Page 34 of Savage Kingdom

The low, throaty growl that came from him was sexy. I shook my head, not wanting to think those things of him, or of any man.

As we left the lobby of the Hilton, my eyes scanned every available surface. Gideon noticed and mistook it for fear.

“Relax, I won’t ever let him take you,” he swore.

My throat clogged.

No one had ever stepped a foot in trying to defend me. I was a hot commodity. A whore. Not even my own society took me seriously. I was a weapon, and it was time I started acting like it.

We walked a few blocks when he made his way inside a little hole-in-the-wall bar. It was small; the patrons in here were peculiar, a range between lowlives and suits. I took a seat by the bar, right in front of the bartender.

“Anything I can get you, gorgeous?” He smiled, leaning into the bar.

“Cranberry vodka,” I said, not really caring what I drank. As long as it had vodka, I was game. I rarely drank, but that didn’t mean I didn’t know how to hold my own. I was Russian, after all.

The bartender winked and got to work on my order. I didn’t know where Gideon had left to, but wherever he was, I knew he had eyes on me.

A chair scraped next to me, the noise alarming—a warning more than anything. I slightly turned my head to see the person who was next to me.

“Can I buy you a drink, baby girl?” The voice was husky, laced with fake seduction.

I turned to glare at the darkest eyes I’d ever laid eyes on.

“I’m good.”

“You sure? Say the word, and we can get out of here in a heartbeat.”

I smiled at him.

“I’m not alone,” I told him.

“If you come with me, you won’t be,” he smirked, his eyes twinkling past me.

Before I could answer, arms caged me in between the bar and the body that had pressed up behind me.

Gideon’s smell filled my senses; his heat was a warm blanket of faux security.

Looking at those coal eyes, I smiled and curved one of my arms around Gideon’s neck. If he was surprised by the action, he didn’t let it show.

It was showtime. He wanted to see me play; he was about to lose.

My voice was low, throaty, and sensual. Something I was taught to do was to entice men. It never failed. “This is Gideon, my boyfriend.” The words rolled out of my tongue with ease. Deception ran through my veins, and revenge was steaming from my pores. Gideon bent low, his lips brushing against my cheek. It took everything in me not to flinch.

I turned my head, looking at the man only to find him grinning. His eyes were mocking me.

“I am in good company.” I winked, then leaned and mock whispered, “He does sinister things to me, then he soothes me with his sexy British accent.”

Gideon’s breath came labored in my ear. I didn’t have to turn around to know he was putty in my hands.

“Well, I can see you don’t need me.” The man smirked. He signaled for the waiter and dropped a hundred-dollar bill. “Get the lady another cocktail.” He fixed his tie, smiling, then clapped Gideon’s back and walked out of the bar.

I bit my lip as adrenaline coursed through my veins. Looking up, I found Gideon looking at me. I thought I might have seen apprehension, but it was nowhere in sight. He was full of lust, and that was one hell of a mental cloud. I smiled at him, pleased.

“Told you I could play along,” I whispered.

He bent his head, our lips almost touching. And I briefly wondered how it would feel for those lips to create chaos on my damaged soul.

“You’re fucking dangerous, Petal,” he said in a grave voice.