Magnate (Acquisition Series Book 2) (13 page)

She moved her hands to his shoulders and tiptoed to whisper in his ear, rubbing her breasts all over his chest while she did it. He only smiled when she dropped back down and stared up into his eyes.

“Sounds good. Soon then.”

“Soon.” She winked and turned back to her conversation as Lucius pushed me even faster through the throng. We finally made it to the stairs and climbed until we came to another attendant. He was dressed all in black which did nothing to hide his portly girth. He had an air of self-importance that rankled.

“We need our room,” Lucius said. “Lucius Vinemont and Stella Rousseau.”

The attendant flipped through screen after screen on his tablet. “Oh, you’re one of the competitors. Your room will be up one more flight of stairs, last door on the left. It’s one of the larger suites.”

“Key?” Lucius held his palm out.

The attendant shook his head. “No keys, sir. Trust is implicit.”

“Come on, Stella,” Lucius said.

The attendant cleared his throat. “Oh, no. I’m sorry. I didn’t make it clear. The suite is solely for you, Mr. Vinemont. She will be staying with the other Acquisitions.”

“What?” Lucius turned back to the attendant. “No, she stays with me.”

“Those are my instructions from Mr. Oakman. I’m sorry if they aren’t palatable, sir.” He didn’t seem the least bit sorry.

“But one of the other Acquisitions has a dick.” Lucius was fuming.

“No need to worry about that. She won’t be sullied until it’s time.”

Sullied?
I tried to stay calm, to keep up what little barrier I had to these people and their minions. But this was already too much. I snatched the tablet from his hands and tossed it over the rail. Someone below yelped but the sound was quickly drowned out by the clamor of voices.

The attendant’s nostrils flared and he scowled at me. “You can’t do that.”

“I just did.” I may not have been able to stand up to anyone else here, but this guy? I was more than happy to grind him under my heel and piss on the dust that was left.

The attendant’s eyes narrowed. “Michael,” he called over his shoulder, “please escort the Acquisition to her quarters and hand me your tablet.”

One of the other attendants, a younger man, stepped forward and handed his computer over before looking at me.

Lucius pulled me aside and spoke in my ear. “You have to go with them, but if you need me, you heard what he said. My room’s up the stairs, last door on the left. Come find me if anything happens, okay?”

“This way, Acquisition.” Michael grabbed my elbow.

“Back the fuck off, asshole,” Lucius said. “And address her as Ms. Rousseau or I’ll rip your goddamn tongue out, you fucking prick.”

Michael stepped away in a hurry.

Lucius reached up as if to touch my cheek but glanced around and thought better of it. “Just tell me you’ll come to me, okay?”

“I will.” I wouldn’t. He couldn’t help me.

“All right. Go with him, but don’t take any shit.” Lucius took my hand and squeezed my fingers. “I’ll see you soon.”

His words were like a judge pronouncing a sentence. He was right that he would see me soon. I pulled my hand away from his and followed Michael down the hall.

“Where are we going?” I asked Michael’s retreating back.

“As was already clearly stated to you, to the Acquisition quarters,
Ms. Rousseau
.”

This kid was getting under my skin almost as badly as Mr. Tablet Overboard. “I have another question.”

“What?” He let out an exasperated sigh.

“Why are you such a douche?”

He stiffened, but kept walking.
Score one for Stella.

He led me around a few more corners before coming to a set of oaken double doors. He pushed through and we entered a room with three twin beds and an en suite bathroom. It was small, but not cramped. A tiny window in the upper rafter let in natural light, and high track lighting shined down from the wooden beams.

“These will be your quarters for the duration of your stay with us. Don’t leave until someone comes for you.” He backed out of the room, smirking at me and closing the doors as he went.

Brianne stepped out of the bathroom. She was in a cutoff t-shirt and shorty shorts.

I panicked. “Why are you dressed for spring break? You need to be warm.”

“Why, we’re going to be inside, right?” She plopped onto the nearest bed.

“No. Well, I mean, I don’t know, but—”

“Red said not to worry about it. That it wasn’t a big deal.” She stared at the small window. “It’s just supposed to be a little fun for them.”

Red was an even bigger piece of shit than I’d ever imagined. I sank down next to Brianne and took one of her hands. “We have to get you dressed warmer. Did you bring any clothes?”

She finally looked at me and her eyes had the same glassy quality as they did at the party in New Orleans.

“Did you take something?” I asked.

“No. What do you mean?” She pulled her hand away from mine.

“I mean, are you high?” I had no idea what having drugs in your system would do when faced with hypothermia or worse.

She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing. Red told me this was a competition between you and me and that powder puff Gavin. You aren’t going to beat me.”

My eyes rounded in disbelief. “You think we’re competing against each other?”

“We are. Now get the fuck off my bed and mind your own goddamn business,” she hissed.

“Brianne, please, you have to listen—”

“I said go!” Her scream was crazed.

I stood and backed away. Red had already destroyed the girl I’d seen at the ball. Brianne had broken. Would I?

My legs hit one of the other beds and I sat as Brianne went back to staring out the window at the patch of blue sky. I dropped my head into my hands, resting my elbows on my knees. Despair leeched from the air around Brianne and into my skin.

The doors opened and Gavin strode in, the rude attendant giving the same spiel about staying in the room until someone came for us.

Once he was gone, Gavin hitched a thumb over his shoulder. “Can you believe that guy?”

I rose and ran a hand through my hair. “Yeah, I called him a douche.”

“He is definitely that and then some.” Gavin surveyed the room before walking over and sitting next to me. “Hey Brianne, how’s it going?”

“I’m not talking to either of you, so stop trying to get up in my head.” She lay down with her back to us.

