Treacherous Lust: An Alpha Billionaire Romance (Dark Lust Book 3) (2 page)

“Will you follow the rules?” he asked again.

“Yes.” I didn’t understand how he could go from hot to cold in a moment like this.

When I looked up, he saw the question in my eyes.

“If you’re with me,” he told me simply, “you’ll have to accept it. I’m not someone who’s going to tell you everything—or most things. I’ll tell you what you need to know.”

Every instinct told me to cut and run. I was wavering when he cupped my face in his hands.

“I will never harm you,” he told me seriously. “Do you understand? I will keep you safe. But you have to
do as I say.
”

I swallowed. My nod was jerky. “Yes. Okay.”

“Good girl.” He kissed me.

My phone buzzed and he smiled as he released me. He went to get a pastry, waving at me to answer it.

I didn’t recognize the number. “Hello?”

“Lily Harris?” The voice was ever-so-slightly accented.

“Yes. Who is this?” I saw Donovan look up in interest.

“This is Officer Moua. We met the other day.”

I couldn’t think of anything to say to that. I waited, holding the phone, my heart pounding in my chest.

“Ms. Harris, I need to talk to you. I have reason to believe that Donovan White may be involved in the death of Chun-mei Ko, and that you may be able to tell us information that could help us find her.”

Donovan was staring at me, his eyes hard.

“I’m not sure.” I tried not to meet his eyes.

“Miss Harris, this woman deserves justice.” The officer’s voice was hard. “Do you not agree?”

“Of course, I—”

“Then help us find her. If Mr. White is innocent—” his tone made it clear that he strongly doubted that “—there will be no danger in it for him. Trust me.”

“I see.”

“Come down to the fifth precinct office,” he instructed me. “Do not tell him where you are going. Make sure you are not followed.”

A chill traveled down my spine, and I hung up with a muttered goodbye.

“Who was that?” His tone was too casual.

I opened my mouth to tell him the truth, and a lie came out: “One of the people in my class is insisting we need a study group for this test.”

The test I hadn’t studied for. I couldn’t bring myself to care, though—school had never seemed less important.

“Don’t go if you don’t want to.”

“Bei will want me to.” The lying came too easily. “And since I’m staying with her…”

“You should be staying here.”

“It’s fine.” I met his eyes, and saw the order in them. “
Please
. It’s fine. After everything, I just need…”
Something to stay the same. Anything.

He hesitated. “For now, then.” He held up a hand. “I make no guarantees. If I think you’re in danger there, you’re coming to stay here.”

I nodded. It was hard to argue with that. “All right. I should go, though. The test is on Monday and we’ll be meeting a few times.”

He nodded easily.

“I’ll…see you again soon?” I didn’t know what to say. I still wasn’t sure what this was—just that, as I stared at him, I felt desire welling up in me.

“Oh, you will. After all…you still have so much to learn.” He stayed where he was, but his eyes said he knew how my blood was heating under his gaze. He knew how much I wanted him.

That was what made him dangerous. I forced a smile and left. It was a struggle not to run.

* * *

“
M
iss Harris
. Thank you for coming to see me.” Officer Moua was stiff and formal as he came into the tiny room. “Would you like any coffee? Water?”

“Coffee, please.”

“Of course.” The coffee machine was just outside, and he poured me a styrofoam cup of it and came back to place it in front of me.

“Thank you.” I wrapped my fingers around it and savored the warmth. It was cold in this room—probably by design.

Officer Moua sat down and fixed me with a clear-eyed stare.

“I’m going to be honest with you, Miss Harris. You’re involved with a man who might be a murderer.”

I tried not to swallow, but my fingers tightened around the cup. “I don’t believe that,” I said.

Did I? I wasn’t sure. When I was with Donovan, it seemed impossible that he could have killed someone. When I wasn’t…

“I see.” He did not seem particularly surprised, though his lips tightened slightly. “Are you aware of his involvement with a man named Sheng-li Tat?”

What did he know? If I were to lie, and he knew I was lying… I nodded slightly.

Officer Moua opened the folder he had brought in and slid several photos across the desk to me. It was unmistakably Sheng-li, with Donovan in two of the pictures. I looked, not sure what I was supposed to be seeing.

