Page 71 of Emerald

“Yes,”he answers hungrily.“You are perfect.”

“Is it someone’s birthday? Should I have brought a present?”I ask him.

This makes him chuckle.“I think being you will be present enough for my friends.”What a dick.“Come, let me show you off.”He escorts me inside the house, and I can hear music playing and people talking. My sensors are on high alert as we walk along the marble floor toward the outside area. When we turn the corner, that is when I see it, girls are everywhere, dressed in the tiniest of clothes, draped over older men lazing on sofas. My eyes scan the room to see if I can see Pearl, but she’s not there or she might be somewhere else.

As we make our presence known, every man’s attention turns to Manuel, and they all nod their heads in respect as we walk around the party.

“Are you their boss? They seem to respect you,” I mention as I nuzzle into his side.

“Yes. I am,” he says, puffing out his chest. He introduces me to a couple of men, and I feel their eyes sliding over me.Manuel’s hands tighten around me as if declaring I am his, which is strange, but I go with it. I grab a glass of champagne and continue walking with Manuel as he talks to more men for the next half an hour. Once he has seen all the people he needs to, he leads me from the outside entertaining area and back inside. He then leads me down a narrow staircase to a basement area.

“Where are we going?”I ask, giving my voice a slight wobble of uncertainty to it.

“Downstairs is where the real fun is happening. I think you will like it.”He grins before pushing me up against the wall.“It’s somewhere you can enjoy dominating me and other men.”His lips meet my neck, and he gives it a nip.

“Other men?”

“Only if you want to, they are quite handsome, I think you will like them. They are eager to please, too, just like me,”he states as he presses his hardening length against me.

“What happens if I don’t want other men, just you?”

“You can have me, but I won’t be offended if you want more …”He grins.

“Did you bring me to a sex party?”I whisper.

Manuel stills, those dark eyes glaring at me.“It is a party, some people might be having sex, si. I thought you might get a kick out of it. Was I wrong?”He’s testing me. I can either go willingly, and get the nice Manuel, or if I say no, the switch will flick, and he will give me cartel Manuel. Either way, I know the only answer is yes.

“No. I’ve never been to one before. I didn’t know they existed. I’m a little nervous … and curious.”

“You’re curious?”he asks, arching a dark brow at me. I swallow, hopefully pulling off that I’m curious yet nervous, when I know exactly what is happening down there.

“Will I be having sex in front of other people?”I ask him.

“If you want to. Others will be having sex. You can watch if you want, you can join in, too,”he adds.

My eyes widen at his comment.“You wouldn’t be jealous if I did?”I ask, testing the waters as I run my hand down over his hard cock and cup it.

A moan falls from his lips which quickly turns into a smile.“No, I would not be jealous. In fact, it would make me very happy,”he states before leaning in and kissing me. I let him. Playing my part of the kinky yet naive college girl.“I won’t let anything bad happen to you. I promise,”he says, trying to reassure me.

“Okay. I trust you,”I tell him before kissing him again.

“Good.”He grins as he takes my hand and walks further down the stairs. He pushes open the door to the basement, and I suck in a deep breath. I am going to need every last bit of Emerald still inside me to tackle what is in front of me. It takes a couple of moments for my eyes to adjust to the semi-darkness, and the grunts and moans of people fucking around us assault my ears. The first woman’s face I land on is Pearl’s, who is strung up on a St. Andrew’s cross.

Shit.

And jackpot.

27

NASH

Ihaven’t stopped pacing my home all night. My stomach is in knots wondering if Ellie is okay. Maybe I should have done something to get myself invited to that party. No. She can handle herself. I know she can. And as sexist as it might sound, I haven’t met a woman who could handle herself in a situation like that until her. Still, looking at the woman that spent the night in my bed, who nuzzled into me, who whimpered when my cock slid inside her, is the Persephone. Kick ass, brutal, efficient, assassin. Guess that’s why she’s the best, no one would suspect.

It's four in the morning when I hear the front door creak. Sleep never came for me as I stared at my fucking ceiling all night in a trance wondering if she was ever coming home to me. I hate that I like her. I hate that this woman is the first one to find the hole in my armor, lifted it up with ease, slid right in underneath it, and nestled herself inside me. I jump out of bed and wait to hear if there is more than one set of footsteps. There isn’t. Still, I wait to hear any voices, but nothing. I can’t stand it any longer and rush out of my room to surprise Elena. My heartstops when I see her dress is torn, her makeup is smudged, and her hair is a bird’s nest.

“Stop,” she yells at me as she holds up her hand to halt me. I see the hurt and humiliation on her face. “You can’t see me like this.” Tears well in her eyes. “Please, you can’t see me like this, Nash.”

My heart stops as I see the hand marks on her body, the bruises that are starting to bloom.

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