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“Excuse me.Knowingher?!” Finn slides his empty glass toward Madds, who regards me from under his eyebrows.
He is the only one that knows exactly who Morrigan was to me back then. Carter had his nose far too deep in computers, and Finn in university pussy. Madds and I were still here… putting the bases down for what was going to become our empire. The other two knew of her, knew we hung out a few times, but… it ended before they came home, before it could become more… so I never told them everything. There was no point.
“Knewher. Enough. She was hard not to notice, a firecracker. We watched her beat the shit out of this guy once, she broke his jaw… put him in hospital.” He nods his head in appreciation. If Madds appreciates anything, it’s a good fight.
“Watchedher? You didn’t intervene?” Carter asks.
“I didn’t need to. She was doing fine on her own.” He shrugs.
“That’s not what I… fucking hell, man.”
Finn’s laugh booms through the music that’s getting louder now and a few heads turn to us. Our presence is rarely seen at cocktail parties or private events like this one, and when we do make an appearance, it makes a statement. I guess O’Rourke and Holt want a statement—“we have The Sanctum on our side”—so any investors will know that they’re either in for big money, or they stay away completely. We’re letting them have their moment until we get what we need.
* * *
My sweet toothled me to the dessert table stacked with multi-level ornate cake stands, filled with macarons, meringues, fruit next to a decadent chocolate fountain, and dozens of different mini cakes in all the colors of the fucking rainbow. Now I understand why the crowd gathered around it the whole evening. Just as the person that stands next to me begins to move away, I lean over and reach for a mini chocolate eclair, when my hand bumps a bit hard into another, sending the tips of their fingers straight into the chocolate stream of the fountain.
“Fucking hell!!!” She curses loud enough that the person that stood between us is gone in a split second.
I swallow my apology, when I realize whose voice that is before I even look up—Morrigan.
“You!” she seethes when her eyes land on me.
“Hello.” I take a second to take in those piercing green eyes, the brick red waves framing that soft skin dusted with freckles, spilling down her slender shoulders, her chest, and down her naked arms.
“I don’t get it. What the fuck are my parents playing at? Why are you here? All of you?” That’s one way of saying hello back… I guess.
She notices her fingers dripping chocolate on the white tablecloth, and she does the goddamn fucking unthinkable. One by one, she slides those fingers into her mouth, and I know the way she does it, the way she intends it as well, is nowhere near sexual… but I could have fucking sworn that time slowed down, because I’m mesmerized, following those lips as they suck every drop of chocolate, leaving a faint red lipstick ring on them. This woman… this goddamn woman.
The blood flow shifts from my brain to my cock, and I yank her fingers to me, hand wrapped tight around her slim wrist, stopping it inches from my face. She parts her lips to spit her protest, but her jaw locks as her eyes fix onto mine. I don’t know if it’s hunger she sees in my eyes, or the stern aversion for a clearly ungracious gesture considering the occasion.
I turn to find a stack of napkins farther down the table, grabbing a few and putting them in her trapped hand, releasing it before I do anything more stupid than that.
I can feel eyes on me… which I usually don’t. I got used to them over the years, but it’s the situation… Morrigan.
She wipes her fingers, not that there’s anything left on them but the red trace of her lipstick, then looks at me as if she’s about to stab me with a dessert knife. Better than a steak one, I guess.
“You’re welcome,” I scold, as she shoots me the most defiant gaze she can muster.
“I’m serious, Serpent. What the hell are my parents involved in? Or getting involved in? It has to be fucking atrocious if it’s with you.” Her eyes flash around us, making sure no one’s listening.
She really doesn’t like us… or me. But she’s not exactly a fucking angel, not with goddamn Ryan-fucking-Holt on her arm. Not with the man who now controls half the docks, his late father’s business… and from the sounds of it, the trafficking business has been growing since his death. She doesn’t have a moral leg to stand on when she’s involved with him.
“Atrocious… okay.” I reach over once again, grab an eclair, shove it in my mouth, and lean back against the table, watching the crowd dance to a cheerful song I don’t recognize.
“You’re not answering my goddamn questions!” Her words pour like lava, burning their way through the loud music, drawing my eyes back to the emerald of hers.
“Nothing you need to concern yourself with.” Oh, she didn’t like that response, but I do. I fucking love seeing that fire take over. She’s beautiful on a normal day, but she’s fucking gorgeous when she’s in flames.
“Concern myself… motherfucker! Am I just a fucking doorknob to you people? Just fucking grab me and turn me whatever direction you want as long as it’s the one that is advantageous to you! Like”—she leans in ever so slightly, her tone lowering almost to a whisper—“I don’t know the rules of the fight club, the right way to do laundry, the fastest way to take one’s breath away, or the fastest route to take when… escorting someone.” There’s a grin in her eyes; it cracks the skin at the edges, pupils dilating in mischief, but that grin barely touches her lips.
She just listed almost all our businesses… the fight club, the money laundering, the killings, but the one that strikes me the most… is the escort business. There is almost no trail back to us. Yes, we meet once in a while if direct instructions are needed, if Ekaterina can’t liaise for us, but even when we do that, it’s nothing more than a normal meet up for dinner or drinks, usually in our bar. How the fuck did Morrigan know about it? She doesn’t even have access to the bar.
“I’m gonna go ahead and take your silence and slightly parted lips as shock and pat myself on the back for a job well done.” I focus back on her and notice that the grin is now nicely plastered all over her pretty red lips. She leans back against the table, facing the crowds as the music fades out, coming to an end. We both watch as her father, mother, and boyfriend stop in front of the stage, waiting as everyone brings their attention to them, and she stiffens.
“So that’s it, then. You think you’re so much better than me, than us? I’ve seen you get high on X and fucking rescued you when some shithead was forcing himself on you, then I watched you shatter that guy’s jaw, and you weren’t even legal yet. Fuck knows what else you’ve done since. Especially considering your… association with Holt.” I spit out that last sentence and her eyes return to mine, the grin long gone. Not sure if it’s that particular memory from the past that caused it, or the fact that I remember it.
“Ladies and gentlemen!”Liam O’Rourke’s voice booms through the ballroom and the party goes quiet, only she’s still looking at me.“We are sorry to interrupt your dancing, but we would like to tell you the whole reason for this celebration, so we can fully enjoy this evening.”