A fourth picture slid across the desk. It was blurry, clearly blown up from a candid photo. The woman was looking over her shoulder, eyes bright and a smile on her face. She was Chinese, with her hair cut in a bob, and she exuded the same carefree happiness that I had tried, to no avail, to impart to Bei.

I knew who this must be, but Officer Moua wasn’t about to let me skip past it.

“This is Chun-mei Ko.”

I nodded jerkily.

“She was last seen three days ago. We have reason to believe that she may have been working to expose Sheng-li’s bosses.”

“Who are they?”

“Human traffickers,” he told me bluntly.

I felt my face pale.

“Yes.” He nodded. “They’ve been bringing women into the US from China for years. Poor women from rural areas. As you can guess, this is…personal…for me.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“I don’t need you to be sorry.” He spoke simply. “I need you to tell me what you know. Chun-mei was likely brought her by Sheng-li’s bosses, and she risked everything she had, we think, to try to bring them down. And he…and Donovan…killed her for it.”

“Wait. That doesn’t make any sense.”

Officer Moua frowned.

“Donovan hates Sheng-li.” I spoke quickly, earnestly, leaning across the table. “He
hates
him. He would never be involved in this, for any reason. The two of them…” I broke off, trying to find words.

“Oh, they may hate one another.” The officer lifted one shoulder. “In fact, I would be surprised if they didn’t.”

“What?”

“Miss Harris.” He sounded genuinely regretful. “Donovan White is the man Sheng-li’s bosses rely upon to bridge the gap between the Chinatown community and the wider United States. He’s their contact in this country.”

“
A
ll I’m saying is
, don’t be taken in too easily.” Kevin O’Dell gave me a look.

I sighed. I should have known better than to mention Lily to him, but Kevin had always been good at reading my moods, and he had noticed my distraction at once. Every fact I had thought would reassure him had only made him warier. I had met her in a Chinatown bar while she was eating with a friend? She was frivolous. She was a law student? She was there to find a rich husband.

“It’s going to be fine, Kevin.” I wanted him to leave. It had been a long day, made longer by Hayden’s continued worries about Sheng-li, and my inability to keep my thoughts away from Lily.

“I’m telling you what Colton won’t.” His voice was fierce. “She’s bad news. A girl without money, suddenly in your life… Look, she didn’t even have a boyfriend. Doesn’t that tell you anything?”

“She had a boyfriend.”

“And she left him for you, right? And you’re so much more supportive than he is. You understand her.” His voice was dripping with contempt, and he looked away. “Look. Donovan. You wouldn’t be the first one to be taken in by…a pretty face.” It seemed like he had to force the words out. “But take my advice: get what you want and get out before she sinks her claws into you.”

“You’re being paranoid.”

“You thought I was being paranoid about Evangeline.” He said the words simply.

I felt the old sweep and took a deep breath.

“I know you don’t want to hear it,” he told me. “But someone has to say it. As a...friend…I hope…I wanted to speak plainly.”

“You know you’re a friend.” If I could call anyone a friend, that was. But he didn’t need to hear that part.

“In your father’s day—”

“I am not my father.” Thank God. The man still haunted my nightmares. “And I hear you concerns. But Lily is not Evangeline. Lily is…” My voice trailed off. How to describe Lily to him? How could I explain how innocent she was, how genuinely untouched? Other men might have touched her body—I gritted my teeth at the thought—but no one had touched her soul. She obeyed as naturally as she breathed, and she came to pleasure openly, eagerly.

I remembered her riding me, her lower lip caught in her teeth to stifle her moans, and my fingers clenched.

Kevin looked displeased, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. So the man wanted to make sure I didn’t lose half the company in a divorce. He needed to learn that not everything was about money. So she was a distraction. Right now, with everything else that was going on, I needed this particular distraction.

Why, I wasn’t ready to think about. I just knew I needed to see her, feel her in my arms, look at her eyes sparkle while she laughed. I needed her.

I stood, gesturing to the door.

“I appreciate your concern. But there’s nothing to be concerned about. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“
A
re you all right
?” Donovan frowned at me over the rim of his wine glass.

