Glass shattered against the marble wall. As the shards rained down and clinked against the polished wooden floor, it took all my willpower not to snatch up another glass and hurl that against my bedroom wall too.
Hell fucking damn it all. I didn’t know how to behave around Audrey anymore. Part of me wanted to kill her so that I could be rid of her infuriating existence once and for all. The other part of me wanted to fuck her until the only words that left her wicked tongue were intoxicating pleas containing my name. And then there was another part of me. A small part. And that part just wanted to watch the light that sometimes sparkled in her eyes when she laughed.
And when she did things like what she had just done in her bedroom…
It had taken me until she started removing her panties to realize that she didn’t actually want me to join her in the shower. It was just a damn scheme. She had set the whole situation up so that she could find out where the key was, and the shower invitation was only meant to give her an opportunity to steal it from my clothes. And it had taken me far too long to realize it. I hated that I found it so fucking attractive how intelligent and sneaky she was. And when she bit her lip like that…
My restraint snapped, and I grabbed the second glass and hurled it at the wall. Sharp shards exploded against the pale marble before tumbling down to join the others on the floor.
Audrey was like a drug. I wanted her so badly. I had to do something to get her out of my head. I had to flush her out of my system.
A timid knock came from the door.
“What?” I snapped.
“Mr. Blackwell?” Tina said through the door. “I heard shattering glass. Would you like me to come in and clean it up?”
“Fine. Yeah, come in.”
The door was pulled open slightly and a beautiful woman with dark brown hair slipped inside. Tina was one of the people who worked for me and took care of cleaning and washing and other domestic chores. She was also my most common choice when I wanted some stress release. Not everyone from my household staff wanted to fuck me, of course, but Tina did. And she was gorgeous and good in bed, so our arrangement had worked out well. At least, until now.
Her eyes drifted over my body as she closed the door behind her. My cock was still straining against my pants from when I had watched Audrey undress, but Tina of course didn’t know that. So when she saw it, she gave me a sly smile and started towards me.
“Would you like me to relieve some of the tension?” she asked with a glance down at my crotch. “It has been weeks since last time.”
I watched the way she swayed her hips when she walked closer. Maybe this was how I could flush Audrey out of my system? Maybe I could fuck Tina until all my memories of Audrey’s perfect body were gone from my mind?
But for some reason, I could no longer stand the thought of putting my hands on Tina’s naked body.
So in the end, I only jerked my chin towards the wall. “Just clean up the glass.”
Tina’s face fell. She staggered to a halt on the floor before recovering enough to give me a respectful nod. “Yes, Mr. Blackwell.”
While she changed direction and moved towards the glass shards on the floor, I strode over to the couch under the window and dropped down on the dark leather cushions. Seated in the middle of it, I spread my arms and draped them over the backrest before tipping my head back and heaving a deep sigh.
I had to get my head back on straight before we went to Grant’s mansion. The guy could literally mess with people’s emotions, which meant that showing up with a mind full of tangled feelings was incredibly dangerous. Sam might have given his guarantee of safety, and Grant might be the one dark mage who was least prone to violent attacks, but I was still not taking any chances. Not until I had broken Lance and could wield him as a weapon against them.
Another knock sounded from the door. This one was much firmer.
“Boss,” Yuito said. “She’s ready.”
“Bring her in,” I called back.
A moment later, the door was opened to reveal both Yuito and Audrey. I ran my eyes over the poison mage.
Her hair was still damp from the shower, but she was wearing that gold and green dress that I had brought her. And a new sense of determination sparkled in her piercing green eyes.
“I thought you said we were in a hurry,” she remarked.
“I said we were leaving soon. I never specified a time.”
“Well, then maybe you should have…” She trailed off as her gaze drifted towards the wall.
Glass clinked faintly from where Tina was still sweeping up the shattered shards.
Recognition blew across Audrey’s face.
My brows rose slightly. So, she remembered Tina’s face from when she had walked in on us fucking in the spare room? That was interesting.
“Tina,” I said, making a split-second decision. “I changed my mind.”
Tina’s eyes lit up as she straightened and turned to face me. Still seated on the couch with my arms draped over the backrest, I snapped my fingers and then pointed towards the floor between my legs. After setting down the dustpan full of glass shards, Tina sauntered over to me with a sly smile on her lips.
If Audrey had been mine, if we had been a couple, I would never even have considered doing something like this. Ever. But Audrey and I weren’t a couple. And we never would be.
From across the room, the poisoner narrowed her eyes slightly as she watched me.
When he realized what was about to happen, Yuito respectfully averted his gaze and focused all his attention on Audrey instead.
Clothes rustled faintly as Tina dropped to her knees between my spread legs and ran her hands over my thighs. Reaching up, she undid the buttons on my pants before pushing the fabric down and wrapping her fingers around my cock. She leaned forward, taking me deep into her mouth. I held Audrey’s gaze.
Amusement blew across her face, and she arched a dark eyebrow at me. “Seriously?”
“What?” I smirked back at her. “Jealous?”
“Jealous?” she scoffed. “You wish.”
Yes, I did. Seeing her in that green and golden dress again had brought back memories of the last time she had worn it. At the ball. When we had danced together before she knocked out Lance Carmichael and threw him out the window of the parliament building. It stirred up emotions that I wanted to forget. Emotions that I needed to forget.
Tina continued working her lips, but I kept my eyes locked on Audrey’s. It wasn’t exactly the first time Tina had given me a blowjob, but something felt different this time. It felt mechanical. Detached. And no pleasure built inside me.
A smug laugh dripped from Audrey’s lips as she shot a pointed look at my crotch. “Having trouble performing with an audience?”
Irritation crackled through me. The problem wasn’t the audience. The problem was that I had the wrong mouth wrapped around my cock.
Taking my arm from the backrest, I placed a hand on Tina’s shoulder and pushed her back. She slid my cock out of her mouth and sat back on her heels before looking up at me with uncertain eyes.
“Leave,” I commanded.
“I…” She flicked her gaze between my crotch and my face. “I’m sorry.”
It wasn’t her fault, but I didn’t feel like sharing that with anyone so I just jerked my chin towards the door. “Get out.”
While she scrambled to her feet, I pulled my pants back up again. Glass clinked as Tina grabbed the full dustpan and disappeared out the door without another word. Audrey shifted aside to let her pass, but I noticed the sharpness in her eyes as she tracked Tina’s movements.
Leather groaned as I pushed to my feet as well. “Yuito, find Audrey something that will cover up those black rings around her arm. Then take her to the dining room to wait for me.”
He dipped his chin and reached out to grab Audrey’s arm. “Yes, boss.”
Audrey tried to yank her arm out of Yuito’s grip, but he was much too strong for that. So instead, she just cut him a scathing glare before turning those blazing eyes on me. I met her gaze briefly before striding towards the spacious bathroom that was connected to my bedroom.
“And where are you going?” she demanded.
“I’m going to take a shower.”
“I thought you said we were in a hurry.”
“Again, I never said that.”
“Then why couldn’t you have told me that and let me enjoy my shower?”
“Just do as you’re fucking told,” I tossed over my shoulder while crossing the threshold into the bathroom.
Before she could reply, I threw the door shut behind me.
Damn it all to hell. Every time I saw her, those infuriating feelings inside me just got even more tangled up. And we were going to Grant’s mansion in half an hour. I had to make sure that he wasn’t going to do something stupid like try to steal Lance from me, and to do that, I needed a clear head.
Yanking off my shirt, I stalked towards the shower.
I really needed to flush the drug that was Audrey Sable out of my system.
