Page 55 of Entwined

“I have no choice. I want my trust-fund re-instated.”

“Why? You don’t like slumming with me?” I try to joke, to lighten the mood.

“Oh you—” She gestures with her drink, “are coming with.”

I shake my head, “Let’s go back to our rooms. All the formalities are over now anyway, right?”

“Yes. My step-sister made her grand entrance into society. He won’t even notice we’ve left. I’m sure his mind is on what happens when the ball is over anyway.”

“How did you even find out about this private party he planned?”

“I snuck into his study a few days ago to look for some money. I hid behind the curtains when he came in with a business associate. The man was… pure sex on a stick. Dimitri something.”

I grab her arm. “Did he have a Greek accent?”

“I think so… why?”

“No reason.” I lie.

“Jessie? Trust me. If only a little bit. That’s what girlfriends do.”

“Fine. I’ll go to this party. But we can’t drink or eat anything there. I mean it.”

“Why?”

“Because it’ll probably be drugged with uppers or E.”

Her eyes widen.

“I’m serious, Jecca. And we always need to stay together. These men are dangerous. We should tell someone where we are going.”

“No. Daddy will find out.”

“Forget it. It’s too dangerous.”

“What’s so dangerous? It’s just sex.”

I shake my head, my eyes unseeing as I stare into space. “You have no idea what it is. And no words could even come close to preparing you.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a bit of a slut.” She giggles.

We walk up the staircase, towards the rooms that have been blocked from guests. I turn my head as we ascend the spiral stairs. He’s watching me. But there’s no way he knows it’s me. I probably just remind him of myself is all.

“Jecca, these men aren’t college boys where a hand job in the back of the study hall will suffice. These men are the real deal. DOM’s, sex-traffickers, and men who won’t care if we say no. They’ll fuck us anyway and the scary part… we’ll want it. If they’re anything like the two of them. We’ll beg for more.”

“Who? You had sex with two men at once? I want to go now. Let’s get changed.” I pause as she enters her room, already unzipping her gown and letting it fall as she moves to pick up a strappy silk dress from her bed. “I want to bust Daddy tonight, but if I meet someone and have a little fun while I’m at it? It’ll be a bonus.”

“Or a nightmare. I have a bad feeling about this.”

She rolls her eyes, “Did you see half the men downstairs? They’re pudgy and bald with bad breath. Hardly threats to us. You spin a good tale, Jessie. If only any of it were true. What you are telling me sounds more like a fantasy. I hardly think any of the men that will be at this other after party will make me want to lose control. Fat and bald doesn’t turn me on even if their bank accounts have a million zeros.”

“That’s why they use drugs.” I smile faintly. Hoping I’m wrong and she’s right. Dimitri wasn’t here tonight and if the tabloids are to be believed—Christos is no longerEl Diabloand by the way he looked at the women on his arm. He’ll probably be spending the rest of the night with her.

Jealousy consumes me.

Maybe I had Stockholm’s Syndrome and the love I felt was a mirage. But the lust wasn’t. I still burn for him and it kills me that some other woman might feel his touch tonight. I need to see him, find a way to speak with him in private before I leave Paris. I pick up the sapphire silk gown Jecca points to. “If I do this for you—go tonight and help you trap your father…I-I need you to help me. I need to meet Mr. Devillo.”

Her eyes meet mine as she turns from the mirror, large diamond drop earrings in her hands, “He’s downstairs. Honestly Jessie, I never pegged you for a chicken.”

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