“Of course.” I put down my glass and tried to smile brightly at him. Dinner had been steaks, somehow cooked to perfection in the restaurant on the first floor and brought up to us before they were cold. I shuddered to think how expensive the wine was that I was drinking; I was so nervous that I couldn’t even taste it, and in my nervousness, I had drunk far too much of it. I tried to think of something to say that would take his mind off how I was behaving. “I’ve had a long day.”

“That, I can understand.” He topped off both our glasses.

I seized the opening gratefully. “Why was your day long?” If I could get him to open up about this…

“My executive team likes to worry about…everything.” He shook his head wearily. “Including my personal life.”

I felt my face fall. “Me?”

“It’s nothing.”

“They know about me?”

“It’s all right.” There was a touch of impatience in his voice now. “Kevin saw you in the office the other day. He asked.”

I tried not to let my relief show too obviously. After what Officer Moua had told me, after everything, I was terrified.

I shouldn’t even have come here tonight.
Be very carefuly
, Moua had told me.
See if you can meet him in public places from now on
. But Donovan had been insistent that he didn’t want to eat in the restaurant, and I hadn’t known how to say no.

And he was going to want to do other things later. Things I should say no to, things that made me helpless, vulnerable. He would have me at his mercy. If he wanted to hurt me, I wouldn’t be able to get away. I should leave now.

I knew I wasn’t going to leave, though. I wanted his touch. I was almost shaking with how much I wanted him. With one kiss, he had brought a part of me to life I didn’t know was there. I didn’t understand what I wanted…

But he did.

“I’ll be right back.”

His words jolted me out of my reverie and I watched as he walked toward the study at the other end of the apartment.

He had left his phone. My hands shaking, I scrambled for it and fumbled with the plugin Officer Moua had given me. Call records, contacts, data. I watched as the light blinked yellow, yellow, yellow—

His footsteps were coming back, oh, God—

Green. I yanked the plugin away and shoved it in my pocket, and
almost
got the phone back onto the coffee table in time. It clattered to the floor and slid away from me as Donovan came back in.

“I was trying to get more wine.” I didn’t dare look over at my full glass. “I knocked your phone off the table. Sorry.”

His face flickered as he looked at me. Then the look was gone and he smiled.

“Come to the bedroom. I have something for you.”

T
hat something was
wrong was clear. She had been quiet all night, and closed-mouthed about why.

She might not know it yet, but she was going to tell me. I watched as she came into the room and stopped at the sight of the rope on the bed. Sleek and black, it was strong—but soft enough that it wouldn’t break her skin.

I brushed her hair away from her neck and pulled her head back to kiss her throat. My touch was gentle, but she still shuddered. I would have let her go if she hadn’t sighed in obvious desire. Her knees were shaking.

“Take off your clothes.”

She was more reserved this time than she had been before. She faced me almost defiantly when she was done, chin raised like I was an opponent she had to stare down.

I held her eyes until she looked away, and felt the satisfaction I always had to know I had won an encounter.

She stood still while I tied the blindfold over her eyes, and I couldn’t resist trailing my fingers over the soft skin of her breasts. She jumped and her lips parted, but she made no sound.

“On the bed. On your back.” I kept my voice expressionless. Let her wonder what I intended.

I tied her hands together first before lashing them to the headboard. Her legs, I left free for now. I pushed her knees apart and slid a single finger inside her. She tried to stay still, but she couldn’t keep from arching against me.

“You want this.”

“Yes.” She breathed the word. “Yes, sir.”

She was telling the truth—and there was no disguising how wet she was. She twisted her hips against me, and when I drew her knees up to her chest, she gave a whimper of protest.

The toy surprised her, as it had last night. She needed to learn to take it, though, and watching her lost in the unfamiliar sensation set fire to my blood.

I needed to focus. Now, when she was distracted, was the best time to ask some questions.

“Were you a good girl today, Lily?”

She made a little noise, questioning.

“Did you tell me everywhere you went?”

She stiffened slightly.

Ah. I withdrew the toy and slipped my fingers inside her again, leaning close to whisper in her ear.

