Spark

by J Marie

  Darren full on laughed, and I found myself grunting with frustration.

  “We’re here,” Darren announced a few minutes later. I turned my head from my

  sulking position to look out the window and noticed we had turned onto a private

  road. Passing through a black gate, expensive cars lined the side of the road while

  young men in obvious valet uniforms jogged to the front. When Darren finally

  pulled up to the house, my door was immediately opened, and I stepped out to eye

  the gorgeous mansion in front of us.

  Just as Darren was rounding the hood of the car, my eyes locked on a very

  professional and extravagant looking sign that read: “In Welcoming of the Birth of

  Baby Ella Davis. Congratulations to Daniel and Katherine Davis.”

  My jaw dropped so fast I felt it crack.

  “A baby shower? You brought me to a frickin’ baby shower?” I said

  incredulously.

  “Keep your voice down,” Darren admonished sternly, pulling me to the side

  while more cars pulled in.

  “Why didn’t you tell me this was where we were going?”

  “You said you wanted to guess,” Darren said nonchalantly.

  It felt like my eyes were going to bulge out of my head.

  “I had ruled showers out of my head since men don’t typically attend them.”

  “A fair assumption, but in this family, every achievement is celebrated by both

  women and men.”

  “So you thought you’d just blindside me then?”

  “You would have complained the entire ride here, and I didn’t feel like pulling

  over every five minutes to shut you up.”

  “Then why bother to bring me? I suck at this kind of stuff.” My voice was quiet,

  but I couldn’t hide the high-pitched squeak that came from whispering so loudly.

  “The idea sounded entertaining,” he said with a half-smile.

  “What could possibly be so entertaining for you? It’s not like you’re going to let

  me talk to anyone.”

  “On the contrary, I’m prepared to let you talk quite a bit. Your presence has been

  requested, after all.”

  I jerked my head back, astonished.

  “It was?”

  “Multiple times actually, and I have finally decided to oblige those requests.”

  “By who?”

  “My family,” Darren answered slyly.

  My eyes avoided his to latch on to anything else as I tried to wrap my brain

  around the situation. I was going to be surrounded by his family, where I would

  likely be judged from every angle, picked and prodded at to see how I twitched

  under pressure. This was a test, an exercise to see how I could handle myself under

  the eyes of many. But that was fine, because while they were examining me, I would

  be examining them. Tonight, I would be a sponge and soak up every drop of

  information available. I would add more faces to my list of deaths to come.

  “What are the rules?” I asked dryly. I knew there would be some stipulations to

  this.

  Darren smiled smugly. “Don’t disappoint me,” he said simply and took my arm

  to link it through his. “But should you do so, know that I won’t hesitate to take you

  over my knee in front of the entire party, got it?”

  I gulped back my trepidation, and failed to hide my scowl. Fuck that noise.

  “Duly noted.”

  “Good girl,” he said and escorted me toward the house.

  Thanks for the pep talk.

  Clive and Owen stood off near the curb of the driveway, watching as more guests

  arrived and headed into the lavish house. My heart raced in my chest while my

  fingernails bit into Darren’s forearm. My bodyguards stepped in line behind us as

  we passed them, my heels clicking on the stone pavement as we walked toward the

  door where my enemies mingled behind, celebrating the birth of a cursed child.

  46

  MEETTHEFAMILY

  Jaden’s body was beyond stiff as I escorted her inside Dan’s house. I could feel her

  eyes scanning every little thing that they came across, and it did nothing but

  make me laugh inside. She would gain no information here that would leave her

  with an advantage. Only a few of our shared business partners were in attendance,

  and I had no intention of introducing her to them. Half were friends or close

  associates while the other half were from what was left of Katherine’s side of the

  family, and though my fingers twitched to eliminate every single one of them, I

  resisted the urge.

  Walking through the foyer, I had to admit Dan had a pretty nice setup. Though it

  wasn’t as large as my estate, it was still decent enough for the two of them. Dan’s

  house was modern and sleek, a multitude of dark and light shades of gray coloring

  the interior while large rectangular vertical windows gave way for natural light. The

  house was always beyond spotless; not even a speck of dust lingered in the air, a

  result of Dan’s OCD. He was a neat freak—had been ever since our mom had been

  killed—and now, Katherine got to be with one to deal with his rage fits when shit

  got out of order. Served the bitch right.

  I spotted Dan immediately, standing by the sofa talking to an associate of ours

  while Katherine stood beside him quietly, her hands folded in front of her as she

  pretended to listen to him talk. The sound of my heavy footsteps alerted him to my

  arrival, and he quickly dismissed his conversation before taking Katherine’s hand

  and hurrying over to Jaden and me.

  “You made it!” Daniel said enthusiastically as he slowed his pace to stop before

  us. “Finally!”

  Dan’s eyes roamed over Jaden’s form, quickly assessing her before raising his

  eyes back to mine and lifting an eyebrow. I rolled my eyes in response.

