When the sun sets, I walk into her room without knocking. She’s propped on the bed, her dark hair in a messy bun piled high on her head.
I stop at the edge of her bed and stare down at her, but she barely spares me a glance. “Can I help you?”
It’s the high-handed way she says everything that seems to burrow under my skin, bringing up my anger from the depths. “Yes, actually. It’s time to get dressed and hit the floor. I have some work to do, and you’re coming with me.”
Her eyes jump toward the end of the bed where the dress is laying. “Do I really have to wear that?”
I shouldn’t be pleased by the misery in her voice. “Yes, you really do. It’s the uniform, and I want you to blend in.”
“I can’t blend in wearing my own clothes? Even if I let you pick the outfit?”
I point toward the bathroom door. “There are some toiletries and cosmetics in the bathroom. If you need anything else, please let me know. I’ll see what I can do. Meet me by the door in an hour.”
To my surprise, in one hour exactly, she walks out of her room wearing the dress, matching shoes, her makeup perfect, her hair…I swallow hard and close the distance between us, even though she’s not anywhere near the door.
“We need to do something about this hair.” I spin her to face her bedroom door and gather her long mass of dark hair into a low ponytail. Then I spin it into a hefty low bun, fish the spare ballpoint pen from my inner suit pocket and secure it. The scent of jasmine wafts from her hair, forcing me to step away from her, to shut it off.
She fans her fingers over the bun. “I don’t think that will hold very long.”
“Well, it’s what we are working with right now. Your hair is distinctive, it’s…” I stop myself from saying beautiful. “I said you need to blend in, so…try harder.”
She waves at the dress, her lips folded down into a thin line. “I am wearing what you gave me. I followed your directions. If you want me to blend in better, let me wear my own clothes.”
“No, for now, you wear this. When we get more of a threat assessment, maybe you can wear something else.”
I turn to the door, throw it open, and wait for her to exit into the hallway. She walks out, and I lead her toward the elevator and slap my palm against the down button. “This won’t be easy for you. When I’m down there, I have to play the part of one of Adrian’s Five. I know you already know what that means. You will have to play the part of my possession. So right now, start getting it through your thick skull that I own you.”
She stares at the elevator doors like she might melt the steel with her eyes. “No one owns me, but I can pretend for a little while.”
“That will be fine for now. Keep your head down, don’t leave my side, and if you hear or see anything that sets off an alarm bell, tell me immediately. Anything. I don’t care if it’s a tingle up your arm, or you lock eyes with a man, and your pussy gets wet. If something is off, I need to know.”
Her gaze is ice when she shifts it to my face. “What does, or does not, make me wet is none of your concern. But I’m perfectly capable of keeping you apprised of any threats I notice.”
The elevator stops, we step inside, and I hit the casino button this time. She shifts to the back of the elevator, leaning on the bar. I turn and pull the knob to stop the elevator, then face her.
Her gaze glides from my chest, in the custom charcoal suit Kai gave me for my birthday, up to my mouth, then my eyes. “Why are we stopping?”
I take one step forward, entering her space, something I’ve been careful about. Jasmine hits me again, just like before, and I cup the back of her neck to tilt her face up toward me. “You are playing the part of my lover. Touch me here, now, so it doesn’t seem awkward when we are out there.”
She fiddles with her earring for a heartbeat, and I expect an argument, but then she places her hands on my chest, flat, like she’s brushing the lint off her clothing. I use my other hand to pull her in tight by the waist, then slide down to the fleshy curve of her ass.
With a satisfying squeak, she jerks against me, her eyes shocked and wide now. Some part of her hadn’t expected me to touch her, but for us to be convincing, and I’m always convincing, she needs to own this just as much as I’ll have to.