Page 32 of Blood and Thorns

“Because they see you as my pet,” he replied, and I bit back a retort. “As my whore.”

“You said you’re not into reluctance.”

His thumbs never stopped moving, but I was achinglyaware of them. “I have enough women throwing themselves at my feet. I don’t need to seek sex elsewhere.”

“And yet I sit on your lap.”

“The word ‘no’doesn’t get me hard, but you see everyone watching? They need me to be the monster that goes bump in the night. And I’m happy to perform if need be.”

My pulse did the foxtrot at the silent threat, my stomach cramping as if I’d swallowed ice.

Sebastian leaned forward, his voice dropping beneath his mask. “But what does get me fucking excited is your submission. So continue to fight me,mon belle petit lapine.Keep telling me no, because it’ll be that much sweeter when I finally have you begging for my cock.”

It took me a moment to understand the words, distracted by how his accent deepened when he spoke in French, more throaty. Only then did the skin of my cheeks prickle, followed by a strange warmth spreading through that ice that I pointedly ignored.

“And trust me, you will. I can already imagine the way your cunt will drip for me,” he whispered against my heated skin. “Taking every inch of my cock like the good girl you are.”

“Never.” The word was barely audible above the pounding of my heart.

His thumb stoked higher, and I could almost hear the smirk that curled his lips as he spoke next. “I can’t wait to fuck this defiance out of you.”

Chapter 17

Sebastian

Arabella sat so obediently on my lap, my cock twitching at her compliance. I expected a little push back, but other than a slight darkening of her eyes and venom on her tongue, she did exactly what she was told.

I continued to stroke her soft thighs, hyper focused on how her breathing picked up, and her pulse raced on the side of her throat. But then her breasts pushed at the bodice of her dress, obscenely displayed for my eyes.

I should’ve made her change, because now she was pure seduction. A distraction. The fabric was tight, a pale pink that flared out at her hips and stopped mid-thigh. Usually, I only touched women with the intent of sex, and they were definitely not allowed to touch me in return. But with Arabella I wanted to touch, to see whether she’d grip my wrist with the intention of stopping me, or not. Not that shecouldstop me.

Most women flinched beneath my attention, reacting to my scars and cruelty. Those that didn’t, I had no interest in. They chased thinking they could tame the great Beast, and then cried when they were bitten.

Arabella hadn’t flinched, but she hadn’t exactly chased me, either.

I moved my hands higher on her thighs, and again I was pushing, seeing whether I could get that fire I saw the first night. She believed she was so unaffected by me, but I could feel how her body responded. The way her pulse quickened and her legs trembled even as she fought it.

She may not like me, but her body clearly didn’t care.

She believed she was working off her debt, but she was mine until I grew bored. Until then, I had no intention of letting her go.

As she wriggled in my lap, I bit back a curse as my cock twitched. If she could feel me hardening beneath her, she didn’t react. Seemingly distracted with being put on display. It wasn’t something she seemed to enjoy, and the feeling was mutual.

I rarely used my personal booth, preferring the comfort of my office where I could watch everything from afar. I could feel eyes glancing our way, but not lingering even as fear danced with excitement at my presence.

No, I was a rare sight. And that was what I preferred, to be the devil hiding amongst the shadows. My name may be known, but my face wasn’t as common, even as distinctive as it was. Not unless you were a regular at my fights, but then again only a certain type of person attended those. People that were already familiar with how the underworld operated.

But tonight, I’d decided to come early, to sit and watch the rich and influential lose their inhibitions under the veil of privacy.

There were two rules once you’d stepped inside my club, the first being there were no recording devices. That included phones, cameras, or anything else that couldrecord picture or sound. The second was what happened inThe Thornstayed inThe Thorn.

Break a rule once, and you were permanently expelled. No exceptions.

So people danced, spilled secrets, and cheated believing no one was watching, when in reality there were cameras across every inch. Ready to be used against anyone who dared deceive me.

“Boss?”

Arabella stiffened in my lap, my thumbs having moved even further up to the point her skirt was almost revealing too much. I slipped my hands out from beneath the fabric before turning towards Micah.