“Disobeying me already, Lily?”

“I…” She was trying to focus, but my fingers were moving inside her and I watched her pulse begin to race. “I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to—”

“You know what happens when you disobey me, don’t you?”

“I…don’t, sir.” She was terrified.

“I get to use you however I want.” I was rock hard; it was all I could do not to strip my clothes off and take her right now. “Your mouth…” The fingers of my other hand danced over her lips, and I gave an unsteady breath when her tongue flicked out and she took the fingers in her mouth, sucking them dutifully. “Yes, just like that. You’ll have to please me tonight, Lily, make me forget what you did.”

She didn’t even answer. Her mouth was working on my fingers, in time with the way my other hand was fucking her. She was eager, desperate to please.

“Or maybe I’ll take your ass.”

She froze.

“Don’t stop,” I ordered her harshly. I smiled when her mouth began to move again. “That’s it. Yes, I think maybe I will take your ass. That would be a good lesson for you.”

“Please.” Her voice was frightened. “I’m not—I can’t take you that way yet. I’m not ready.”

“Wrong. You can do whatever I say. And I want your ass.”

“Please—
please
—let me—” Her lips captured my fingers again.

“Do you want to please me, Lily?”

“Yes,” she whispered helplessly.

“So why did you disobey me?”

Again she stiffened, and this time I pulled my hands away and flipped her open. My hand came down on her ass with a smack and her body jerked against the ropes.

“One day,” I said, my voice hard. “One day and you’ve already disobeyed me. Is there anything else you’d like to confess?”

“No! I forgot. I’m sorry, I forgot.” She was whimpering, she couldn’t stop her hips from moving. “I’ll do anything you say. You can…take me however you want. I’ll please you, I swear.”

My lips curved and I drew away to strip my clothes off. On the bed, she held herself rigid, frozen, hands clenched.

“You
will
please me.” My voice was cold. I slid one finger inside her and almost groaned. She was so hot, so wet, that I knew my threats had hit home in the way I had hoped they would. She gave a little sigh and her hips rocked back. “Won’t you, Lily?”

“Yes, sir.” She couldn’t stop herself from moving. “I’m so sorry, sir.”

I gave her ass another slap and smiled when she cried out. “Are you ever going to disobey me again?”

“Never, sir.”

“Oh, I hope that’s not true.” I spread her legs and picked up the toy. I pressed lightly against that tight opening and had to steady myself when she moaned. “I think I’ll quite like punishing you.”

“Fuck me.”

“What’s that?”

“Sir. Please. Fuck me, sir.” Her hips tilted. “I’ve wanted you all day. I need you. I’m so sorry I disobeyed. You’ll still fuck me, won’t you?”

The toy clattered away and I was inside her a moment later. I let out my breath in a groan as I sank into her.

“Fuck. Baby girl…”

“Yes, sir?” She pressed against me to take me deeper.

“You feel so good.” I leaned forward to kiss her.

“You feel perfect,” she whispered against my lips. “When you’re inside me, I feel…complete.”

My hips began to move, and I couldn’t stop myself. I took her deep, listening to her moans. She was crying out within moments, slick for me, so hot she must be burning up inside.

“You like that?”

“Yes, yes—
yes
. Sir—”

“Shut up.” I pulled her close for a kiss. “Don’t say anything. Just take my cock.”

She whimpered. Her hips twisted against mine and she began to cry out with every thrust. She must be sore from last night, and yet she bucked her hips against mine like it wasn’t enough, like it would never be enough.

And here, at least, there was not a shred of artifice. No one could pretend this. Evangeline had endured my tastes, and I had been too foolish to see it for what it was.

Lily wanted this as much as I did. She came around me, shuddering, and I poured into her. She was mine, I told myself. Mine. She couldn’t lie about that.

But long after she was dressed and gone, throwing me a look over her shoulder, her lips swollen from kisses; long after the plates had been taken away; long after Colton had called to say that he’d deposited Lily at home and she was safe, I was still sitting in one of the leather armchairs in the living room, a scotch untasted in my hand, my eyes fixed on the middle distance.

She was hiding something.

What was it?