Page 76 of The Saint

Anticipation gripped his chest, and viselike tendrils turned the tension up a notch. “Then what’s your plan?”

“I’d thought you could be vendors.” She hummed. “Maybe even voyeurs. But now that I’ve seen you two together, there’s a much better avenue to consider.” She analyzed them as though appraising diamonds on an auction block. “How long have you been partners?”

His pulse picked up the pace. “We’ve worked together for about—”

Esme flung her wrist. “Give me a little credit, won’t you?”

The air crackled. Little sparks of invisible electricity sparked against his skin. The hair follicles at the back of his hair line jerked to attention.

“This is my job, and I’m incredibly good at reading people.” Her assessing gaze sliced between them like a razor blade. “You work togetherandfuck. That gives us a lot to work with.”

Camden laughed. He couldn’t do anything else. But once again, Amelia was ready to pass out. She didn’t even bother blushing.

Esme held up a hand to head off Amelia’s panic. “Take a breath, young lady. I won’t ask you to fuck on an altar. At least, not on day one.”

Camden needed all his resolve to keep from laughing. Never in a million years would he have imagined that was his day job. Until that moment, he hadn’t made up his mind about the Queen of the Barbs. He didn’t trust her. But he liked her. That was enough to handle whatever she threw at them.

“Well, if it’s not on day one,” Amelia muttered.

“Here.” Esme withdrew a black box from a desk drawer and set it on the empty black desk. “I have a gift for you, since you’re being such a great sport.”

They leaned forward.

Esme opened the box with the flourish of a Vegas showgirl. A black silk mask with long silk ties lay on a dark-purple pillow of velvet. A long black feather rested next to the silk mask. “Easy. Fun.”

His pulse punched as if he’d jumped onto a treadmill.

“Think of it like homework.” Esme recapped the box and gave it to him while talking to Amelia. “Enjoy yourselves. Get comfortable with the possibilities. Maybe do a little research on your own. That will serve as an excellent introduction for what to expect at my upcoming party.”

“Are we supposed to…” Amelia gestured to the box in his hands. “Do that at your party?”

“Not unless you want to—take a breath, Amelia. It’s a party. You can’t mess it up, and you don’t have to take off your clothes.”

“Ah,” Amelia squeaked. “But some people won’t have on clothes?”

“If all goes according to plan.” Esme’s eyes danced. “If you don’t like it, you can leave. You’re in control.”

“I can handle naked people,” she managed hoarsely.

“You will see so much more than skin, my dear.” Esme closed her eyes. “Think erotic, artful decadence.” Her lips tipped up when her eyelids lifted. “And all of it is built on trust. That’s what the three of us need.”

“Trust,” Amelia repeated, sounding more like she was trying to convince herself than agreeing.

“When it comes to our partnership,always trust me.”

Camden preferred to verify before trusting, but that option wasn’t on the table. He would trust to a certain extent.

Esme squared her shoulders. “Ask Beth for a dress and suit for the Evening under the Stars event. She’ll make sure every detail is covered.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

The black hallway gave way to brilliant daylight, and cold air rushed over Amelia’s face like a menthol balm. Fresh air had been so desperately needed that she almost pushed past Beth as they exited the warehouse. Amelia’s cheeks and neck were hot. Her thoughts were unsteady. Perhaps she was embarrassed, but more than that, she was naïve and suddenly in a world that she’d only read about in sexy books.

A headache lingered at her temples. They traipsed across the well-kept parking lot—which made sense if rich people had their sex parties on site—and slid into the back seat of Beth’s Lexus. If only she could hide there.Please, please don’t let anyone talk to me.

Camden and Beth chatted as though they hadn’t been inside Esme’s house of sex. Their voices faded away until all she could focus on was the box Esme had given them. Yes, of course she enjoyed her private time with Camden. And, yes, she’d been the one to initiate the conversation, to ask for what she wanted. But Amelia was a vanilla, lights-off kind of girl, except for that time she asked him for what she wanted and that other time he’d pinned her to the wall and dropped between her legs. But all that was in the realm of standard sexiness. Blindfolds and feathers were simple but very much out of her comfort zone.

Did Beth know what was in the box? Amelia couldn’t even see it. Camden had tucked it safely out of view in the front passenger seat.

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