Page 20 of Immoral (Park Avenue Kings #3)

BENOIT

T HE SATIN SHEETS were cool against my skin as I stretched out on the bed, content as a kitten after Dimitri had used my body for his pleasure for the last hour.

It was late, but he didn’t climb in beside me, instead crossing the room to grab his shirt from where I’d thrown it over a lampshade in the midst of… well, my pleasure.

“Just what do you think you’re doing putting clothes on?” I rolled onto my side and ran my hand over the empty spot where he should be.

“I’ve got to work.”

It was a damn shame that he punctuated those words by pulling his briefs up over that gorgeous ass, blocking my view.

“You can’t work in bed?”

Dimitri looked at me over his shoulder, and I stretched again, showing off my long, lean, naked body to its full advantage. His gaze roamed over me, from the tips of my toes all the way up my thighs, over my spent cock.

“I could,” he said carefully. “But I wouldn’t get anything done with you looking like that.”

With a loud sigh, I plumped the pillow beneath my head and got comfortable. “You’re right. I wouldn’t be able to resist distracting you, and then I’d never get any beauty sleep.”

Dimitri smirked.“You’ll get plenty tonight, not that you need it.”

“Why do you say that? Do you not plan on joining me?”

“It might be a while, is all.”

“Is everything okay?”

He pocketed his phone. “Fine. Just a busy time right now. Get some sleep.”

Curiosity at what was happening behind the scenes niggled in the back of my mind, but I nodded and faked a yawn.“Don’t be too long.”

He stared at me for a long moment before nodding once, and then he was gone.

I lay there for a few more minutes, waiting to see if he’d come back, but when he didn’t I sat up, watching the door.

I’d need to be quick.

I was a little surprised that Dimitri had chosen to stay at the St. Regis instead of a more private home, but it would make it much easier for me to slip out for a few minutes than if he were just down the hall in another room.

I had a drop to make to my brothers, all the audio from the train meetings safely tucked away after I’d secured the device before disembarking.

It’d been a close call in the lounge when I went to grab it from where I’d hidden it in the curtain.

Just my luck that Omar and several others from Dimitri’s crew had been in there having coffee when I walked in.

Even better luck that they seemingly couldn’t stand me, or didn’t trust me, and scattered like roaches when the lights came on.

Worked for me. Somehow the device had slid down from where I’d stuck it, and it took me a hot minute to find it.

That wasted time was also why I’d had to grab croissants. Dimitri would’ve been suspicious of why I’d been gone so long if I hadn’t, and I was grateful he’d leaned into the jealous side of his nature rather than the paranoid one.

I quickly threw on some nondescript dark pants and a sweater, not wanting to call attention to myself.

It was out of my nature for sure, but necessary tonight.

After loading my pants pockets with what I needed—including an unopened pack of cigarettes and a lighter, should any unwanted attention find me—I slipped out of the room and took the stairs instead of the elevator.

Though we were staying in a suite on the top floor of the hotel, there were only six floors, so schlepping it down didn’t require any effort at all, unlike the time I’d spent several days with a billionaire banker on the seventy-second floor of a hotel in Singapore.

I hadn’t thought my thighs would ever recover after such a burn coming back up.

When I got to the ground floor, I took my time peering out through the exit door, keeping it open only a sliver in case Dimitri and his guys had chosen to do business down here.

There were plenty of people milling around, but the weather seemed to be keeping them all indoors instead of wandering out to the garden area on the canal.

Parfait . Then that was where I’d go.

I slipped out of the stairwell and kept to the perimeter of the room, then stepped out into the cold night air.

Merde , no wonder everyone was still inside. It’d gotten even colder as night fell, the breeze off the water making it intolerable.

Just find a hiding spot, make the call, and get back upstairs before your dick freezes off.

I scanned the courtyard, looking for an ideal spot to make the drop so Alessio or one of the others could make the pickup, but it was going to be tricky. All three sides backed up to a building, and directly in front of me was the canal.

Eh, they’d figure it out. If I was an asshole I’d give them a hard time and place it somewhere damn near impossible to get to, just for fun.

It was too cold for those shenanigans, though, so I made my way toward the canal, where a row of tables and chairs backed up against the meticulously manicured garden.

The trees there were tall enough to block me from view if anyone inside was watching, and I chose a seat in front of them facing the canal.

Crossing my foot over my knee, I drew the compact out of my boot, dialed a number into the hidden phone, and brought it to my ear.

“’Bout time you checked in. We were about to send out a search party.”

I smirked at Alessio’s put-out tone. “Aren’t you the search party?”

“Yeah, so let’s not make it for your body.”

“I mean, many would love to search for my body?—”

“If it’s alive.”

“Okay, way to get morbid.”

Alessio sighed, clearly trying for patience. “The drop?”