  “Daniel, this is Jaden. Jaden, this is my middle brother, Daniel Davis, and his

  wife, Katherine.”

  Katherine smiled and nodded her head at Jaden. “Hello,” she said quietly,

  keeping her hands folded under the large round swell of her stomach.

  “Very nice to meet you,” Dan said, taking Jaden’s hand and clasping it gently.

  “You as well and congratulations, by the way,” Jaden said politely, but there was

  a sense of confidence in her tone I didn’t like. It usually meant trouble in the

  future.

  “Oh, thank you,” Katherine said with a shy smile.

  “Dom here yet?” I asked Dan, wondering where our youngest brother was.

  “You know Dom. He’ll be fashionably late,” Dan answered.

  “Unsurprisingly,” I replied, and Dan nodded in agreement

  “Well, now that introductions are over, why don’t you and Jaden go take a seat at

  our table, and we’ll see you guys as soon as we’re done greeting everyone. Dinner

  should start in a half hour.”

  I nodded at Dan and took Jaden across the room to the double doors that led

  outside where the tables were set up. Over a dozen round tables were equipped with

  umbrellas to provide shade from the bright sun overhead. Guests were scattered

  everywhere; some sitting while others walked and talked amongst each other. The

  women were giggling and gossiping amongst themselves, ignoring the men as they

  talked business behind them. About a dozen guards in black suits roamed the area;

  black sunglasses shielded their eyes and offered a special infrared vision in
the

  daylight.

  “Well, look who finally decided to show up,” came a familiar voice behind me.

  I turned on a smile “Matt,” I said, acknowledging my oldest friend since we were

  young boys.

  Matt’s dark brown hair lingered over his light blue eyes just enough to cloud

  them from me. He was about an inch shorter than I was and much leaner, but his

  profession didn’t involve as much of a necessity for combat as mine did. Matt was

  an international arms dealer—my best connection to as much firepower as I

  wanted from all over the globe. He dealt with government contracts to supply just

  about anything from ammunition to grenades to fucking tanks. He had access to it

  all and made millions doing it. What was even better was that most of it was

  perfectly legal.

  “This her?” he asked, pointing at Jaden with a wide, excited smile. Matt had

  been there when I had purchased Jaden right after he’d purchased his first slave. I’d

  never seen him so shocked in my life.

  “It is,” I said with a nod. “Jaden, this is a very good friend of mine, Matthew

  Rainer. Matt, this is Jaden.”

  “An absolute pleasure,” he said almost seductively as he held his hand out for

  Jaden’s.

  She glanced at me for permission, and I gave her the go-ahead with a nod,

  prideful that she knew well enough to ask before touching another man that wasn’t

  family.

  Good girl.

  “Nice to meet you,” she said flatly as she took his hand.

  I had no reason to conflict with Matt for reasons of jealousy concerning Jaden.

  He had his own slave to toy with, and he would respect my boundaries with Jaden

  just as I would respect his. What was meant to be a quick handshake for Jaden left

  her shocked when Matt didn’t let go and instead turned the inside of her wrist up to

  face him. I knew he would want to examine her tattoos.

  “This is nice,” he said, admiring the ink. “Wish you would have waited to off the

  guy before I had a chance to book him. I was thinking of having this done.”

  Jaden’s eyes went wide with confusion as they quickly met mine for

  confirmation thanks to Matt’s little knowledge bomb. I had planned to keep that

  little secret to myself.

  “I’ll get you another contact. Now, get your damn hands off her,” I almost

  growled.

  Matt chuckled and released Jaden’s hand, which then quickly retreated back to

  her middle.

  “Oh, my God! Darren? Is that you?” came an annoyingly high-pitched feminine

  voice from behind Matt.

  “Regina is here?” I asked Matt, annoyed now.

  He shrugged. “She’s the party planner.”

  “Of course, she is.”

  Regina was Matt’s cousin, and though she had the face of a Greek goddess, she

  had the mind of a box of crayons. I lost count of the number of times I had shoved

  my dick in her mouth just to keep her from letting more stupid leak out. She had

  been an on-and-off fuck toy for several years before I finally got sick of her. Her

  only redeeming quality was that she could suck cock like a pro, but I had a feeling it

  was because most guys had the same idea as I did with shutting her up.

  Regina’s dyed dark red hair hung well past her shoulders, her loose curls

  bouncing against her fake tits as she made her way over to us in six-inch bright red

  stiletto heels. Her long legs went on forever, so I had no idea why she needed the

  extra height. She was already five-foot-nine and barely over a hundred pounds.

  With her stick thin figure, I had always wondered how I managed to fuck her

  without accidentally breaking a single bone in her body. That was one of the many

  things I loved about Jaden. She may be small, but her well-muscled body gave her

  better durability against me, giving me the assurance I needed to know that she

  could handle a little tough love.

  “Hey, Dare!” Regina said way too enthusiastically as she finally caught up to us.

  “Regina,” I said with a polite nod. She might have annoyed the fuck out of me,

  but she was still Matt’s cousin.

