“This is the outer ring,” Audrey said.
It had been a half statement, half question, so I nodded and said, “Yes.”
Both of us kept our eyes on the street ahead so as to not look suspicious, but I knew that she was stealing quick glances towards the buildings that ran along the left side. Just like I was.
There were no shops located on that side. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought that they were simply residential houses. However, I did know better. Levi had drawn us a map of Trevor Gale’s stolen territory. The row of buildings on our left belonged to a larger shape and made up one side of a square. Four rows of buildings that formed a defensive barrier. And within that barrier was yet another square-shaped area of buildings. In the middle lay a grand structure that had been a holy site at some point in Malgrave’s long history. Now, it was home to Trevor Gale. The man we needed to kill.
I flicked a glance towards the shops that filled the buildings on our right. “See anything that will work?”
Audrey was silent for a few seconds while she scanned the shops up ahead. Then she nodded towards one with a sign painted in pale pink. The name on it read Ylva’s, and a dress had been drawn next to it.
“That one,” she said.
The outer wall was mostly made up of large windows. But as opposed to most of the other clothing shops we had passed, this one didn’t have dresses or suits hanging straight in front of the window. Instead, two white couches had been positioned there. A man was already seated on one of them, his elbow braced on the armrest and his chin resting in his hand, while he looked towards the changing room his partner was presumably in.
“That’ll work,” I said.
She nodded. “I also like the style of the clothes in there.”
“Then let’s go.”
We walked the final distance to the pale wooden door while being mindful not to get caught studying the buildings on the other side of the street. Reaching out, I pulled open the door for Audrey. She shot me a surprised look, which quickly turned into a sly smile.
“Don’t get used to it,” I muttered, trying and failing to hide my own amusement. “It’s just because we’re in public, and because we’re pretending to be married again.”
A mischievous glint glittered in her eyes as she said, “Uh-huh.”
I shook my head at her. “Just get in.”
She threw me one last smirk before sauntering across the threshold, her hips swaying more than usual. I resisted the urge to let go of the door early and watch it smack into that perfect ass of hers. Shaking my head, at her and myself, I followed her into the clothing store.
“Welcome,” said the woman behind the counter. She was tall and slender, with blond hair and pale eyes, and looked to be in her forties. Ylva, presumably. “Are you looking for anything in particular or would you just like to browse?”
“Oh, I would love some help,” Audrey replied. “I’m on quite the mission today.” Turning slightly, she spoke casually over her shoulder to me. “Darling, why don’t you sit down. This will take a while, I’m afraid.”
I gave her a nod. “Of course, sweetheart.”
While she and Ylva began chatting about the clothes she wanted to buy, I moved over to the corner of the unoccupied couch and sat down to do what we had really come here to do. Scout out Trevor Gale’s security. Since we couldn’t very well stand outside on the street and stare without attracting attention, this gave me the perfect excuse to discreetly watch the buildings and the people who moved around out there.
The plush white couch creaked faintly as I sat down. After positioning myself at an angle, so that it looked like I was simply leaning my elbow against the backrest, I let a bored expression drift over my features. I wasn’t wearing my leather armor either. Just a regular shirt. From the outside, I would look like just another ordinary person who had been dragged into a clothing store against their will. But my eyes tracked everything that happened outside the window.
Morning sunlight slanted over the buildings and filled the street with warm light. There were no colored glass domes crisscrossing the road since we were outside the Entertainment District now, so the sunlight only reflected against plain windows. People strolled up and down the cobblestones. Some in groups, some in pairs, and some alone. I studied their faces while they walked.
“What about this one?”
The sound of Audrey’s voice snapped me out of my assessment, and I turned towards where the changing rooms were located on the other side.
A plummeting sensation rippled through me.
Audrey had pushed open the floor-length white drape that had blocked the view of her inside the changing room, and had now taken a few steps out into the store. She was wearing a dark green dress with gold details that hugged her chest and waist. The flowing skirt fluttered outwards slightly when she turned in a slow circle.
“You’re gorgeous,” I said, not being able to take my eyes off her. Then I remembered that she had been asking about the dress, and I cleared my throat. “It’s gorgeous.”
A slight blush crept into her cheeks, but she just gave me a smile and then winked before disappearing back into the changing room. Ylva gave me an approving nod from where she stood in front of the two closed drapes, as if I had passed some sort of test. Then she slid a pale pink dress into the changing room located next to Audrey’s.
“Honey, how’s it going?” the man called from the other couch.
I had almost forgotten that he was there, and I assessed him to reconfirm that he wasn’t a threat before I went back to watching the street.
“Fine,” a woman’s voice snapped back.
