I can’t believe I’m telling you all this, but being with Cara was fucking magical. And the moment the three of us shared her, the moment we gave her the thing she wanted the most ... well, magical doesn’t even start to describe it.
She became ours, and we became hers.
And I don’t give a fuck about whatever little scheme Sienna uses to try and destroy us. She’ll never be able to do it. As long as the three of us are together, we’ll face anything life might throw our way.
“Jesus fuck,” I mutter as dozens of people keep on bumping their shoulders against mine. Everyone’s moving away from Sienna’s booth, and that’s because an announcement has boomed through the whole convention floor, telling everyone to head toward the main stage. Like drones, everyone starts dragging their feet and walking through the cramped corridors lined with authors’ booths. I push my way through thousands of people and women trying to rip my shirt off my body; I might not be as famous as Parker is, but I sure as hell have the looks to make any woman in here become wet in a matter of seconds.
Not bragging, just telling it like it is.
Taking my cell phone out of my pocket, I dial Mason’s number. “She’s about to get on stage,” I tell him the moment he picks up, watching as Sienna talks to the promoter on one side of the stage. She’s wearing an emerald green dress, one so tight I doubt she can breathe inside of it, and her hair looks even more horrid than before. What I wouldn’t have paid to see Cara sticking that chewing gum in Sienna’s hair. I bet she had a meltdown that lasted for days.
“We’re on our way,” Mason tells me curtly from the other side of the line, and I just end the call and place the phone back on my pocket. As I do it, Sienna finally strolls across the stage and stops at the podium, her hands grabbing at the microphone set up there.
The chatter of the crowd dies down, and the only thing you can hear is a slight buzz of excitement. No one really knows what Sienna has in store for today, but everyone’s expecting it to be big. Naughty Angel took a big hit with the piracy incident, and some people are betting that Sienna will overthrow NAP and establish a big brand of her own.
These are the rumours, at least.
“Thank you for coming here today,” she starts, her voice echoing across the whole convention floor. The grin on her lips is so wide that I’m half-expecting to see the skin of her face tearing any second now. She really thinks she has won, doesn’t she? She can smell victory, and she can feel her fingers already brushing against the big prize.
Oh, it’s gonna be fun to crush those dreams of hers.
“I have big news!” She continues in that excited tone, her gaze wandering over the thousands of people hanging on each and every one of her words. “As you know, there’s a gap in the romance industry. Some publishers have been struggling really hard, and I’m more than happy to announce that I’m looking to fill that gap.” She takes a dramatic pause, and then narrows her eyes. “Today, I’m happy to tell you that I’ll be launching Sinner Publishing!”
As she says it, the large curtains behind her drop down to the floor to reveal a large banner. It’s a picture of Sienna sitting atop of pile of books, as if she’s some kind of conquerer from a gone-by era.
“Sinner Publishing, huh?” I hear someone say, and I turn around to meet Parker. Mason’s standing by his side, and both men are smiling as they look up at Sienna.
“It’s time we pull the rug from under her feet,” Parker adds, and I simply nod.
Let’s take this bitch down.
Chapter 25
Parker
“Thank you, thank you,” Sienna continues as the crowd claps hard, eating her words up. The smug grin on her face makes her look like a porcelain doll, which is a nice way of saying she looks creepy as fuck. “Now that you know about who’s going to lead the industry in the coming years, it’s time I reveal the first book that’ll be published under Sinner Publishing: Cum To Me!”
At that, she takes one step back toward one of the long battles pushed back against the edge of the stage. She grabs the sheet covering whatever’s in there, and throws it back to reveal a mountain of books the size of fucking Everest.
“Cum To Me!” she announces, waving one hand at the mountain of smut next to her.
“Yeah, I’ll come to you alright,” I whisper, smiling to myself as I take one step forward and move toward the stage. I button up my jacket as I go, casually strolling up the stairs that lead up to the stage. A few of the people on the first rows of the crowd start talking excitedly as they see me come up, but Sienna only notices what I’m doing when I’m right next to her.
Moving fast, I steal the mic from her hands. She spins around fast, her eyes widening as she sees me on the stage, and her skin turns to a pale white. “Hello, Sienna,” I tell her, returning her grin. “How are you doing?”
Without waiting for her reply, I take the mic to my lips and walk toward the edge of the stage. “I’m sorry to interrupt, guys,” I start to say and, judging from the look on the face of some of the people closer to the stage, they must be thinking this is all part of the show. Well, in a sense, it is—just not Sienna’s show.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Sienna whispers under her breath, pushing the words out from between her gritted teeth. She looks so mad that I wouldn’t be surprised if she started snarling and trying to bite me. “Oh, you know… I heard you talk about Naughty Angel Publishing, and I thought I could clarify a few things for the folks in here,” I reply, but I'm doing it while talking into the mic. At the mention of Naughty Angel Publishing most of the crowd starts to clap hard and whistle. Even though NAP has hit a road bump, true fans will never desert the authors they love.
“Naughty Angel?” She scoffs, grabbing a mic of her own from the table. So, she wants to confront me head-on? Alright, dealer’s choice then. “Naughty Angel is dying, Parker. You know that the NAP ship is sinking, don’t you? Too bad for you, I don’t have the time to put up with a cover model for a company that can’t even survive piracy.”
“Is that so?” I whisper, never taking my eyes from hers. She grits her teeth even harder now, so much that I wouldn’t be surprise if her teeth simply shattered. She’s reading the look I have on my face, and she’s not liking it. She knows I wouldn’t be doing this without a plan, and she’s afraid of what that plan might be.
And you know what? She’s right to be afraid.
“Well, I know my friend Sienna is excited about her new book,” I tell the whole crowd, walking straight toward the edge of the stage and flashing my million-dollar smile at the small army of women crowding at the front. “And I also know she’s excited about following the path that Naughty Angel braved in the first place ... but not so fast, Sienna.”
“Get off of my fucking stage, Parker,” she growls at me, tightening her fingers on the mic so much that I’m just waiting for the whole thing to explode in her hands.