A Gentleman in the Street (23 page)

She cleared her throat. “Good. That’s…great.”

“I’m not so easily scared off,” he told her gently. “I can see why you might think that, but you don’t know what’s in my brain. In my fantasies.”

“In those fantasies of yours,” she asked with devastating bluntness, “do you fuck in front of other people? Because that’s what tonight entails.”

His chest expanded. He stared at the invitation until the embossed lettering blurred. “Would it be you?”

Silence. “Would it be me what?”

“Would it be you I would be…?” He trailed off. Not because he was ashamed of the word, but because he might combust if he allowed himself to complete the thought.

She whispered the directive to him, like the devil on his shoulder she was. “Say it.”

He breathed the word. “Fucking.”

Her husky reply told him he wasn’t the only one affected. “Maybe. Or maybe it would be others. Or maybe it would be me and others.”

“Any of it.” He closed his eyes. “I want all of it. And none of it will change the way I think of you.”

“Come to my party,” she finally replied. “And we’ll see what thoughts you have left by morning.”

Jacob pulled up outside Akira’s mansion a little before seven that night. The winding driveway along the side of the home was already filled with luxury cars, his Toyota looking sadly practical amidst the glitz. In all the years he had lived in this city, he had never been to Billionaires Row quite so many times in the space of a couple weeks.

A valet came jogging up to his car the second he placed it in park and opened his door. “Sir.”

“Thanks.” He handed the other man his keys and got out, stomach jumping.

It wasn’t the wealth he was intimidated by. Thanks to Akira’s mother, he had hovered on the fringes of wealthy society for most of his adult life. It didn’t matter how many bedrooms or libraries or kitchens Akira had in this palatial home. It didn’t matter that there was an incredibly long driveway along the side of the house or a five car garage visible from the street, tucked under the house—in a city where a single reserved parking spot could be sold for a premium price, that was pretty much the height of luxury.

No, what had his palms sweating was what lay on the other side of that door.

Talk about the deep end.

Jacob’s shoulders squared. Y
ou wanted this. You want her. Let her see what you’re really like.

He strode up the pathway to the front door, but it opened before he could knock. Jacob lowered his fist, faced with a small elderly man decked out in a full suit. With tails and everything. Had Akira found this guy rattling around in a European castle somewhere? “Good evening, sir,” he intoned.

The murderer. That’s who Jacob would cast this guy as. Predictable, perhaps, but his stern visage and perfectly pressed appearance didn’t really permit anything else. Jacob cleared his throat, realizing he had been eyeing the man for far too long. “Hello, I’m…”

“Mr. Campbell. We have been expecting you.” The little man stepped aside, his bald head gleaming.

Definitely the killer. He’d take care of unwitting guests with a slow-acting poison. In the library, which Jacob knew from his past visit was delightfully soundproofed.

Quit being weird.
“Thank you.” He stepped inside the massive foyer. If Akira’s office was elegant, understated wealth, here she had gone for ostentatious, in-your-face filthy money. The chandelier hanging from the high ceiling dripped crystal, twin stairways spiraling up to the second floor. Paintings in ornate gold frames lined the hallways leading away from the foyer.

It was loud and unapologetic and brash, without a hint of subdued elegance. It suited Akira.

“You had no trouble finding the place, sir?”

“No, not at all.”

“I suppose not. You have been here before, have you not?”

“Yes. Ah, last week.”

“Of course. And then that time when you were skulking about in the middle of the night.”

Jacob turned slowly and eyed the older man, who stared back at him impassively. Still, Jacob made a mental note to watch his back. And sniff his drinks. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

“Harris.” The man gave a little bow.

“You’re Akira’s butler?”

“Her butler, her valet, her security, if the police need to be called.” A thin smile emerged. “You understand.”

“Yeah. I think I do. Rest assured, my nocturnal skulking days are over.”

“I’m sure we’re both pleased to hear that. May I take your coat, sir?”

“Sure. Yes.” He shrugged out of his jacket and handed it to the man. He had been unsure what to wear to this, so he’d opted for a suit, without the tie. Googling
what to wear to an orgy
had resulted in little assistance. Many interesting images. Little assistance
.

