Page 10 of A Sip of Sin

Hollen took a step back, wilting under the gazes that seemed to burn right through his damp clothes. He couldn’t find the doorknob behind him, only the carved stretch of wood that promised to be impossible to break through. If it had been his door at home, he could have just broken it down with one foot aimed through the material.

“Did Munro send you down here, little one?” The closest man fully turned to him, closing the distance between them. He was dressed in something that could only be called a bath robe that ended mid-thigh. With all the others, he stood out, a startling intensity to the way he approached with his gaze locked on Hollen.

Hollen’s heart picked up, and he pressed his back hard against the wood.What the hell is this place?It didn’t make anysense to have a meeting room like this in a teahouse unless there was some kind of front for a mafia or gang. He swallowed.

“Y-yes.” Hollen glanced over his shoulder, but he couldn’t spy the knob. He fisted his shirt, making the wrinkles so much worse. “I took a wrong turn.”Rent is due this week.He bit the inside of his cheek. Even if Munro was a mafia boss, he still paid well.

“I recognize you,” said the man. He had chocolate-brown eyes and matching hair that fell in wavy strands to just above his broad shoulders. He would have stood out if Hollen would have passed him on the street between the red bath robe that was loosely tied at his waist and that gaze that got stronger with every step. “You’re the little treat that wouldn’t leave the other night. Munro hired you.”

“Yes,” said Hollen, his voice barely above a whisper. There was nowhere to go when the man reached out, his hands solid links of chain rooting him in place.

“That makes us friends,” he said, widening his grin until his teeth were on display. They were strange—slightly too big for his mouth, like ill-fitting dentures. They were sharp, too, the tips promising to leave quite the mark if Hollen ever got too close. “Call me Rhys.”

“That’s such a nice name,” said Hollen, doing his best not to stare as he failed to tug himself from Rhys’ grip. “Is it Greek?” He stared at the ground when he realized how sheer the robe was. There was nothing underneath, not even the smallest scrap of underwear to hide that he was certainly carved like a Greek god.

The others were all staring at them, silent as Rhys ran his tongue over his teeth, flashing a smile as he leaned in. They all had that same look in their eye, one that had Hollen on absolute edge with every muscle in his body tensed and ready to flee. The last time he’d felt this way, he’d ended up with a nasty cat scratch infection and a demon in his thoughts.

“Welsh,” said Rhys, scrunching his nose as he inhaled sharply. “If Munro was going to send us a treat, he could have sent us something a little less bland.”

“Um.” Hollen jerked his arm, but Rhys held strong, curling his fingers until they were digging into the bone. It ached, likely bruising him instantly. “I need to go. Let me go, please.”

“Not before introductions,” said Rhys, turning and dragging Hollen toward the group. As they drew closer, he realized that the table they were gathered around wasn’t wood but thick black rock that stood on pillars of dark stone. The grain was etched over the surface that gleamed in the lights above. It had to be worth a fortune.

How the hell someone had managed to carry something like that down a dark hallway with no lights was beyond him.

“This is Corby,” said Rhys, pausing at the first man. He didn’t have Rhys’ height or his build, closer to Hollen’s height, but he still managed to be intimidating in a suit with his hair slicked back. His eyes were so pale that the blue looked nearly white. “But perhaps you’ve met him already. He’s Erie’s…father.”

Hollen shook, furrowing his forehead in confusion. “I thought Munro was his dad.” He could’ve sworn that was what George had said. There was no answer or confirmation in his head, George suspiciously quiet as Hollen’s heart threatened to break out of his chest.

“Munro is like a father to us all,” said Rhys, rubbing at his chin. “Corby, myself, and even Kail here.” He motioned across the table to a young man who seemed like one of the only ones who wasn’t interested in what was going on. His face was completely blank, his green eyes giving nothing away.

Rhys let out a small laugh before he turned back to Corby. “Do you want him?”

Corby let out a huff before turning his head away. There was a sneer on his lips, his nose scrunched with something that could only have been disgust.

“I thought not.” Rhys dragged him on.

Why does it feel like I’m being bid on like cattle? Only I’m the cow with the broken leg that no one wants?There was no use in struggling. Rhys was too strong, his grip unbreakable as he dragged Hollen across the room, carefully avoiding the corner of the massive table.

“Is there a point to this?” One of the few women spoke up, her red hair matching her sour look. “I came here to discuss something of importance, but all I’ve been able to do is look at your naked ass while you play with your food.”

Rhys sent her a scowl, his grip going so tight that Hollen whimpered, his knees going weak. There were tears in his eyes, threatening to fall.Run. Run!There was nothing he could do.

“Kail,” said Rhys, gesturing to the one with green eyes. Kail drew back, the first flicker of startled emotion passing over his features.

“Rhys, are you sure—” Kail started.

“I thought not,” said Rhys, scrunching his nose before he jerked Hollen toward the table. His robe slipped as he crowded Hollen toward the black surface, pushing him back as his legs hit the edge.

“What are you doing?” asked Hollen, trying to avoid looking at Rhys’ exposed chest while grasping at his robe to keep him from falling as he was herded and pushed, seconds away from sprawling across the ominous black expanse.

The table was freezing against the thin material on the back of his thighs, the sensation creeping over his skin and tugging against him. He shivered, every hair standing on end at the pure unnatural feel of it.

“Introductions, of course.” Rhys licked his lips before pushing at Hollen’s chest, the movements irresistible. Hollen tried to struggle, but defeat soaked him the moment his back met the obsidian surface.

Every ounce of warmth was sucked from him in an instant, the burning coolness radiating straight to his bones. It soaked through him—in him—contaminating each muscle and nerve until there was nothing but the cold. He could barely keep his eyes open, his chest heaving as if the air had turned to molasses.

When Rhys grinned, Hollen caught the sight of sharp teeth that had his stomach falling straight into a pit of despair.Everything makes sense now.The strange and aromatic teas, the late-night hours, the hunger and intensity in more than one person’s gaze in the room.

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