Page 94 of Velvet Cruelty

“Mr. Parker’s money was dirty?”

“Yes, bella. It was filthy. His father ran drugs for the Mariucci family. Hash and heroin and coke. And before you say Parker had no control over who his father was, he worked for him. He discovered how to launder drug money through cryptocurrency and online poker. In that sense, he was a tech entrepreneur.”

January sucks her lower lip. “Does he still sell drugs?”

“No. He changed his mind.”

“What do you mean?”

“Parker’s father died when he was twenty. Zachery took over, but he had no appetite for the business. He took what money and manpower he could and went legitimate. That’s why a few years later he was running a tech company and courting your father, hoping to marry into your family.”

January’s eyes move from side to side as she processes this. I appreciate her response. A woman who goes still when confronted with bad news is a pleasant surprise.

She blinks twice, and her gaze returns to mine. “How do you know all of this?”

I pour myself another glass. “I just do.”

“Does it have something to do with why you stole me or—”

“Enough.” I push back my chair. “Why are we wasting our evening talking about that ugly man? Come here, bella.”

Her cheeks go pink, but she doesn’t move.

I open my arms. “Come, little doll. And bring your wine.”

She lifts her glass and carries it carefully toward me. The pearl polish on her fingernails is chipped, probably from cleaning the kitchen. When Parker is dead and I’ve hired staff to clean and serve dinner she can get her nails done. Blood red. Or palest pink. She sits delicately on my lap, and I pull her closer, settling her against my chest. “Drink your wine.”

She sips obediently and I watch her throat work, tucking a curl behind her ear. I can’t get rid of her. I will put my rubies around her neck, and she will belong to Velvet House.

She turns her head and inhales deeply.

“Is something wrong?”

“Your cologne…” she purrs, a little slur at the edges of her voice. “What kind is it?”

“Do you not like it?”

“Oh, no I do, it’s just… I don’t think I’ve smelled lavender on a man before.”

“Is it embarrassing, bella? Unmanly? Do you want me to be like Adriano and smell like leather and blood?”

She shivers against my chest. “He hates me.”

“Don’t take it personally. Adriano hates anything that makes him feel and that includes desire.”

She shudders and I wrap my arms around her, burying my face in her neck. She smells clean and sweet and I want to lick every inch of her. Bobby said she mewled like a kitten while she came on his face. I want to hear that soft, slightly pathetic, sound. I skim my hands down the sides of her body and she twists in my lap, soft thighs working against mine. “Mr. Morelli, have you given me that drug?”

I pull away smiling. “Is that what you think?”

Her head tilts to the side.

“Bella, we both know you wanted me from the moment you laid eyes on me.”

“But then why did you give me Orchard last night? I already wanted… I mean… you didn’t have to…” She buries her face in my shirtfront. “I shouldn’t be saying this.”

I shift against her so she can feel my hard cock. She draws in a sharp breath, but she doesn’t move away.

I run a hand up her thigh, toying with the split in her skirt. “We gave you your Orchard because we thought it would be fun to send you into a frenzy. But you’re full of surprises, aren’t you?”

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