Let Me Out (For Me, #1)

by Nichole Severn

  He met Christian’s gaze. “Yeah?”

  “You won’t need your phone tonight.”

  It was going to be a hell of a night.

  * * *

  The entire room watched her. Their stares evaluated every inch of her body and loved every second.

  The music pulsed through Adelaide’s veins and she felt the beat in rhythm with her heart. Exhilarating. She let the adrenaline run through her body in pleasure.

  She didn’t mind being watched as she danced on top of the bar. Kicking glasses of liquor into the crowd gathering at her feet, she rolled her head back onto her shoulders. The lace and leather outfit hugged every curve of her pale body, making her feel the sexiest she’d ever felt in her life. Christian had done one thing right by giving her such an exquisite gift.

  The audience below hollered, offering money, trying to touch her skin, but Adelaide ignored them. She ran the show. She brought their fantasies to life and she wouldn’t let anybody ruin this night for her.

  The music surrounded her in every way and her monster had let itself go, circling one of the poles expertly with a smile on its face. They’d never felt so alive.

  The song came to an end.

  Adelaide didn’t move out of the spotlight or off of the bar.

  She’d never imagined herself as a put-on-a-show kind of girl, but if the alcohol could make her feel like this every time, it could become addictive. She had a feeling any of the audience members below, one hundred percent men, would do anything she asked of them, if she would only ask. She stayed in control, but her monster centered its attention on one man in particular.

  His blue eyes looked black in the dim lighting, his stance tense from the number of bodies surrounding him. He’d been watching her carefully but never moved closer, never letting himself be free of the control he kept.

  His smile wasn’t the same, as if he’d lost hope of accomplishing his goal, whatever it might be, but Adelaide wasn’t here to stroke his ego.

  She’d take him for herself. She smiled at the thought of Marcus being her submissive as his eyes found hers. By the time she finished with him tonight, he’d scream her name and se her in his dreams.

  Yum, her monster purred, gazing longingly at the target. It had its own plans with Marcus, and for once Adelaide didn’t cringe at the thought of having a little fun with him.

  The adrenaline still ran through her veins as she moved to the floor with the spotlight following closely. Stopping directly in front of Marcus, she waited for him to react.

  Telltale signs of nervousness showed through his facial expression.

  He licked his dry lips twice, blinking uncontrollably. His hands found their way into his pockets as his eyes darted to the other patrons looking on. “Adie,” he greeted, nodding shyly when she stopped in front of him.

  Adelaide’s body moved to the new rhythm of the music automatically. She swung her hips, enticing him as he watched, and moved even closer. Pressing into him as much as she could, she soon found his hands had left his pockets, hesitating over the pale skin showing at her waist. Using every muscle in her body, she took advantage.

  This man would be hers for eternity and nobody could change her mind.

  Not even him, her monster said, turning Adelaide’s attention to the man watching her from across the dance floor.

  She felt Christian’s disapproval and her heart beat even faster. If she couldn’t physically escape him, she’d be mentally free, and neither Christian nor Taigen would ruin her night.

  She removed Marcus’s hands from her stomach, turning toward him as she shook her head. He wouldn’t be allowed to touch her. She slowly pushed him back off the dance floor, out of view.

  The backs of his knees hit one of the benches against the wall and Adelaide forced him to sit with a minimum of effort. She chanced a look at the other end of the club.

  Christian kept a close eye on her, his eyes burning with anger.

  It made her smile, the thought of rebellion, and before Marcus could blink, Adelaide straddled him, giving him her full weight. She kept moving to the music, pushing her body against his. Focusing on him, she got as much pleasure from the show as he did.

  From the expression on his face his fantasy had come true, but he clearly didn’t know what to do. Marcus’s hands started to wander and she let him this time. Nothing like this would ever happen again in her world, Christian would make sure of that. But she’d make the most of her newfound freedom. Tonight. Besides, if she didn’t perfect the routine, she’d be dead in a matter of days anyway.

