Page 237 of Chandelier Sin
“I can imagine.” I pulled a face to show I wasn’t into it. “I’m not averse to seeing blood, of course, but I hate getting it on my shoes.”
“Totally agree. And the dry-cleaning bill.” He set his glass down. “Apparently, Chrysalis owns a collection of antique torture devices from the eighteenth century?”
“They do.”
“Have you utilized them?”
“For show only,” I said. “Though something tells me Lance probably snuck down there for his brand of fun. Before he was banned.”
“They’re on the lowest level?”
He’d heard about it, clearly.
I’d seen them but preferred the upper floors of Chrysalis and its sophisticated company.
Aemon added, “Chrysalis tries hard to honor darker tastes, but it never really satisfies its membership.”
Beneath the table, I balled my hands into fists, hating that he mentioned a place so many of us deemed sacred. I didn’t want its name in his filthy mouth.
The ice clinked in his whiskey glass, punctuating the silence between us.
The waiter scurried back in and delivered dessert. He might as well have been invisible to Roper. He didn’t even acknowledge him. A lemon cake was set before me, its taste no doubt as sour as my mood.
Not trusting him enough to eat it, I merely nudged it around with a spoon. Aemon fixed his gaze on the amber liquid in his glass.
“Some things are best aired between men,” he said.
I stared at him with a stoic composure. “Say what you want to say.”
“I’ve bought my darling wife a gift.”
“Another one?”
“Yes, this one is a little more exciting than the car.”
“Did she like it?”
“Unimpressed.”
“I’m sure she loved it.”
“Hard to know with her.”
I offered a smile, the weight of his words settling into the kind of panic I rarely experienced.
My gut told me what this man was capable of. He’d already shown his true nature, letting another man, me, take her.
It was the way he’d mentioned “the gift.” The way his pupils dilated with arousal that revealed his sinister intention.
The air felt thick with unspoken words.
“I’d like to see it.” I gazed directly at him. “Perhaps you would like me to take it for a spin.”
“Careful.”
I offered a smirk. “Well, I’m here should you need my expertise.” Then I realized.
“Your collection is here?”
