Page 29 of Queen of Madness

Either way, the concept of risks, chances, and hope confuses me.

“Why are your eyebrows so tight, Z? You’ll get wrinkles before you’re thirty.” Maddy’s curls flash in my periphery before I hear the thud of her ass flopping onto the seat.

“Isn’t that a good thing? It’ll make me look more distinguished. More respectable.”

She cackles, throwing her small head back. “Hmm, I’d rather have people fear me.”

“Judging by the way the room just fell silent, I’d say people already do.”

“Indeed. The only downside is they’re also scared to fuck me.”

My eyebrows lift at this as I take in my last bite of eggs, wishing I’d eaten slower. “Is that so?”

“A fact,” she replies, taking my cup of orange juice and downing the rest of it in one gulp. A stray piece of pulp hangs on the edge of her lips. When I point to the dribble, her eyes widen comically as her tongue dramatically circles her entire mouth. “Oh stop. You’re looking at me all funny like you haven’t done a Ren and Stimpy clean.”

“I’m looking at you like this because you remind me of an overgrown child.”

“Do I?” She pouts, folding her arms. “Perhaps it’s because I don’t remember even having a childhood and I wish to live it now.”

“Perhaps,” I repeat, staring as she blows a stray curl from her face. The small action solidifies my thinking but makes me remember something from the other night.

Cat’s words and the small information I’ve gotten from Maddy flip through my mind. I wonder if all the people here were saved by Onyx and her family. It wouldn’t change how I perceive her Boss or anything that is happening here, but it does give me a slight pause. If Onyx is in the business of helping women, maybe...no.I’d be dead before I finished my second sentence. I force the idiotic thought away, not giving it a chance to evolve into an idea and glance back at Maddy.

Her eyes drift away momentarily as her mouth parts twice, her fingers rhythmically tapping against her thumb as if she’s deep in her own thoughts. But then she sighs, and whatever she wants to say vanishes as she takes on a more serious tone. “Be ready at nine. Onyx has a meeting with a vendor downtown. It’s a rooftop restaurant, and the man is new to us.”

“How many guards are going?”

“Trick, you, Shi, and four estate guards. Shi will dine with her, while Trick monitors the floor. You’ll be at the top entrance, while another guard will be in the stairwell and the two others on the ground.”

I stand, nodding to Russ in thanks for the breakfast. “Alright. I’m going to take a shower and get dressed.”

“Meet them in the foyer in a bit. Oh, and don’t be scared to stop by Onyx’s room on the way for a quick cock-a-doodle-doo.” She gives me an elaborate wink while her high-strung giggle follows me out.

I take the stairs two at a time, and even though I tell myself not to, I glance over to the right at Onyx’s room. It hasn’t been much more than a day, but I’d be lying if I said I haven’t pictured the smooth trail of her curves, or the peaks of her breasts once or twice.

A deep groan works its way from my throat as the vision invades my thoughts again, driving my dick to a painful length. What she did was a power move, and I can admit it did things to me I won’t soon forget.

Things I want to explore. Things I want to feel.

But the most notable is commanding the body of someone who brings everyone else to their knees.

* * *

“You clean up nice.” One of the twins, Trick, I think, lays a heavy hand on my shoulder, his other holding out a small translucent piece of material in the shape of a bean.

“Appreciate it,” I reply, tilting my head in question as I take the item from him.

“It’s an earpiece. It will connect you with me and the other guards. You’ll be able to listen, but not respond. It keeps the feed clear for me and Trigger. Also…” He pulls out a small gun, a .380, and taps the left breast of my Armani jacket. “It fits perfectly in the lower pocket.”

Holding, concealing, and using a gun are nothing new to me, which I’m sure the twins have seen on my background check, so I don’t bother acting as such. In fact, more and more of what I do here feels so natural, I’m starting to wonder if I even need to worry about a front at all.

“Thank you.” I accept the gun and tuck it away before taking my place at the door with the other guards.

All four of them are older and remind me of the men you’d see outside Buckingham Palace with their hard, stonelike gazes and upright posture. The closest one to me nods briefly while staring back ahead.

We stand for a few minutes before a crack of thunder breaks the silence, at the same time a pair of heels hit the marble floor. My eyes flash to her, and my body responds instantly, the tap of my pulse becoming more aggressive in my wrists.

Just like the few other times I’ve seen her, she’s in all black. Today’s long-sleeve dress comes to her neck and hugs her curves all the way down to the middle of her thigh, acting as a second skin. Her waist-length black hair is drawn up into a high ponytail, the ends dangling over her shoulder and kissing her covered collarbone.

---