Maybe she wasn’t affected by the decadent whims of the god of excess, but there was no denying howImade her feel.
And, oh …
I wish I could have tasted the lie on her tongue. Although there was not a word spoken between us, I could see it. The way her body responded to watching me receive pleasure—she couldn’t hide it. The flush. The squeeze of her thighs. The widening of her pupils.
Seeing her struggle …
Fighting it …
It made me crave her that much more.
I could have her. Of course I could have her.
Nothing is stopping me from taking what’s already mine. But where is the gratification in that? I’d rather bide my time. Like a deadly spider, I patiently wait, weaving a sticky web around her, until she inevitably comes to me of her own accord.
I’ve taken her.
Yet I haven’tcaughther.
But the day she begs for me to touch her, begs to touchmein the dead of night … oh, that’s when I will have caught her. That’s when I will have truly won this game of ours.
In between two followers, I sneak a glance at her in the mirror on the opposite wall from where she sits. I laugh under my breath, then snap to a passing employee to bring me a fresh coupe of champagne.
Veil doesn’t realize that I can surveil her from this angle. And for the past hour, I’ve been observing her. Studying exactlyhowshe would walk right into my trap.
Although she has been acting rather docile since the first day I took her, I suspect she’d try to escape, if given the chance.
And today, Ihavegiven her the chance.
Tricked her, like I do best.
When I cuffed her to the leg of the chair, I feigned putting the key in my pocket. Instead, I let it drop to the floor, close enough for her to snatch up, but just far enough that it would take a bit oforchestration for her to reach it. I also instructed my guards not to intercept her if she did try to leave her chair.
I knew my petty little thief would rise to the challenge.
She must be running on blind optimism and naivete to think I wouldn’t notice.
Especially with the surprising way she bent her body to even retrieve the damn thing.
In the mirror, I watch her pin her attention on me as she tries to inconspicuously unlock the cuff. She appears nervous and fumbles with the key; still, she’s swift. And I pretend to be oblivious, sipping my champagne and signaling to the next person to step up onto the platform.
I wait.
I collect a secret.
Until …
Shoving whoever last spilled their secret, I step off the horse and fling my coupe to the ground before strutting down the carousel.
Veil is already a ways ahead, slipping through the crowd like a silverfish. I keep an unhurried pace and wait for the satisfying moment when she looks over her shoulder and finally notices me. I smile wide and give her a taunting wave of my fingers. Her eyes widen as panic splashes over her face like a bucket of cold water.
Silly rabbit tries to run, and sizzling arousal licks up my body. Visions of me chasing her through the maze enlivens every nerve ending in my body. Gods, how I would love to re-create that fateful night.
I run after her, slamming the doors open that she tried to shut behind her. Her frightened breaths fill the dark corridor, and my manic laugh floats up in the air with it. It only takes me a few more quick strides to snatch her by the arm.
She shrieks, “Let go of me!”
I chuckle darkly as I try to wrangle her into my arms. “You should come up with something new next time.Let go of meis beginning to feel stale — don’t you think?”
