Blood & Lace (The Marino Family #1)

Prologue

ONYX

I slipped my arm through his, leaning into George's side as he chatted. As soon as he felt me, he gazed down, a soft smile on his lips. I returned it, my cheeks warming and no doubt turning pink as my belly tightened and my pulse raced.

"Excuse me, gentlemen. I need to go," he said.

Just like that, without me saying a word, he cut off the conversation. For me. I smiled wider as he wrapped me in his arms and swirled me onto the dance floor. The live music was soft and slightly seductive. A perfect accompaniment for a flawless night.

"Are you ready to get out of here, darling?" George asked as he leaned down, his nose buried in my neck.

I knew he smelled the soft cologne I had on: amber and vanilla.

Sweet, complex, relaxing. Every bit of what I wore was meant to entice, to draw men closer to me until they were mine.

All mine. I dragged my short almond nails over his neck.

A shudder left his lips as his breathing picked up.

When he moved to look at me, I drew a hand down his firm chest.

"I was enjoying our dance," I said.

He chuckled. "Me too." George raised my hand, kissed it, and gazed at me, his lips still on my heated skin. "But I would like to do so much more than dance."

"Oh." I pursed my lips then clicked my tongue. "How dirty. Let's get out of here then."

The smile on his face was enough to light up every dark corner of the room.

With my hand in his, he led me to the door where his driver waited with the car.

We slipped inside, and quickly, things went from civilized and demure to handsy.

In public, George was the perfect gentleman, but when those doors closed, he was a beast.

"We're almost to your place." I laughed as he tore at my tailored suit. "Five more minutes and you can have me all night long."

He grunted. "Fuck it, let's save time and do it here."

"In the car? With the world watching?" I shook my head. "How would that look? Your face splashed all over the papers for being some kind of pervert."

George stiffened. "Pervert?"

"I mean"—I waved a hand—"we are out in public."

That seemed to bring him back to his senses. "So we are." He sighed. "There's just something about you, Onyx."

I grinned. "Yeah? What is it about me that you like so much?" I asked, teasing his chest with my fingers.

"Everything," he groaned. "If I was sure you wouldn't take me for everything I own, I would keep you on my arm forever."

I chuckled. "Trust me, I have plenty of my own money. I don't need yours."

"Yes, and I like that about you too."

Thankfully he kept his hands to himself the rest of the way to the building. When the driver parked and walked away for the night, dismissed, I followed George. His private elevator was nice and secluded. In fact, much of this part of the building was barren. And for good reason.

When we made it to his suite, we'd barely stepped over the threshold before he was on me again. His lips on my cheek, teeth on my throat, hand down my pants. I firmly shoved him off and giggled, trying to keep the mood light.

"How about a drink?" I asked.

"No, I've had plenty."

"Then I'd love one," I said, walking over to his wet bar. "Are you sure I can't make you something?"

"Onyx," he growled. "Are you avoiding me?"

I shook my head, glanced back, and winked. "Now, why would I want to avoid someone like you?"

He searched my face before he nodded. "That's good. Very good. The one thing I don't tolerate is a little cock tease." He sat in a big chair and stared at me. "Take your clothes off and make it. And go ahead and get me one, too."

"Sure thing."

My voice remained steady, but heat rose in the depths of my stomach.

I turned back to the drinks and slipped out of my clothes, leaving them in a pile on the floor.

From where he sat, he would have a perfect view of my back, my long legs, and my perky ass.

I glanced over my shoulder. Sure enough, he was mesmerized.

That was all I needed.

I fixed the drinks, my voice filling up the space so he wouldn't hear what I was doing. The ring on my finger opened, and I dumped the powder into his drink right before I stirred it. As I tapped the stirrer on the side of the glass, his breath wafted over my neck as his hand gripped my cock.

"What's taking so long?" he groaned.

I chuckled and shoved the drink into his chest, my heart racing as I quickly closed the ring against my thigh. "All done. Try it and tell me what you think."

He eyed me wearily before he took a sip. Grunting his approval, he wrapped his hand around my waist and dragged me in for a kiss. I shoved away from him.

"What the fuck was that?" he growled.

"I'm not so great at the kissing thing," I said, my throat tightening. "Never been my style."

"Come back here right now. I've waited and you're ruining this."