  She gripped Marcus’s shoulders, digging her nails into his frail skin.

  “Adie,” he whispered, closing his eyes.

  Adelaide drew blood as she raked her nails down his neck. She leaned into the sweet sight and licked a long line from the bottom of his throat to his hairline, teasing her tongue along the scratches.

  Let me have a taste, her monster whispered, stepping closer, but Adelaide hissed as it neared her new toy, forcing a look of fear onto her enemy’s face.

  Marcus withdrew his touch, but she didn’t need him. She didn’t need anybody to help her feel the pleasure rushing through her entire body and rolled her head back onto her shoulders as her eyes closed.

  “Adie,” a familiar voice said, slightly tense.

  She opened her eyes.

  Trouble waited.

  Christian not only stared down at Marcus but visibly tried to bore a hole through his skull. The expression on his face told Adelaide he wanted to kill the man who’d touched his property, but she didn’t care.

  “Get up,” he ordered, but she didn’t move, defying him with her gaze. “Adelaide.” He’d said her full name between gritted teeth. “Get off of him. Now.”

  Pushing one leg back behind her, she placed her weight down on it as she rose from Marcus’s lap. He hadn’t even made a noise from the pain he must have been feeling, making Adelaide rethink his bravery.

  The salty taste of blood coated her tongue and she wanted more. Adelaide turned back toward the dance floor, searching for another victim, but a wall of flesh stopped her in her tracks.

  Taigen positioned himself in her way, arms crossed at his chest, his expression serious. “You shouldn’t have done that, Adie.”

  He didn’t concern her, neither did the fact he’d concealed a syringe under his arms. Revealing it only after she gave him a pointed look, Taigen shook his head.

  The delusion of herself walked directly up to him, a smile on its features as it circled around.

  Adelaide followed its movements, cocking her head slightly to the right as she listened to its thoughts. Yes, she could kill him. Nothing could stop her.

  Taigen didn’t move, unaware of just how much danger he’d put himself in.

  She stepped closer.

  “Don’t even think about it,” he said over the music, his gaze darting to the man behind her.

  Onlookers watched her closely, but Adelaide focused her attention on the men surrounding her. Just like the compound. They wouldn’t help her when she needed it the most. They wanted to see a fight.

  Adelaide closed the distance between her and her brother, wrapping her hand inside his.

  He stared down at her in confusion, unable to decipher the expression on her face because she wouldn’t give him one. She didn’t want him to know what went through her head.

  Adelaide threw their arms up, ducking underneath as she twisted his arm to his lower back. Pushing his elbow up as far as she could, she heard something crack and Christian lunged for her.

  Pain erupted in every cell of her body.

  Rough hands pulled Adelaide back, most likely Christian, and she gave Taigen a small smile as she looked down to her stomach.

  Her brother had gotten better at this.

  The needle protruded just below her belly button and was now empty. Glancing back up to him, she removed the syringe and wiped the blood away with her index finger. The blood tasted sweeter as she sucked it from he
r finger, and she kept her eyes on him as she savored the flavor.

  She felt the drug making its way through her system, relaxing the muscles she’d been using moments ago. Her monster roared in anger, taking a swipe at Taigen from nearby, but Adelaide smiled as the world went black.

  She didn’t regret a single moment. Tonight had been the closest she’d ever come to freedom.

  * * *

  He’d never been so turned on in his life and he’d never forget it.

  Marcus watched as Adelaide sank into her brother’s arms, her white-blonde hair sweeping from her shoulders. It gave him a perfect view of her neck, her pale skin beckoning him closer.

  Onlookers gazed at their little party with suspicion, enthralled with the evening’s events, but soon grew bored, turning away once the show ended.

  He had a feeling the show wasn’t over for him though. He felt the tension radiating from Wren and wondered if the man imagined different ways of disposing of him. He’d send Adelaide to do the job. Marcus kept his poker face on as he turned toward the music. He read Christian’s expression before he said a single word and Marcus’s muscles cramped.

