Page 28 of Terror at the Gates

I let myself relax and smiled at him.

“You look a little tense, Zahariev. Why don’t you make yourself comfortable?”

I didn’t think he liked my suggestion by the way his eyes narrowed, but he took a seat as I busied myself inthe corner. I set my bag down and started to undress. Hooking my fingers into the fabric of my skirt, I shimmied out of it to reveal a cute pair of cheeky black underwear. They were lacy in the back and had a bow and a little more frill on the front. I didn’t think about the fact that I was basically giving Zahariev a full view of my bare ass until he spoke.

“What are you doing?”

I straightened and started unbuttoning my shirt.

“Getting dressed,” I said.

He had one leg crossed over his knee and an arm on the back of the couch, the last of his cigarette pinched between his fingers. I met his gaze as my final button came free. I didn’t slip out of my shirt though. I planned to use it as a prop during my dance. Beneath it, I wore a matching bra. It was accented with silk bows, one on each of the straps and one between my breasts. I liked this one because it actually made me look like I had boobs.

I adjusted the straps and let my hands fall to my hips.

“Do you like it?” I asked.

I’d meant to tease, but then he smiled, and the sight made my heart skip a beat. Zahariev was so fucking beautiful. It was sometimes hard to remember, because so often I felt like I was under his guardianship.

He sat forward, taking a final pull from his cigarette. He looked up at me through his lashes as he expelled a plume of smoke.

“Praise isn’t a strip club,” he said. “It’s the only reason I’m considering letting you dance here.”

“I’m not stupid, Zahariev,” I said. The brief attraction I’d felt toward him vanished. I reached into my bag for a pair of thigh-high stockings. I balanced on one foot as I rolledone up my leg and then the other.

“I’m not calling you stupid,” he said, putting out his cigarette.

“What do you call telling me something I already know?” I asked.

“A warning,” he said.

“What makes you think I’d strip for anyone?”

“Let’s not pretend you wouldn’t do just about anything to fuck with me,” he said.

“You do realize I make decisions all the time without thinking about how you will react,” I said, retrieving my heels from my bag, the final piece of my outfit. I slipped my foot inside one, using the table in front of Zahariev to buckle them.

“I do,” he said. “Which is why I am telling you now, before we do this, there is no bend to these rules, Lilith. You do what I say, or you don’t work at all.”

I could feel myself coiling up inside like a snake. The reaction was automatic. I didn’t like being told what to do, but that was why Zahariev was warning me. He knew my rebellious streak wasn’t a streak. It was just part of my personality.

“Yes, daddy,,” I said, my voice thick with sarcasm.

Zahariev’s jaw ticked, but the corner of his mouth lifted, eyes gleaming darkly.

“Good girl,” he praised, his voice low and rough. He sat back, crossing one leg over the other. “Now dance for me.”

I ground my teeth, glaring at him, but I knew by the way he stared back that this was part of his test. He knew I didn’t like authority, especially when he tried to enforce it. If he gave me this job, he would technically be my boss.

For once in my life, I was going to have to not only listenbut obey.

What the fuck had I gotten myself into?

“No music?” I asked.

“Play your own,” he said.

“You are boring, Zahariev.”