I grabbed my drink. "Don't be that way. Come sit down with me. Drink some more. We'll?—"

His hand wrapped around my wrist. Shit was going south fast. My breathing picked up, my lungs squeezing as his grip tightened.

George Abbot. Fifty-two. Entrepreneur of the biggest tech start up in the country.

A mogul, a playboy, and a rapist. He was every bit of the beast the woman had claimed who hired me.

Said he had a type: slim, seductive, and sweet.

That much was true. He'd been drooling after me since I "accidentally" bumped into him at the opera a month ago.

Up until now, he had been the perfect gentleman.

However, that was his MO. Everything around him was all sunshine and rainbows, until he brought them back here.

"I told you, I don't do little cock teases."

The backhand blow was unexpected, but I leaned into it.

Sharpness spread out over my cheek, radiating as I threw myself to the ground.

A hit like that wouldn't normally knock me to the floor, but what I needed was still inside the small pouch that was tangled inside of my clothes.

I found it and clumsily freed my syringe, hiding it in my palm.

The drink was a no-go. It was time for plan B.

"Where the fuck are you going?" he demanded, a hand wrapping around my ankle and pulling. I dropped the needle.

"You know, I really don't like pushy men," I snapped as I shot my foot back and caught him in the face. He yelped, a stunned look on his face as I grinned. "I told you, don't get too handsy with me."

"Bitch!" he bit out, his voice a snarl as his once dazzling blue eyes darkened. He was the definition of the devil in disguise. I could see it clearly now.

When he lunged for me. I grabbed my syringe and rolled. He nearly landed on top of me but missed by an inch. As he tried to collect himself, and shake the effect of the drug I'd given him, I kept moving. He shoved himself to his feet.

"The fuck was in that drink?"

"Don't be a baby. You barely drank any of it." I took a step back.

"I'll kill you."

Yeah, I had no doubt he would. And then one of his little workers would drop my body off God knows where and I would never be heard from again. I couldn't have that happen.

He lunged for me again. This time, I let him.

I had to get closer. As soon as he grabbed me, I swallowed hard.

Not for long, however. His big hand wrapped around my throat, cutting off my air supply as he pressed down on my windpipe.

Pain and the inevitable panic from the situation kicked in.

I tried to suck in a breath, but nothing came.

Don't panic. If you panic, you die.

I gave up on breathing. Carefully and quickly, I uncapped the needle and raised it until I jammed it into George's neck.

He gasped, his hands loosening just enough for me to shove my foot into his chest. He fell back, slamming into the floor.

Another gasp slipped from his lips as I sucked in a breath and scrambled away from him, panting.

My heart raced, sweat dappling my forehead as I tried to make the room stop spinning.

"Okay, still alive," I said, pressing my fingertips together. I reached up and touched my throat before I winced. "Shit. That's going to fucking hurt tomorrow."

"What did you do to me, you little bitch?" George growled as he dragged himself to his hands and knees. He pressed a palm over his, no doubt, racing heart.

I raised a brow at him, the grin gone now that I no longer had to pretend. "Gave you a dose of your own medicine." I wiped my mouth as I tasted the telltale coppery tang of blood. "We were supposed to make a whole night of it, you know? But then you had to go and be the animal she said you were."

I stood up slowly. He tried to follow, but his knees gave out. I watched as his eyes widened and he struggled.

"Who?" he managed to growl out.

"Sasha."

He laughed. "Sasha. I knew I should have killed that bitch."

"Yeah, you should have, because she's going to get the last laugh."

I snagged the phone I'd been using all evening and turned on recording.

George tried to shoot more vitriol my way, but he fell.

When the shaking started, a seizure wrapping him in its grasp, I stood over him and watched.

His arm shot out, his hand tightening around my ankle, but I knew it wouldn't take long now.

Once he stopped moving, I crouched down and pressed two fingers against his neck. No pulse. George was gone.

I stopped the recording and put the phone away. Grabbing my clothes, I redressed, cleaned up any fingerprints and DNA, and then headed out. The stairwell was as empty as the elevator, and I took them down two at a time until I reached the ground floor.

That was a close one.

I took out my notepad as I waited for a taxi. Carefully, I made another notch on the page before I tucked it away again.

Mission completed.