  Not good.

  “I want you out of my house,” Wren said through gritted teeth. His voice blazed with hatred, his jaw tight and his body shaking in anger.

  Marcus’s stomach dropped. An apology didn’t seem to describe what he wanted to say, but nothing more came to mind. His chances of arresting Wren decreased significantly with each passing second he didn’t respond. The words struggled their way out of his mouth in a jumble, his rock-hard expression cracking at the edges. “I’m sorry, man.” His apology sounded pathetic in his own ears, but he didn’t know what else to say. “I don’t know what happened—”

  Christian winced, his hands tightening into fists. He turned after his bodyguards, leaving Marcus in the middle of the dance floor with the memories of Adelaide’s skin pressed against him, and in one piece.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Adelaide’s head pounded, the last memory of the night clear in her mind. Taigen had surprised her, but she couldn’t focus on that now. She’d been assigned to protect Christian and was glued to his side for the night. She’d never minded being his personal bodyguard in the past, but the clothes, the jewelry, and the shoes wore her down and tested her patience.

  The guests sprinkled throughout the ballroom swayed to the orchestra in their designer gowns and tuxes, each looking the same as the next, dull. To Adelaide they always looked alike, and she hardly paid attention when Christian introduced them to her one by one. She stared at the sequins in the women’s dresses or the patterns in the men’s ties instead of greeting the mayor’s wife or one of California’s finest senators. She wanted out.

  Looking around, Adelaide took in the vastness of the building’s ballroom in its entirety. The white marble gleamed, showing the guest’s reflections between the gray inlay of rock. As Christian led her down one wall, she caught glimpses of herself, wincing each time her eyes connected with the shadow in the wall.

  You’re pathetic, a voice said beside her, reminding Adelaide yet again just how weak she’d become. Her monster wore a similar gown as she but had constructed the dress in its favorite shade: the color of blood.

  Christian greeted others on their way to the other side of the ballroom. She kept her arm through his, something she’d been forced to do since entering the event, but she played with her nails as a distraction. Something she should not be doing.

  “Stop fidgeting,” he told her for the third time, pushing her hands apart. “Stand up straight and play your part.”

  Adelaide pushed her chin up, listening to the swishing noise her dress made as she moved. The cream-colored gown showed geometrical shapes of her stomach and back. Sleeveless and bare-shouldered, the fabric remained in place only by her breasts. The long slit up the side gave her the ability to walk easily but almost revealed the knife sheath she wore strapped around her right thigh.

  Christian had picked out the dress, reminding her, when she’d complained, that she’d be playing the role of a guest tonight, rather than the bodyguard she was. He’d been right, as always, and the dress did make her feel more like a woman rather than a killer, but she still felt uncomfortable sashaying across the floor surrounded by strangers. They suffocated her, making the monster in her head a welcome getaway.

  I wait for the day you really believe that.

  “Ms. Lewis, please let me introduce Adelaide Banvard.” Christian nudged Adelaide’s side.

  She hadn’t even realized they’d stopped to talk. Smiling at the tall brunette, Adelaide’s attention focused fully on the woman’s dress. Flamboyantly blue, littered with rhinestones flowing in an intricate pattern down the skirt, it captivated her in every way. She started counting the tiny objects automatically. The habit made her feel at peace and she retreated into it as much as possible, but now apparently wasn’t the time.

  Christian dug his fingertips into her arm, forcing her to look up.

  “I’m sorry,” he apologized to his guest. “She doesn’t speak.”

  “Oh my,” Ms. Lewis exclaimed, a hand over her collarbone. “I’m terribly sorry. How difficult that must be.” She looked at Adelaide, an expectant expression sprawled across her face.

  Adelaide smiled.

  Ms. Lewis batted her eyes as she turned the brown orbs back to Christian. “Tell me, Mr. Wren, have you two been together long?”

  “Well,” he began and Adelaide turned her attention elsewhere.

