Aston pulled me away quickly. "Not my scene," he said. "Maybe something less private."
He pulled me back into the hallway, toward the balcony that wrapped around the foyer. We would be front and center entertainment for anyone walking through the hallway, as well as for anyone looking up from the foyer below. It's what he wanted, to show me off to everyone here. To humiliate me.
I bit the bottom of my lip, willing the shakiness inside me to abate. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing that I was ashamed. Afraid. I would let him take me, do what I had to do to survive.
I heard the sounds of the music from the foyer downstairs, classical, a piano piece I didn't recognize, but the equivalent of a white noise background. The murmurs of voices, hushed whispers and moans of pleasure, added another layer of white noise. Aston touched me, his finger trailing up the back of my neck. His touch chilled me to the bone.
I sometimes wondered if sex could be anything other than how it was for me, all mixed up with rage and hate and shame. I envied the people who could enjoy tender lovemaking with someone they cared about, who could look into the eyes of a lover and feel like they were sharing a piece of their soul. Not like me, with the layers upon layers of protection I'd built into my very essence. For me, there would never be that kind of sharing with another person.
I felt Aston's hand trail up my behind, his fingers slip underneath the fabric of my panties, wandering down between my legs. "What's wrong?" he asked. "You're not enjoying this? I would hate to think that you weren't." He laughed, the sound harsh.
You know I hate you, I thought. But I said, "Yes, of course, I'm enjoying you."
I felt Aston’s hands on my shoulders, as he turned me to face the stairway. I watched as a man made his way up the stairs, shirtless, clad in black silk pants. With his dark hair, greying at the temples, and chiseled jawline, he looked every inch the politician.
Except for the whip in his hand.
"Good evening Dennis," Aston said. "Wonderful party tonight. I've brought you a gift-the finest specimen from my personal collection."
The man approached, his eyes too glassy, his excitement palpable. He looked me over like he was evaluating an object at a market. "Remarkable, Aston," he said, his eyes still lingering on me. "This will be a most memorable night. For all of us."
And then I began to feel panic.
“Mr. Holder.”
I looked up to see the head of casino security standing beside me. A barrel-chested man with a bulbous nose and hands so large they looked like they belonged to a giant, Mark was exactly what you’d expect the head of security at a major casino to look like. He was intimidation on two huge legs.
“Mark,” I said. “How are you? How’s the wife?”
“Doing good, Joe,” he said. “Mr. Anders would like to see you.”
If my consulting firm hadn't been hired by the casino, those words would strike fear into my heart. Mr. Anders was one of the most powerful men in Vegas, known for his intolerance of cheating and disloyalty. And here I was, working in his casino. With my kind of background.
It was all Benicio’s doing. The Panamanian smuggling kingpin who hired the Inferno MC to run his protection was fiercely loyal to his family. Since his daughter, Dani, was married to the Inferno MC President, anyone who was close to Blaze was close to him. And with all that had happened, I knew Blaze still felt responsible for April’s death, despite being in another country when she was murdered. I didn’t say no when Benicio put in a word for me with a small, secretive consulting firm that specialized in white hat hacking and security testing for casinos all over the world.
What the hell else was I going to do? I was a hacker and embezzler who had been caught. I had a record. No legitimate business was going to hire me, and a fucking criminal wasn't going to trust me with his financials, not after what I'd done. Benicio had stepped out on a limb for me, told this firm to hire me. It was the reason I was living in Vegas. It was the only job I could get.
To say I was grateful to Benicio was an understatement.
“Does he want me to finish testing the equipment, or see me when I’m finished?”
“He says to come up when you’re done,” Mark said.
“Will do,” I said. “It should only take me a few more minutes.”
Ten minutes later, I was headed out of the casino, making my way through the machines, and I ran into a woman.
Literally.
"Hey!" she said, her eyes wide as she stumbled on her heels, losing her balance. I grabbed her by both arms to steady her, meeting her gaze for a moment.
Holy shit, she was gorgeous, with long dark hair that cascaded over her shoulders in waves, framing her delicate features. She was tiny as a bird, but I could tell she wasn't delicate.