“Turn around.” The voice jolted me back to the present. I obeyed instinctively, showing the two men my naked, rounded ass. The scars were disguised for the moment under a layer of concealer, smoothed on by a clucking Thai girl who seemed intent to make me as close to perfect as she could.
“Nice.” This time, it was the bodyguard speaking. “Are you bidding on her then, Anton?”
Anton. Not Alexander. Instantly, my body relaxed, though I still wasn’t comfortable being naked in front of the two men. But it didn’t matter. Anton wouldn’t win me. He wouldn’t share me among his bodyguards, the way Dylan had. Lucien would pull me out before I had to go through with my role as a slave.
Chapter 6
Alexander:
“That’s her.” My voice sounded strained. My heart still pounded with shock. I had always hoped I would meet her again, but as time elapsed, that hope had faded. I could have searched for her, but I’d wanted to respect her desire to stay unknown.
Jean-Luc leaned forward. “Nekrasov seems quite taken with her.”
“Mm.” I liked Anton. He was a friend in a world where true friends were few and far between. But right now, I was fighting the urge to walk over and punch him. I wanted to lay claim to her.
My head of security laughed. “You aren’t jealous often, Alexander,” he mocked. Then his expression turned serious. “If Lorraine doesn’t think her cover story checks out, you must be careful, no matter how much you want this woman. I’ll start the investigations right away.”
“That’s fine,” I said. I was distracted. I was watching her drop her robe for Anton. As her naked body came into sight, I lost track of my thoughts entirely. She was so beautiful. Even from a distance, her body begged to be touched. Held. Caressed.
Jean-Luc coughed and my attention returned to him. I shot him a rueful look. “Sorry. Check her story out, but the operation against Sylvia must remain a priority.” My supposed girlfriend was in Bangkok arranging for the purchase of slaves for her brothels around the world. The transaction needed to be disrupted carefully in a way that it couldn’t be traced back to me.
He nodded. “Salim might call you,” he said. “He’s furious about Tunisia. He thinks you are allied with Sylvia.”
My lips narrowed with distaste at that idea. “I’ll straighten him out,” I promised. Sylvia was evil. Every time we were together, it felt profoundly wrong. “She’s promised to stop in here today.”
“Lori let her in?” Jean-Luc was clearly surprised by that.
“I called in a favour,” I replied. “I want Sylvia where I can keep an eye on her.”
We talked briefly about logistics for a few more minutes, but I was watching her at the same time. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. The woman I’d known as Rachel in Paris, two years ago. The woman who had, for a brief instant of time, made me forget who I was, made me forget everything else except her. The woman I’d almost given up hope of seeing again.
Part of me was wary. But that was only a small part. Though I couldn’t admit it to Jean-Luc and wouldn’t even admit it to myself, my heart was truly, profoundly glad to see her again.
Chapter 7
Ellie / Jenny:
Anton stayed and talked to me for a few minutes. His eyes were warm as they rested on my body. There was open appreciation in them. In that moment in time, I was filled with regret for the girl I’d never been.
In a different world, would I have felt emboldened by his lustful gaze? Would I have felt desire, not this queasy, roiling feeling in my stomach? He didn’t seem capable of harming me, not in the way Dylan had. I’d no doubt that this man would play games, even harsh and cruel ones. But he would do it with the knowledge that he had my consent and I was a willing participant in the activities.
But my time in Abeokuta had scarred me. Only once in my life had I been a willing participant in my seduction. Only with Marc.
I answered Anton’s questions, kneeling on the floor. His hands stroked my shoulder gently as we talked, his fingers caressing my hair. It was a pleasant feeling and I should have felt my body sway towards him. But there was a void inside me. An absence of desire.
I hid it well. I smiled and laughed with him. I pretended that we were metaphorically circling around each other in that ages-old dance of seduction. And a watchful part of me kept an eye on the room, searching for the man who might be Alexander Hamilton.
***
Once he took his leave, I was alone once more for a few minutes. I pulled my robe back on and I let my gaze wander around the room.
As fanciful as it sounded, I think my heart felt his presence first. I could feel it thud in my chest as my eyes passed over Elena’s little sitting area, where only the broad shoulders of a man sitting on the couch were visible.
Inexplicably, my pulse started to beat faster. My gaze snapped to the back of that head. My body recognized him before my mind did.
Marc. The stranger from a bar in Paris, two years ago.