Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
acelynn
The lights of the bar were making the pounding headache I had behind my eye pulse.
I had taken a small dose of hemlock this morning, letting the drug enter my bloodstream little by little.
After two hours, I had taken the full tiny vial and had paid the price.
My body had rejected the substance, causing intense pain through my limbs and hallucinations of shapes dancing across my ceiling.
I had lain on my kitchen floor, staring at the shadows floating across the ceiling until they finally faded hours later.
The entire time, I had the spade necklace clutched in my hand to ensure that if I felt any inkling that my body was shutting down, I could press the button that lay within.
But now all I was left with was a piercing pain in my head and the want to sleep off this hangover.
My hands meticulously cut the lime slices for the night, trying my best not to make eye contact with Josie, who had been curiously looking at me since Astoria outed her suspicions of Kaius and my activities behind closed doors.
Or not so closed doors if you count the car.
The office’s entrance creaked open before Nolan and Astoria bounded out of it.
I tensed, waiting for Astoria to yell at me for being involved with her brother.
Even if we hadn’t slept together yet, we were still playing with fire.
“So did we figure out the napkin debacle?” Astoria shoved her hip into mine.
I watched her from the corner of my eye as she removed the ponytail from her bun and let her blond locks effortlessly fall down her back. She had a bright smile on her face, and not a drop of anger rolled off her.
“Uh, yeah. Josie was able to find one last box shoved behind something in the storage room,” I mumbled under my breath and set down the knife on the bar top. Turning toward her, “Look, Astoria, I am sorry—”
“There is no need to apologize, Acelynn,” Astoria cut me off, hand coming to rest on my shoulder.
A teasing smile played on her lips. “I think you are perfect for my brother. You don’t put up with his shit, and there is just something about the two of you together.
It makes sense. It’s almost like magic.”
“Don’t get all sappy on me,” I said, laughter spilling from both of us.
Astoria squeezed my shoulder. “He wanted to see you before we got slammed. Probably wants to apologize for my outburst.”
“He doesn’t have to do that. We would have gotten caught sooner or later,” I said, wiping my hands against the cloth next to the limes. “Are you sure you aren’t going to need me?”
She shook her head, lightly shoving me toward her brother’s office. “Nope. Josie and I will hold down the fort until you’re back. Won’t we, Josie?”
“If we must,” Josie’s sarcastic tone called over her shoulder at us. She shot me a playful look as if she was in on some sort of joke that I was not. Rolling my eyes, I began making my way back to the office, butterflies dancing in my stomach.
“Oh, wait, Acelynn,” Astoria’s voice called me back to her. I turned on my heel, her once sparkling eyes now holding a lethal edge that I had never seen before.
“Yeah?”
“The boys had me clean out your car before they sent it to the mechanic in town. I put all your things in a duffel in my room.” Astoria’s voice was still bright and cheery, which made my stomach drop.
I didn’t let the fear pumping through my veins show on my face.
If she had found that last Polaroid in my car, that means she knew I was involved in some way with Parsons and Watson.
But if that was the case, why wasn’t I already six feet under?
Why hadn’t she ratted me out to Nolan or her brother? She didn’t owe me anything.
She continued, “You can grab it after your shift.”
I nodded once, shooting her a soft smile. “Thanks, Astoria. I appreciate that.”
“It was no problem.” She cocked her head to the side, examining. “Us club girls have to stick together. Isn’t that right?”
“Always,” I said, voice cracking slightly. The blood had drained from my face, and I hoped the dim bar lighting camouflaged that. Before she could say anything else, I turned on my heel and headed toward the office.
Maybe Kaius didn’t really want to speak to me.
If Astoria had shown him the third Polaroid, then maybe this was a ploy to get me away from the crowd.
No one would hear me scream over the bass of the music, and one dose of hemlock wasn’t going to save me.
If I confessed every sin I had made, every dark childhood horror I had witnessed, would he spare me?
Find pity in the poor Spade daughter who just wanted answers.
My hands shook as I reached for the brass handle of the door, hesitating for a moment before pushing directly in without knocking.
