Club Prive Book V Read Online Free PDF Page A

and brushed the back of his knuckles across my cheek. I jerked my head away, half-expecting him to hit me. Instead, he just laughed. “This is going to be fun.”
    I swallowed hard and tried not to let him see how much his words freaked me out.
    “I knew you were there, by the way,” he continued in a conversational tone. “Back at my mansion, in my office.”
    I couldn’t stop the look of surprise. He’d known? Why hadn’t he done something then? I’d obviously been somewhere I didn’t have permission to be. He could have easily thrown me out.
    That was it, I realized. He hadn’t wanted to make me leave the party. He’d wanted me here, like this. What I didn’t understand was why he hadn’t just tied me up back at his place. No one would’ve noticed that I was gone, and it could’ve been an easy excuse that I was sick. Why wait the whole weekend and let me come back to the city?
    “I can see those wheels turning in that pretty little head of yours,” Howard said.
    Now he didn’t just look like one of those old-time movie stars. He sounded like he was spouting some of their cheesy dialogue. How did he get women this way?
    “Did you really think I wouldn’t have cameras outside my office and that my security staff wouldn’t let me know the moment someone went inside?”
    Embarrassment mixed with horror flooded me. How could I have been so stupid? Of course he’d have cameras, if not in the office, then outside of it.
    “I didn’t know exactly what you’d been looking for, but when I saw the book had been moved and the clipping was on the floor, I knew I needed to give you something to come after.” He shook his head. “I’d told Gavin you weren’t right for us, that you were the kind of person who meddled in things that didn’t concern her. You ask too many questions, and don’t know your place.”
    At least he running his mouth was keeping me pissed off enough to not give in to the fear hovering at the edges of my mind.
    “I figured that if you saw me tell Annie to take the files to my Manhattan office, you’d suddenly decide to take me up on my offer to talk about a job.” He ran the tip of one finger down the underside of my arm. “I got there early and told Annie to pretend I wasn’t there yet. I knew that as soon as she gave you the chance, you’d come in to get those files. Even if they weren’t what you’d been after originally, you wouldn’t be able to resist snooping. You thought you were so clever, but I was one step ahead of you. I’m always one step ahead.”
    “You’re a bastard, you know that?” It was hard to come across as tough tied to a bed, but I thought I managed pretty well. “Preying on innocent girls. Raping them. Selling them to the highest bidder.”
    “You see, Carrie, that attitude is exactly what Gavin was supposed to fuck out of you.” He leaned closer so that his mouth was against my ear. “I do have to ask though, before I get too caught up in our fun and games. Did you like what I did to Annie?”
    I didn’t say anything, but he didn’t seem to actually want a response.
    “That little show was all for you, you know. Since I knew you were there, watching, I wanted you to see that I can do what I want, and no one can stop me.”
    His tongue flicked against my earlobe and I shuddered in revulsion. Up until that moment, I’d been telling myself that he’d just tied me like this to restrain me, that he wasn’t going to do anything. Now I knew that was a lie.
    “Not that she wanted me to stop,” he continued. “All of my girls are trained to love what I do to them, what I have them do to me.”
    “I saw her face, Howard.” I spoke through gritted teeth. “Trust me, that wasn’t enjoyment I saw.”
    He grabbed my hair and yanked on it, twisting my head around so that our faces were less than an inch apart. “Then why is she sitting there in my office instead of going to the police?”
    “Because she’s scared of you,” I said. “But I’m