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Don’t.
Dammit! You need this job.
He growled again, deep in his throat, and I trembled.
“I can’t.”
His thumb started rubbing against my wrist before he traced his fingers up my arm, a gentle touch in stark contrast to his grip on my neck. “Come upstairs.”
No, I couldn’t. I needed this job. I needed to be away from this city because nothing but distance would spare me from the memories which haunted this place. No matter how incredible it was, a one-night stand wasn’t worth the risk. Funny how my mind was totally ignoring the risk ofwhohe was and what he was capable of. What does that say about me? All I was thinking of was the stash of money under my bed—my out from this place—and the reminder that others who had gone before me hadn’t returned.
Something in his expression changed when I tried to pull away from him as his fingers closed around my neck. Abruptly, he let me go, and I stumbled back against the other side of the bar, not even aware I had been pulling so hard against his hold.
Emrick watched me as I straightened, pulling my skirt down and fidgeting with my top, unable to tear my eyes from his and biting my lip in indecision. I knew I had made the right choice in not going with him, so why did it feel like I was in trouble for doing something wrong?
Because Iwasin trouble.
I was his. I just hadn’t admitted it yet.
He tapped his fingers on the bar impatiently, and when he slid his sunglasses back on, I couldn’t read his expression anymore, as if the sunglasses acted as a blanket, shading out his thoughts. Was it anger or simply frustration?
While he didn’t look back as he stalked off, I knew this wasn’t over.
EMRICK
Cara didn’t come to me last night, but that wasn’t a good enough reason for me to stop trying. Because I felt the hesitation in her. The electricity that passed between us was hard to ignore, and the excitement that flared in her eyes when I touched her only surged me forward. They didn’t always come to me easily, but they always came in the end. Plenty of women who attended the club regularly were practically screaming for a fuck. I could take any of them, but it would be pointless. I needed someone with resistance and fight. I needed someone who was a challenge because it made the victory sweeter. There was no arousal when someone threw themselves at me on a dance floor, grinding obscenely against my leg or groin.
It was too easy.
Humanity hadn’t endeared itself to me much over the years, so I enjoyed the hunt.
Cara was ready for me. I simply needed her to admit it to herself. Her internal fight was useless, and she’d eventually crumble at my feet.
Adjusting in my seat again, I sighed loudly as my cock strained against my pants. I was alone tonight, save for the nameless guard at the door to the balcony stairs. Sven and Tate were off sorting out a watch for Ray’s apartment and visiting my other venues to ensure they were on high alert and security was increased.
Thinking about Ray surged a flush of anger through me. The anger lived right below the surface of my skin and came out at the smallest provocation. It had never died, not in the decade since I fell. The darkness never subsided, and I had never accepted my punishment. Because the injustice still grated against me, and it would forever more. It was easy to grip onto the anger and let it fuel me.
Snapping my fingers, the guard lifted his chin.
“Vodka,” I said, and as he turned to leave, I snapped my fingers again, pointing off the balcony once I had his attention. “And I wantherto bring it to me.”
He nodded, I turned back to the dance floor, waiting for him to emerge from the bottom of the stairs and watching as he moved through the crowd. They parted for him, the crowd closing over the empty space as soon as he had passed through. It was mesmerizing the way people moved with the music as if they were one mindless organism. As though music somehow connected them to a part of the world beyond their understanding.
Perhaps that’s why people sing in church.Hedoes like that.
Maybe not this music, though barely discernible over the bass. Rubbish.
Cara glanced up at me as she loaded a tray with a bottle of vodka and a glass and followed the guard toward the stairs. I had plenty of vodka in my office, but she didn’t need to know that.
After letting her in the door, the guard nodded at me and closed it behind him. He knew enough to wait outside, but the move set Cara on edge. Her back straightened, and she bit her bottom lip, glancing nervously between me and the closed door behind her.
Nodding at me, she sashayed over, placed the tray on the table, and unloaded the bottle and glass. Before she had stood fully, I said, “Sit.” Cara stared at me for a beat without moving, still bent over after placing down the glass, her cleavage on display. She saw me looking and bit her lip again, straightening and clearing her throat quietly. “Why don’t you take a seat?” I said again, trying to soften my tone.
It wasn’t easy. I much preferred to command.
She nodded stiffly again before sitting on the far end of the couch away from me. Lifting the glass, I swirled the contents, watching her while I took a sip and licked the liquid from my lips, the burn so sweet. She shuddered, and my lip twitched. Almost a grin.
“Relax.”
