Chapter 26
EMRIS
So much happens at once.
The gun goes off, followed by the door swinging open, and Carson walking in. Brielle stands there white as a ghost, and the glass behind me has a bullet lodged in it. I glance over my shoulder at the bullet hole, then back at her. Fuck, that was hot.
Thankfully, Archer was smart enough to get bulletproof glass on all the windows, but that didn’t stop the impact from splintering it. I didn’t think she had it in her to pull the trigger, but I guess I underestimated her once again.
“Next time I won’t miss,” she says, lowering the gun to her side but not setting it down as she gains some of her confidence back.
A small smile spreads across my face and goddamn, I don’t think I’ve ever been this desperate to have my hands on another human body before.
I open my mouth to talk, but Carson’s voice booms throughout the room.
“What the actual fuck is going on in here?” he asks, a bag of something in one hand and a tray of drinks in the other. Brielle hasn’t moved, but the gun is now dangling in her left hand. I look at Carson, and he glances between Brielle and me.
A wave of anger blows through me at seeing him, considering the reason we are fighting is because of the comment she made.
“Carson, if you don’t leave this room right now, I won’t be held accountable if I gut you like a damn fish.” Shock makes its way onto his face as he sets the bag and drinks down on the counter and holds his hands up in surrender.
“Brielle—” He tries to talk to her, but I take a step forward, halting his next words.
“Don’t look at her, don’t talk to her, or even think of saying her name right now, Carson,” I seethe. This girl is becoming too much. Even though there’s no way to get someone like her out of my system, I should try. I am completely and utterly fucked when it comes to her.
He nods once and disappears from the room.
When I look back at Brielle, I see the exact second everything falls into place in her head. Her next move is being planned out as we stand here.
“Jealousy looks good on you, Emris.” Her hands roam over my shoulders before I can even turn around, and if I died right now, I’d die happy.
Brielle places a kiss on my shoulder as she rounds my body until she’s standing in front of me.
A sinister smile plastered across her face.
All the fear from before is gone and replaced with realization.
She just realized the power she has over me, and I’m not sure if I’m over the moon about it or if I should be concerned.
I’ve been desperate for her to willingly touch me.
She’s a drug that I can’t get enough of, and I’ll forever be an addict to her.
“Take me to the room,” she whispers against my lips. Not needing to tell me twice, I reach down and pick her up, and she wraps her legs around my waist until I’m setting her back on her feet in the room.
“Here’s how things are going to go,” she says, pacing in front of me.
“You’re going to answer all my questions, and every question you answer, I’ll remove a piece of clothing.
” She smiles at me, knowing she’s going to get everything she wants.
God, the way she’s taking control is making my cock rock fucking hard.
If I didn’t have enough self-control, I’d rip the gun from her hands and fuck her with it until she knew who’s really in charge, but seeing her in this light is doing things to me that I don’t mind watching play out. I already planned on giving her answers, so this is a bonus for me.
“Okay,” I tell her, lowering myself to the end of the bed. I lean back on my arms and spread my thighs wide. Her green eyes drag down my body, and I know I’m having the same effect on her that she has on me.
She looks a tad skeptical at how willing I’m being to give her the answers she’s wanted this whole time. Of course, I won’t give her all the details, only the bare minimum of what she needs to know.
“Where is Susie?” she asks, coming to stand between my legs. I drag my eyes down her body, trying not to get distracted. Although we are here for business, I plan on having her under me before I leave this room.
“I don’t know.” I answer honestly, and that pisses me off more than it does her.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that we’ve been looking for her since the night you came home with me, but she’s vanished. We’ve had a few leads, but obviously they have all been dead ends.” I shrug.
She doesn’t notice me watching until I snap my fingers, waiting for her to hold up her end of the deal and remove a piece of clothing.
“Shirt.” I smirk, and she rolls her eyes but listens. She sets the gun down on the dresser behind her before reaching for the hem of her shirt and pulling it over her head, and tossing it on the ground. She grabs the gun again and walks back over to me.
“Why did you kidnap me from the bar?”
“Because I saw you and wanted you,” I tell her, knowing it’s only a partial lie. I did want her, but she wasn’t the target. And by the look on her face, she knows that.
“Don’t lie to me,” she says, her voice lowering.
“We never meant to take you. It was Carson who was supposed to take Susie, but you happened to be the one who came out instead of her, which led him to believe you were her.”
She looks like she’s mulling over my words, determining whether I’m lying or not.
“Why do you want her so bad?” She seems to hesitate on this question, a hint of jealousy in her tone.
Oh, sweet girl. She’s not the one I wanted. It was always you.
“You sure you want the answers to that? Because once I tell you, you won’t want anything to do with her again,” I warn her, but she doesn’t look convinced.
“Tell me,” Brielle demands, lifting the gun and pointing it at me once again. My cock comes alive at the balls this woman has.
“So, my cousins, Killian and Archer…” I pause, trying to find the right words. “They own this hotel. The top floors above us are strictly blocked off for women,” I begin.
Brielle takes a step back as she lets her mind run wild. Of course, she goes for the worst-case scenario, not that I blame her. Her lips part, but before she can get anything out, I cut her off.
“We are currently trying to shut down a local human trafficking ring. Those floors are for the survivors.”
“You’re—” she doesn’t finish her sentence as she begins pacing.
“Pants,” I remind her, and she stops her movements. The buttons of her jeans pop off, and she shimmies them down her thick hips until she’s standing in front of me in nothing but panties and a bra.
“You need to ask one last question. That’s all you’re getting tonight, or things are going to end a different way.”
She pauses, thinking over what she wants to ask.
“What do you want from me?” Her words are quiet, and if it wasn’t silent in the room, I wouldn’t have heard her.
A smile creeps onto my face as I say, “Whatever you’ll let me take.”