Chapter 7 #2
Nala motioned to the glass of liquor in her hand. “And I don’t know what you’re like, either. For all I know you get handsy and do more than kiss by surprise. So, you watch it too.”
This quiet conversation did not go unnoticed by Magpie and Jay, who came over with plastic smiles spreading across their faces.
Magpie especially looked too curious for her own good.
She reminded Nala of her high school guidance counselor, who made a habit of asking fifty times a day whether Nala had turned in her college applications.
No. If she had joined a club to put on her résumé.
No. If she was doing okay on the anniversary of her father’s death.
No. They were off to a great start already.
“Mags and I were saying that you’re a cute couple,” Jay said with his broad smile. The way they both looked at Varen and Nala made the latter take a small step back as if she could use her new pal as a meat shield. “Got that fresh couple smell about you. How long?”
Oh, shit. They hadn’t even gone over such details yet!
Nala was ready to lie but remembered she was supposed to be the submissive one and defer to the dominant of the relationship. Gag. Perhaps it was best for Varen to spin the tales, anyway. Knowing Nala, she would twist her tongue until none of the lies made any sense.
“Six months,” Varen said. “You?”
The seasoned couple exchanged loving glances. “Eight years.”
“Wow,” Nala let out. “That’s a long time.”
“Perhaps you two will be so lucky someday.” Magpie winked, revealing shining red eye shadow that blended flawlessly into her skin. “See you around. Jay and I are going to, ah, relax.”
Their chuckles were more than telling. The moment they walked away, heading for the hall of bedrooms, Nala turned to Varen with gossip on her lips.
“They’re not like the other couples here,” she muttered, curling her arms around Varen’s so it looked like she whispered words of adoration into her “Mistress’s” ear.
“What do you mean?” she asked. “Because I’m thinking the same thing.”
Nala nodded. “She called him by his name, for one. All the other ‘subs’ say a title.”
“And he didn’t act possessive in any way. Suppose I should work on that.”
“You know, I’m not going to pretend I know everything there is to know about this BDSM thing, but I’m pretty sure you don’t have to act possessive.”
“Yes, but…” Varen’s grip tightened on Nala’s waist as their shared enemy approached, his gaze reserved for them. “When in Rome…”
Xan Ravenwood stopped two feet in front of them, his height conveniently between Varen’s tall gait and Nala’s petite frame.
It unnerved Nala how he looked at them like he looked at the other masked couples making their way down the hall to play for this man’s amusement.
Open-door policy, huh? Nala already knew that Ravenwood liked to watch more than participate.
That much was as obvious as the small wine stain on the man’s white pant leg.
Will one of the lingerie-clad women clean that up for him? Nala had to stop before she vomited.
“Ah, my new favorite couple.” His voice was like listening to a benevolent dictator appear on the radio for the seven o’clock lies.
When Varen’s fingers pressed deeply into Nala’s flesh, treading dangerously close to her thighs, she did not feel the urge to push her away.
If anything, Varen was the only thing keeping her from having a total meltdown in the presence of her sister’s killer.
“I trust that you two are enjoying the party?”
Nala kept her lips tight. Teeth dug into them, but she would rather bleed than say something she would regret later. Instead, Varen spoke on both of their behalf.
“It’s a fantastic party.” That hand on Nala’s hip slowly moved upward, wrapping tightly around her arm.
“Forgive us for not being too active. We’re still taking in the sights and getting a feel for things.”
Varen gently shook her partner. “Especially this one here. She’s not used to so much activity.”
What a disgusting smile one man could have.
Nala didn’t know if she was so disgusted because of who he was, or because she knew it was directed at the supposed love life between her and Varen.
“No worries at all,” Xan said. “I’d rather new members be completely comfortable before getting too involved. We’ve had some… issues before.”
“I’m sure you have,” Varen was quick to say. “We’re a cautious couple, I suppose you could say.” A fun-loving smile broke her otherwise stoic demeanor. It took Nala back, who had yet to see such a thing on Varen’s face. “Although we’re trying to learn how to loosen up.”
Her fingers tapped Nala on the shoulder. She barely had time to brace herself before her head was tipped back and Varen’s mouth came for hers.
They must have looked the model couple. Nala, shrinking in her lover’s embrace, holding her head back so she could accept the soft lips on her own.
