Page 23 of The Devil of London

“Sure,” she muttered before hitting the button for the top floor. “Enjoying your time here, Aderyn?” she asked when the silence became smothering.

“Not entirely. In fact, I was just leaving, but Khaos is being a pig-headed barbarian,” I admitted. “I hadn’t actually planned on staying, but this Neanderthal amended the contract last night. It would seem I forgot how powerful the binding of it can be. It forced me to remain here with him throughout the night, unfortunately for me.”

“Pesky thing that, hmm?”

“Aderyn had a date last night, Damaris,” Khaos informed offhandedly. “For companionship, or so she claimed. Tell me, when she arrived, did you think her wardrobe screamed ‘I’m lonely’, or ‘fuck me over the hood of your car, daddy’?”

“Oh, my,” she squeaked as she rubbed the back of her neck.

“It’s not rocket science, Miss Paige.”

“Indeed, it isn’t. I think she looked lovely, but the dress was meant to ensnare the eye. She did, however, come to seeyoufirst, Nasir. I doubt she intended to make it to any date she may have told you about.” Damaris sent me a pitying look before glaring at the numbers above the doors as if it would make the elevator move faster. As it came to a stop, she stepped in front of us, blocking the entrance. The moment the doors opened, laughter sounded outside until they sought entrance. “Catch the next one, gentlemen.”

“I see you’ve finally taken possession of your property, Nasir,” Aricin’s voice stated with amusement burning within it.

“She’s a mother fucking track star when she gets pissy, but I have her handled. Enjoy your day at the spa, Aricin,” he returned as the doors closed.

“Your property?” I snorted.

“Mine. Period. The sooner you get it through your stubborn, thick fucking skull, the easier our relationship would be on you.”

“It isn’t a relationship. The sooner you getthatthrough your thick skull, the easier it’ll be for you to understand why I won’t ever bow to you.”

“You bowed for me in my shower, then in my bed three times before you were grinding on my cock this morning,brat.”

“You see? He is insufferable!” I groaned. “Just because I like to ride your face doesn’t mean I intend to place my saddle there permanently! I hadn’t actually orgasmed in fifty fucking years, Nasir. You’re damn right I was taking every orgasm you were handing out. But once shit got toodeep, you threw me from the bed!”

“Fifty years? You’ve not come infiftyyears?” Damaris asked in a tone, which was filled with horrified shock. “Bloody hell. Did you taste cobwebs when you were tongue-deep in her honey-crypt? Because, darling, at fifty years? It’s a poor, dead pussy. Fuck, did you throw a proper funeral for the wee neglected thing?” Her hand was on her bosom as she actually waited for a reply.

“No.” I snorted.

“Her pussy’s like fine wine, apparently. It’s merely gotten sweeter with age. Though, I’m rather certain I felt a new hymen as I fingered and licked her tight, needy cunt.”

Heat singed my cheeks as Damaris snickered. “Don’t blush, dear, you’re only encouraging the iniquitous, rakish knob. Besides, I’d have ridden more than just his tongue if it had been I who’d forgone orgasms for such a lengthy time.” As the elevators announced our arrival, Damaris patted my cheek. “You have been missed, sweetest one. By all of us.”

“Speak for yourself,” Khaos muttered as he exited the elevators and sauntered down the hallway. Lifting my head, I smiled sadly at Damaris, who watched us with an uneasy look in her soft, kind blue eyes. Her lifting her hand in a small wave was the last glimpse I got of her before Khaos kicked the penthouse door closed behind us. “Now, are you going to behave, or do I need to bend you over my knee and remind you why it’s unhealthy to disrespect me as you just did?”

“Disrespect you? I was not the one who threw you off me and then told you that you weren’t good enough for my dick! I was just doing us both a solid and beating feet before shit got more awkward.” It was a lie, of course.

“You ran through my fine establishment in a fucking sheet!”

“Fine establishment? This establishment is merely the nine rings of hell, Nasir. Drugs, guns, money laundering, sex, whatever the king wants to peddle, it’s all here at his fingertips. I wouldn’t call your castle a fine establishment,” I muttered, holding up the sheet.

“How the fuck do you know what I have here?” he asked as his phone chirped from the other room. “I asked you a fucking question. I expect an answer.” Another cell phone began ringing from the kitchen. Then another one from a basket on the small shelf in the entry. “Fucking hell,” he snapped. “Don’t move.”

Sauntering into the other room, he answered one of the many ringing phones. The moment he did, the others ceased their endless ringing. Tiptoeing deeper into the suite, I made my way to the large sitting area, and sat in the chase lounger, drawing my feet up beneath me. The sound of glass shattering in the other room a moment before Nasir’s growl reverberated throughout the suite, caused me to jerk toward the door he’d vanished behind.

“What the fuck do you mean? It didn’t just vanish. It’s an eighteen-wheeler, Merikh. They don’t just fucking vanish into thin air. It is one of many shipments that has gone missing this week. That’s a fucking problem.” My lips curled into a victorious grin as I listened. The sound of his footsteps nearing the doorway drained all emotion from my face. “No, get people out there and have them fucking find my shit. Call the sheriff and state patrol and remind them I’m not paying them to sit around on their thumbs. No, I’ll meet you downstairs once I’ve showered and dealt with Aderyn.” Hanging up, he stepped out of the other room and leaned against it, folding his arms over his chest.

“Problems?” I asked softly, with curiosity burning in my stare.

“Nothing I can’t handle,” he informed carefully. “Conrad has called your phone nineteen times this morning.”

“Cameron?” At my question, his lips jerked up at the corners.

“Whatever the asshole’s name is, it’s irrelevant. I sent him photos of your naked body beside mine this morning when he continued phoning you. Obviously, he didn’t get the message to stop calling, so I answered it and told him you were sleeping beside me. He had the audacity to call me a liar. Can youbelievethat? He told me you’d been talking to him for months and that you’d sent him many pictures of yourself.”

The hair on my nape rose as I shrugged. “I sent him pictures of my face. I didn’t lie to you about Cameron or my intentions with him.”

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