I walked in and a sales associated greeted us with a smile immediately. I hooked my arm through his and tugged him tight. “My husband has a business meeting tonight and I want to be able to help when needed.” I squeezed my breasts together and raised an eyebrow. “If you know what I mean.”
Her smile grew bigger and she led us into a small sitting room with a couch and a tea service already set up.
He sat and I poured from the warm porcelain. “Do we have to pay for that?” he asked.
I stirred a cup of tea for myself and smiled sickly sweet at him. “Yes. This won’t be a quick, or cheap trip.”
His jaw tightened at my use of the word cheap. Interesting.
I picked up the tea pot again, “want some?”
He shook his head. “They should serve whiskey here instead of tea.”
I caught the next passing associate and in minutes she returned with an amber filled glass containing one giant ball ice cube.
He sipped and nodded. “Is this how you always shop?”
“How do you do it?”
“After the first fitting, I don’t. They just send me what I need.”
I considered. Where was the fun in that? “How…expedient.”
The original woman returned before the awkward silence could set in. She carried a number of dresses over her arms and I asked her to help me. She gestured with one of her hands toward a small curtained off area.
“No,” Will said. “You do it here, or we leave.”
And there went my plan to pay the woman to take a message to Taylor for me.
I wanted to protest, but citing modestly wouldn’t work at this point. The women stared between us both, her smile slipping. The poor woman looked like she might pass out.
I stripped my shirt over my head and tossed it at his face. He caught it mid-air. I held his gaze as I stripped off my pants and shoes leaving me standing in black lace edged panties and a simple nude bra. “Is this fine, or do you need me to take my underwear off to?”
The corner of his lip curled up, making me think of the Grinch for the second he displayed it. Then his face returned to stone and the lady cleared her throat. She held open a piece of royal blue silk for me to step into.
Once she zipped it up my back, I didn’t need to look for long. I quickly discarded it and slid into the next dress. This one black satin. It was more my color but the waist wasn’t right for my small frame. I didn’t even bother glancing in the mirror.
I surveyed her stack of dresses and shook my head. “Can we try something more structured at the shoulders and fitted at the waist.”
She rushed off, and I sat next to him sipping my tea in my underwear. He stared at me, scanning me up and down, before looking pointedly over my left shoulder. If I didn’t know better the new tick in his jaw was a reaction to me. I learned to use my body to my advantage a long time ago, so I kept in the best shape possible.
He cleared his throat. “Do you take all your competitors shopping and parade around naked for them?”
I cracked a smile at that one. “Depends on the competition really. But no, not usually. Anyone I take shopping doesn’t often insist I stay in front of them.”
“What is this about? Why are we here? Unless this is some elaborate torture plan.”
The first actual admission he felt uncomfortable. I relished it. “I see this as another business arrangement. The faster you get what you want the quicker I can get on with my life. If you need distraction, I’ll make distraction my business.”
“How accommodating.”
The clerk returned a few seconds later, and she didn’t need to go through the stack of satin and silk. I slid into a floor length red gown that hugged my curves and left my arms and back bare.
Will and I both said at the same time, “this is the one.”
FOUR
EDDY
When I decided to take this path, I wanted to purge her from my mind. Dissect the tissue and carve her out, bit by bit. And if I had a heart, I’d slice it up too, remove every trace.
But now, the image of her in that dress was burned deep, so deep, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to remove it. The silk hugged every curve and framed her shoulders, straight and proud. The red juxtaposed her olive skin and jet-black hair.
I waited outside the door of her room. Being late hadn’t been on my itinerary, but it seemed to be on hers. Mentally, I tapped my foot, outside, I stood still braced against the wall across from her doorway.
Two more minutes and I’d barge in and carry her out. I watched the time slip by until ten seconds remained. As I leaned forward, about to strike, the door opened and she stepped out in a swath of silk and glittering jewels. Did I pay for those too, or did she bring them with her?
“You’re Late.” You’re stunning. Sexy. And I want to rip the silk off your body.
“I usually have help with all this,” she gestured at her body, and then closed her bedroom door.
I held my arm toward her, but she only glared at it before brushing past me. It doesn’t matter, I didn’t care, I merely offered the support as she towered four inches higher than usual in the heels I caught peeking out from the edge of her dress.
She stopped at the door to the elevator. “Where are we going? We need to make an entrance.”
I knew the power of a good entrance, but my plans tonight hadn’t included one. There was a subtlety to what I needed done this evening. “An entrance is off the table.”
I led her into the elevator. The party had already begun one floor below us. A short ride, and the doors slid open to crystal chandeliers and silk drapes. We exited; she stopped me and turned me by the bicep to face her. I could have dragged her along, or stopped her from touching me, but curiosity kept me still. She jerked my tux jacket down from the hem, and adjusted my bow tie, as if she were a concerned partner rather than a forced accomplice.