“Do you need any help deciding?”
“No.”
The man blew out a dejected sigh and, based on the faintly groaning couch, leaned back in his seat.
Outside, more people strolled past. A few of them were men and women I had seen before. They moved in such an unnatural pattern that, even though they were dressed as civilians, they had to be guards. I marked their faces.
“And these underneath,” Audrey’s voice said after a while.
I turned back towards her.
And my heart almost stopped.
She was standing there on the pale wooden floorboards, wearing nothing but a set of dark green and gold lingerie that perfectly matched that dress she had tried on earlier. They clung to her body, enhancing all of her already perfect assets.
Blood rushed to my cock, and I had to adjust the way I was sitting. Fucking hell, was she trying to kill me or what?
It took all of my self-control to remain seated on the couch instead of doing what I really wanted to do. Which was to stalk across the floor, push her back into the changing room, and show her exactly how much I liked her in those clothes. And not in them too.
“Yes, definitely those underneath,” I managed to press out while adjusting my position again.
The wicked smile on her lips informed me that she knew exactly what else had been going on inside my head. But all she said was, “Good.”
I blew out a long breath and was just about to resume my investigation of the buildings when my gaze snagged on something else. The man on the couch next to mine was staring at Audrey with eyes as wide as fucking frying pans. I could almost see the drool about to drip from his open mouth.
Rage roared up inside me.
White fabric fluttered as Audrey at last made it back into the changing room and pulled the drape shut again.
“Hey,” I said, my voice low enough that none of the others could hear it from across the room.
The man gave his head a couple of quick shakes, as if snapping out of the stupor. Then his gaze darted to me, and red crept up his neck when he realized that he had been openly ogling my wife. Well, not my wife. My, uhm… That he had been ogling Audrey.
“The color really matched the dress,” he said, as if that would somehow fool me.
Remaining perfectly still, I let the silence stretch for a couple of seconds. He swallowed.
“Keep your eyes on the floor.” I cocked my head. “Or I will carve them out and put them there for you.”
His face drained completely of color. I held his stare for another few moments before shifting my attention back to the street.
Those same people I had already marked continued to move around as if they were civilians. Other than that, there were no visible guards. Though, I could have sworn that I also saw someone move past a few of the upstairs windows. It was hard to tell from this angle, with the sun reflecting against the glass, and it could also just be normal people who lived in there, but I was fairly certain that the inside of the building was guarded too.
“And what about this one?” Audrey’s voice once more filled the store.
How she managed to take my breath away every time was beyond me, but that was exactly what she did. Lost for words, I simply stared at her in the regal black and gold dress she now wore.
Satisfaction glittered in her eyes when she met my gaze. Then she flicked a quick glance at the man on the other couch, and her eyebrows scrunched up in confusion instead. I followed her gaze.
The man was staring pointedly at the floor a couple of strides in front of the couch instead of looking at her.
Suspicion replaced the confusion on Audrey’s face as she shifted her gaze back to me. I gave her my best attempt at an innocent shrug. She narrowed her eyes at me, and then a smile that I knew meant trouble slid across her lips while she retreated into the changing room once more.
I went back to studying the street until I realized that the next time Audrey stepped out, she would do something that would make it impossible for the man next to me to keep his eyes averted. And I had meant what I said. If he ogled her like that again, I was going to carve his eyes out. However, we really couldn’t afford to have any bloody eyeballs on the floor here today, so I forced out a long sigh and pushed up from the couch.
The man flinched when I stood up, but I wasn’t aiming for him.
Instead, I strode across the pale wooden floorboards with powerful steps and unceremoniously pulled the drape open and slipped inside. Ylva gave me a knowing look before I disappeared, since she probably knew what Audrey had been about to do as well.
Fabric rustled behind me as the white drape fluttered shut.
Audrey, who looked like she had just been about to yank it open and walk out, blinked at me in surprise.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I said before she could get a word out.
Raising her dark brows, she gave me an expectant look. “What do you think you’re doing? You’re supposed to be watching the street.”
“How am I supposed to watch the street when you’re in here, looking like this?”
At last, I let my gaze wander down her body. Fucking hell. She was wearing lingerie in black and gold. The sheer fabric alone would have been enough to drive me insane, but then there were also perfectly placed straps that crisscrossed her skin in several places. I curled my hand into a fist and blew out a steadying breath before dragging my gaze back up to her face.
She was grinning like a fiend.
“Oh you really are an evil one, aren’t you?” I said.
A soft, but very wicked, laugh drifted from her mouth. “What did you tell that poor guy on the couch?”
I took a couple of steps forward, making her back up against the wall. “That I would carve out his eyes if he so much as looked in your direction again.”
