Page 22 of Skin Trade

“I have meetings this evening.”

They ate in silence for a few minutes. Payton took extra bits of food, a piece of chicken, some vegetables. The more she ate, the more she wanted. But she could feel Seth’s gaze on her. Every time she lifted her head to look at him, her eyes met his, and each time she shrank away a little bit, sure that she was giving something away.

When they were nearly finished, Seth patted the table. “Are you ready, Tasha?”

Payton stopped eating with her mouth still filled with a piece of half chewed chicken. It became hard to swallow and also hard not to stare at Tasha. There was victory in the stripper’s eyes. She’d won Seth and Payton hadn’t.

Seth pushed his chair back to make room for Tasha. She fitted perfectly between his long legs.

Payton had witnessed feeding enough times to know how this went. She’d been part of it herself with the men Creven invited into his house. Except, Tasha didn’t kneel in front of Seth to give him access to her neck, she sat herself on the table where his plate was meant to go if he’d eaten actual food. She hoisted the back of her dress, so it wasn’t tight around her waist.

Payton’s heart thudded and Seth must have heard it because the arsehole smiled at her.

“You don’t mind if I eat, do you? I’m feeling rather hungry.”

Tasha leant back on the table, hands either side of her. One hand near Payton’s plate. Her nails had flecks of nail varnish on them. Chipped and missing in parts.

“Perhaps you want some privacy,” she said, getting up.

Seth slipped one of Tasha’s shoes off and dropped it on the floor. He brought his hands back up to run them along Tasha’s thighs, hitching her dress as he did. “Are you shy, Payton?”

“No. I just …” She nodded towards Tasha who was leaning back further on the table. “Maybe you two would prefer to be alone.”

“There is enough room on the table for the both of you,” he said. Heat flooded her face as Seth let out a laugh. “Maybe you could knock down some of those inhibitions you have.”

“I don’t have inhibitions.”

“No? Then come.” He patted the table beside Tasha. “She can move up for you.”

Payton rested her hands in her lap. She wanted to leave the room, but if she did that, it would be proving him right. There was no way she was going over there to him, though. At least Creven didn’t play these games. He knew what he wanted and took it, but this made Payton’s head spin. Seth put her mind in a tangle that she couldn’t get out of.

A minute passed, or an hour. It sure felt like it as she tried to keep her focus on her meal. She popped a piece of potato into her mouth.

“Just a second,” Seth said to Tasha.

Payton refused to look up at him. Refused to even acknowledge he was there. But it was so damn hard when he came to stand behind her, leant in and rested his hands on the arms of her chair. “Do you want to join us, Payton? Is that it?” He breathed hard against her, hot air across her ear. “I can feel it in you. There’s a girl in there who just needs to be let out.” He slid his hand along her leg. “I can show you.”

“No.” Payton bit down on her lip and cleared her throat. She kept her hands very still, even though his fingers were now teasing along the edge of her thigh.

“Are you sure?” He was so close, too close. He brushed lips along her neck, and she felt the tips of his fangs graze her skin. It sent shivers through her, little sparks of lightning shot through her body. Her mouth opened and despite herself, her breath sounded more like a lust-filled pant.

“I’m not into girls,” she barely managed. Another minute and she was going to … what? She wasn’t sure. Melt? Give in? No.

“Oh, I can assure you, Tasha isn’t a girl. She is very much all woman.”

One.

Two.

Three.

She sounded silently in her head, took a breath and turned her head so their faces were less than an inch apart. She met his gaze with her defiance. “I am not into women either.”

“You can fight me all you want, but I can feel you. I feel your desire. Every heated aching inch of it. I can taste it. I just have to touch you.” He placed a hand at her neck, squeezed tight enough to make her feel it, but not enough that it turned the fire in her belly to one of fear. Maybe that would have been better than this.

“Stop it,” Payton said, her voice barely a whisper.

He watched her a little longer, eyes studying hers, and then his mouth turned into that smirk again and just like that, he stopped.

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