Kaius’s sharp eyes snapped up to mine. They softened in recognition as I closed the door behind me, fingers tracing the lock for a moment before latching it shut. He didn’t seem upset. Maybe he didn’t know.
“What are you doing?” Kaius’s words were rough, drawing me farther into the room until I was standing to his left.
My eyes wandered around the space. I had been in his office only once before tonight, when I asked for his help with the snake, but I hadn’t taken in the space that night.
The room was painted a dark shade of gray and was illuminated by four low, light gold sconces on either side of the walls.
A long, deep brown wooden desk stretched out at the back of the space, and Kaius lounged behind it in a black leather chair.
Two smaller plush chairs sat in front of the desk, and little gold metal upholstery tacks lined the edge of its dark leather.
Kaius turned in his chair, hand reaching out to pull me in between his legs and the desk.
The room whispered of power. The kind of power I had to dismantle from the inside out.
This wasn’t only about my family anymore.
This was pure survival. There was no world in which I could hide from the King of Lovelen, even if he no longer held the crown.
“Your sister said you wanted to speak to me before we got busy.” I peered at him through my lashes.
His brows furrowed slightly, causing me to chuckle.
“I am guessing that was a lie.”
“It was.” Kaius’s fingers toyed with the strings of my top. “But I am not complaining.”
Neither was I—not outwardly. But on the inside, I felt the thrill of control slip into place like a blade being sheathed.
I hummed lightly. A burst of confidence rushed through me as I eased back just enough to drop to my knees.
They hit the hardwood floor in front of his chair, and he arched one brow at my actions but didn’t move to stop me.
I reach up, unbuckling his belt before unzipping his jeans and tugging his already rock-hard dick out for me.
Wrapping my hand around his base, I gave him one last look before I closed my mouth over his tip, sucking lightly.
My tongue glided along his shaft, licking up the generous amount of pre-cum, lubricating his dick with every pass, each stroke and swirl of my tongue calculated.
He probably thought this was a repayment for what we did yesterday.
But every gasp, every buck of his hips was another way I was getting him to fall into my trap.
Kaius’s breath hitched in the back of his throat, causing satisfaction to fill me. His fingers threaded into my hair as I worked my mouth up and down him. His cock was so large, filling my mouth fully, and what I couldn’t fit, I had my fingers wrapped around, pumping him torturously slow.
A low groan filled my ears, and I glanced up at him through hooded eyes to find his blazing stare looking back into mine. Keeping my gaze on his, I let my teeth scrape down his soft skin. Kaius threw his head back, silent curses finding their way to his lips.
He pushed my head down, his cock hitting the back of my throat, causing me to gag for a second before he let up.
I let him do it once more. It made him think he was in control.
Because the more power he felt now, the harder it would hit when I took it from him.
“Come on, kitten. I know you can take me fully. Breathe through your nose.”
It shouldn’t have, but the command turned me on like nothing else, and I found myself submitting to him as he fucked my mouth. Tears poured down my face as he continued to use me for his own pleasure.
“Oh fuck. That’s a good girl.” Kaius breathed out. His hips bucked in time with his hand’s movements, forcing more of his dick down my throat as I gagged and choked. “Look at me with those pretty eyes.”
I stared up at him with wide eyes, inciting another moan from him.
With one more forceful shove, he came, letting the hot liquid hit the back of my throat.
He slipped out of my mouth as I swallowed his cum, the thickness sliding down my throat.
Letting him see the devotion he wanted to believe in. Letting him think I was his.
Kaius released my hair, his thumb coming to clean up a string of drool that had landed on my chin. As he swiped upward, I brought his thumb between my lips, circling my tongue around the soft pad of his skin. He groaned, “If you don’t stop that, we will never leave this room.”
Kaius pulled his thumb from my mouth with a pop, and I smiled up at him. “I wouldn’t be complaining.”
I stood once again, but before I could get to my full height, he gripped the strings on my top between my breasts and dragged me in for a long kiss. Moaning against his lips, I leaned in further involuntarily, cursing myself for liking the feeling of his lips on mine, but he pulled away.
With a knowing smirk, he quipped, “Clean up your face, kitten, and then get back to the bar. We don’t want someone to come looking for us.”