Page 20 of Vicious Kingdom (Dynasty of Queens #3)

T he only reason I was fucking here was because some uppity woman told me I didn’t have a choice.

She’d even gone so far as to suggest a bad publicity stunt if I refused to show.

Since my brother was furious after the unnecessary death at the gambling ring, I didn’t want to give any more reason to stoke his ire.

So I did the thing. Made an appearance. Talked to mind-numbing, teeth-jarring women who wore more plastic in their faces and more jewels on their bodies than a small country’s GDP.

But it wasn’t over.

Oh no, chatting to the blithering idiots who made up the single ladies’ coalition was just the start. Now I had to take one of them on a date.

Or cause another scandal.

Meanwhile, Sandro was out, sweeping the streets for drug runners, waging an economic war with other mobs, and keeping his territory in order. I would much rather have a gun in my hand than a paddle to use for my opening bid.

I scanned the ladies once more from where I stood behind the curtain. Beautiful, brightly feathered birds who tweeted and simpered with not a damn thing to say.

“Oh, I’m taking the live wire,” a rich little heir chuckled.

His friend poked him in the ribs. “Which one?”

“The only one who was interesting. Number three,” he whispered conspiratorially. “She’s got a mouth on her, and it will look good sucking on my dick this weekend.”

Number three…Annaliese.

Something dark and volatile possessed me.

“Like you’ve ever closed the deal,” his friend sneered. “I’ll bid on her, just to make sure it’s my dick she’s sucking.”

A cloud of red descended on the staging area.

I moved without thinking. My vision tunneled to pinpricks as my fist connected with the heir’s jaw. The crack of bone against bone echoed in the small space behind the curtain. The little shit stumbled backward, eyes wide with shock as blood sprayed from his now-crooked nose.

“What the fuck!” his friend yelped, jumping back as his companion crashed into a rack of sound equipment.

I grabbed the friend by his designer lapels, slamming him against the wall hard enough to knock the wind from his lungs. “Say another word about her, and I’ll rip your fucking tongue out.”

The heir was scrambling on the ground, hand cupped beneath his streaming nose. “You broke my nose! Do you know who my father is?”

“I don’t give a shit if your father is God himself,” I snarled, releasing the friend to tower over the bleeding man. Grabbing them each by the throat, I drug them into the back hall.

They struggled and struck out.

But my arms were locked tight, a terrible violence ready to explode. The beast inside roared in approval, begging to be released. It would feel so good to pummel my fists into each of their pretty faces until the flesh turned to pulp.

This wasn’t the place. Too many eyes saw me strike. While no one jumped to intervene, they would have if I began beating the ever-loving shit out of them.

Dropping one, I opened a janitor’s closet and tossed the first inside. He crashed into the wall and slumped on the floor. The other was busy trying to scramble away. I caught him by the hair, gave him a brutal tug, and threw him to land on the other.

“Someone will let you out…eventually.” With those parting words, I slammed the door closed and threw the external lock.

The red haze clouding my vision made everything else fade into the background. I managed to collect the pen and card that had fallen to the floor. The other bachelors gave me a wary look, and silence reigned supreme in the staging area.

One in particular gave me a dirty look. His golden hair and bronzed surfer tan were vaguely familiar, but I was too conflicted to remember where I’d seen him before. Whatever his problem was, he didn’t want to mess with me.

“Let’s bring out the gents!” the peevish socialite cheered.

I brushed a hand over my hair, adjusted my tie, and led the throng onto the stage.

“All of tonight’s biddings go to our sponsor, St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital,” the woman was saying. She went on to explain how they were the leading force in helping treat childhood diseases.

Ice flooded my muscles. I couldn’t unsee the blood on my knuckles.

Numbers flooded my mind. I already made a large, anonymous donation to the sick girl, made sure that her mother wanted for nothing. But there were more kids like her. Gulping hard, I found the silver lining in tonight’s event.

“Hey man, you alright?” Josh Geddy, an NFL cornerback, murmured at my side.

“Yeah.” My voice sounded hollow to my own ears.

“Don’t let those spoilt pricks ruin the fun,” he added. “They’ve been asking for the ass beating their parents never gave them.”

I grunted.

“They didn’t grow up with the belt, but I’m betting you did,” he cajoled. “Builds character, doesn’t it?”

It sure as hell built something.

“And for a thousand dollars, Miss Heidi LaGrange!” The socialite attempted to drive up the price. “Do I hear two thousand?”

No one spoke.

“Miss LaGrange, come forward and greet your champion.” Monica beamed, sweeping her hand at a lanky kid with greased back hair.

Bachelorette number two went for an even lower price. Murmurs swarmed about the room, making it seem as though insects infested the place.

“I haven’t been to one of these before. Is this going well?” I managed to ask Josh.

He shrugged. “Overpriced drinks and obligatory dates? How could it go any better?”

I snorted.

“And now, table number three: Miss Annaliese Hertz.” Monica glanced around. “Gentlemen, do I hear five hundred?”

I waited. Let the temptress think she wasn’t going to be chosen—

“Five thousand ,” the golden one boomed.

Cheers and yips echoed in the room.

