his chiseled features. I couldn’t help but hold the stare, caught in a moment of utter fascination and intense repulsion. Heat swiftly rose from the very depth of my being, dappling the skin on my neck before consuming my face.

No words were said, just time ticking by as my embarrassment continued to grow.

The man was maddening. Infuriating.