  “I didn’t expect to see you here!”

  I furrowed my brows. “This is my brother’s baby shower.”

  “Oh, right, duh,” she said with that irritating giggle of hers. “Oh … and who’s

  this? New fuck toy?” she asked inquisitively as her eyes finally landed on Jaden.

  Jaden’s nails instantly dug into the sleeve of my jacket while Regina’s dark green

  eyes did their classic up-down as they scanned Jaden from head to foot, judging

  every inch of her. I narrowed my gaze in warning.

  “Play nice, Regina. This is Jaden. Jaden, Regina,” I offered as introductions,

  though I wanted Jaden to have nothing to do with her.

  “Regina Rainer,” Regina said, that snippety attitude she always had when she

  was jealous showing up and offered her hand to Jaden. “Darren and I go way back.”

  If by way back, she meant the way back of her throat.

  “Nice to meet you,” Jaden said, a dark edge to her tone as she shook Regina’s

  hand.

  “Oh, ouch,” Regina complained, drawing her hand back and shaking it. “Good

  grip. She’s a bit short for you, isn’t she?”

  I scoffed. Shit, this was going to be fun. I could feel the rage coming off Jaden

  already.

  “Regina, don’t you have shit to do around here?” Matt said, interrupting the

  growing tension.

  “Always do,” she said with an annoyed sigh. “I’ll see you later,” she said with a

  flirty smile and sauntered her way through the crowd.

  “Come on, let’s go sit down,” I said and led Jaden away to the table.

  “How do you know that walking disaster?” Jaden asked under her breath.

  “She’s Matt’s cousin,” I answered as I sat her down at our table. The

  information was irrelevant, so I didn’t mind sharing.

  Jaden looked at me strangely for a moment, as if trying to figure something out

  in her head … until the lightbulb finally turned on.

  “You used to fuck her, didn’t you?” she asked quietly.

  I sat down in my chair and eyed her smugly.

  “Does that make you jealous?”

  She scoffed and sat back in her seat. “Not in the slightest. Although, I do have to

  reconsider your intelligence, knowing that you found pleasure in that bag of plastic

  garbage.”

  I chuckled. “Maybe I was trying to fuck the stupid out of her.”

  “Your methods were obviously lacking,” she said bitterly.

  “I can only do so much for a lost cause. Now, what would you like to drink?”

  “What are my options?”

  Smart girl.

  “Limitless,” I replied, my lips forming into a smirk.

  She raised an eyebrow at me in challenge before leaning closer, the scent of her

  sweet skin filling my nose as her lips met my ear.

  “How about a hurricane?” she said seductively, making my cock twitch with her

  voice alone.

  “Think you can handle it?”

  “The storm hasn’t washed me away yet,” she replied, her nails lightly

  scratching against my thigh.

  “A hurricane it is,” I nearly growled, gripping her wrist and tearing it from my

  legs before she made the tent in my pants any bigger. “Do not leave t
his chair,” I

  ordered and stood to head to the bar while Clive and Owen watched a few feet

  behind Jaden’s chair.

  Matt was already there, ordering himself a glass of whiskey. I ordered Jaden’s

  drink as well as a glass of scotch for me.

  “She’s gorgeous,” Matt commented, his unabashed smile taking up the majority

  of his face as he watched Jaden.

  “She’s also unequivocally mine,” I replied sternly.

  Matt chuckled. “Relax, Dare. It’s just an observation.”

  “I thought you were too distracted by your own new slave to pay attention to

  anything else.”

  Matt sighed, but there was a hint of a smile on his lips. “She is quite the

  distraction. One I can’t seem to get enough of. I don’t know why I didn’t participate

  in the auction sooner.”

  “There’s another one coming up next week if you want a second,” I said with a

  smirk.

  “Nah, one slave is enough for me. Her training is coming along too well. I don’t

  need another distraction to screw that up.”

  “Well, if you ever change your mind …” I added, leaving the suggestion open to

  him.

  “You know; you should consider bringing Jaden over. I bet the reunion would be

  interesting,” Matt offered.

  I thought about it for a second wondering how Jaden would react to seeing an old

  friend. It didn’t sound like a good idea.

  “I thought you just said you didn’t need someone screwing up your slave’s

  training.”

  Matt chuckled. “Suddenly, you’re not so confident in your slave’s training and

  behavior?”

  “Jaden is not a slave,” I said, turning back to look at her, admiring her from afar.

  “She’s so much more than that. But a reunion could prove problematic.”

  “We’ll talk about it later. Right now, I just want to eat and get drunk.”

  Our drinks were then placed on the bar, and we both headed back to the table. I

  found Jaden’s eyes fully engrossed on Dan and Katherine as they continued to greet

  other guests. I set her drink down in front of her a little harder than usual to

  redirect her attention and leaned into her ear.

  “You will find no useful information here to use against me. Stop bothering,” I

  said darkly. I knew she was going to play the role of a sponge tonight, gathering as

  much information and detail as she could to use against me later. But nothing of