He leaned in close so his cheek was near mine, and I had to force myself to swallow my scream. “You have much more to offer me than a trip to my bed, which, I’m sure you realize, I could have had already if I’d wished it.”
Yes, I’d realized it. He could do almost anything he wanted to me here. He could kill me, and neither Reeve nor Joe would ever get to me in time.
Michelis sensed the extent of my fear. He fed on it. It aroused him, which made me hate him even more. He swept a hand through my hair – gently. So gently it was ominous, and I could no longer control the tremors moving through my body.
He liked that – enjoyed terrorizing me. I could smell the heavy musk of his interest as he pressed his mouth to my cheek. Then, he licked me, leaving a wet smear of saliva along my jaw.
Bile gathered in the back of my mouth. “You won’t hurt me.” It was myself I was trying to convince, and it was obvious. “You want me scared. But you respect Reeve and so you won’t hurt me.”
“Because you’re his woman?” He pushed his nose against mine, giving me the most sinister view of his eyes. “But Amber’s his woman, too, you said. And even if you share him, he can only claim one of you as his woman. I think it’s really you. Which would make Amber free game, wouldn’t it?”
“No. Not me.” I wouldn’t betray her even if it was true. But that didn’t mean I wanted to put myself on the line. “It’s both of us. We’re both his women.”
“Hmm.” He pulled back to look at me, to assess if I were lying, maybe. “Unfortunately, Emily, I’m not sure my respect extends across two women. We’ll have to see.”
“What do you want from me?” The question was thick in my throat.
His hand stroked through my hair again, petting me as though I were a small animal and not a woman at all. “You can pass on a message.”
“To Amber?” My voice cracked. I was sure any message he meant for me to pass would be given in physical form, and already my mind was racing with all the possibilities of injury and pain he could bestow. In what way would he rape me? Would I be able to walk out of here or would my message be delivered in the form of my limp body?
“Not a message for Amber,” he said. “For Reeve.”
“What’s the message?” It was barely more than a whisper.
“I want to talk to him.” He settled his arm around my shoulder and draped his hand low enough that it rested just above my breast, a reminder that he was the one with all the power in the situation, and for a quick second I could imagine how terrible it had to be for Maya to be his servant. How terrible it must have been for Amber to have been whatever she’d been for him as well.
“That’s all you want? I tell him to talk to you, and you’ll leave Amber alone?” Hope slipped into my words despite my attempt to keep it at bay. Could that really be all he wanted from me?
“No, no, no.” He chuckled, his lips buzzing against my skin. “That would be too easy, wouldn’t it?” He stroked my hair again and pressed his forehead against my temple. “I don’t want you to tell him. I want you to convince him.”
It sounded relatively easy, which was quite certainly deceiving. “Why doesn’t he want to talk to you?”
Michelis considered. “Let’s just say that Reeve’s disloyalty doesn’t only extend to women.”
This was the second time he’d hinted at deception where Reeve was concerned. I twisted my head to meet his eyes. “He betrayed you.”
Michelis smirked, and I knew he found too much satisfaction with my ignorance to give me anything more. He swept his knuckles across my jaw, the metal of his V monogrammed ring cold against my skin. “Convince my nephew to talk to me, Emily Wayborn. Face-to-face. You can tell him I’ll be staying in the hotel for a week. Give him my room number. I’m available to speak to him at any time.”
His hand dropped, and he stepped away from me.
My entire body sagged in relief, as though he’d been pressing a giant weight against my chest and now that he’d removed it, I could finally breathe.
“Our conversation is over, isn’t it?” I was desperate to leave and find Joe. Desperate to get back to Kaya. To Reeve.
Before he could answer, a cell phone rang in another room. Michelis put up a finger, indicating for me to keep silent, as he seemed to try to listen to the conversation.
It was too low and muffled for me to make out a single word, but I was also pretty sure the language being spoken wasn’t English. It was less than thirty seconds before the call ended.
“Petros?” Michelis called out.
His son stepped into the room. “It’s done,” he said, and though I had no idea what he was referring to, I felt a menacing dread settle on me like a heavy cloak.
“Wonderful.” Michelis’s eyes brightened as he turned his focus from his son to me. “Yes, Emily, our conversation is over. I trust you’ll arrange for my nephew to meet with me soon. Petros will see you to the door.”
A glance at the wall clock told me it had only been twenty minutes since I’d left Joe downstairs. He’d likely be about ready to tear his hair out when I found him again, but chances were he hadn’t done anything too drastic yet.
Even knowing he’d be concerned, I halted my steps after Petros had led me only halfway across the room. “What if I can’t convince Reeve to talk to you?”
“You can. You will.” Michelis was much more confident than I was. “Besides, I’ve just done him a favor. Reeve isn’t the type to leave a debt unpaid.”