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“Your tab is already closed. Mr. Valdrich called and paid it.”

I grin. “Of course, he did.”

“Very controlling, that one.” Sera grins over the edge of her glass.

“You have no idea.”

“Thank you for this, even if you won’t dance with me.”

“As I said, trust me. It’s better if I don’t.”

“Why? You have a girlfriend? Oh, right… Cheryl. I forgot.”

How the fuck does she know about Cheryl? My eyes flick to Aria, mindlessly dancing on the wall, drink sloshing in her glass like ocean waves.

Apparently, I haven’t been as discreet as I thought.

“Cheryl is my sub, yes. But she holds no weight over me, nor any authority.” I lean down, teasing her ear again. Her breathing hitches, and I can barely hear it over the music filtering through the club. “I think you know that I am the authority, petit corbeau.”

Sera’s lips slide against my cheek in a bold move that has me stuck in her orbit like a helpless planet. Her lips are so soft… “Why do you keep calling me that?”

I grin. I turn my face into hers at the perfect moment; our lips brush, and she squeaks, but she doesn’t stiffen. She’s had enough alcohol to be perfectly pliant. “Little crow?”

“Yes. It’s not very becoming.”

“Crows are the harbingers of death and darkness, but they also symbolize transformation and rebirth.”

“So, which am I?”

“All the above.”

Aria flounces over, bumping into Sera and ruining the moment between us, but our eyes remain locked. “Come on! It’s almost time to go,” Aria whines. “One more dance!”

Sera downs her drink, appeases her friend, and follows her to the small corner of the VIP area they’ve been using as a dance floor.

I turn back to my drink, watching the ice floating in the whiskey as I contemplate going back to Ironwood with this much drink in my system.

You can’t let your guard down there, and it was ignorant of us both to drink so much. But in Sera’s defense, she doesn’t know.

Not yet.

Pulling out my phone, I shoot Lucien a text.

All well on your end?

It will be. Don’t worry. Have fun.

I am having fun.

Yeah? Then why haven’t you danced with her?

I look around the room, but it’s too dark, and the lights swirling overhead obscure any hidden cameras.

Did you hack the camera feeds?

What if I did?

You’re deranged.