Page 77 of Bed of Thorns

There wasn’t a pair of eyes not dedicated to watching our every move. A cold shiver drifted down my spine and I clamped my hands around his jacket.

“You’re trembling,” he muttered before nipping my earlobe.

“It’s a little cold in here.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

“So are you.” I lifted my head, gazing into his eyes. He still seemed fascinated by the evening’s events, not in the least put off by the pomp and circumstance. The man continued to surprise me every day. He was enjoying this, basking in the moment of glory that I wasn’t certain wouldn’t have a tragic end.

“I have never lied to you,” he cooed playfully, gyrating his hips, allowing me to feel the very hard ridge of his cock.

“You’re insatiable.”

“Which is why you love me.”

“I love you because you’re kind and gentle, passionate and loving. Not because of anything else. Especially not because you’ve already made a name for yourself.”

His expression turned to something akin to ice, his eyes narrowing. “Don’t spoil this, Mercedes. We could never have afforded to come to anything like this before. I told you how important it was for me to make your life special. Now I’m in a place in my life where I can do that.”

“But at what price?” I sounded like a broken record, which I hated.

He started to pull away, shaking his head, his jaw clenched.

I refused to allow him, my grip on his jacket tighter. “Don’t. This is a lovely party and from what I can tell, the people you work with are incredible. Do you know them all?”

There was something about his hesitation that bothered me, but his expression quickly changed to the ‘old’ Edmond. “Nope. Just Carl. From what I’ve heard, a few of them will become my new clients.”

I wasn’t certain whether that made me feel any better but at least it was an acceptable answer. I noticed Carl walking in our direction, his smile just as bright as it had been all evening.

But his eyes reminded me of the way Edmond had looked at me before.

Cold.

Relentless.

Dangerous.

“I hate to interrupt the two of you, but we have a special presentation for Edmond,” Carl said, now concentrating his attention on Edmond.

When Edmond pulled away, he narrowed his eyes, searching Carl’s.

“Oh, Mercedes can come with us. That’s perfectly fine. What we’re presenting will affect her life as well. Come.” He didn’t wait for either of us to answer, instead moving away into the crowd.

Edmond took my hand, squeezing it and looking down. “Don’t worry. We’ll leave soon.” He pulled me through the guests, who all seemed to part to the side, allowing us a wide path to walk through. The entire time their eyes followed us, as if programmed to do so.

Everything about the evening was far too structured, a program that everyone had memorized. Carl made his way toward another set of double doors, waiting until we were footsteps away before opening one of them and ushering us inside.

The core group we’d met first all stood waiting with after-dinner drinks in their hands. A waiter immediately offered us a tray full of various choices. I grabbed a glass of champagne, the butterflies almost taking over my entire stomach.

Edmond chose the same drink the others had in a snifter, releasing my hand immediately after doing so.

Carl made his selection then waited until the waiter had left, closing the door behind him. Then he turned in a full circle before lifting his glass.

“I think you’ve all had a chance to spend time with Edmond and his beautiful fiancée, Mercedes.”

Fiancée? I was floored, losing my breath. Even though I tried to catch Edmond’s eyes, he was far too mesmerized by the moment. My skin began to crawl, my heart racing. This was some crazy setup. I had to keep myself from racing out of the room, keeping the fake smile on my face when I wanted to scream at them for being so presumptuous.

Every single person lifted their glass, and I could swear they were all staring at me, waiting for me to interject. This was crazy.

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