  She’d heard the story too many times to count. Nothing new had been added to the lie. Christian had known her from the time she turned seven years old, both growing up in broken homes. He’d been sixteen at the time and befriended her, falling madly in love the moment they met. Later, he would rescue her from her circumstances, linking their lives together for eternity.

  Parts of the tale were true, but Adelaide could only imagine what her life would have turned out like if it had been so simple. Would she have been happy? Would she speak to others? Millions of thoughts jumped through her mind but one stood out in particular as she caught a glimpse of the man she wanted to see: Could she and Marcus have a future? She flinched with surprise.

  Ms. Lewis and Christian’s conversation ceased, their eyes studying her in confusion.

  “Are you all right, my dear?” Ms. Lewis asked, looking at Adelaide as if she’d grown another head.

  “She’s just tired,” Christian offered. “Aren’t you, Adie?” His grip tightened around her arm and she forced herself to smile. Glancing around at the other guests, she tried to ignore him and his new friend but had a gut feeling the strange man walking toward them would make her night more interesting.

  His suit rested a little tight around the middle and Adelaide caught glimpses of his white socks at the bottom of his pants, but they weren’t what kept her attention. His black eyes rested in an unremarkable face. His features came across as so ordinary it would be hard for her to describe him in the future, and that is why she continued to study him.

  She inhaled, her monster stretching its arms and neck at the sight of a new toy. Its eyes never left the stranger’s form and its tongue shot out to wet its lips. Mmm, it purred. Snack time.

  Briefly wondering where Marcus and Taigen had ended up tonight, Adelaide cracked her neck in anticipation.

  “Adelaide,” Christian warned, giving Ms. Lewis a small smile. “Do you think that’s appropriate here?”

  A corner of her lips lifted as the mysterious guest reached inside his pants pocket. She didn’t want to get too ahead of herself and waited, pleased when he pulled a piece of metal from his pocket.

  Her prey drew closer, keeping his right arm down as he walked, but Adelaide knew better. Everything in her vision disappeared, all but the man stalking toward her.

  He moved with confidence around the other guests and dancers, all the while boring his gaze into Christian’s back.

  She slipped her hand between the two p
ieces of fabric around her legs. Her fingertips grazed metal as she watched the man approach Christian from behind.

  “Mr. Vicente would like to speak to you.” His baritone voice sounded deeper than Adelaide expected, but average for his size and well regulated in such a confined space. No other guests noticed the interruption besides Ms. Lewis.

  Adelaide followed a long jagged scar running up his right hand, beginning from a missing fingertip and up under the suit jacket two sizes too small.

  Christian’s body had gone rigid, but a smile pulled at the corner of his lips in consideration of present company. His head turned in response to the newcomer, but not before he gave Adelaide a knowing look. He addressed Ms. Lewis first. “Would you please excuse us for a moment, Ms. Lewis?”

  Ms. Lewis had gone still with the new addition to their conversation, her eyes wandering over the stranger’s appearance. She smiled, but Adelaide imagined it’d been forced. “Of course.” Her voice broke on the last word. “Would Ms. Banvard like to accompany me?”

  Adelaide kept her stare on Vicente’s man, but registered Ms. Lewis’s attempt to help.

  “That won’t be necessary.” Christian turned back to his biggest fan. “But thank you.”

  She looked to Adelaide nervously but soon realized she’d been dismissed.

  “Now then.” Christian’s smile slipped as he watched Ms. Lewis walk away and turned toward the intruder. “Harlow sent you?” His voice remained low, his eyes darting to make sure they wouldn’t be overheard.

  “I’ve been instructed to get Mr. Vicente’s belongings from you, Mr. Wren, one way or another,” he threatened, waiting for something to go wrong or someone to defy him. Anxiety radiated from him. He was itching for a fight, but Adelaide had grown bloodthirsty even faster.

  Her monster stood at full attention, its gaze slipping from the knife to the stranger’s eyes.

  She played with the handle of her butterfly knife, feeling the holes along the metal with her fingertips. She’d been trained for this moment.