I pinned him with a death glare. I remembered now who he was. The tech tycoon from Silicon Valley.

The challenge spiced my veins. If he thought he could have her—

“Eight thousand,” Josh chirped, pinning me with a look.

“Really?” I snapped.

The football player shrugged. “You’re going home with her. I just want part of the fun.”

I was.

The tech guy quickly adjusted. “Eight and a half thousand.”

“Nine!” someone from the back, who I didn’t know, shouted.

Monica preened. “The children will be so lucky!”

“Three million dollars,” I said, lifting my paddle slightly.

Silence drowned the room.

“Million?” Monica croaked and reached for her throat. Her eyes were the size of saucers.

“Million.” I held the matron’s gaze. “Six zeroes with a three in front. Do you need me to write it out for you?”

Guilt made me donate the outrageous sum. Nothing else—

No one else.

The math teacher’s daughter was the only reason. There had to be lots of kids in her same situation, with parents desperate to find the money to save them. Maybe my contribution would help keep them from doing something stupid.

Yes…that was the reason I bid so high. That and the fact that no one else was paying for time with Annaliese.

The socialite gulped. “For the sum of three million dollars, Miss Hertz! Is there any challenging bid?”

“I almost want to add to that just to see what you’ll do,” Josh chuckled beside me.

I would pay triple the amount to save another parent. Not because the thought of someone else taking the temptress out on the town brought out a cloud of rage. That reaction wasn’t something I cared to explain.

On the other end of the stage, the Californian let out a strangled groan and shook his head.

Victory washed through me, bringing a sweet relief to my veins. The point was made. This was my city, and Annaliese was mine to play games with. I slid a glance across the crowd and met that poignant blue stare before dropping my gaze to her smart mouth. No, if those lips were choking on a cock—

It will be mine.

The picture was too tantalizing. Tears streaming down her face, her air cut off as I drove into her. That sight was mine, and mine alone.

Not that I had any intention of fucking that lying little mouth.

“Miss Hertz, come forward and meet your champion.” At the declaration of the closing bid, the murmurs started up. This time, the ballroom became a jungle. Everyone was speculating why I paid an outrageous sum for a date.

But Anna’s blue eyes locked with mine. She stepped onto the stage and walked directly toward me. I snatched her wrist and hurried her off the opposite side as Josh chuckled softly.

“Well, this is a surprise,” Annaliese snorted. “Going to teach me a lesson, Baldwin?”

Before I could think, I was moving again. My grip tightened on her wrist as I tugged her into the adjoining room. The door fell closed with a slam, cutting off the circus behind us.

Anna’s soft pants were the only sound.

They fucked with my head more than the locker room talk, more than the blood, money, and charade.

“Baldwin?” Annaliese whispered. “I can’t see a damn thing.”

Cursing into the darkness, I caught hold of her and yanked her toward me. Her body collided with mine, and I savored the gasp of surprise that escaped her lips.

“You don’t need to see what I’m about to do to you,” I warned as a streak of heat throbbed through my veins.

A split second later, my mouth crashed against hers, striking with a fierce, raw hunger, perilously close to violence, despite the lack of light in the room.

She went stiff in my arms, stunned by the force of it.

Her hesitation made me growl low in my throat.

But only for a moment. Only before instinct took over, and she began kissing me back, lips softening, a slow surrender.

She met my ardor, and I felt her body shift, molding against my chest, inviting the touch she had first resisted.

I shoved her up against the wall, heart pounding in time with the frantic rhythm of hands that explored the curve of her hips.

Her mouth opened beneath mine, and I forced my tongue through the barrier of those half-open lips, a welcome warmth through the growing storm.

I fucked her mouth with a greed, a desperation I didn’t know I could feel.

The intensity shocked her. She stilled as my hands tangled into her hair, then I released her mouth with a shuddering breath.

I was possessed.

That was the only explanation why I would kiss this—this—

This fucking terrible idea.

“My secretary will call you with the details,” I snapped, shoving her against the wall.

“Can’t wait,” she sneered. But her voice was breathless, a mix of defiance and desire that sent another jolt through my system.

I stepped back, needing distance before I did something worse than kiss her. The darkness was a blessing—she couldn’t see how wrecked I was, how my hands trembled with the effort of not grabbing her again.

“One date,” I growled, finding the door handle. “One fucking date and we’re done.”

“Are we?” The question hung in the air, taunting me. “You’re the one who keeps bumping into me. And now your three million says otherwise, Baldwin.”

Light spilled into the room as I cracked the far door open, illuminating her face. Her lips were swollen from my assault, hair disheveled where my fingers had gripped it. The sight nearly undid me again.

“This doesn’t change anything,” I said, more to myself than to her.

Annaliese straightened, smoothing her dress with deliberate slowness. “Don’t worry, I know we’re still at war, even if you keep forgetting.”

Not again, never again. She was my enemy. A lying serpent who’d been sent to destroy me once. Even if events five years ago proved she had nothing to do with my company’s leak, she hadn’t been honest—ever. That hadn’t changed.

I would never trust that woman again, and I needed to find a way to rid the temptress from my life for good.