The Invitation

1

Tobias

The lights of the Manhattan Bridge twinkled through the floor to ceiling window of Lithium—the most extravagant members-only club in the city. Crystal chandeliers dripped from the ceilings, Baccarat glasses filled with only the most expensive Champagne adorned the tabletops, and the only place where the views of the skyline could be beat was from my penthouse.

It was a club people fought and fucked to get their way into. One people would kill to set foot in…

The head of Tritan Bank sat at the table by the opened patio door, the attention of every man in a suit locked on him. They laughed and smiled, most likely while imagining they could take the knife on the table and slice his jugular open. And why?

Because he had more than them.

He was wealthier, more respected, more fucking arrogant.

No one here wanted to be inferior.

I lifted my glass to my lips, wondering how much one of them would pay to have him killed. Because every one of them would pay something. They’d outbid each other just for show. Money was, after all, a disease of the rich.

One I was dangerously intrigued with.

One I would make a very fun game out of once I had my partner.

“Mr. Benton?”

I glanced up at the pretty blond as she stopped in front of me. “Yes?”

“We’re ready for you.”

Smiling, I polished off my drink, then followed the petite girl through the crowded lounge to the elevator at the side of the room.

When I stepped inside, she passed me a keycard.

“Welcome to The Selection,” she said just before the doors closed.

I watched each floor light up. Once it reached the last number, it kept going. Excitement darted through me when it finally stopped and slowly opened into the center of a circular room.

I stepped out, staring at the blue icon flashing on the wall in front of me. When I waved my keycard over it, the walls retracted, revealing a series of windows.

An overhead speaker crackled to life. “A number will appear to the side of each cubicle. To choose an item, scan your card across the numeral.”

Numbers one through twenty-five flashed to life around the room moments before the shutters covering the windows lifted.

Behind each pane of glass stood a naked girl.

A beautiful, willing, naked girl.

These were not slaves. Oh, no. They were trained. Elite commodities worth every last penny men paid to have them for an evening. But I didn’t want her for sex. I wanted her for a game. I wanted to use her as a test.

I made my way past each window, inspecting, fantasizing.

When I reached number fifteen, I stopped. Auburn red hair and long, lean legs.

Smiling, she fiddled with the diamond pendant around her neck, then turned around to show me her perfect ass. Much to my pleasant surprise, she bent over, showing me her tight asshole and pink pussy.

If she’d do this for ten-thousand dollars, what would she do for a million? Maybe two?

That was the problem with having an endless supply of money at my disposal—I could ruin people all too easily.

When I swiped my card over her number, the shutters lowered with a creak of hinges. “You’ve chosen number fifteen. You may pick up your receipt at the bar. Enjoy your purchase.”

Oh, I would. And I only hoped I would enjoy Preston Lucas half as much…

2

Tobias

FOUR MONTHS LATER

I sat in my car with the engine cut. The only light came from the video footage playing across my phone screen. It was a video I had watched endlessly over the last few days. One I could barely get enough of.

A scream came through the speakers just as the shaky footage of Leah—the beautiful redhead I’d purchased months ago—running through the thick woods came to a full stop.

Preston’s angelically ruthless face came into view. The moonlight cast silver hues over his blond hair. If this were a movie, the director would get accolades of praise for the way the lighting caught in his blue irises, almost setting aflame the darkness that lurked within.

My cock hardened when Leah screamed louder, begging him to let her go. And one thing I had learned about Preston Lucas from his browser history, those screams made his dick hard, too. He was a deviant through and through, and that was one reason I had chosen him. What I couldn’t have fathomed all those months ago was just how nefarious he truly was. And I delighted in it.

Everything about the situation, from her gasps for breath to the possessed look in Preston’s eyes as his hands closed around her neck made me desperate to fuck him.

“Stop fighting, Leah,” his gruff voice broke through the desperate pleas for her life. “You know if you pass out, I’ll only come harder…” Then he came, and hard, at the precise moment she left this earth.