Page 71 of Tempting Little Thief

You never know when you need a friend somewhere.

Where the fuck ismyfriend?

Glancing at my phone, I pull up the security app, searching every crevice of the Greyson Suite, but he’s not in there, waiting like I assumed he would be.

Delta’s soft, floral-scented perfume wafts over my shoulder. Her whisper-soft, drunken voice sounds like a true, good girl having her first glass of wine. “Maybe he’s waiting in the hall somewhere with another blindfold, anticipating whisking you away?”

“You mean like your boys over there?”

Both of us look up and to the right, where Alto and Ander sit, one on the seat of a white, tufted chair, the other on the arm of it, glasses half-full, gazes locked on their reason for breathing.

Delta sighs, leaning down even more until her forearms are folded over the back of the chaise I’m lounging in. “They do look a little deprived, don’t they?”

The grin in her voice has mine stretching, and I drop my head back to meet her gaze.

She winks, pressing a small kiss to my lips, and the laughter that leaves her is silent when two glasses can be heard slamming onto the tabletop, even through the soft music.

“Go away before the Grecos get a show they’re supposed to be on a time-out from.”

She giggles, then sighs, a big, fat, fake sigh. “Fine. We’ll take the DeLeon Suite, just in case lover boy shows.”

“He’s not showing.” Bronx falls next to me, her little sparkly dress riding up her thigh. “Maybe he’s not as obsessed with you as you think?” she teases, sipping on some bright drink. She has no flavor of choice.

Bronx loves everything and nothing at the same time. She’s picky like that.

Stealing her glass from her fingertips, she pouts as I toss it back, refusing to make a face when fire spreads inside my throat.

I move to the large glass window, smiling as I pass a couple girls dancing and drinking in the center of the room, the large circular couches framing them. With a wide-open floor plan, and tall, bistro-style tables all around, the space allows for privacy without offering too much.

While there is a small open bar in the back corner anyone allowed in this room can use, there are also two members on staff at all times, who are paid well to tend to everyone’s needs, even before they’re asked. This is why, when I look back, Bronx already has a brand-new glass in her hand. She lifts it as she stands and saunters over to join in on whatever conversation Marcus and Gabriel, two third-years who joined the Greysons a little over a year ago, are having.

As I face the window wall once more, I toy with my necklace, looking out into our pride and joy.

The Game Room is locked and hidden when The Enterprise is open to all, like on music or mela nights.Thisis what brings the big, bad boys to our doorstep.

Everyone thought we were crazy when we proposed the idea, but at the end of the day, I knew the opportunity for control would burn bright in my power-hungry father’s eyes, and if Rayo was in, Delta’s grandfather and Bronx’s father were sure to follow.

In ancient times, the king would gather in the hall and feast with his people, sharing the fruits of their labor, if only to a minimal extent.

Now, the people feed the king.

Or, well,queens.

It was our little way of keeping a semblance of control, making sure we, as individuals, were cut into the profit.

“Look at Lena.” Damiano joins me in front of the glass, his hands in his pockets as he stares at one of our advanced girls. “She’s killing it tonight.”

I hum my approval, watching the redhead closely as she deals a fresh hand, her table full of suited men. She’s wearing an all-white piece tonight, the cut modest over her chest and not so much as a slit in the side, the lacy hem stopping midthigh. The card tables are custom and glass for a reason, allowing us to see every inch of the people behind them at all times.

Lena’s hair is braided in two pigtails, pink ribbons tied at the end, the same color as the fuzzy bracelets around her wrists.

“She went all out virgin-ness tonight, didn’t she?”

Dom nods. “And look at her numbers.”

Our eyes lift to the screen on the far wall to see tonight’s standings.

Lena is leading all twelve girls on the floor in tips by a whopping two hundred K, and she still has twenty minutes left.

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