Page 99 of Chandelier Enthralled
“After this, you and I will part ways. I don’t like your methods. I don’t like the choices you make. I hope, in all honesty, I never see you again.”
I felt a gut-wrenching heartache.
I was going to have to do this alone.
“She killed Dean Hersey,” I whispered. “Soon afterwards, oil tycoon Lance Merrill died. She’s connected to both deaths.”
“Stop talking.”
“You know it’s true.” I felt the bitter taste of his compliance. “You must bring in the police. Something bad is happening here.”
Greyson sighed. “Look, Willa. Jewel is beyond our grasp right now. Obviously, we are trying to change that.”
“Something must be done now.”
He raised his chin defiantly, his dark eyes serious. “If you mess up our deal, the place will belong to her. She wins.”
“I can do that?”
“You seem to believe we’re not doing everything we can. We don’t need your interference. If anything, you’re sabotaging us.”
“Us?”
“This stunt you pulled just made us the center of attention.”
“You and me?”
“Yes, Willa, as my seeming submissive, there are expectations that must be met.”
“What can be done?”
“What are you willing to do?”
“How do you mean?”
“Are you willing to be fucked in front of an audience?” he asked flatly.
I looked that way, recalling the two women in the elevator, one playing with her friend to prepare her for the High Chamber.
I looked back at Greyson, who wore a frustrated expression.
“Look at you, dressed like this,” he said. “Completely clueless about how this world really works. You walk in here, tangled up in your psychological issues, feeling unloved, trying to prove yourself because your brothers have left their mark, and you haven’t. Your ignorance is going to push you to the brink, to a place so dark and dangerous no one will be able to pull you back.”
“But you’re here,” I said bitterly. “Doing these things. Watching these things.”
“Yes, and I promised everyone I’d never come back. But here I am. For you. So do exactly as I say. Do you understand?”
I’d wanted to experiment,sure,but not like this, not in front of my boss, even if she didn’t know who I was, and certainly not in front of strangers.
And I wasn’t ready to be a toy for this man in any capacity, even though my body craved him in every conceivable way.
“Is it bad?” I looked at him for the answer. “What we have to do?”
“That depends, Willa, on how far you’re willing to go.”
Greyson had warned me that leaving this room would be devastating. I wasn’t sure that was true but had no choice but to trust him.
I sat in one of the chairs, tugging the cape around me for comfort, left with nothing but my own thoughts.
