Page 40 of Of Mercury and Mist

My leash was dropped as Micha shook Kiam’s hand and then the newcomers settled in around the table, making small talk as drinks were poured.

My eyes kept searching for the Samuel doppelgänger, but whenever I thought I may have spotted the blond figure from my dream, I couldn’t get a clear view. At some point, everyone in here would have to leave so my eyes kept drifting toward the entryway. If they didn’t receive a bullet dead center in their forehead courtesy of my dinner companion, they’d be walking through those doors again, heading home.

My whole body felt charged, naturally gravitating toward the man beside me, who kept finding any excuse to touch me. I’d ceased swatting him away, allowing the contact. His leg brushed my bare thigh, his fingers danced along my side, alternating between caressing my waist or massaging my forearm. More than once, I’d asked myself why I felt like climbing him like a tree, despite my burning hatred for him. Over time, the dislike had been slowly slipping away, dissolving into something far scarier and much more threatening.

Maybe the problem was me? Afterall, I’d definitely trespassed where I shouldn’t have been, after making the rookie mistake of leaving my property behind. Then, I wasn’t even careful or responsible when I’d gone to gather my things, just blindly grabbing items from the table. Itdidlook like I was stealing.

Confessing my mistake and asking for assistance would’ve been the right thing to do.

However, none of that gave Micha the right to call me derogatory names or terrorize me or push me under his desk for a blowjob. He was still an asshole even if his touch felt like home, even if he worshipped me with his eyes. Even when he’d protected me from the man he’d shot or any number of other things he’d done for me since I’d first met him.

The sound of moaning caught my attention, and I tried to subtly turn and investigate, my ruby covered restraint making a tinkling sound as I moved.

Behind us, woman was grinding on a man’s lap, her jaw hanging open in ecstasy and eyes rolling back. His face burrowed into her neck and a fist was wrapped in her auburn hair, holding her in place with his grip.

The entire atmosphere had slowly been changing since Josiah and Kiam walked in. The music became a little deeper in rhythm, the air a touch smokier from the enjoyment of cigars and cigarettes. More moans and gasps joined the chorus, and the fragrance in the air took a heady, carnal turn. Perfume and sweat joined the scent of cigars and expensive dishes.

The redhead seemed drugged under the sheer decadence that had wound its way around us all.

Micha’s gaze was burning a hole in the side of my face and heat flushed through my body beneath his stare. My thighs clamped together, and I knew he saw the motion. He never missed a thing when it came to me. I’d never been so exposed or known until I’d found myself in his company. The tension gently increased on the chain that bound me to him, a wordless request to meet his eyes when he lightly tugged.

Finally, I glanced at him.

When I met his gaze, a kaleidoscope of sensations hit me. Passion, desire, hunger, and longing radiated from irises that were undulating silvery shades of gray. Stunned, I couldn’t look away for a moment, not while I doubted my own sanity.

He reached for me and I looked down again, feeling my heart pound against my ribs. After I batted his hand away, I peered back over my shoulder, just to see the woman convulsing, clearly experiencing an orgasm in the middle of a restaurant. Sucking in a breath, I swiveled back to the table but couldn’t stop myself from seeking the sight again.

The man who’d seemed surgically attached to her neck flicked his eyes open, stunning me with a neon blue gaze. I gasped and he slowly pulled away. A long, thin, red string of saliva trailed suspended between his mouth and her neck, which bore two small holes with trickles of blood side by side.

He cast the woman to the side with one hand, wiping his mouth with the back of the other, before he grinned.

The next thing I knew, I was tossed onto Micha’s lap, and he pressed my face into his shirt, making soothing noises while he trailed his fingers through my hair. I was shaking, gasping for air, thrust headfirst into a nightmare, and locked against Micha’s chest.

These weren’t normal people.

I’d known that subconsciously. On a deep level that I’d been ignoring as hard as possible, for as long as I could. Living in denial.

All the signs were there.

The secret rooms, crazy teeth, the sunglasses hiding preternaturally beautiful eyes, the lack of care for others’ lives, the disappearance of coworkers and friends in the past, such as Josiah’s old assistant Christina, and plus Della’s friend, Brett. Both of those individuals had suddenly disappeared under very suspicious circumstances. There were others, too, whose names I heard through the office gossip mills.

Yet, this all should’ve all been impossible. These creatures didn’t exist in real life; they were saved for the movies and corny television shows. They weren’t your bosses or your best friend’s booty call. Why hadn’t Della told me?

Micha moved his hand when I stirred. It was terrifying to think what I could be facing but I glanced up anyway. He ran his tongue along his teeth before his lips separated, revealing razor sharp fangs. Scenes from my dream the other night slammed into me as I stared, when he’d latched onto my chest and drank. He’d worshipped my body before calling me and my life a waste and then he’d rejected my overtures.

Hadn’t he called me a waste before, while at work? The anger and confusion while trying to reconcile all that was going on around me was too much to handle. My conflicting feelings were tearing me apart from the inside out.

Without a doubt, I was in full control of my faculties, and I knew I wasn’t hallucinating what I just saw. Did he really think I’d want him after all that? What was I even here for, right now? It seemed like he wanted to fuck me just as much as he wanted to destroy me. He must’ve brought Kiam in and Josiah back, for his final act.

“Let me go,” I whispered, my entire body seized by tremors. “Move out of my way.” I wasn’t sure how I’d make it, but I knew I had to leave.

“Micha,” Josiah raised his voice. “I do believe you brought us here for a purpose? Tearing me away from my Della,” he said, shaking his head.

“Did you kill her?” I demanded, lifting my head. “Is she dead?” Kiam’s eyebrows shot up and the edge of his lip curled, as if I were crazy to ask such a question. And I was, but I was also at a total loss, my head ransacked of everything I’d thought I’d known.

Josiah’s mouth thinned and he tossed his cloth napkin to the side of his plate. “You should be concerned with your own state of being,” he chided me. I felt Micha tense as I maneuvered myself from his lap.

“There’s been a change of plans,” Micha stated.

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