Once she let out a satisfied sigh, she looked me in the eye and blinked like she’d come awake abruptly. I seized the moment and backed her toward the opposite wall, one hand on her flat stomach, the other on her elbow so she didn’t careen off her towering heels. When her back met the wallpaper, I stared down into her eyes. “You have no friends here. So don’t think to make an ally and use them to your advantage.”
Her lips twisted into a mocking smile. “It’s almost as if you know me.”
“I know you better than most.” I caught myself and added, “I research my captives very thoroughly.”
“And what do you think you know?”
I shifted my grip to her hips and ran my hands up her waist to her bare arms slowly. No weapons I could find. She was starting to learn. “Because I’m just going to stand here and spill my bad guy plans. Do anything stupid,” I lowered my voice and my face toward hers. “I won’t bother playing nice anymore. I’ll just kill you.”
She jerked out of my grip and pushed my chest, ineffectively. “If you did your research you’ll have leaned I always keep my word.”
“Did you give your word to your brother, or your fiancé?” A low blow, but my words pierced the mark.
“Are you trying to be a dick? Is that your big plan? Cow everyone into doing what you want?”
I took another step forward crowding her, forcing her back, pressing in. “It’s how I operate, Passerotto. I know you do your research as well. You know intimidation and force are two of my favorite hobbies.”
She exhaled slowly, her face a mask of calm belied by the thump thump thump her heart against my chest. “We should go in.”
“Are we on the same page?”
She threw her chin up. “I always keep my word.”
I stepped back and offered my elbow. “Then let’s go.”
Her posture was stiffer now, but she rested the tips of her fingers on the crook of my arm. Destroying any tender moments mid-bloom would save us both in the end. She’d see that soon enough.
I led her into the lion’s den with no preamble. As I expected, men, and their mistresses, turned
to look. Some part of me must still feel something, since I leaned down and asked, “drink?”
Not waiting for an answer, I steered her toward the bar in the corner. She used the opportunity to let go of my arm. The heat of where her hand sat still radiating through my sleeve. Something floral and sexy wafted from her hair as she spun. No everyday petunias or whatever the fuck women usually wore. She smelled sexy, alluring, exotic, like night blooming jasmine. A scent meant to ensnare and intrigue a man.
She ordered a scotch on the rocks and I pulled my God damned head out of my ass and focused on the purpose of this party: get the lay of the land. And show a bunch of career criminals that no one is safe.
“Did you attack my domain first because I’m a woman?” Her question came out of nowhere. I surveyed her again. That dress disturbed me in ways I couldn’t articulate, if not the woman wearing it.
“No, I attacked you first because your territory is the largest, and most organized. Rather like we are doing now. I’m showing them who I am.”
She spun to face the room. “What now? I’m not stripping for these fools.”
The soft tender expanse of her thigh, I caught a glimpse of earlier, hit my mind. And like a derailed train the rest of her bare skin, I’d seen since she’d entered my home, toppled behind.
I cleared my throat. “Not necessary. That dress is doing all the work for you.”
She hid a tiny smile behind her scotch glass, red lips fractured in tinkling ice cubes.
“I know you have an end game here. You already made it clear you weren’t explaining yourself but a clue as to what I can do would help. The faster you can pass go and collect your two bills, the faster I can quit being your dress-up doll.”
“Eloquent.”
She glared by way of a wink. We might make it through the night after all. I spotted a man skirting the crowd, headed my way. He was a little further down my to do list. I snatched her drink, guzzled it back, and took her hand. In two seconds, I held her close on the dance floor. We were already in our first turn before her affronted declarations began.
“I was drinking that. And your instructions said nothing about dancing.” But she didn’t pull away.
I kept scanning the crowd for three faces. One already tried to get to me. Now I needed the other two equally excited.
“So, we’re dancing. Should you look like you’re on a death march?”
I focused down at her again.
She shook her head. “Any other man and I might be offended. But I’m starting to think this scowl is just your face.”
“I told you…”
“You’re here for a reason. I get it, but unless you look like you’re enjoying my company people will assume you don’t. And then what the fuck is the point?” She pitched the last part low. Not because she feared others hearing but I assume out of annoyance.
I focused on the woman in my arms. So small, fragile. I could crush her, and yet my hands felt granite underneath her soft pretty exterior. I could crush her, but she’d ruin me in the process.
“You seem to think you know everything. What do you think I should be doing here?”
I wasn’t taking advice from a woman in captivity, but I was curious what paraded through her calculating mind.
“Oh, the decorations are allowed to have opinions now?”
What a mouthy…
I reached down and swatted her ass. She jumped toward me, melding our bodies but didn’t make as sound. It took a minute but she returned her gaze to mine. Anger, and a twinge of something else, something which lit a spark in me, her gaze the flint to my steel.
“Touch my ass again and you’ll wake up in your pretty little house with your balls in a bag.”
I gave her a chuckle, telling her what I thought of that threat. “Did you have an opinion or not?”
She shifted in my grip replacing the distance between us from before. “I assume you have a target in mind.”
