Page 6 of Bared Betrayal
Panic joins the ice in my gut.
“It’s perfect,” he says as he puts the ring into place, looking at me as he straightens. “The perfect fit…just like us.”
My heart is heavy inside my chest as he kisses me, his lips fused to mine as if it seals the promise of a future together. The real me screams behind the bars I locked her in, and I wonder how long I’ll be able to silence her before this stifling perfection of a life with Sebastian kills me.
Two
GABRIEL
“Nicoli,you have got to stop worrying about this delivery. Everything has been handled,” I reassure him. Nicoli is the twin brother of Alexius Del Rossa, boss of the Dark Sovereign. A society of men who rule half the fucking world. “We’ve accounted for every detail.”
My relationship with the Dark Sovereign is nothing but business. My connection to Club Myth is pure pleasure. It’s one of the most elite adult clubs in the city, and my membership takes a big chunk out of my bank account every month.
On the business side, it’s simple. Whenever they have a shipment coming in, it comes through Sterling Shipping—a company I own, one I’ve managed to build from the ground up, and one I’m able to keep thanks to the Dark Sovereign name tied to it. There’s a lot of power tied to the Del Rossa name.
I look down from the floor-to-ceiling interior window of my office, watching one of my secretaries deal with the customs agent. Victoria Evans—the fucking pain in my ass that just won’t go away. Sauntering in here, demanding attention with every click of her heel, has become her new pastime. She wears her signature skin-tight pencil skirt the same way she carries her authority—with confidence. Beautiful, sexy, and perfectly fuckable…if she weren’t so goddamn predictable.
“Gabriel, it’s not that I don’t trust you,” Nicoli says through the receiver, “but with the lockdown on shipments and customs practically sniffing our asses, I won’t relax until we have this one signed off and the cargo situated.” I can practically hear his jaw clench.
“Relax, Nicoli. I’m telling you, this is nothing to worry about. I have it all under control. Trust me. Have I ever let you down?”
“Not yet.”
I smirk. “I have it all under control. Now, I have to go. I have a customs agent to appease.” I hang up and slip my phone into my pocket, watching as Victoria crosses her arms, clearly unimpressed by my secretary, Denise. That makes me smile. Denise is well-trained and knows how to respond to any customs agent looking for a reason to fuck us in the ass. I know whatever she’s saying to Victoria right now, her response is appropriate. Between the two of us, we’ll make sure the uptight pencil skirt will leave this building without a single reason to piss on my business. And that better be soon. She’s already overstayed her welcome. I’ve been avoiding her for the last three days, but she’s still fucking hovering, making her presence known. She won’t leave until she gets what she came for.
Me.
Victoria glances up to my office window, and our gazes lock for no more than two seconds before I turn my back on her, walking across the carpeted floor to my desk and taking a seat.
I don’t have time to play games today. I have other shit to worry about, like the shipment Nicoli has been all up in my ass over. This shipment is special. These always are.
We have girls coming in, victims of being trafficked, rescued by the Dark Sovereign. The Del Rossa family takes a personal interest in all their girls, especially those plucked out of the black market—they make for the most loyal type. But not every rescue is welcomed into the Dark Sovereign world.This is where I come in. I have a keen eye for spotting the best candidates. I ensure every new face is hand selected, screened, and ready to prove their loyalty. The women at Myth are more than employees. They are part of a secret society, a place where fantasies and sin rule the night. An elite adult club so exclusive and discreet most can only whisper rumors of its existence.
Membership is granted only to those who truly understand the ethos of this rarified world. Money, power, loyalty, and the utmost discretion will give you access to this hallowed place of pleasure.
Rumors tend to spread lies, like the ones that say women at Myth are held prisoner, their bodies sold to the highest bidder against their will. But the girls we bring in are more than aware of what the position entails, and they covet the opportunity to be a part of it because Dark Sovereign girls are treated like fucking royalty.
There’s a knock on my office door, but it gets flung open before I can speak.
“Your secretary said you were out.” Davian Stark, who I consider the closest thing I have to a best friend, and also the contract killer to the Dark Sovereign, walks in, shutting the door behind him. “I knew she was lying.”
“She knew you wouldn’t believe her.”
“She’s a real wiseass, that one. You trained her well.” Davian takes a seat in front of me. “I’ve been trying to call you all morning.”
“It’s been a day,” I say, leaning back in my chair.
“That’s exactly why we need one of our get-togethers.” And by ‘get-togethers,’ he means our exclusive sex parties.
Like me, Davian is one of the Elite seven—as we’re called—who have the privilege of hosting a secret gathering at Myth once a month on a night when the club’s doors are closed for business to other members. It’s one night when we parade our filthy depravities from behind masked faces. A night where inhibitions don’t exist, and boundaries are broken by our vetted tastes for the forbidden.
“I’m in desperate need of a visit to that oval table, Gabriel,” he says, pulling a hand through his dark-blond hair. “It’s been too long.”
It sure as fuck has. “Two weeks from Sunday.”
“Two weeks?” He rolls his green eyes, rubbing a hand along the back of his neck. “Right now, that seems like the equivalent of two fucking years.”
“Why so tense?” I ask, rocking on my chair as I lean back.
