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Story: Feral Beauty

Liam dropped Armond’s wrist, and the smaller male stumbled back, grasping his hand to his chest, his eyes wide with fright. At the sight of his obvious fear, her stomach clenched. She never should have involved him in this little exercise. Still, she worried if she didn’t get the upper hand with Liam on day one, he’d walk all over her. She tucked her guilt away. First, she’d deal with Liam. Later, she would comfort Armond.

She tightened her grip on Liam’s chin, flashing fangs. “For the duration of your time with me, you will not lay a hand on Dove nor Armond. Am I clear?”

Liam met her stare head-on, far from cowed. “You putting one of those kinky-ass dog collars on me wasn’t part of our deal.”

Anger simmered beneath her skin. “Moments ago, you made a blood oath, promising you would give me your complete submission and obey me in all ways.”

He glowered at her, refusing to confirm nor deny.

“Should you break your word to me, that oath will cause you a tremendous amount of pain. Right?”

Silence.

She squeezed his chin.

“Right,” he agreed.

“Therefore, if I ordered you to wear a collar, you would have no choice but to obey.”

When he paled, appearing nauseated by the idea, she fought the urge to back down.

Rather than shout at her as she expected, his expression softened. “Is it your intent to unman me, Viv? Is that why you brought me here?”

Merde, she hated it when he called her Viv. “Why doyouthink I brought you here?” Against her will, her grip on his chin eased, and she stroked her thumb against his bottom lip.

“I thought…” His brow lowered, a deep crease forming between his brows. “Nothing.”

She knew what he thought. That for the next two weeks, the burlesque dancer turned courtesan would want nothing more than to screw his brains out. Men were so stupid and predictable. Just once, she’d loved for one of them to surprise her.

She stroked Liam’s chin, gentling her beast. “Armond is measuring you for a suit,mon coeur.” Calling him “my heart” had come out without intention. Lucky for her, Liam appeared to be too caught up in the moment to notice.

Liam stiffened. “A suit?”

“Oui.”

“Pants, jacket, tie. That kind of suit?” he asked, clearly suspicious of her intent.

She bit her lip, fighting an angry rebuttal. What did he think? That she planned to wrap him in vinyl? Zippers, ball gag, the whole BDSM package? She heaved a sigh. Of course he did. Wasn’t that the image she’d curated? One of absolute power and domination? Only Dove and Armond knew it was mostly smoke and mirrors. “Yes, my darling,” she answered him. “You’ll need several, in fact.”

For a moment, he seemed sickened at the idea. More so than he’d been with the collar. Liam confirmed this when he glared up at her. “For the record. I’d rather wear the collar.”

Four

Once Armond had recordedhis measurements, Liam followed Vivian up the scrolling iron stairwell. He could think of only one reason she was leading him to her bedroom. With every step, his cock hardened. His eyeballs ticked back and forth, tracking the sway of her hips. As a member of the vampire elite, she could downplay her humble beginnings, ignoring her past.

Liam remembered.

Remembered the way she moved on stage. He’d never been so captivated by a stripper. Sure, they could call it burlesque, claim it was art, theatrical entertainment. Whatever the hell they wanted.

It was men like Liam who knew the truth.

Men who’d lined up outside her club, willing to spend their hard-earned money on overpriced tickets and watered-down drinks. They sure as hell didn’t line up to listen to mediocre singers and lame comedy acts. They’d lined up to watch Vivian get naked and shake her moneymaker. Eager for a glimpse of the spectacular tits she hid behind those feather fans.

Damn, but she’d been fast with those things. Not once had he ever truly seen her in all her glory. Even back then, she’d never revealed anything she didn’t want others to see.

Now that they were headed to her room, his tension eased. Gods, he’d been out of his element from the moment he stepped into her prissy-ass house. At least in her bedroom, he’d be king. If there was one area where he excelled, it was pleasuring the ladies. Not once had he ever had a complaint. Sure, he had a reputation for being the guy you didn’t want to meet in a dark alley. But at Howlers, he had a different kind of reputation. Women lined up in droves for a taste of what he could give them. Well…at least before Alex had come along and cock-blocked his entire sex life.

But with Alex gone, he could get back to living the way he wanted. Living free.