Page 63 of Twisted Cage

“We will talk about what you said to me about your mother when this is over. You and me? We’re going to set a few fucking things straight.”

23

KONSTANTIN

Shadowbrook Lair—the inner sanctum of the Ophidian Society. Home of the Grand Serpent himself. No way this can go wrong. No way at all.

Composed of politicians, billionaires, and some of the most brilliant minds on the planet, there is no limit to their global power, a fact that should give me pause, only it doesn’t. No amount of money, power, or intelligence can save anyone who dares risk Nikoletta’s life. I'll skin them alive right there on the pristine marble floor.

We arrive in three vehicles. All bulletproof. All full of armed men. Yet none of them relieve the apprehension building inside me.

I scan the surrounding area. In just seconds, Grigori is at my side doing the same. “My gut’s screaming at me, boss. And you?”

“Yeah. Stay within twenty feet of her the entire night and don’t take your eyes off her for a second.”

He nods and slides me a sidelong glance. “Done.”

I glimpse her exposed back and the dimples on clear display just above her mouthwatering ass. “Keep your eyes from the shoulders up or I’ll hand them to you.”

His lips twitching, a mocking laugh rumbles in his throat. “Is she armed?”

I can’t help but glance down at her thigh. “Yes.”

“You’re sure?”

“I strapped the knives to her myself.” Just the thought of her warm skin on the inside of her leg has my cock jerking in my fucking pants.

His hands freeze on the lapels of his tux. “You’re going to get us all killed.”

“Probably.”

He snorts next to me. “Cracking jokes now, boss?”

“Nope.” He’s getting awfully ballsy, knowing it would be frowned upon to slit his throat in elite company.

“Fucking hell.”

“Exactly.” From the corner of my eye, I catch Nikoletta shifting her clutch to her left hand, holding it over the slit of her dress, hiding my name marking her as she climbs her first step.

Mine.

In permanent marker now, but fuck if I didn’t want it tattooed into every intimate place on her body.

She’ll try to scrub it off the minute we get back, her pride driving her to attack her sensitive skin to obliterate my claim. It might fade… but my last name will remain, just as stubborn as I am.

What would she do if she woke up to me looming over her in the middle of the night. Hands gripping her knees, spreading her, my head disappearing between her thighs to trace every single letter with the tip of my tongue?

My lips twitch.

Let the games begin.

Guests draped in designer gowns and tuxedos, women dripping with jewels, make their way up the steps to gather in the grand foyer where they congregate with champagne flutes in their hands and practiced smiles affixed to their mouths.

Everything about the glittering festivities grates on my nerves. As far as I’m concerned, the night already peaked, right about the point I had my face buried between Nikoletta’s soft thighs.

We haven’t even gotten inside and men are drawn to her. Their gaze sweeping over her from head to toe, lingering way too fucking long on her back, their eyes flaring with interest.

Bastards.

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