WARPED VANITY ( BL)

CHAPTER 4

  I bent over the washbasin and washed my face then drank a few gulps of water.

  “You can have a coke from the bar,” big  said. Before I could say anything, he gripped me by the arm and dragged me out. My bare feet ached. I must have cut them on the forest ground. My eyes flitted around the room. It wasn’t deserted anymore. As if drawn out by the commotion, several scantily clad women had gathered at the bar.

They avoided looking at me, and I realized I couldn’t hope for their help. Not a single person in bangkok would probably risk helping me.

  “Coke,” big  barked at a dark-skinned man behind the bar, who grabbed a bottle, opened it, and handed it to big . The man purposely wasn’t looking at me

Good Lord. Where had they taken me? What kind of hellhole was bangkok?

  “Drink,” big  said, holding the bottle out for me. I took it and had a few long sips. The cold, sweet liquid seemed to revive my brain and body.

Come.” big  led me through a door and along a bare-walled corridor toward another door. When he opened it and stepped inside with me, my stomach revolted.

  Inside were two unknown men, both of them theerapanyakul's , I assumed. All of them were tall, with hard expressions and this air of unbridled cruelty that they were famous for. One of them had gray eyes and looked older than the other guy. I tried to remember their names, but then my eyes met Vegas ’s and my mind turned blank.

The Bangkok Capo had shed his shirt. There was a fresh wound on his left side that had been stitched up, but there was still blood around it. My pulse stuttered in my veins at the sight of his muscles and scars.

  “Your twin almost got me there,” vegas said with a dark laugh. “But not enough to stop me from capturing his beloved brother.” He said beloved like it was something filthy, something worthless.

  big  released me and joined the other men, leaving me standing in the middle of the room like a piece of meat that needed inspecting. Dread settled in my bones because maybe that was exactly what I was to them. Meat.

Vegas pointed at the gray-eyed man. “That’s my brother kinn .” Then he gestured at the younger man beside him. “And my brother tankhun.”

  vegas stalked closer, every muscle in his upper body taut, as if he was a predator about to pounce. I stood my ground. I wouldn’t give him an inch. I wouldn’t give him anything. Not my fear and not a single tear. He couldn’t force those from me. I didn’t kid myself thinking that I could stop him from taking anything else.

Pete phongsakorn saengtham  .” My name was a caress on his lips as he slowly walked around me. He stopped close behind me so I couldn’t see him.

  I suppressed a shiver. “Not phongsakorn. That’s my uncle’s name, not mine.”

  vegas's breath fanned over my neck. “In every regard that matters, you are a phongsakorn.”

I dug my nails into my palms. Kinn ’s gray eyes followed the movement without a flicker of emotion on his face. Big  perched on the desk, looking at the man behind me but not me. Tankhun regarded me with a mix of curiosity and calculation.

  I didn’t say anything, only stared stubbornly ahead. Vegas circled me and stopped in front of me. He was a tall man, and I wished for my shoes. I wasn’t exactly small, but barefoot only the top of my head reached his chin. I lifted my head slightly, trying to appear taller.

Vegas mouth twitched. “I hear you were supposed to marry your fiancé, Danilo Mancini, yesterday,” he said with a twisted grin. “So I robbed you of your wedding night

I remembered Mom’s consoling words. That Danilo would be good to me. That I didn’t have to be scared of him claiming his rights after our wedding. And Samuel’s words that he’d hunt down Danilo if he didn’t treat me like a man .

As I stared up into the face of  Vegastheerapanyakul, my worry of having sex with Danilo seemed ridiculous. The theerapanyakul wouldn’t be good to me. The name of their Capo was spoken in hushed, terrified whispers even among women in the Outfit. And a terror unlike anything I’d ever encountered gripped me, but I forced it down. Pride was the only weapon I had, and I would hold on to it until the very end.

I wonder if you let your fiancé have a taste before your wedding,” vegas murmured, his voice a low vibrato full of threat, his dark eyes raking over me.

  Indignation filled me. How dare he suggest something like that? “Of course not,” I said coldly. “The first kiss of a honorable Outfit woman happens on her wedding day.”

  His grin widened, wolf-like, and I realized my mistake. He’d led me into a trap. My own pride a weapon he used against me.

VEGAS

  he held his head high in spite his mistake. His  blond hair trailed down his  back. Cool blue eyes assessed me like I wasn’t worth his  attention. Perfect.

  Highborn and about to take a deep fall.

So proud and cold,” I said, trailing a finger down his  cheek and throat. “Just like good ol’ Uncle Dante.” he turned her face away with a disgusted expression.

  I laughed. “Oh yes, that stupid Outfit pride. I can’t wait to rid you of it.”

  “I’ll take that pride to the grave with me,” he said haughtily.

I leaned even closer, my body lightly pressing up against his. “Killing you is the last thing on my mind, believe me.” I let my eyes travel the length of his body. “There are far more entertaining things I can think of.”

  Terror flashed over his  face, only briefly, then it was gone. But I saw it. So death didn’t bother the boy , or so he thought, but the idea of being touched by me put a chink into that prideful exterior.

So you have never kissed a man before,” I mused, leaning in so close that our lips were almost touching.

  he stood his  ground, but a slight tremor went through his  body. he pressed his lips together, refusing an answer.

  “This will be fun.”

  “My family and fiancé will tear down bangkok if you hurt me.

Oh, I hope they do, so I can bathe in their blood,” I said. “But I doubt you’ll be worth their trouble once I’m done with you. Or will your fiancé settle for the leftovers of another man?”

  he finally took a step back.

My smile pulled wider. Her eyes darted to something behind me. To someone. I followed his gaze to big . His eyes met mine, his expression hard and unrelenting, but I knew him inside out. He’d known Pete as a child, had played with him. There was a hint of strain in his eyes, but he wouldn’t come to her aid, neither would kinn or tankhun.

  I turned back around to him. “Nobody will save you, so you better stop hoping for it.

he narrowed her eyes at me. “I decide what to hope for. You might rule over bangkok and over these men, but you don’t rule over me, vegas korawittheerapanyakul.”

  Never before had someone spat out my name like that, and it sent a fucking thrill through me.

  “Oh, Pete ,” I said darkly. “That’s where you’re wrong, and I will prove it to you.”

And I will prove you wrong.” His  blue eyes held mine, back in control, back to being his prideful self. But he had given me an opening earlier, had shown me a crack in his  mask, and he couldn’t undo it. I knew how to get under his skin.