“A gift?” the man asks, flashing me with a row of gold-capped teeth. “How considerate of you.”
“She’s not a gift,” Ian grits out.
“Aw, Ian.” The man waves at the women. “But I brought you two.”
“Much appreciated,” Ian says, “but unwanted.”
The man steeples his fingers. “Maybe your partners disagree, yes?”
Ruben gets up and walks around the table. Taking the breast of the woman on the right in his hand, he measures the weight. “I’ll gladly take you up on the offer.”
The woman tilts back her head to look at him, purring like a cat.
“A woman for a woman, no?” The man looks at Ian. “My whore for yours. It only seems fair.”
Ian’s knuckles turn white around his mug, but his face betrays nothing. “She’s not a whore. I value your business, but if you insult her again, I’ll throw you out of my house.”
“Touché.” The man grins. “Careful, Ian. You’ll make me think she’s not so much of a nobody like you claim.”
Ian regards me with a cold gaze. “As I said, she’s no one you need to concern yourself over.”
“Prove it,” the man says slyly. “Fuck my whore, and I’ll believe you.”
“Told you,” Ian says with narrowed eyes, “I’m not interested.”
Ruben is kneading the woman’s breast. He’s slipped a hand down the front of her body, all but fingering her in front of us. I can’t watch this. I turn back for the path, but the man’s words still me.
“Not so fast, sweetheart. You stay and watch.”
There’s something in his voice that stops me. This isn’t a man anyone disobeys. I’ve seen his kind both in rural settlements and big city cesspools. They torture people for fun. They’ll first chop off your hand and then ask if you’ve stolen from them.
“She’s not your sweetheart,” Ian says in a harsh tone.
The man smirks. “If you don’t want me to call her the sweet thing she is, tell me her name.”
“Are you fucking deaf?” Ian asks. “She’s nobo—”
“Cas,” I say, lifting my chin as I hold Ian’s gaze.
Leon pushes to his feet. “Like my brother said, she’s not part of the deal. Let’s take this to the casino. The party is getting boring here.”
“No drugs?” the woman on Ian’s left says. “I say it’s boring.”
The man watches me. Refusing to cower, I hold his shrewd gaze.
“All right,” he says after a moment. “Seeing that we showed up uninvited.” He flashes me with another golden smile. “My mother taught me manners.”
I doubt that very much.
Ruben reluctantly retracts his hand from the woman’s panties when the others get to their feet. The man takes his gun and saunters over to me. My throat closes up as he drags the barrel over my temple.
“If you belong to no one, ask Ian where to find me. I’ll give you more luxury than you can dream of. I’ll even throw in a nice sportscar.”
I feel like spitting in his face, but Ian’s frosty stare keeps me quiet. The man salutes and disappears into the reception hall. Ruben slaps the woman’s ass and pushes her ahead of him. The other woman hooks her arm around Leon’s. They follow the entourage to a Land Rover limo parked in front of the entrance.
When the others are out of earshot, Ian grips my arm and bites out, “I told you to stay in the room.”
Sarcasm masks my hurt. “Grounded again?”
“As a matter of fact…” His smile turns wicked. “Yes.”
“Fuck you.”
Angers washes over his features. “I was going to be nice and come home early, maybe take you out to lunch, but for that remark you can stay here and think about what comes out of your mouth.”
I jerk free from his hold. “You can’t pretend I’m everything when you fuck me and nothing the morning after. It doesn’t work like that.”
He gets into my personal space. “It’ll work any way I see fit.”
“It’s not going to keep me safe.” I step up, matching his stance. “You dragged me into your life, now deal with it.”
His nostrils flare. “This discussion is over. Go back to the room and stay there like you were told.”
Bossing me around really rubs me the wrong way. “I’m going to the fields to work.”
He lowers his head, putting our faces close, and says in a dark voice, “Do you have any idea what I went through when you walked out on that deck? Why must you be so hardheaded? Why couldn’t you listen for once?”
“I can’t hide in your room forever. What kind of life is that?”
“Fine,” he growls, dragging both hands over his head. “Go to the damn fields. Go wherever you like. But if you’re not back in my room by the time the sun sets, I’ll spank your ass so hard you won’t sit for a day.”
I glare at him, fury coiling around my insides. “Don’t you dare threaten me. If you lift your hands to me like that you’ll never touch me again.”