Pennies (Dollar #1)(30)

Good luck to her.

In the brief interaction I’d had with them, she deserved to win over this overly pampered rich dick. She just had to notice her power and commit.

“It’s not exhausting to be thorough.” I fisted my fingers, holding back my wrath. “It’s exhausting to enter into business with untrustworthy people.”

Alrik frowned. “Look, you knew the deal when you got here. You were highly recommended. Don’t make me regret inviting you into my home.”

I laughed. This * thought he was better than me. That he could win.

Wrong.

Ignoring him, I once again looked at the slave on the floor. I hated the way she kept drawing me to her. She wasn’t acting. She truly was fighting to survive. But the humming vibration of her determined strength was a drug to me.

Patting the couch, I murmured, “Sit here, girl.”

Her shoulders rolled as she bowed deeper into the carpet. Her tattered hair shivered as she glanced at her master.

Alrik tried to slaughter me with his eyes.

If I were any other person, from any other background, I might’ve second-guessed my decision to play with his possessions.

But he did say I could share.

And I wasn’t afraid of him. I was never afraid of pretenders.

Silence fell, clashing with temper from Alrik, terror from Pimlico, and authority from me.

Guess who f*cking won?

Alrik threw back his third bourbon. “Go to him, Pim.”

Instantly, the girl levered herself from her knees and scurried to my side.

My heart pounded as she perched like a frail bird on the stark white leather, her thighs bunched—ready to fly away if Alrik changed his mind.

Judging by the way she kept her body facing him, I guessed he changed his mind a lot—either to spite or hurt her.

Peering at my ruined jacket with its dripping wet cuffs and slouchy way it hung off her shoulders, I ordered, “Give her permission to obey me without having to go through you.” I glanced up, catching Alrik’s eye with the command.

Do it.

What the f*ck was I doing?

This girl didn’t matter. I ran the risk of destroying this business deal. Then again…did I care?

I paused, taking stock of what it would mean if I deliberately sabotaged this transaction. Sure, I’d be out of pocket by millions. But I had more than I could count and it wasn’t about the money. Yes, I’d lose the notoriety I’d done my best to earn. Finally cracking open the realm where, up till now, I’d been denied. But I didn’t need f*cking Alrik to open doors for me. I could kick them down on my own damn accord.

No, this girl interested me more than Alrik ever could. She was worth the price tag if it all fell to shit.

Alrik glowered at his slave before giving me a curt nod. He’d disliked me before. Now, he hated me.

I smiled coldly. “You did say I could share.”

The girl shivered, her body sending minor ripples along the couch. I hadn’t touched her yet but every nerve ending shot to intensity.

“Pimlico.” Alrik sat forward, his hand clutched white-tight around his glass. “Obey Mr. Prest as you obey me. Got it? Do whatever he wants without question.”

I fought the thrill running down my spine.

Pimlico glanced at me, before dropping her gaze to the floor. She didn’t nod or give any indication of agreement.

But I knew she’d heard, evaluated, and accepted the new terms.

The fact she didn’t talk fuelled my interest—not because I wanted her silent secrets but because she challenged me to do what my teacher had taught a decade ago: ‘Listen with your entire body, not just your ears. Watch with your entire being, not just your eyes. And judge with your entire soul, not just shallow perception.’

I hadn’t forgotten that lesson. I wasn’t a person to educate and then waste that education by letting such valuable knowledge fade. But she was a good refresher.

I wanted to be alone with her. To ask her questions that she wouldn’t answer but I would earn her reply anyway. I wanted to steal her so my own disciplinary hand delivered her bruises not this lying *’s.

Testing her obedience, I patted my thigh. “Come closer.”

For a second, she hesitated. Her lips pursed, but her hand crept slowly outward, pulling herself forward.

She didn’t come as near as I wanted—her leg still created a chasm between us—but I inhaled, doing my best to smell her.

She smelled of nothing.

No, that wasn’t true.

She smelled of f*cking desperation.

Wanting to change her opinion of me, to kiddingly prove I wasn’t such a bad guy, I rested my hand on her thigh.

She jolted but stayed seated even though her eyes narrowed with fury.

Her skin was ice beneath my touch; her white skirt offered no thermal properties.

Alrik never took his livid glare off me as I stroked her with a gentleness I doubted she’d had in years.

Instead of relaxing, she only stiffened further.

If I were a kind man, I would’ve removed my hand and allowed her to return to her crouch on the floor where she obviously felt some semblance of safety.

But I wasn’t a nice man.

I was a tormentor. A killer. A thief.

And I wanted to steal her courage drop by f*cking drop.





WORDS AND VOICES and business.