smeared over my palm.
The almost constant ache in my wrists and ankles fades away as I lie there listening to Apollo tapping out a beat for Trinity as she dances for Reuben.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Sounds like the leaking pipe in the back of the basement, doesn’t it, Mason?
The pain makes it easier to push away the voice.
And that’s always been the case, even back then.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Chapter Nine
Trinity
It has to be the weed. Or the booze. Something’s doing weird, weird shit to my brain. That bit in a Disney movie where a magical light zooms around the heroine and lifts her up? That’s me right now. It feels like I’m suspended inches from the floor, a glittering aura whirling around me.
In my wildest dreams I would never have imagined anything could feel this good. This…right.
Reuben’s got one hand around the back of my neck, the other at the small of my back. Using his hands and body, he guides me.
Moments later, faint noises in the background clamor for my attention but they sound wrong and violent so I push them out of my mind.
This…this is the complete opposite.
“See?” Reuben murmurs into my ear. “And you thought you couldn’t do it.”
I wasn’t about to tell him I’d danced before. A lot. My mirror had been my only audience, and my worst critic. For all I know, I probably looked a right idiot back then as I swayed to my own quiet humming.
I’d really hoped to use my feminine wiles to strike a deal with these men, but I guess I still have a lot to learn about the art of seduction.
Also, dancing for an actual audience is much harder than watching yourself in a mirror. So much so, I hadn’t even known where to start.
Reuben saved me.
This whole time I’d had my hands at my side, limply moving along with my arms. But as soon as Reuben’s breath brushes my skin, I suck in a breath and force myself to reach out and touch him.
My fingers trace the outlines of his perfectly sculpted muscles. I tilt my head back and open my eyes. They flutter and then go wide in surprise.
Reuben’s glaring at me.
He stops moving, and snatches my wrists together in one meaty hand. “What are you doing?” he demands in a low voice.
“I was just…I thought we were…”
Movement draws my gaze away.
Cass storms out of the curtained area of the room, a hand on his stomach like he’s sick. The snarl on his face sends a chill through me, but as soon as he looks up and sees me, it disappears.
My mouth opens to ask him what’s wrong, but by then everything’s moving too fast.
“Enough of this bullshit foreplay,” he grates out, whipping his hand away from his stomach. He points straight at me and advances so fast that I wheel back from him with a stifled yell.
He grabs my arm before I have a chance to get away, and throws me into the armchair I’d been sitting in.
I gasp—more in shock at how fucking strong he is than in actual pain. Then he’s on top of me, straddling my waist and yanking my dress up my legs.
Cool air caresses my upper thighs as he hikes my skirt up my hips. Since my panties are still in Zachary’s tin box, there’s nothing to shield me from the dark lust gleaming in his eyes.
“Stop!” I yell. I start bashing at him with my fists, but he knocks my arms away with a flick of his hand, the other going to his belt.
“Keep singing that pretty song, little blackbird.”
The hair on my arms stands up straight. His voice is low, rough, and has an English accent, like he’s mimicking someone.
What. The. Fuck?
The button on his jeans pops open with a twist of his hand.
I scream, my fists turning into claws. He grimaces, now straining to keep back my attack while working his fly. I buck my hips to try and shake him off, but that just makes him laugh.
Why is no one stopping him?
Mother of God—are they just going to watch?
I obviously put up too much of a fight. Cass grabs my hair, wrenches back my head, and slaps me.
A shock wave coruscates through my skull. My vision swims with tears. My face goes numb. I blink hard, sending those tears down my cheeks.
I watch in dumbstruck silence as Reuben rips Cass off my lap and throws him against the wall like he weighs nothing. Zachary appears by the curtain, but his head hangs