Harris draped the jacket over his arm
.
“I do welcome you, of course, on behalf of Ms. Mori. Since this is your first time attending one of Ms. Mori’s gatherings, I thought I would take the liberty of going over some general guidelines.”

Mystified, Jacob dipped his head. “Okay.”

“Alcohol will be served tonight. We hope you drink responsibly, but you will be cut off if you appear, in Ms. Mori or the staff’s discretion, overly intoxicated. We require all guests when leaving to submit to a Breathalyzer test before retrieving their car. If you choose not to submit to the test, or if you are incompetent to drive, Ms. Akira will be happy to ensure you get home safely in her personal car.” Harris spoke as if he had recited this particular speech a hundred times.

Jacob wanted to smile, but the seriousness of Harris’s demeanor told him it wouldn’t be appreciated. “That’s reasonable.”

“Wonderful.” Harris cleared his throat. “The safe word this evening is ‘spy’. If any guest so much as utters it, the expectation is that all parties shall immediately cease their actions. This is a hard
-
and
-
fast rule—Ms. Akira demands consent from all parties at all times. Anything less is unacceptable.”

From a ride home to safe words. Where was he?

Oh yeah. At an orgy.

Spy. Had Akira picked that one? A nod to him?

“Ahem.”

Realizing Harris was awaiting his reply, he snapped to attention. “Yes. Certainly.”

The butler gave him an arch look, unimpressed with him. “If you have any hard limits, you ought to make them clear. Everyone here is accustomed to frank speaking. Do you understand?”

“Hard…limits? Like, pain, you mean?”

“If you like.” Harris smoothed Jacob’s coat. “We normally test guests for any sexually transmitted diseases prior to their attendance, but Ms. Akira informed me we were making a special exception for you.” The butler pursed his lips, clearly unhappy with this directive. “Regardless, all guests are required to wear protection. If there is something you wish to have but do not see, simply ask, and someone will provide it for you. The only exception to this rule is if you and your partner or partners agree to forgo protection. That’s generally only done by those guests in a relationship.”

Jacob nodded. “Sounds fair.”

“You are not in a committed relationship?”

A certain hostess flashed in front of his mind. “No.”

Harris rocked back on his heels. “Finally, and this goes without saying, but Ms. Mori does require absolute secrecy regarding any events that transpire over the course of the evening.”

“Not going to make me sign a nondisclosure agreement?” He was half-joking.

“Unnecessary
.
” Harris’s grin was hard but tinged with pride. “Would you cross Ms. Mori?”

“I already have.” Jacob rubbed his neck. “It wasn’t an enjoyable experience.”

“Then you’ll know better than to do it again.” Harris pinned him with a stern glare. “This is not part of my usual spiel. If I ever see you skulking around this house in the middle of the night, I or an associate will shoot first and ask questions later.”

No. Not a poison. A gun, a quick and clean shot to the head. At the edge of a cliff, so cleanup would be painless. That’s what this man would use.

He should be offended, but oddly he wasn’t. He had spent years considering Akira to be a solitary creature, so it was good to see the depth of this man’s loyalty. Akira needed a pit bull in her corner. Preferably, many pit bulls. “Understood,” he responded.

“Excellent,” Harris said, brisk and professional now. “I will show you up to the salon so you may join the other guests.”

“That’s unnecessary, Harris. I can take Mr. Campbell everywhere he would like to go tonight.”

At the dulcet tones, his attention shifted to the woman standing midway down the stairs. He struggled not to gawk, but he was certain it was a wasted effort. Akira regularly took his breath away wearing those damn pencil skirts. This was…beyond anything he could have imagined.

She wore a dress tonight, but one he’d never seen a woman wear in public. The orange corset-like top cinched her waist so it was tiny enough he could probably span it with two hands. Red and orange swirled together in her long skirt, which draped over the stairs like a waterfall of flames. One slender hand rested on the balustrade. She took a step down, and her leg appeared out of a slit in the skirt, revealing her strong thigh.

She took another step down and smiled at him, her dark eyes flashing. This smile was practiced and smooth, different from the ones he had painstakingly coaxed from her over the past couple of weeks. It was a smile she could give any man.

