Buttons and Lace (Buttons 1)

My eyes moved to her thin neck. In the hollow of her throat was a huge diamond on a white gold necklace. It was too lavish and expensive to be something she’d bought herself. It was a gift. And Bones didn’t give gifts to his slaves—he took them.

I looked at her face, seeing blue eyes that lacked any interest in what she was looking at. Her mind was elsewhere, thinking about something in a different world. Her lips were ruby red from the lipstick she wore, and her eyes glowed from the makeup. Her hair was in lustrous curls, framing the contours of her expressive face. She was just as beautiful as people claimed.

But I still wasn’t impressed.

“Crow!”

“What?” I turned on him, annoyed with the outburst. “Shut the fuck up or someone will hear us.”

“Is the camera good or what? I’ve asked you twice now.”

“It’s fine. Here.” I handed my phone to him.

He held the extender with a single hand and my phone in the other. He whistled to himself just as he did last week.

I rolled my eyes.

“Damn, she’s fine.”

I looked down at the stage and saw the singer belt her tunes out, her chest expanding with every note she hit. The music was sad. I could understand every word she said, and the song echoed with pain of love and loss. I knew that feeling all too well.

“I’m going to have a lot of fun with her. She’s going to suck my dick so hard she’ll choke.”

I grabbed the phone again. “Let’s think about that later. We haven’t decided if she means anything to him just yet.”

“Do you see that fucking diamond around her throat?” he demanded. “That shit was on the Titanic before it sank.”

“But they aren’t touching.”

“What does that matter?” he asked. “They’re together on a date. We know what he does with slaves. He doesn’t take them out for a night on the town. And he’s clearly not afraid of her running.”

I watched her chest rise and fall with an invisible weight. Her eyes were glued to the stage, but she didn’t seem to be watching it. Without knowing her, I could tell what she was thinking. Her lips were parted for a reason. “She’s thinking about running right now.”

“What makes you say that?”

I tapped my fingers against the screen. “Her face is flushed, her breathing is shallow—all the signs are there. She’s nervous. She’s scared.”

“Maybe she’s just scared because a psychopath is sitting next to her.”

“No. She’s going for it.”

“That wouldn’t be a good idea... He has guards outside the place. When he catches her, he might kill her. My advice is for her to sit tight until we get her out of there.”

“Like she’ll be better off with us.”

He shrugged. “At least we’re good-looking. She might not mind sucking our fat cocks.”

I eyed the time on my watch. “I’m going to hang in the lobby just in case she goes for it.”

“And what are you going to say?” he asked incredulously.

“I don’t know. I’ll think of something. Hang tight, and let me know when she makes her move.”

“How are you so certain that she’ll do anything?”

I scooted backward through the air duct. “I’m good at reading people.”

“Is that why you hate them so much? You can read their minds?” He chuckled like it was a joke.

Actually, he hit the nail right on the head. “Just keep me posted.”

Chapter Twelve

Pearl

I stared at the bright stage and saw the dancers move around, giving the kind of performance I never thought I’d have the privilege of seeing. The auditorium was ancient like the rest of Italy, full of history’s past. The frescoes on the ceiling could only be created by a genius, and the intricate pattern of the carpet made me feel honored just to walk on it.

But all I wanted to do was run away.

The show was halfway over, and I’d wasted all that time sitting there. If I excused myself to the bathroom, I could crawl out the window. I couldn’t go through the entrance because he probably had men watching the place. But if I slipped out some other way, I’d probably be able to run somewhere.

I was pretty fast.

But I was terrified. I was afraid to risk our tame relationship if I failed. He would turn on me and be more ruthless than ever before. He might even kill me, angered that he trusted me on some level and I betrayed him. Was the chance really worth it? What if he was testing me? Expecting me to run?

I couldn’t make a decision.

I didn’t know what to do.

My heart slammed in my chest, and my palms were sweaty. My throat was dry, and it was painful to swallow. I didn’t touch my wine because I couldn’t keep anything down. Bones was absorbed in the show, ignorant to the argument I was having with myself.