Page 24 of Hunt Me
After dressing, I noticed her thong where I’d left it on the floor. Without thinking, I snagged the soft lace into my fingers, bringing the material to my nose and inhaling.
Sultry and sweet just like the woman nestled in my bed.
At least the night had ended much better than it had started. I shoved her thong into my pocket and headed toward the small desk nestled against the wall. I found what I was looking for, uncapping the cheap pen while grabbing the notepad. I wasleaving her a message. That could send mixed signals, but for once, I wanted to be remembered as a gentleman.
There was a first time for everything.
After scribbling a note, I pulled her dress from the floor, folding the material and placing it with the note on the coffee table.
Satisfied, I took strides toward the suite’s main door, looking back only once.
CHAPTER 6
Mikhail
Ecstasy was alive with energy and excitement as always. Music vibrated throughout, rarely loud enough to dampen the electric hum of conversations and laughter. Happiness pulsed like a drug the moment guests walked through the gilded entrance.
Money flowed freely, the high rollers already enjoying losing a fortune to the house. So much for Sunday being a day of rest or worshipping anything other than a false god.
Less than one year before, my father had stepped down as CEO of Dmitriyev Enterprises and I’d taken the helm. While there’d been a press release handled by our marketing department, photoshoots withFortuneandEsquiremagazines, and a significant increase in the price of stock, the real coronation had been held in private in darkness.
Not with a ridiculous initiation or a bloodletting. Certainly not with acts of violence, but with a cold, quiet understanding that I was the new leader. My respect had already been earned.
My uncle had retired only a few months after leaving the bulk of operations to his children and my father’s. While we were powerful individuals, together we were a force to be reckoned with.
With everyone in good spirits, the Dmitriyev wealth increasing, I should be ecstatic. Unfortunately, I remained in a dark mood. There was no reason other than a feeling continuing to accumulate over the last few weeks. Perhaps the consistent prosperity coming without exhaustive work was the reason.
Something was brewing. I could feel it in my bones, my instinct working overtime. The arrival of several high-rolling Irish clients would garner consideration even in a typical resort, and I never turned my back on anyone with a brogue accent. One day, Tristen O’Shaughnessy would make good on his threat to seek revenge for the murder of his brother.
Given I’d felt slighted on that dreadful night two decades before, I was looking forward to the day he reared his ugly head once again. This time, I’d chop it off.
How fitting a portion of the very resort that I controlled was on the grounds of the ancient amusement park. I’d often wondered if the land beneath the concrete slabs was haunted given the number of bodies burned in the raging fire.
As I walked through the doors of the Blackout Club, I stood like a silent voyeur merely observing the neon lights as they illuminated the very debauchery I’d foregone years before.
While there were four nightclubs on the grounds of Ecstasy, the Blackout Club was privileged and private, by invitation only to high rollers and those considered influential.
Club members were dressed accordingly in cocktail dresses and tuxedos, the majority of outfits adorning the stunning women leaving little to the imagination. The club was where secrets were revealed, proclivities were satisfied, and power was wielded.
As I surveyed the activity as I did at least every other night, a curvy blonde turned her face toward me, pursing her blood-red lips to try to draw my attention. She whispered something to her female companion before sauntering in my direction, swaying her hips as if needing no other aphrodisiac.
Until recently, I might have indulged in what she so eagerly offered, but twenty-four hours later, I was still enjoying the memories and images of a luscious and sadly unknown beauty who’d managed to snare the savage beast inside.
Maybe the stunning girl hadn’t thought of me that way, but she’d had little understanding of the hunger I’d fought to control.
Devouring her had been one option. There’d been others including indulging her fantasies of continued domination.
I turned away on purpose, securing the gaze of one of four bouncers who constantly walked the floor area. Security and safety were paramount within my clubs.
He nodded in reply, indicating there were no issues.
“Mikhail.” The blonde wrapped her long, manicured fingers around my arm before I could walk away. She inched in front of me, her smile allowing no room for doubt as to her thoughts.
I studied her coolly, remaining completely emotionless even as she dragged the tip of her tongue across her glossy crimson lips.
She obviously noticed my bland, uncaring expression and for a few seconds acted hurt before placing her hand against my chest. As she fingered my freshly pressed Brunello Cucinelli dress shirt, she leaned forward to try to convince me she was worthy of my attention by highlighting her ample cleavage. “Don’t you remember me?”
My security guard narrowed his eyes and nodded, asking if I needed him to interfere. A tawdry woman I could handle. “Should I?” I vaguely had an inkling that I’d slept with her weeks if not months before, but the memory was distant and nothing notable.