He had filthy dreams of sharing her body with other people, but oddly, he wanted a smile from her meant only for him.

He didn’t hear what the butler said, but he was aware of the other man leaving them. Jacob moved closer until he was standing at the base of the stairs. They were separated by four steps, but her perfume, some dark blend of roses and honeysuckle, twined around him.

“Tell me something,” he murmured.

She cocked her head. Her long hair had been pulled up at the top to create a voluminous poof, and then curled and draped over one shoulder. Glamorous. Unattainable.

He wanted that smile, damn it.

“Anything you’d like.”

“Did you have to hold this pose for long, waiting for me to walk through the door?”

Ah, yes. The grin slipped. Surprise followed by irritation quickly chased across her face before she donned her mask again. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He waved a hand up and down. “You know. This. Don’t get me wrong, you look amazing. Did you have a couple of serfs arrange your skirt so perfectly?”

“Serfs are notoriously unreliable. I’ve stopped employing them entirely.”

“Peasants then.”

“They have to earn their keep somehow.” Her mask cracked, softened. “So you came.”

“I came.”

A dark and vulnerable shadow lit her eyes, a direct contrast to the power and strength of her pose. “It is our last night. You understand that.”

He placed a foot on the stair. “Whether it is or isn’t is up to you.”

“You say that now.”

“I’ll say that twelve hours from now.”

She inclined her head. “Come along, then. Let’s go upstairs.”

He climbed the stairs, staying one step behind her, partially so he could stare at her luscious ass outlined in the clinging skirt. Her back was bare but for the criss-cross of her bodice’s ribbons, and he mentally traced the hollow at the base of her spine with his tongue.

“I trust Harris gave you the rundown.”

“Yeah. He’s, uh, very thorough.”

She stopped at the top of the stairs and cast him a sharp look over her shoulder. “Thorough?”

“Yes. He’s got his orgy spiel down pat.”

“Orgy spiel? Usually he just explains which areas of the home are off-limits and where the restrooms are.”

He cast a glance in the direction the butler had gone. “Oh.”

“What did he discuss with you?”

“Breathalyzers. Safe words. Condoms.” He grimaced. “Hard limits. All the things I’d want to talk to an elderly butler about.”

Akira’s peal of laughter washed over him. Something deep within him stretched toward the sound, delight filling him, even though her amusement was directed at him. “He might be holding a grudge. He wasn’t happy I didn’t press charges against you for trespassing when you delivered those flowers,” she confessed.

“Obviously
,
” he mock grumbled, any annoyance dissipated by the brightness of her grin.
That smile. That’s what I wanted.

“So what is your hard limit?”

He let out a soft sigh. “I don’t know. Severe pain, I guess
.
”

She nodded, thoughtful. “I can work with that.” Still smiling, she lifted a shoulder. “If it helps, I’m very serious about drinking responsibly and safe sex. Those are sort of make
-
or
-
breaks for attending. However, I carefully vet the people who attend my parties and personally explain the rules.” She continued walking, taking a left down the hall. “Sorry about Harris, especially if it made you uncomfortable. Consider it a friendly hazing.”

Jacob would do just that, but he’d be on his guard around the man anyway. A knife to incapacitate. Then the gun. Then the cliff. Yes. That was how the butler would do it.

He was distracted from his murderous plotting by the sleek, strong expanse of Akira’s back. Entranced by the two delicious dimples right above her ass winking at him, he was barely conscious of sliding his hands around her waist, pulling her to a halt in the abandoned hallway.

He knew she was leading him to a hedonistic adventure, but he wasn’t sure if he could make it if he didn’t have one taste of this woman. A sip to tide him over. As if they had a will of their own, his hands tightened on either side of her narrow hips. She froze, standing still. Neither protesting nor demanding an explanation. Leaving him free to indulge his instincts.

Dropping to his knees, he leaned forward and settled his lips over those dimples. Distantly, he heard her gasp, but all he could do was lick her, nuzzle her, kiss her. Easing his hands under her skirt, he pushed the voluminous fabric up until her small, firm ass was visible, lit by the low wall sconces every couple of feet.