Chapter 11
11
C andidates for what? I was becoming more and more convinced this was some kind of bizarre cult. Reaper certainly had all the magnetism of a cult leader.
He clapped once like he was pleased. “Ah, perfect. Start sending them in.”
Grim left the room, and my breathing returned to normal. I made my way back to the desk and sat in front of the computer. After a few deep breaths, I refocused on the screen. I’d complained about Reaper sitting there while I was working, but now I hoped he stayed just so I got an answer as to who the hell the candidates were.
When nothing happened and the silence dragged out, I asked, “Are you in some kind of death cult?” His eyes widened in mocking question like he had no idea what I was talking about. “Reaper, Grim, Styx, Azrael. You’ve got a bit of a death theme going there.”
“Ah, that…” He nodded knowingly. “My organization is called Petite Mort.”
My cheeks flushed. Petite Mort , the French concept of an orgasm being like a little death .
So an…orgasm cult then?
There was absolutely no way I was asking that aloud.
He smirked like he knew where my thoughts had gone. “You’re so close , darling. Let me know when you figure it out…”
A tentative knock at the door saved me from embarrassing myself further.
“Enter,” Reaper called without getting up from the couch.
A stunning woman with chin-length purple hair stepped in, looked between us, then took a few more steps towards the seating area. She oozed confidence and had every right to. She was voluptuous and pretty at the same time.
“I’m Peg.”
I tucked my chin, suddenly cognizant of the fact I was easily recognizable and somewhere I wasn’t supposed to be. It wouldn’t have mattered. She only had eyes for Reaper.
He fixed her with his mesmerizing stare. “Impress me, Peg.”
The charged vibe between them made me want to leave the room, but I sat glued to my chair, no longer even pretending to work. I was a different kind of nervous now where I felt out of my depth, like I was supposed to look away, but I couldn’t.
Peg started to peel off her strapless dress in a slow, sensual show, but Reaper held up a hand. “Hang on for a second, love.” He turned towards me. “Would you prefer to work in another room while I’m conducting interviews? Wouldn’t want to distract you.”
And miss the chance to figure out what the fuck was going on here? “I’m fine.” I said it too quickly and wanted to cringe.
He shrugged. “Let me know if you change your mind.”
He gestured for Peg to continue, and she slid her dress the rest of the way off, revealing that all she had on under it was a minuscule thong. As she stripped that off, she turned around so that when she bent over, Reaper was offered an unobstructed view of her most intimate parts.
She stood there in nothing but a pair of heels without the slightest hint of insecurity. To be fair, she didn’t really have anything to be insecure about. She had sun-kissed copper skin and generous soft curves that probably made people’s mouths water. Her full breasts were tipped with perfect little brown nipples, and the piercings looked like invitations to touch.
She’s completely naked! Has no idea who I am or why I’m here. This has to be a cult. What the fuck have I stumbled into, and are they going to let me leave?
Reaper’s expression didn’t change. He just sat there expectantly until it was clear getting naked was her party trick to impress him.
After a long pause, he sat forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. “That’s it?”
She straightened and nodded uncertainly, crossing her arms over her breasts.
Mother of god. If I stripped naked and a man’s response was, That’s it?
His laugh was dark and menacing. “Get on all fours in front of me.” When she didn’t immediately move, he snapped his fingers, and she dropped to the ground in front of his chair.
I was sure he was going to spank her or fuck her or something. From the look on her face, he could’ve done whatever he wanted, and she would’ve enthusiastically complied. I was transfixed , drunk on the anticipation.
But all he did was prop his boots up on her back. “You do make a very pretty footrest,” he purred.
He’d just called her a piece of furniture, and still she glowed at the compliment, absolute awe on her face.
“Next,” he called loudly.
He just left her there as a footrest. She couldn’t have looked more deeply content.
Oh shit. The next person is going to come in and not only potentially recognize me, but they’re going to tell people I was part of…whatever that is.
I shifted lower in my chair and angled my face away from the door, like that was going to do anything to help.
Reaper waved a hand in my direction. “You can relax, darling. No one here will breathe a word about you. They’ve all been vetted and signed NDAs, but more importantly, they know I’d destroy them if they did.”
Even though I didn’t trust him, I had no doubt he could follow through on that threat.
I stared blankly at the computer in front of me for a second. I’d completely forgotten what I was doing. The bastard was probably doing this on purpose so I’d run out of time and have to come back.
Not happening.
I threw myself into the numbers, not looking up when the next candidate came in. Not even when Reaper said, “Impress me, Acacia.”
Those words were going to haunt me long after I left. What would I do if I stood in her shoes? As a command, it was devastatingly effective at making the recipient feel small. The very nature of it made me second-guess whether anything about me could be enough to impress this man. I certainly lacked the kind of skills he seemed to be looking for…
I kept my eyes on the screen when she moved around…and when she started to make obscene noises. It was only when she lay down on the desk I was working on and brought herself to a screaming, back-arching orgasm that I lost it and looked up to find a very beautiful, very naked white woman. Evidently, no one kept their clothes on long around this man.
She’d barely stopped writhing when he said, “Absolutely not. Next!”
I looked at him and must’ve had confusion stamped comically on my face because he stage-whispered, “Nothing impressive about a fake orgasm. I can always tell.”
I blinked in surprise and looked back at the numbers, determined not to get sucked into the next candidate’s antics.
I made it through two more candidates without tearing my eyes from the computer screen for more than a few stolen glances. One tied the footstool woman up, and the other sounded like they might’ve been a guy. I didn’t know exactly what they were doing, but the bound footstool woman sounded like she came. It seemed like they all knew each other somehow. Not that I was listening as intently as I was not looking or anything.
