Page 26 of Forever Touched

And also one of the most awful.

Why was the crown vampire prince, second only in power to the king himself, seekingmeout? Now that I knew who he was, I struggled to make sense of everything that had happened. Despite my young age, I knew all about Everett D’angelo and the Demonic Trinity. He and his two younger brothers had spent the past several decades terrorizing my kind, simply because one witch had dared to cross paths with them.

Everett had been the worst, though. He’d hunted down and killed hundreds of innocent witches and warlocks without mercy, all to appease his bloodlust for revenge. His mindless killing spree had taken place over a century ago, but he was still known for his cruelty and hatred of witches.

Knowing who he was changed everything. My own need for revenge thrummed hotly in my veins. I hadn’t seen the vampire who’d killed my father six years ago, but I knew they’d been a Venturi. Apowerfulone. Nothing less could have killed a powerful Oracle elder. He’d been training me to follow in his footsteps when the battle against the Venturi had taken place.

The vampire kingdom had been divided, on the brink of destruction. The elders should have just let them kill each other. My dad would still be alive if they hadn’t gotten involved, if they hadn’tmade the fight theirs. Now, because of the choices they’d made, I was forced to deal with the aftermath.

I’d been stupid to follow him that night. By the time I’d arrived, it was too late. My father was gone, and I’d been thrown into servitude to repay a debt that wasn’t mine.

At least I understood now why Everett had seemed so familiar to me. I’d seen him that night. Not up close, but I remembered his eyes. They’d met mine, albeit briefly. Their depths had been hard and cold. I remembered that much.

I shivered, recalling how it had felt to be intimate with him. What if I’d had sex with my father’s killer?

Rubbing my arms, I readied for another night of dancing. Tonight’s entertainment would be up close and personal.Intimate. But if the vampire prince showed up again, I was going to avoid him like the plague.

The thrall I was under demanded that I give up his identity to Mistress, but for the very first time, I’d lied to her. The moment she’d confronted me about the night I’d shared with him, I’d looked her straight in the eye and given her a false name.

Benjamin Osborne.

The name had popped into my head and spilled from my lips before I could think better of it. How I’d managed to get away with a lie was still a mystery to me. The thrall forced me to tell the truth. There was no way around it. So how did I manage to keep Everett’s name to myself? Andwhy?

I shouldwantto give him up. Mistress would be ecstatic if she knew that I’d lured in a royal. This was the moment we’d been waiting for. With Everett under my spell, we could push forward with our plans.

But I hadn’t. I’d hesitated, and I didn’t know why.

As the music changed, I set aside my conflicted thoughts for later and focused on my job. Hopefully therealBenjamin Osborne didn’t show up tonight. Heath and Mistress would know I was hiding something if I secured two clients with the same name.

My cue to dance came, and I hurried into position. The second I climbed on top of the low table, a spotlight struck me. Immediately, the people at the round table stopped what they were doing to take me in. Despite being on a glass tabletop, I wore six-inch silver stilettos. The rest of my outfit was a holographic silver made up of straps and little else. I’d worn my hair up for a change tonight, pulling it into a high chic ponytail.

When the music started again, I whipped my ponytail forward, then snapped my head back. As my hair arced through the air, I struck a provocative pose to the delight of my audience. They hooted and hollered, and I threw them an amused smirk. They thought that was impressive? I was just getting started.

Table dancing was fun, actually. Without anything to hold onto, I could freestyle, using my body however I wished. My hands and hair were my greatest assets, moving and twisting in ways that kept my audience captive. They especially loved it when I sensually touched myself. Flashing a bit of forbidden skin also got them going. As I cupped my breasts, throwing my head back as if in ecstasy, they went wild.

Money fluttered through the air, and I rewarded them by running my hands over my stomach. Snapping straight again, I made eye contact and slipped my hands lower, teasing the straps of my bottoms.

“Take it off!” several of them screamed, cheering when one of the straps “accidentally” came undone. I teased them for several minutes, but my job wasn’t to strip. My employers didn’t believe in giving away the goods that easily.

I moved on to the next table soon after, knowing that I had several more to go. As I danced, my gaze kept wandering to the farthest booth in the darkest corner. It was empty.

The prince hadn’t shown up tonight, which shouldn’t have surprised me. He’d gotten what he wanted, after all.

Well, good riddance. This way, I wouldn’t have to reveal his identity. More importantly, I could stopthinkingabout him. I’d barely been able to sleep this morning after work. My body had felt too charged. Tooalive. Despite what I now knew about him, my libido was off the charts. It was like he’d awakened something inside me. Something I’d thought was dead.

And that was dangerous. It gave him control over me, and not being in control while I was with a client could get me killed.Especiallywhen that someone was him. If he knew the full extent of what I did here, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill me.

Minutes before midnight, I approached my last table. There was only one person sitting at the booth, and I immediately recognized him. It was the second male I’d chosen last night. He wore a gold mask, the same one he’d worn before. As I stepped onto the table, his eyes devoured every inch of me. Used to the attention, I didn’t flinch, but something in his gaze made me uneasy.

Was this the Benjamin Osborne that Everett had told me about? Remembering what he’d said about him, sudden nerves fluttered in my stomach. Maybe I shouldn’t invite him to my room tonight. If he wasthatviolent with women, securing him as a client might not be worth it. Still, I had a job to do, and that included dancing for him.

As I did, the hunger in his gaze intensified. He was as still as a statue, but his eyes tracked my every move. A minute away from calling it a night, I laid on my back on the table and spread my thighs wide in a provocative pose. His eyes practically went feral, but I heldthe pose, reaching down to touch myself through my bottoms.

I was almost finished with my table routine when I suddenly heard him say over the pumping music, “So are you gonna invite me up again or should we get started right here, sweet thing?”

I froze. My hesitation cost me.

Faster than I could blink, he had me in his lap. “On second thought, why wait? I’m already nice and hard for you,” he purred, pressing me down until I felt just how aroused he was.

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