Right. That’s why I was calling. “In the courtyard, head toward the canal?—”

“If you put it out on the water…”

I chuckled and looked around to make sure no one had come across my hidden spot. “I thought about it, but no. There’s a set of tables and chairs backed up against a fancy little garden. Head to the one that has the three taller trees hiding it. You’ll find it in the middle pot.”

“Got it.” I was about to hang up and hightail it back inside, out of the cold, when I heard, “Everything okay with you?”

The question was unexpected, especially from our tech genius cave dweller, but I appreciated the thought. “Everything’s great.”

There was a pause. “Great? You’re hanging out with one of the most dangerous men in the world. How is that great?”

“Have you seen the man?”

“Aaand that’s my cue to end this conversation. If things start to be not so great, remember we can always find you an out.”

“Got it. But all’s good. Tell King to stop feeling guilty about sending me in. I’m rather enjoying myself.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that. Now get the fuck out of there—I’ve got something to pick up.”

“ Au revoir, ” I told him before ending the call and slipping my compact back into place, then I headed back up to the suite and, quiet as a church mouse, slipped into bed, undetected.

A HAND WHIPPING back the bedcovers later that night had my eyes popping open and searching for my intruder. I scrambled up the bed, rubbing at my eyes, remembering Dimitri had said he wouldn’t be back until late. So when strong fingers grabbed at my wrist and pulled me upright, my heart thundered.

The dark room made it difficult to immediately place my late-night visitor, but with all the concern and threats Dimitri had talked of, I wondered if someone had come for him.

It wasn’t until I heard, “Get up,” in his familiar deep voice, that I realized Dimitri must’ve gotten his business over and done with early.

“ Mon Dieu, ” I said with a small laugh, my heart starting to finally calm. “Is that any way to wake a man from his slumber?”

A firm hand at my chin had me looking up into Dimitri’s face, and now that my eyes had adjusted I could see his stern expression.

“It is when I want you up and ready in the next two minutes. Get moving.”

Wait. Had something happened? Dimitri was acting much more brusque than when he’d left. Was there some kind of threat going on that had him on edge?

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

But Dimitri didn’t respond, merely shifted off the bed and tugged me to my feet.

Putain. What was going on right now? He never acted this way. Or, at least, he hadn’t with me since we first met.

“Dimitri?” I tried again. “Is everything okay?”

He ran his eyes down over me, then looked to our bags. “Get dressed. You’ve got two minutes. Don’t make me wait longer or I’m coming in to get you.”

Fair enough. I knew when and when not to push this man, but as I pulled an outfit from my bag and hurried into the en suite, I couldn’t help the knot forming in the pit of my stomach.

Had I messed up tonight? Had one of his men seen me?

I didn’t think so. I’d been careful on my way out, careful when I called Alessio, but I couldn’t stop the paranoia from creeping in. Because what would a man like Dimitri do to someone who betrayed him?

Well, the scar on his face was a stark reminder that he wasn’t exactly into “talking things through.” So the sudden shiver of fear now racing down my spine felt appropriate.

A knock on the bathroom door had me jumping.

“You ready?”

Ready for what? But, not about to keep him waiting, I pulled open the door, draped myself against it, and played the part I was there to play.

“Don’t you know you can’t hurry perfection, mon monstre ?”

Dimitri gave my outfit a thorough once-over, but when he said nothing, just walked to the door and opened it, I swallowed the lump forming in the back of my throat.

“Time to go.”

Right. But where ?

I followed him out into the hall and into the elevator, deciding to keep my mouth shut since he wasn’t in the mood to talk. When his guards accompanied us, the hair on the back of my neck stood on end.

I didn’t have a good feeling about this, and the fact that Dimitri hadn’t touched me sent all kinds of worst-case scenarios creeping through my mind.

The elevator doors swept open as we reached the lobby, and he directed me toward the doors we’d entered upon our arrival. When we stepped outside and I saw a man standing at the top of the dock waiting on us, my feet froze.

A gondola floated on the canal below, the lights flickering on it making it easier to see, and when Dimitri noticed I’d stopped, he turned to face me.

“Is there a problem?”

I didn’t have a goddamn clue. If he’d brought me out here several hours ago, I would’ve said no in an instant. But with his mood, the time of night, and the fact we had several heavily armed men around us, I was suddenly thinking that I might have a very big problem.

At the bottom of a Venice canal.

“Benoit?”

“Uh, non , no problem. You just surprised me, that’s all.”

Dimitri arched a brow but turned and gestured toward the dock. “After you.”

I swallowed and chanced a quick look behind me, wondering if this would be the last time I saw solid ground, then headed toward the waiting gondola.

I took a seat, and as the gondoliers pushed the boat away from the dock, all I could think was, Thank God for Alessio and his fancy tech shit, because his chip in my arm might be my only way out of this.