The next woman who entered the room spoke before Reaper did. “I think we both already know I can impress you, baby.”
He huffed a laugh. “You certainly aren’t impressing me right now. You think the process doesn’t apply to you because we fucked? The sex wasn’t that good, love.”
Her heels clicked on the floor as she sashayed her way over to him.
The metal snap of a purse sounded, followed by “may I?”
My fingers froze on the keyboard when a zipper being pulled down broke the silence. There was some shuffling, and then, out of my peripheral vision, I could see she was doing something with a thin white cord.
She gave a satisfied chuckle. “You can say you’re not impressed, baby…but your cock says otherwise.”
I will not look at his penis. I will not look at his penis.
He was watching me. I could feel him watching me while someone else was touching him intimately.
I met his eyes first, and they dared me to look down, challenged me to stop being so afraid.
He didn’t speak, but I swore I could hear what he was saying with that look: It’s just a body, darling.
I let my eyes slide down his torso until I saw what she was doing with the cord. His erect cock was out. Even using that word in my mind felt wicked, but to use anything less sexual to describe what I was seeing would be inaccurate. She’d rapidly crisscrossed the cord around his cock into something that looked more like erotic art than bondage. Even if he wasn’t impressed, I was.
And not just with her handiwork. I’d seen cocks in porn before, but seeing his in real life had me shifting in my chair. It was thick and rock-hard beneath the bondage. I was flustered and hot and inexplicably frustrated. I wanted to banish the siren who was tying him up—and the woman who still rested at his feet—so I could toss all reason to the wind and climb on top of him.
They were on their knees to serve him…but he was looking at me.
He snapped his fingers. “Thank you, Kenzie. We’ll let you know.”
She huffed and released his cock more quickly than she’d tied it. Then she stormed from the room.
“You too, Peg,” he said far more gently, and the other woman scrambled out of the office obediently.
The trance broken, I looked back at my screen and pretended that moment hadn’t just happened.
The next woman who came into the room had such an intense presence, it was like I was compelled to look at her. She was a tall, curvy Asian woman with chin-length black hair and an imperious air about her. Even the click of her heels on the floor was assertive, and the way she looked down her nose at Reaper made me want to laugh delightedly. What would it be like to not be intimidated by him?
“Impress me,” Reaper drawled.
“Are you fucking kidding me, you sniveling little shit?” My jaw fell open, but she crossed her arms and continued. “You like to sit on your throne feeling all high and mighty, but don’t think for a second I couldn’t rip you down from it and toss you back into the gutter where you belong.”
Reaper groaned like she’d done something intensely erotic, a sound that would’ve made my knees wobbly if I’d been standing, then let his head collapse back onto the couch. “God, you’re good. No other Domme can hold a candle to you, love.”
“Don’t forget it.”
He grinned lazily. “Consider me impressed.”
She arched a delicate eyebrow. “We both know I’m not here for your stupid little open call.”
“Oh?” He sat up, focusing on her more intently. It was clear he knew exactly what she was going to say, but he was making her say it anyway. No matter what she’d just said about tearing him off his throne, he seemed to be the one in power in this relationship.
“You ever lay a hand on one of my subs again without my permission, and we’ll no longer be doing business together.”
He steepled his fingers, still the picture of calm. I wanted to know what it took to rattle him, to shake this infinitely relaxed demeanor. “As I mentioned to your brother, it was entirely consensual. Did the lady suggest otherwise?”
Az was her brother? They looked absolutely nothing alike.
She let out a breath. “I don’t give a fuck if it was consensual. If I thought you’d cross that line, we wouldn’t even be having this discussion. She’s under my care—you give me the respect of checking first.”
She was terrifying. I wanted to be her when I grew up.
“Noted,” Reaper said lightly.
She seemed satisfied with that answer and turned to leave.
“One more thing, O…”
She whipped back around, flashing a look that promised a painful death she’d enjoy drawing out. “What?”
“You’re acquainted with Kevin King. Anything you can tell me about him?”
I stiffened at the sudden reminder of what awaited me when I left this bizarre situation.
She tilted her head and took a step back into the room. “Fuck that guy. No idea what he’s into, but he…crossed me once.” She sounded disgusted by the memory.
He rolled his eyes, turning to address me. “Ophelia doesn’t hold grudges—she nurtures them in a goddamned nursery until they grow into little demons just like her. Evidently, she doesn’t have anything useful to share with us.”
He flicked his fingers, daring to dismiss her.
She squared her shoulders. “You’re not sending her to that guy. She’s green as the bowl I’m about to smoke to relieve the stress you’ve caused.”
She didn’t seem to recognize me. I worked up the nerve to speak up, needing to know if there was something more specific she could tell me about him. I wanted whatever info I could get. “I don’t work for him. I have a date with Kevin King later.” I tried to sound confident, but the waver in my voice gave me away.
Her expression softened into something resembling pity. “I’d cancel it, sweets. He’s a real piece of work. It’s not worth the money when you haven’t learned how to handle yourself yet. I can refer some easy regulars your way to get you started.”
She thought I was…a sex worker? Was that what she was? Did that mean Reaper was some kind of…pimp? I wasn’t about to explain the intricacies of the situation, so it was time to back off. I met her eyes. “Thank you. I’ll think about it.”
She turned to leave, but at the door, she turned back to me. “If you like being an independent escort, I respect it. But think about working for Reaper. The dispute you just saw was personal. He’s…” She looked him up and down, searching for the right words. “Well, he’s not a good man. But he’s the kind of bad you want on your side.”