No tongue, thank God. Yet the illusion was there, especially as Varen covered her cheek with her free hand and backed her mouth away without making it look like they no longer kissed. Now that was acting.
Nala almost let the moment go. She didn’t care that Varen kissed her, as long as she didn’t get too handsy and gave her a warning. No, what threw her off balance was realizing that Xan Ravenwood stood and watched them, a wretched, no, lecherous smile on his slimy self.
I’m going to be sick.
“You really are a good-looking couple,” Xan wistfully said. “Take all the time you need. Have a look around. Nobody here is shy… although it looks like I’m the only man to talk to.”
He was right. The other couples had gone to separate rooms to do whatever it was they did. Deep down, Nala knew. Right now, she wasn’t going to think about it. Knowing she was surrounded by couples having sex was bad enough. She didn’t need to actually imagine it.
“Excuse me,” she muttered, gently pushing away from Varen’s embrace. “All that champagne is catching up to me.” She wasn’t lying. Her bladder started that knowing dance and threatened to embarrass her in this lofty suite.
“Of course.” Xan pointed down the hall. “Bathroom is down there. Good time to let us have a chat anyway, eh, Ven?”
This was the second time Nala heard Varen be called that, and both times she flinched as if she would rather be called Dog. Nala put it in the back of her mind as she hurried down the hall, intent on making it to the bathroom before total discomfort settled in.
Since everyone else was busy making merry the old-fashioned way, Nala had the restroom to herself, although she could see makeup smears and discarded tissues on the sink.
She didn’t think much about it as she did her business and attempted to rearrange her dress so it was more comfortable.
The more she walked around, the more it rode up her ass and outdid a damn thong.
Maybe she had gained weight since moving to Portland. Somehow!
The hall was dark when she reemerged. Nala stood at the far end, opening her satchel to make sure her belongings were where they belonged. If Varen had a habit of checking her cufflinks five times an hour, then Nala was allowed to be paranoid about her wallet.
“Yes, yes!”
Nala nearly dropped her satchel as that cry pierced her ear. Without thinking, she looked to her right and saw through a generous crack in the nearest door.
The sound came from Quail, who perched upon a large bed, her fingers wrapped around the edge while her knees dug into the plush bedspread. The skirt of her dress was hiked over her hips, exposing her round, rose-colored ass which accepted yet another spank from Seba.
A woman whose clothes were halfway off and whose fingers rammed deep into her lover’s pussy. Oh, my God.
All right, yes, this was exactly what was meant by “open-door policy.”
Couples having sex in supposed private, but with the doors open to varying degrees so anyone could watch with glee.
Hell no! That’s what Nala thought, yet here she was, standing completely still while her gaze remained transfixed on the couple going at it.
“That’s right,” Seba growled, hand coming back down with a heavy smack! “You love being ravaged by me, don’t you? Don’t you?”
Quail’s usually sweet face twisted into a hedonistic gape as she accepted a hard fist slamming in her direction.
“Yes, Mistress!” she cried again, knees slipping farther apart on the bed.
Her arms moved forward to gather more purchase, revealing both of her breasts bouncing from the top of her dress.
Nala remained transfixed… and she didn’t know why…
Okay, so she had never seen people having sex like this. Okay, not in real life. The woman had seen porn before, after all. But this was her unsolicited initiation into the life of a voyeur, and dear God, was she actually getting…
What the fuck…
Am I getting turned on?
No way. Nala wasn’t a super sexual creature to begin with.
Plus, she was in the presence of Xan Ravenwood, a man who could shut down her entire sex drive for ten years with one stinkin’ glance.
Yet here she was, standing in a dark hallway, peering through an ajar door and watching a beautiful woman get fucked by someone in a pristine – all right, now wrinkled – suit.
The kind of butch who probably spent her days put together for board meetings, video chats across the world, and the myriad of business associates who came in and out of her office.
For meals in classy restaurants Nala could never afford. For limousines and Town Cars…
Holy shit, it was hot.
Her hand clasped across her mouth as she realized this, and shamefully – although she had no idea why she felt ashamed – she scurried to a darker corner of the hall and stared like a teenage boy finding his first Playboy.
For one blessed minute, Nala forgot why she came to this party…
why she was the consort of Varen Lake, the brand-new billionaire who was also on a mission to get back at the disgusting Xan Ravenwood.
She forgot the hatred, the anguish, and most of all the grief that had overwhelmed her for so long.