“Stand up,” I order and stand, unseating Phoenix more abruptly than I mean to.
 
 “What about—” She starts to gather my chips, and I settle a hand on the nape of the neck.
 
 “Leave them.”
 
 I march her into a service hallway and then further down until I find a small room used for meetings and small gatherings. It’s dominated by a large oval table, and a smile curls my lips at the sight.
 
 Perfect.
 
 Phoenix stumbles a bit on her heels as I walk her in ahead of me and flip the lock. I stalk slowly around her, our eyes locked as she revolves to watch me, wariness in every line of her body.
 
 Wariness, and heat. I can feel it emanating from her.
 
 Without speaking, I take a seat in the chair at the head of the table and crook my finger. She walks to me slowly, her hesitation only serving to amp my need for her to a boiling point. When she gets closeenough, I grab her hand and pull her to straddle one of my thighs.
 
 My hands go to her hips, and I push her down against me, watching with hooded eyes as her dress rides up and reveals the glistening apex of her sex. Her hips roll into an involuntary grind and her eyes slide closed on another moan.
 
 “Mav…”
 
 “Tell me your secrets, little firebird. Why are you really here? I know you don’t give a shit about the money. Why did you take this job?” I grab her drooping neckline and pull it to the side, exposing her breast.
 
 “You requested me,” she says faintly.
 
 “Wrong answer.” I maneuver her harder against my leg. “Ride me, Phoenix.”
 
 She hesitates for a half-second, her eyes searching mine, and then she begins to move, her hips undulating and her pussy grinding against my thigh in search of friction. Her hands jerk to grip my shoulders, her nails digging into me, and I grin. “That’s it.” I love the way her hips are rocking, grinding hard, taking what she wants from me.
 
 I won’t let her come like this, though. Not yet.
 
 “Tell me why you accepted the job, Phoenix.”
 
 Her eyelids flutter, and a little line forms between her eyebrows. Her tongue darts out to lick her lips, and when she replies her voice is thick. Lust drunk. “Because I thought…it would be fun. I thought getting to hang out with you guys and to party and?—”
 
 “I don’t believe you. But fuck if I don’t want to.”
 
 Grabbing her by the waist, I lift her off my thigh and lay her back on the table, ignoring her groan of protest. Her red dress is in my way, so I push it up, exposing everything from the waist down. My gaze tracks her, lingering on her tits still hanging out of the deep neckline before moving on to her cunt.
 
 Jesus fucking Christ, even her cunt was fucking gorgeous, glistening wet and the prettiest pink I’ve ever seen.
 
 “Do you want to come, Phoenix?”
 
 She nods, moving restlessly beneath me. “Please, Mav?—”
 
 “If you want to come, you’re going to tell me what I want to know. The truth, Phoenix.” I lean down and swipe my tongue through her slit, watching from between her legs as her back arches off the table.
 
 Jesus Christ, the girl tastes like heaven.
 
 “I don’t have any secrets. There’s nothing you don’t know. I thought it would be fun, and the money would help me…start over…somewhere else.”
 
 “Why do you want to go somewhere else?” I ask, swiping my tongue against her folds again, this time circling her clit before backing off. If I hadn’t had my gaze trained on her face, watching for her every reaction, I would have missed the flash of—fear? uneasiness?...something—that illuminates her expression.
 
 “Because my father’s dead, and there’s nothing holding me here. Just pain and regret.” Her tone dulls, and she closes her eyes.
 
 That was a truth, and something gives a sharp twist in my chest. But there’s more. I know it.
 
 “What are you hiding from us?”
 
 “Nothing,” she whines, hitching her hips upward.