Page 65 of Devilish

“Uh huh, but in all seriousness,” Benoit said, “what do you think would happen if three men and two pretty young things got stuck in an elevator?” His hand hovered over the emergency button.

“Don’t even think about it,” I growled.

“Stopping the elevator? Or three men and two pretty young?—”

“How about neither,” Archer said, shaking his head. “Quit it, Benny.”

Benoit let out a put-upon sigh. “Fine, if I must. But I see you’re heading to level five, Lucien, so maybe I’ll?—”

“Go anywherebutthere for the rest of the night. Good idea.”

Preston snickered as Archer shook his head.

“How about you come up to the penthouse tonight with us, Benny?” Archer winked at me, and I could’ve kissed the man—but figured Kai and Preston might have something to say about that. “I’m meeting with a client and then we’re having dinner sent up.”

The elevator announced its arrival on level five with a louddingjust as Benoit said, “Are you trying to manage me, Archer Carrington?”

He was suddenly pulled to the back of the elevator by his friend, and as I led Kai out, I heard, “No, I’m saving you from getting your ass kicked, instigator.”

The elevator doors slid shut, and though there were too many questions in Kai’s eyes to count, we’d arrived at our destination.

“We’ll talk about allthatanother time, but for now I have one question for you.” I nodded toward the two doors welcoming us to level five, one red, and one black, both of them unmarked. “Would you rather go mild…or wild?”

24

KAI

MILD OR WILD?What was he?—

Ohh.This was the sex club Lucien ran at Libertine…or was it two clubs?

I looked between the doors, which weren’t labeled, so how did anyone know which was which? And what did “mild” and “wild” entail, exactly?

“Which side is like The Veil?” I asked.

“I’d say both encompass The Veil. Though you didn’t see the back rooms.”

Back rooms?The things Ihadseen were pretty mind-blowing already, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to imagine anything beyond that.

Then again, I wanted to see what Lucien was into. What he oversaw on the nights he was here. Or would he be joining them? I was so naïve about this stuff that I hadn’t even thought about that, and I filed the thought away for later.

“Do you have a preference?”

He shook his head and slid his hands into his pants pockets.

Well, that was helpful.

“Okay,” I said. “Then which side leads to your office?”

“They both do.”

I let out a frustrated growl and pointed to the black door. “I don’t know which side that is, but why don’t we go with your favorite color?”

Lucien smirked, reached for my hand, and led me inside.

The first thing I noticed was that every wall, every piece of furniture, even the ceiling and floors were all shades of black. The only light came from the crystal chandeliers overhead, and those were dimmed to match the vibe.Once my eyes adjusted, I was able to make out the many figures all around us, and…

Oh my God.

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