Gavin raised an eyebrow at me.

I shook my head, the insane urge to laugh mixing with my desire to cry. “She thinks we’re competing against each other. That somehow we’re the ones who need to win the competition. I’m not sure what she thinks we’ll win, but there it is.” I dropped my voice even lower. “She’s on something. Same thing as at Cal’s party.”

Gavin pressed his lips into a thin line and shook his head. “Hate to say I’m not surprised. By the time this trial is over, I may be wishing I’d brought some pharmaceuticals.”

“So you know?” It was a relief that I wouldn’t have to tell him.

“I do.” He scrubbed a hand down his clean shaven face.

“What do you think they’ll do to us? I mean other than the…” I shivered.

“I don’t know. I just know we have to get through it. And we can.” His amber eyes were kind, and I leaned into him.

“I wish it was over already.”

“Me too.”

We sat like that for a long while, Brianne silent on her bed and Gavin and I huddling for some sort of comfort. No one bothered us until night fell. Then some plates arrived with a smattering of various foods. Brianne didn’t eat a thing. Gavin and I tried, if only to keep our strength up, but the food made me queasy before I’d even had a mouthful.

The room was silent except for raucous cheers every so often from some other part of the house. They must have been stoking themselves up for the next day, for our humiliation.

Footsteps sounded in the hallway and the three of us stared at the door. It opened, and Lucius, Red, and Bob walked in. Gavin put a protective arm around me, and I shrank back against him. Not that it mattered. Not that any of us could stop what was going to happen.

Lucius narrowed his eyes and came straight to me. He took my hand and pulled me up, my cheek brushing against the softness of his black cashmere sweater, and his sandalwood scent in my nose. Maybe this was how it started—a gentle touch before the betrayal, before I was feasted on until there was nothing left but bones and sorrow.

He pulled me from the room, and the others followed.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

He gripped my elbow. “To the party. Don’t speak unless you’re spoken to. Got it?”

I bristled but remained silent. I had nothing to say to these people. The wooden floorboards were sturdy under my feet, my boots barely making a sound as we meandered through the halls toward the sound of voices. We entered a sea of people drinking and talking. The smell of roasted meat and wood smoke floated through the air.

Cal was speaking over a microphone; his favorite. “—so let’s get another look at our little morsels. Ah, and here they are. Come on up!”

Lucius led me toward the raised stage in front of one of the high windows where Cal held court.

“Yes, yes.” Cal narrated. “First up, looks like the Vinemont Acquisition, Stella. And, folks, I’ll tell you a secret. I may have sampled a little taste—”

The people crowed and whistled as Lucius pushed me to stand next to Cal.

“Now, now. Just a taste is all I said. Not the whole meal. Don’t get jealous. But I can tell you that little Miss Stella here is sweet as sugar, and I can only imagine the rest of her will melt right in your mouth.”

Laughter, wolf whistles, and a few raised glasses. More movement to the bottom right of the stage caught my eye. My heart soared when I noticed Dylan standing below, waving at me to get my attention. His familiar face gave me strength and I straightened, shouldering my burden a bit more confidently just from his presence.

“Oh, and then Gavin. Now, he isn’t to my tastes.” Cal put his arm around Gavin’s wide shoulders. “Nothing personal, of course. But I know quite a few of you ladies and gents who are salivating for a piece of this hunk, am I right?”

Cal held the crowd in the palm of his hand, their yells and laughter feeding into his frenzy of showmanship.

He moved down the row and pulled Brianne into his side. “And, I’ll admit folks, I’ve had more than just a sample of little Brianne here. And she was good to the very last bite, I can promise you.”

Brianne was still checked out, and waved to the throng like she was a homecoming queen instead of slave whose rape was the topic of discussion.

“Now that they’re all here, I have a question for all of you good people out in the audience. Which one of you is going to fuck little Brianne here?”

A roar went up, and some of the men on the front row moved in closer.

“And how about Gavin?”

Another roar with quite a few high-pitched cat calls from the women.

“And finally, Stella?”

The room shook with stomping feet and yells, one of the men below climbing the first two stairs before some others pulled him back down, all laughing.

“That’s what I like to hear! Now, I’m going to let them mingle a bit, and I expect everyone to be on their best behavior.” He glowered at the younger men hovering near the front of the stage. “We do this the right way. The real fun won’t start until tomorrow. So, behave with the Acquisitions, but of course, you are welcome to misbehave with each other to your hearts’ content.”

Cal bowed, and applause coursed through the room. Lucius gripped my hand and pulled me down the stairs. He elbowed through the men hanging around the stage, and I kept my eyes down to avoid their leers. I still heard their voices, their words, their promises of violence and violation.

“Back the fuck up.” Lucius shoved one of them and barreled the rest of the way through the crowd and to the bar. He pushed me ahead of him and caged my body from behind. It was protective, but also too close for me. I needed air. I’d rather be in my quarters than here.

I craned my neck around to search for Dylan, but the mass of people blocked my line of sight.

“Give me an old-fashioned. Two of them.” Lucius’ chest was warm against me, his hands on my hips. “You’re doing fine,” he whispered in my ear. “That was the big show for the evening.”

The bartender poured the drinks and set them down in front of us. I took mine; the taste was bitter on my tongue, but the rush of warmth from the alcohol was welcome. I drank quickly, the liquid burning as I downed it.

“Easy, Stella.” Lucius took my almost empty glass.

I leaned my head back on his shoulder and spoke into his ear. “Please, Lucius. I don’t want to feel it.”

His fingertips pressed into my hip. “Getting drunk tonight will only make tomorrow worse. You have to stay strong.”

“Why?”

“You know why.”