I didn’t confirm or deny. She continued. “If I were you, I’d single my targets out, wine and dine them. Make them feel special. I’d also rethink the window panels in this room.”
I wanted to smack her ass again in punishment for her sass, but I kept my free hand on the small of her back. Was it punishment I craved, or that look in her eye?
We lapsed into silence and I took the time to study her. She stared off into the crowd. Most of them only here for the access, or the money, or maybe the prestige of an event like this with such a limited guest list. Mostly politicians, police, the very people who would step on my head to cross the street if they knew my real identity. Her included. I couldn’t forget it.
Or what I had planned for their lives in the near future.
The song ended and I let her go with an internal sigh. She fit so perfectly in my arms. She always had.
“Let’s get a drink.” I led her toward the bar where Captain Villefort leaned against the polished granite. Smart man, everyone returns here eventually.
I stopped and slid into a mask she hadn’t seen yet. Smiles, dimples, and charm. “Villefort, glad to see you were able to make it. I’ve been waiting to talk to you about your bid for Chief of Police.”
The older man, still fit but mostly gray now, straightened his suit jacket when he caught sight of Mercedes clutching my hand.
I stared between them in mock surprise. “Do you two know each other?”
Villefort thrust his hand out, took hers, and brought it to his lips. “I haven’t had the pleasure Miss…”
She smoothly removed her hand and I was surprised she didn’t wipe it on her dress. She did a terrible job at corralling her disgust. “Mercy, please. And how do you two know each other?”
I pulled her hand to my lips and kissed her palm. The opposite side of where his mouth met her skin. And she reacted differently too. She blinked up at me, eyes wide. “My dear, this is the man I want to support in his campaign, but we haven’t met in person before tonight.”
She smiled, or grimaced is what I’d call it. I leaned in and brushed a tendril of hair from her neck before planting a kiss just behind her ear. Her perfume enveloped me. I didn’t have to feign the hoarse whisper that came out. “You’re going to try harder if you plan to hold up your end of this deal.”
She straightened and bat her lashes, a flush to her cheeks now. She fanned herself. “I need a drink.”
Villefort motioned at the bartender. “Allow me, what are you drinking?”
She didn’t tell him but the man on the other side of the counter. “Whiskey on the rocks, please.”
He nodded and a minute of tense silence later he brought her drink over.
Once she fortified herself, she faced Villefort again. “So how is your campaign progressing?”
He nodded, a goopy dog grin on his face, at her attention. I stepped back and watched her turn on the charm. Until she glanced my way and froze. I’d already reached my limit on scaring her so she wasn’t freezing for my sake.
The intruder’s cologne surrounded me, and I pivoted to intercept Danglars before he reached her.
His rancid breath hit me as hard as his shoulder, the drunk bastard. He snarled in my face. “What the fuck is that whore doing here?”
FIVE
MERCY
I couldn't hear what Danglars uttered over the sound of Villefort’s drooling. All I could think about was trying to keep my shit together before Will blocked his access to me, and walked him backward to a side exit. It all happened in seconds, and then Will returned alone with swagger and grace and a smile just for me. Seeing his lips turned up and a mockery everyone else's fake grins tilted me more on edge than set me at ease.
“Do you mind if I take Mercy for another spin?” He asked Villefort, putting out his hand for me to accept, as if anyone would stop him from taking what he wanted. Including me. As of right now he owned me. A reality I needed to tolerate if I intended to keep my people alive. So I smiled, and placed my fingertips on his open palm.
We weren't on th
e floor ten seconds before he launched in. “I see you and Danglars have a history.”
My face ached from all the forced smiling so I stopped. “Just tell me what you want from me.”
His hands tightened around my back and I let him drag me in closer. Focus woman. I needed to listen to what he wasn’t saying under the words. But I found it impossible to think properly with the way his hand curled into the curve of my spine like he memorized the shape. I should hate this man, he took everything from me. Yet here I stood something like enjoying his hands on my body. For a moment, I considered exploiting every single thing he screamed at me—no words required. If we went down that path, how would I come out on the other side? But, if my wiles gave me leverage, maybe I shouldn’t discount it.
“I think I’ve been clear about what I want from you.”
I looked up into his eyes and scanned his face for any other clues to what might be going through his pretty head.
“Besides a lovely arm ornament. You must have a purpose to all this…” I waved at the room. “Tell me how I can help you here.”
We continued dancing, and I shifted my hand from his shoulder to up behind his neck. I stroked the short hairs at his nape and waited for his reaction. Nothing. A blank face.
“If you think seducing me would work, I have to say I expected a little more effort.”
I jerked my hand away and tried not to scowl. If he could play the indifference card so could I. “Have a lot of experience seducing people do you?”
He blinked and gave me an inscrutable look. “Isn’t that what business is? All enticement and seduction, only some aren’t seduced by sex.”
Hearing him say the word sex trickled something decidedly not indifferent through me, and I flinched under his hands despite my best efforts to remain neutral.
The Count (Twisted Classics Book 3) Page 3