“I’m flattered, but I don’t think so,” he said. “But thanks.”
I didn’t show my surprise. “Two.”
“Two million dollars? Surely you could find someone who’d enjoy a month with you for free.”
“I could. I want you.”
A slow smile crossed his face, and I knew I had him.
Until he checked the dainty, jeweled watch at his wrist.
“It’s been a pleasure,mon monstre, but it’s nearly time for my next show. I hope you’ll be watching.” Benoit rose gracefully to his feet, his robe falling closed and cutting off the view of all that tanned skin. “Oh, and if you change your mind about that signature, I’d dothatfor free.”
Not about to show all my cards, I let him strut out of the cabana thinking he’d gotten the upper hand tonight.
I wanted Benoit now more than ever. But there was one thing he underestimated—I wasn’t the kind of man to give up so easily.
4
BENOIT
“WE ALL KNOW your body’s a work of fuckin’ art—you don’t have to show up to this shit naked,” Alessio said the second I logged on to the video meeting with all of the other Kings later that evening.
The Kings of Libertine, our ultra-private and exclusive society of powerful, rich men from across the globe, not actual kings of countries.
Yet.
I glanced down at my bare chest, still damp from my shower, and was tempted to lower the camera below my waist just to piss him off.
“I didn’t hear any complaints tonight,” I said. “In fact, they were begging me not to leave.”
“Did the begging also extend to our target?” Shep asked, always the one ready to get to the point. Being the son of a former U.S. president meant years of learning how to sift through the bullshit and use it to his advantage. And nowouradvantage.
“Of course it did,” I said, balking at any speculation that I couldn’t follow through on the job. “You think I put on a wickedpair of heels and rhinestone G-string with nothing to show for it?”
“I don’t know your sex life,” Lachlan muttered as he sharpened a knife on a rod of steel.
Theo, the only one of us who could actually claim to be royalty, as a prince of Monaco, said, “Doesn’t look like much of a sex life at all, considering you’re alone in that hotel room. Wasn’t the point to end up in someone else’s bed?”
I ran a hand through my wet hair, tousling the strands a bit, and ignored the insinuation. “You underestimate me. That’s adorable.”
Tyrone Kingston, better known as King, the founder and leader of Libertine, sighed. “Can we get back to the brief, please?”
“Oh, I don’t think he’s wearing any of those,” Lucien said, a mischievous twinkle in the sex club owner’s eyes.
I shot him a wink. “You’re right about that. In fact, I’m not wearing anything at a?—”
“Benoit.” King’s voice switched to that deeper, no-nonsense tone he always got when he was ready to lay down the law. “We need to know what you’ve learned about the target.”
I, on the other hand, liked to… How did Dimitri put it?Push the boundaries?
“Well, for one thing, he’s a lot sexier in person than his photos let on,” I said. “It’s his vibe—it’s super intense and hot, especially when he’s eye-fucking you?—”
“Benoit,” King growled, and it seemed that maybe I’d pushed a little too far. “Get to the point.”
“Our intel was right,” I said. “Dimitriisabout to leave the country. For a month.”
“You heard him say that?”