The answering smile on her lips was pure villain. Placing her hands against my chest, she twisted my body sideways and then shoved me down on the stool that was positioned by the wall. I raised my eyebrows at her in silent question as I shifted my weight so that I sat on it properly.
She drew a hand along my jaw, making a tremor course through my body. Leaning down, she stole a kiss from my lips before whispering, “You knelt for me yesterday. Now, I’m returning the favor.”
My heart stuttered as she took a firm grip on my thighs and spread my legs wider before lowering herself to her knees between them. I flicked a glance towards the white drape, but it was firmly shut. When I returned my gaze to her, I found a smirk on her lips.
“You’re going to have to stay really quiet for this,” she said, echoing the words that I had challenged her with several times, while her fingers worked to unbutton my pants.
Shaking my head in disbelief, I reached out and took her chin in a firm grip. Her smirk only grew more wicked. I held her mischievous stare while she pushed the fabric of my pants aside. Then I huffed out a silent laugh and released her before giving her a look that informed her that I very much accepted the challenge.
She wrapped her slender fingers around my cock and pulled it out from my underwear. My breath caught as she drew her hand up and down the shaft in lazy movements. I exhaled slowly.
Light from candles set into a clear glass dome above our heads glittered in the gold details of Audrey’s brassiere when she moved. I couldn’t stop looking at her. In that enticing black and gold lingerie, on her knees between my legs, with a wicked glint in her eyes and a sly smile on her lips… She was intoxicating.
She leaned forward and traced the tip of her tongue along my cock. I had to clench my jaw to stop a groan from escaping my throat. A soft laugh made her warm breath caress my skin. I forced out another measured breath.
Pleasure crackled through my veins as she swirled her tongue over my tip before wrapping those luscious lips around my cock and taking me into her mouth. She looked up and held my gaze as she slowly took me deeper.
A shudder coursed through my body.
Drawing her hands up my thighs, she took a firm grip on my hips and then shifted herself into a better position. Her lips slid across my skin as she pulled back slightly before taking my cock deeper into her mouth again.
My heart thumped in my chest.
While her hands slid back down to my thighs, she dropped her eyes and focused on working her lips and tongue along my shaft. Pleasure built inside me. I had to resist the urge to reach out and grab her hair when she lightly scraped her teeth against my already throbbing cock. Instead, I curled my hands into fists and blew out another silent breath.
Audrey drew back and flicked her tongue over my tip before taking me all the way into her throat. Lights flickered in my brain, and a moan almost slipped from my lips. Looking up, she held my gaze while she remained in that position for a few more seconds. And hell damn it if watching her choke on my cock didn’t almost make me come right then.
“How is it going?” Ylva called from the other side of the white drape. “Anything I can help you with?”
Audrey slid my cock out of her mouth but made no move to answer. Instead, she licked her way up the side of my shaft again while arching an eyebrow and shooting me a pointed look. As if she expected me to answer.
“It’s…” I began.
Right then, Audrey teased my tip with her tongue and then wrapped her lips around my cock again, and I had to snap my mouth shut to suppress a groan as pleasure pulsed through my whole body.
Clearing my throat, I tried again. “Everything’s fine. We’re just…”
Her teeth grazed my skin and a violent tremor course through me.
Hell fucking damn it, this vicious little poisoner was going to be the death of me.
“Everything is fine,” I repeated in a hoarse voice.
“Alright,” Ylva replied. “Let me know if you need anything.”
How about a bucket of ice water the size of a small building?
“Thanks,” I managed to press out instead.
Audrey’s eyes were practically dancing with wicked glee as she worked her lips and tongue until I was having trouble seeing straight. My whole body felt as though it was going to explode.
She scraped her teeth against my skin again.
Pleasure shot through my limbs as release washed over me and I came down her throat. Gritting my teeth, I fought with everything I had to stop from moaning Audrey’s name. My hands shook from how hard I was clenching my fingers.
Audrey held my gaze as she swallowed everything. Smug satisfaction shone on her features as she watched me struggle to keep from making a sound.
When she at last slid my cock out of her mouth, I heaved a deep sigh while flexing my now aching fingers. By all hell, I was going to get back at her for this. And I was going to get her good. Sweet, torturous revenge.
A smug laugh filled the small space.
Blinking my eyes back into focus, I found Audrey using my thighs for support as she slowly climbed to her feet again. The gold details in her lingerie glinted in the candlelight.
When she was back on her feet, she leaned down and drew her hand under my chin, tipping my head back, before she smirked at me.
“Well, would you look at that.” Her eyes glittered as she held my gaze. “Looks like I won’t have to gag you either.”
