Page 79 of Falcon's Prey

I also couldn’t forget the other reason I didn’t care. He was over six feet and standing behind me. Ren scared me, he enraged me, but he also made me feel protected. It was weird and probably Stockholm syndrome, but I couldn’t help the way I felt. I’d lied to the world, my family—hell, even myself. But this one thing I couldn’t lie about.

He made me feel things I’d never felt. I wasn’t talking about warm and fuzzy feelings, the stuff all the movies talked about. I was talking about feeling like you were drowning and gasping for air—the dread of falling into an endless abyss of the unknown.

Ren’s arm snaked around my waist possessively. I felt the heat of his skin warm me. He pushed me back a bit so my body was flush with his. I didn’t try to pull away or give a nasty remark. For the first time in a long time, I felt content.

“Remember what I told you,” Ren whispered in my ear.

Before I could answer, he was pushing me forward. I was sandwiched between him and Pam.

The bitch turned back and game me a glare, which I returned. Her eyes then trailed to Ren and then to my hip, where Ren now had his hand rested. She gave us a scowl and looked away.

My breath hitched the moment he started to move his hand lower. I felt the calloused pads of his fingertips on my thigh. His arm went lower, then curved back to the hem of my dress. Since the dress was so short, as soon as he went higher, he made it to my ass.

“You look like a whore,” he repeated harshly.

I didn’t say anything since I’d had no choice in my outfit. Pam had given me a flimsy thong. One wrong move and people would see my ass. Not that I gave a shit.

“Should I act like one too?” I bit back.

Ren’s other hand came to my throat, controlling the air I breathed. His mouth was on my ear, nibbling. To outsiders looking in, it probably looked like two lovers embracing.

“Careful, princess.” He squeezed my neck.

His other hand moved slowly until it traced the curve of my ass to my pussy. He glided two fingers past the cloth. I raised on my tiptoes from the sensation he was causing and felt myself growing wetter.

“This tight little pussy,” he groaned as he reached my clit.

I moved my arms until I was holding on to the arm he had at my neck. My fingers dug into his shirt. My lip was between my teeth, trying to hold back a moan.

“Only gets wet for me.”

He moved his fingers out after that. And I was left panting, loathing the way my body responded instantly for him.

It was one of my flaws to get off on things I shouldn’t.

The line started moving,and Ren gave my butt a gentle tap so I would walk. He stopped altogether, and I missed the way his body felt against mine. The way I felt the heat he emitted, warming the coldest parts of me. Maybe I was stupid, and I was a pathetic little girl looking for the love she never got from her parents. Look at where that got me—in Silas’s bed. Taking his so-called love at the cost of my dignity and tainting my body for something that wasn’t even real.

“Your name?” a voice said.

I craned my neck to look past Pam at the man holding a clipboard. I pushed Pam aside, not caring if she fell off the yacht.

“Ember Remington.” I said my name loud and proud even though I felt like a total fraud.

He gave a nod, motioning to the side. “Please wait here, Miss Remington.”

I squared my shoulders and did as he asked. I knew Zeke would not have taken the humiliation lightly. He was a proud man. That’s why I also knew while money was not something he wanted or needed, to have me at his mercy even for a night would be enough to soothe his bruised ego.

Men were predictable. You had to act weak so that they wouldn’t feel threatened. As for women, they hid their intentions behind fake smiles and meaningless compliments.

I looked at my fingers, appearing bored. I was aware I now had eyes on me, so I did what I’d always done and tuned everyone else out.

“People are staring,” Pam said.

“Don’t worry. They’re not looking at you,” I said without bothering to face her. “You’re no one in my world.”

“In my world, I could have you dead in—”

“That’s enough, Pam,” Ren cut her off.

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