"I’m Jennifer Vanderbilt."
Her voice cut through the space between them, sharp and clear.
"Daughter of Vivienne Vanderbilt."
Heat flooded her face... not embarrassnt now, but pure, incandescent fury.
’?’
’A maid?’
Her hands trembled at her sides, nails biting into her palms. She stared at him, willing him to see what should have been obvious from the mont he’d looked at her.
Alex’s expression shifted slightly. His eyebrows lifted, just a fraction.
"Oh," he said slowly, as if sothing had just clicked into place. "My mistake."
He lowered the wine bottle slightly, his expression shifting into sothing that looked... to Jennifer’s triumphant eyes... like genuine sheepishness.
"Yes," Jennifer breathed, her voice regaining its velvet authority. "You should be sorry."
Seeing the "embarrassnt" on his face was the final hit of dopamine she needed. The predator had been tad by a na. The "Dark God" was just a man, after all, and n always eventually bowed to the weight of her crown.
Her anger evaporated, replaced by a heady, intoxicating sense of power.
She took a step toward him.
Then another.
Her bare feet whispered against the marble, each movent slow and deliberate. She let her hips sway slightly, let her shoulders roll back, drawing attention to the curves barely concealed by her rumpled silk top.
This was better.
This was what she’d imagined when she’d made the decision to co downstairs.
Not standing frozen in sha, but moving toward him. Taking what she wanted.
She closed the distance until she was close enough to feel the heat radiating from his skin.
Her hand lifted without conscious thought.
’Finally.’
Jennifer’s breath caught as her palm flattened against him, feeling the steady thrum of his heartbeat beneath her hand. She let her fingers spread slowly, tracing the hard plane of his chest, following the definition of muscle with deliberate appreciation.
’This is what they felt.’
’What they had while I was outside watching.’
She tilted her head back, eting his gaze.
"But since you’re so handso," she murmured, her voice dropping to sothing softer, more intimate, "I’m forgiving you."
She stepped to the side, circling him slowly.
Like a buyer inspecting a prize.
Jennifer let her gaze travel over every detail... the breadth of his shoulders, the taper of his waist, the flex of muscle beneath skin as he stood perfectly still under her inspection.
’Look at him.’
’This is what reduced them to nothing.’
’And he’s mine now.’
She completed the circle, coming to stand behind him. Her hand lifted again, hovering just above the small of his back before making contact.
The wine bottle was still in his hand, hanging loose and forgotten.
Jennifer’s fingers traced up his spine, feeling each vertebra, claiming territory with every touch.
"You’re quite impressive," she said, her tone asured, almost clinical. "I can see why my mother was so... affected."
’But I won’t be.’
’I’m stronger than her.’
’Better.’
The heat radiating from him was making it difficult to think clearly. His scent... sweat and wine and sothing darker, more primal... filled her lungs with every breath.
Her thighs pressed together unconsciously.
’Focus.’
’Establish terms first.’
’Then...’
She forced herself to et his eyes, though her gaze kept wanting to drop lower.
"How much are they paying you?" she asked, her voice coming out slightly breathless despite her attempt at composure.
Alex’s eyebrow lifted slightly.
Jennifer pushed forward before he could answer, her hand sliding down from his chest to his abdon, fingers tracing the hard ridges there.
"Whatever it is," she continued, "I can double it. Triple it, even."
Her other hand joined the first, both palms now mapping the terrain of his torso with growing boldness.
"Maybe more than just money."
’God, he’s solid.’
’Every inch of him.’
She swallowed hard, trying to ignore the liquid heat pooling between her legs, the way her body was screaming at her to stop talking and just...
’No.’
’Terms first.’
Jennifer stepped closer, close enough that her barely-covered breasts brushed against him.
"You see..." Her voice dropped lower, more intimate. "Those won upstairs?"
One hand drifted down, hovering just above his hip.
"Their ti is over."
She bit her lip, fighting to maintain focus.
"It wouldn’t be very smart for soone like you to waste your... potential..."
Her hand finally moved lower, fingertips brushing against the base of his cock.
’Oh god.’
The contact sent a jolt through her entire body.
He was even harder up close. Impossibly thick. The heat of him burned against her palm.
"...on a retired woman who can barely stay conscious through one round."
Jennifer’s fingers wrapped around him slowly, testing the weight, the girth.
Her breath caught audibly.
’How did they even... ’
’How could anyone... ’
She forced herself to keep talking, though her voice had gone rough.
"Accept my offer instead."
Her hand slid upward along his length, exploring, claiming.
"Work for ."
She looked up at him through her lashes, her legs trembling slightly as she fought to keep them from giving out entirely.
The scent of him. The feel of him in her hand. The sheer presence of him.
It was overwhelming.
’Just bend over right here.’
’Right now.’
’I don’t care about terms anymore just... ’
Jennifer’s grip tightened slightly, her thumb tracing along the prominent vein running up his shaft.
"You’ll get the full support of the future head of the Vanderbilt empire."
Her free hand pressed flat against his chest again, feeling his heartbeat accelerate slightly under her touch.
"Access to everything. Resources. Connections. Power."
She leaned in closer, her lips nearly brushing his jaw as she whispered:
"And a woman who won’t collapse after one pathetic round."
Her hand stroked him slowly, deliberately, punctuating her words with action.
"A woman who can actually handle what you have to offer."
’Please.’
’Please just throw against the wall.’
Jennifer’s breathing had gone ragged despite her best efforts to control it.
Her thighs were slick now, the evidence of her arousal impossible to hide.
But she held his gaze, her hand still wrapped around him, trying desperately to project confidence and control even as every nerve in her body scread for him to take over.
To stop letting her pretend she had any power here.
To show her exactly what he’d shown those two won upstairs.
"So," she managed, her voice barely steady. "What do you say?"
Her hand tightened around him slightly.
"Do we have a deal?"
Alex looked down at her, that faint smile still playing at his lips.
He let the silence stretch between them... her hand wrapped around him, her breathing ragged, her eyes searching his face for the answer she desperately wanted.
Then his smirk widened.
Just slightly.
Just enough to make her stomach drop.
"You’re mistaken about sothing," he said quietly.
Jennifer’s grip faltered.
"I don’t work for them."
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