Descent (Black Heart Romance)

“You can all go,” I tell them without looking away from Hallie. “I don’t like an audience.”

Her gaze lingers on Jackson the longest. She hasn’t yet accepted that he lured her here to be my next meal, so she manages to look stunned when he slinks out with everyone else, leaving her here at my mercy.

I observe her face as she watches everyone abandon her, all of them knowing she was lured here under false pretenses, that she didn’t mean to open herself up to this.

“Bastards, aren’t they?” I murmur, my lips tugging up in faint amusement.

She takes a deep, fortifying breath and looks up to meet my gaze. I expect to see fear etched across her lovely features, but she has a look of quiet determination instead. “Who are you? What do you want with me?”

“Calvin Cutler—we already covered the rest, remember?”

“Look, Calvin… you seem like a reasonable man.”

“I am.”

She nods, her eyes brightening a bit with useless optimism. “Good. Being a reasonable man, you understand that I had no idea I was coming to…” She pauses to look around, as if unsure how to even categorize this place. “I don’t know, a secret sex club?” Directing her gaze back at me, she continues, “And you should certainly understand that I am not going to have sex with you. We’re complete strangers. I don’t have sex with strangers, no matter how attractive.”

I cock my head, surprised at the offhanded compliment.

I’m a little less surprised when she goes on, slyly trying to get her hand on the wheel and turn this car around.

“Now, you’re obviously a man who wouldn’t have any trouble at all finding a willing female to come with you to a place like this, but it’s not me. I’m not willing. And my friend, Charity? She’s a lawyer. A damn good one. Now, I’m a peaceful person. I don’t enjoy conflict, especially unnecessary conflict, and this… this is unnecessary. We don’t need to see this through to its inevitable end—you get a quick, cheap thrill; I go straight to the hospital without showering to ensure they get as much physical evidence as humanly possible; Charity has to come back from her honeymoon and start preparing an ugly court case because I’ll sue you for damages on top of the criminal charges.” Her gaze sweeps my suit jacket as if impressed. “That looks like a really nice suit. I bet you’re pretty well-off. Do you really want to give your hard-earned money to me? Aren’t there cheaper and easier ways to get laid?”

Reluctant amusement roots itself deep inside me, deeper than I’ve ever felt it. “Wow. You’re something else, aren’t you?”

She looks up at me, her expression docile despite all the threats she just threw at me. “I’m just telling you how I see it.”

I nod as if convinced. “I appreciate the peek into your mind. Now, would you like to hear how I see it?”

Her eyes dim a bit. She swallows, but attempts to maintain a brave face. “Not really. Why don’t we just go with mine? I’ll leave, you can go about your business, and I’ll never speak to that little rat-faced weasel again. Everybody wins.”

I smile at the insult to Jackson. “Yes, that ex-boyfriend of yours is a real piece of work. I can’t believe you showed up to help him, honestly. You should hear the way he talks about you.”

She rolls her eyes. “His ego is bloated. He can’t fathom that I didn’t like him. It turned him into a crazy person—or maybe he was like that when we met and I just didn’t notice. That seems more likely.” Narrowing her eyes as she looks at me, she adds, “Wait, do I attract crazy people? How did I catch your attention?”

The wave of amusement rolls over me again. “Handsome, reasonable, and crazy?”

“You’re quite the catch.” Suddenly inspired, she lights up. “Hey, tell you what? Why don’t we leave this dungeon and go upstairs? I saw a bar on the way in. We could have a drink, get to know each other a little better. Then we won’t be strangers anymore,” she adds a bit enticingly, as if perhaps then she’ll consider sleeping with me.

I ignore the blatant bait. “So you can pretend you have to pee and slip out of the club? I don’t think so.”

Her nose wrinkles up adorably with annoyance. “Maybe that’s not my plan. Maybe I just want to hook you better with my dazzling personality. Maybe I’m a golddigger, and you’re a nice-looking prize.”

I shake my head. “If you were, I’d be bored already. I like you more than I thought I would. You come across as sweet from a distance. I didn’t expect you to be wily.”

“I am sweet, just not to men who lure me into dungeons with the intent of mistreating me.”