THE ESCORT

TEN | PURE INSANITY

Elodie gulped, heart thumping away in her chest.

"You-you paid for me?"

He tilted his head this way and that, working through the material of her panties until he'd cut through the other edge and the scrap of material covered just her privates.

"You know, it isn't easy doing the things I do," he said, eyes drawn to the apex between her thighs. He seemed to not want to pursue that line of conversation. "I have emotions, too, but I just feel differently than you do. For instance, I don't care about those children Luca trafficked, but how bad it'd look to others if I let people run business in my territory without my knowledge. It'd make me seem weak."

"But—"

"My father's father was a very weak man. One who allowed people walk all over him, threading upon his authority, and he almost cost us our legacy." Angelo remained fixated on that spot as he spoke, as though unaware about how Elodie was now staring at him and holding her breath. "Luckily, my father stepped in by putting a bullet between his eyes. Then, I did the same thing to my senile father, too. Do you know what they call me back in Italy?"

She shook her head.

"Arcangelo della morte."

"That means?"

"Archangel of death."

Elodie sucked in a sharp breath, eyes widening. "Huh..."

"Remember how I kissed you in the elevator?"

The sudden change of topic threw Elodie for a second, and she could almost feel the gears in the brain tripping and faltering.

"You moaned so prettily when I slid my hands up your thighs." Angelo rested a palm over her left knee and slowly eased his way up her thigh. "How I sucked on your sweet tongue. Remember how you rubbed your little nipples against me? How it felt to have me cage you against the wall?"

"Enough." Elodie's breath caught as the tips of his fingers finally made it to the top of her thigh, and then brushed beneath the filmsy material, just barely grazing her clit. She tried to make her body stiff, but her hips jerked at the contact, completely out of her control.

Because she did remember, damn it, even as she desperately tried to block it out. It had felt good in the moment, letting him taste her lips, press against her, while ravishing her where others could be watching.

God, was that just yesterday?

Angelo lifted the scrap of cloth away and Elodie squeezed her eyes shut.

She needed to concentrate on other parts of this conversation.

The one with buying her from Boss. Was she worth that much?

The one where he also said he killed his father. Did that also mean his own son would put a bullet between his own eyes too?

Plus, anyone who went by his moniker couldn't be someone who killed sparsely. He must be an experienced killer, and some lord of the underworld.

Wait. He did say he was the most powerful man on earth, didn't he?

The image of Luca's cut flesh and blood filled her mind. Her stomach flipped a little, but it was nowhere the reaction she'd been originally been thinking when she first saw him on the table.

Bile rose up the back of her throat and she focused on that, on the disgusting taste, and the way it burned—

Elodie gasped when Angelo's hand suddenly shot out to close around her neck, slamming her into the wall, knocking out her breath.