Page 16 of Kings of Desire
‘Hop in,’ a male voice encouraged me to enter, and from the giggles and laughter coming from within the car, he wasn’t alone.
‘Don’t be shy, we don’t bite,’ another man spoke while I was just getting on board, only to observe something that my mind could never have conceived of happening.
In front of me, I found a familiar face, Jason, while on my right there was Ace, followed by Nicolas. The golden boys - yet without their leader.
I braced myself, preparing to voice an explanation since their amazement of finding me in this position seemed to be inevitable.
‘Fuck, she’s so hot,’ Jason growled as if I wasn’t even present there.
‘You’re not touching her, I signed the fucking contract and it’s my ass on the line. That greedy bitch will sue me for everything I have if we break the terms,’ Ace rushed to remind his friend about Vanya’s specific terms of service.
‘Lucky fucker,’ Jason roared, rearranging himself better on his seat.
‘Yeah, not so lucky tonight,’ Ace grinned, showing off a devious smile that I thought made him look like a hyena... Not that he wasn’t usually acting like one.
But there was something off about this whole scenario and I was having trouble figuring out my part in it. At least they didn’t recognize me, and that was helping me be more relaxed. I guess being a nobody pays off at the end of the day.
‘Listen, babe,’ Ace decided to address me in hisall so manneredway, ‘One of our friends recently lost a bet. So he’s in for a penalty. That’s where you come in. He can look but can’t touch...a little tormenting since he’s not the most patient person in the world.’
You could read a certain level of satisfaction on Ace’s face as the wordfrienddidn’t really fit into his story. ‘What he doesn’t know is that you will try to seduce him. That’s your job for the night and I’ll be watching over you to be sure that you fulfill your part. Vanya gave me a double contract so he will have to sign it too. Respect the rules since you’re going to be his companion for the night.’
He-I feared thishe,feeling an empty sensation gnawing at the bottom of my stomach only by taking theoptioninto consideration.
At least they seemed to fear the contract’s clauses, and that was lifting a small weight off my chest. Yet the smothering burden was still there, pressing deeply on every nerve, killing all illusion I had that this Pleasure could be as easy as the first.
No, I realized it from the start. This will be an endurance test, and putting up with these idiots will probably prove to be much more difficult than I thought when accepting the letter.
‘How much for the full show?’ Nick decided to test the water, confusing the purpose of the Pleasure with a whole different thing. At least, different for me.
‘You’ll have to go to the piggy bank for this one, she’s definitely pricy,’ Ace answered on my behalf like he would have any idea of what were my rules.
‘Excuse me!?’ I retaliated, extremely annoyed with his question. Just because I accepted the mission didn’t mean I had to keep my mouth shut. ‘If you are searching for a different type of company, I suggest you turn the car around and ask for a different person for your Pleasure. See if your luck will change.’
I was expecting them to do just that, take me back to Vanya’s place and ask for another person who would probably be more open in fulfilling their fantasies. Yet, strangely they didn’t, since my bitchy attitude seemed to agree with Ace just fine ‘Nah, you’re perfect,’ his eyes flared with devious thoughts like an evil mastermind seeing his plan come alive. He was up to no good and I could only pray that his scheme for tonight wouldn’t have repercussions on me. In the end, I just wanted this to be over with so I could get paid and get on with my own agenda.
‘You know, come to think about it, I think I know you from somewhere. But I can’t put my finger on it,’ Jason narrowed his eyebrows as if he was trying with all strength to get the rusty wheels of his mind to work... and who knows, maybe even recognize me.
‘If she ain’t a stripper, the chances are pretty low of you knowing her,’ Nick was letting out the sarcasm as if the splinter fell too far from the tree in his case. They were all the same in my opinion, three spoiled brats with too much money to burn and too much time on their hands when, on the other side, I didn’t have either.
I wish I could say that the ride was a short one... or at least a pleasant one...yet it felt like a never-ending bad dream. The guys’ sexual allusions kept rolling in for almost half an hour, while I had either smiled through my teeth or made them bite back their words, yet nothing with any decent success since the hormones mixed with the vodka bottle they shared in the car was making them even more obnoxious than usual.
I was almost happy when the limo stopped...Almostbeing the keyword since nothing involving this evening could make me happy in any way.
I stepped out of the vehicle and it was like stepping into a different world. Sure, I’ve seen luxury before but never on this scale, so glamorous that even the street seemed to be made of gold. A private piece of heaven, for those who could afford it, of course. For the rest, an unobtainable dream, especially since for most of those living in the Pit, their greatest achievement is putting food on the table.
There was a lot of fuss around the mansion, and I was starting to realize that we were arriving at a party. From my guess, the party I caught them talking about a few days ago. That meant trouble - a world of trouble since probably half of the Academy was going to be there.
How the hell was I supposed to get out of this one?
‘This way,’ Jason’s hand fell on my hip, skimming the curve of my posterior while his alcohol reddened eyes were trying to stare seductively into mine.
Though his moment of playing Casanova was short-lived since I hoisted his palm before he got a chance tofeel me up ‘I can walk by myself, thank you.’
‘I think I’m falling in love,’ he decided to pursue his juvenile pick-up strategy, insisting with hisseductivegaze.
‘Cut it out before Cole gives you a black eye,’ Nick tried to bring him back to his senses, confirming the thought I feared most. Theirkingowned my time for the night, and if the ride here seemed impossible, the rest of the evening will be catastrophic. ‘There he is,’ he turned his head to my right where Cole was talking to one of the girls that I usually see hanging around in their circles.
It didn’t take long for him to notice our arrival, and since I was the centerpiece of the evening, his night-blue eyes set to scan me from the instant he acknowledged my presence.
