Page 46 of Prey Tell
“Yes. He’s my brother’s best friend,” I explain.
“Lovely,” she chirps. “Explains the invite, then.” Winking at me, she glances up at Chase. “I was about to get Ms. Parker settled.”
Chase’s jaw twitches and his tempestuous eyes don’t leave mine as he speaks to Luna. “Excuse us for a minute, please, Luna.”
She nods once and walks away, her heels clicking against the marble.
I turn back to a fuming Chase. “I’m about to check in—”
“Like fuck you are,” he growls.
I sigh. “Look, I know you’re trying to protect me. But your party opened up a whole new world to me. I’ve spent the last two weeks researching and educating myself.” I look into his eyes. “I want this, Chase.”
Just as he opens his mouth, a group of people walk into the lobby. My eyes rove over to the people behind him briefly. They’re all dressed nicely, and I see Luna usher them in the opposite direction of Chase and me. Two men, two women—and one of the men reaching into his pocket as his phone blares—a loud crowing sound. It takes me a second to realize this stranger’s ringtone is a crowing rooster. I cover my mouth as I burst out laughing.
“Would you care to enlighten me as to what’s so funny about this situation?” Chase chastises, glowering down at me.
“Oh my god,” I say between gulps of air. “He has—a rooster ringtone.”
Chase slowly looks behind him as the man’s phone rings again, the noise resounding through the entire castle. Turning back to me, his eyes are glittering with rage.
“I don’t understand.”
I compose myself and stand up straighter. “A rooster.”
“What?” he grits out.
“Arooster.”
He shoots me a venomous look as his tongue rolls along the inside of his cheek. For a second, I think he’s going to berate me, but then the darkness in his eyes dissipates. Placing his hands on his hips, he lets out a quiet, genuine laugh as he rubs his mouth.
“Of course Jackson told you.”
Thank god for Mr. Rooster, the real MVP. Unknowingly, he totally broke the tension, because Chase’s eyes go from dangerous to mirthful in a matter of seconds. The lines around his eyes soften, and he sighs heavily.
“Do you really want to do this, Parker?”
I cross my arms and look into his eyes. “Yes. Look, if you don’t want to be my Dom, that’s fine. But can you at least help me choose someone safe? Everything you said about Ben sort of freaked me out. But I want to do this. I’m committed now, and I’m not leaving. I won’t force you to do this withme, obviously. Consent and everything. Luna said she could set me up with another Dominant, so I can always find someone else.” He huffs a laugh and looks away. Anger blooms through me. I put myself out there like that and he’slaughing?“What?” I exclaim, irked by his mocking response.
“Yeah, that’s not happening.”
“Why—”
“Findsomeone else? You really think I’d let you go find another Dom who isn’t me?” His words cause my skin to pebble, and his narrowed cerulean eyes pierce into mine as he takes a step forward. His gives me a dark, layered look—and there’s a distinct hardening of his expression. His nostrils flare as he brings his face within an inch from mine. His eyes dip to my lips briefly. “There was never a question of if Iwantedto be your Dom, Parker, but rather if you couldhandleit.”
I swallow as my whole body heats at his words. “So, you’ll do it?”
His nostrils flare. “Yes. Since you asked so nicely,” he murmurs.
“Are you sure? I don’t mind finding someone else—”
“You’remine,” he growls.
I snap my mouth shut. The synapses in my brain are firing off in different directions.
You’re mine.
“If we do this, we’re going to do it the right way,” he adds, taking another step closer. The front of his dress shirt brushes the front of my sweatshirt. “First things first, you’ll be in my room for the duration of the hunt.” I keep my mouth closed, nodding once as excitement builds inside of me.Don’t talk back.“You’ll sign my standard contract, and you’ll disclose your limits. Oh, and you’ll need to choose a safe word.” He looks at me with narrowed eyes. “Since you're new, I would suggest we abide by the traffic light system. Red means stop, yellow means slow down, green means keep going,” he purrs.
