Page 120 of Stalked By Seduction and Shadows

I hadn’t realized I’d cursed out loud until Reggie raised a dark brow. We’d been chatting since I’d brought him drinks, standing around a sleek onyx table.

His silver hair was well-groomed and cropped, his midnight blue suit classy with a hint of artsy dramaticism. “What’s got that enthralling mind so worked up today, Scarlett dear?”

I mumbled an apology and a half-lie about difficult patrons.

I tried to maintain eye contact, but I’d been watching Rune across the way for nearly an hour now. A turned woman I didn’t recognize had been with him the entire time, moving increasingly closer. She was devastatingly beautiful, voluminous waves of blonde hair, perfectly drawn pouty red lips, pale skin and a full figure donning a red dress and tall heels.

I ground my teeth. I had worn red tonight, too, because that was one of Rune’s favorite colors on me. He’d even picked out my dress.

When her dainty hand met his arm, my blood turned to ice, my skin burning. I’d seen plenty of women try for Rune’s affection, but never once had I seen someone be so bold as to touch him. Did they know each other well? They must have.

He never talked about previous lovers with me. I knew despite his commitment to presenting himself as a god above all simple pleasures to the outside world, he was far from virginal. Hushed whispers about his time in the sex dungeon were proof enough of that, though I’d never had the stomach to listen closely.

She touched his arm a second time, and he didn’t stop her. When he met my eyes and held them, I saw crimson. His lips twitched.

Was he toying with me? What, to provoke me into committing to him?

Fuck that.

“Reggie, I must admit something to you,” I said, dragging my eyes to his.

He smiled warmly, his handsome features alight. “Color me intrigued as ever.”

“I still haven’t seen the mysterious downstairs lair,” I started, and he leaned forward, his eyes rounding slightly. “I’d need a patron to take me, but I’m nervous to let someone buy that kind of time with me and end up feeling obligated to do things that I’m not comfortable doing.”

Rune was going to lose his damn mind.

And at that thought, I smiled. Rune clearly wanted to play jealousy games, and I was far from a passive participant.

Reggie’s features softened. “I understand completely, Scarlett,” he said. “I’d be honored just to have you on my arm as we enter. I expect nothing from you, and I wouldn’t mind at all if you ditched me for something better. You deserve to have a bit of fun. We all do!”

I appreciated the way Reggie controlled his own desires, putting my comfort above all else. I wasn’t used to that with my marks, which was why I found myself talking to him throughout the night merely because I wanted to.

I mirrored his beaming smile.

As Reggie spoke to a surprised and wary Seraph, giving him a generous tip to steal me away for the rest of my shift, Snow approached.

She peered left to right before pulling a tiny vial from inside her large pendent necklace. “I need a drop of your blood.”

I was so busy staring at Rune, still with the touchy blonde, that I nearly offered my hand to Snow without a second thought.

As soon as my palm was in hers, her words finally registered. I snapped to her gaze. “Wait, what?”

Snow blocked me from Rune, stepping close to me in this quieter alcove with plush seating and flickering candles on dark tables.

“You deserve to know if he dosed you with his blood, especially if he did it long ago—when he barely even knew you.” She looked fiercely into my eyes.

I straightened, defensiveness tugging my lips into a frown. “He wouldn’t have done that. And he wouldn’t have kept it from me if he had.”

“That second part is alarming,” Snow muttered. “But fine, then you shouldn’t be worried. Please do this for my peace of mind, then?”

I eyed the miniature blade she’d pulled from a secret pocket at her waist. I hesitated, but my focus was still on Rune and my hammering heart, knowing I was about to break one of his most vehement rules.

“Fine,” I murmured.

She pricked my left pointer finger, squeezing out a drop of my blood into the vial. In record speed, she replaced it in her pendent necklace and stepped away, just in time for Reggie to return.

“You ready?”

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