Read Preying on You for Free Online Page B

glance as
Mr. Dorian’s chuckle emerged from the vehicle. The engine was still
running. The warmth drew me in and made me want to escape from the
bitter, cutting winds. In the desert the days were miserable and
the nights even more so. If Clarksdale hadn’t so delightfully
remote I would have moved on a long while back.
    There on the seat beside Mr. Dorian
was a camera, the red battery light still blinking. I shook my
head, realizing why no one had stopped the photos during my dance.
He had paid for that privilege.
    “ Did you at least catch my
good side?” I asked.
    When Mr. Dorian cocked his head I saw
the overhead lights sparkle off his silver mask. “You do not have a
bad side.”
    “ Everything ok, Dazz?”
Brian asked behind me. He had begun to bounce on his toes from the
cold. His breath hung heavily before his lips.
    “ Your escort will not be
necessary, Ms. Hildebrand. You may tell him to go.”
    Giving him a “shut the hell up” look
when he spoke my real name, I drew back from the opening and smiled
at Brian. “I’m good. I shouldn’t be long.”
    “ I wouldn’t bet on that,” I
heard Mr. Dorian say from within and felt a shiver ripple through
me though I was unsure if it was birthed from anticipation or
something more sinister. I always wondered if murder victims
realized one second too late that their fate was sealed. If they’d
walked the other way would they have lived none the
wiser?
    “ I’ll just be over there.”
Brian pointed toward the door. The orange glow of a small heater
could be seen in the shadow. I smiled and thanked him, then lowered
myself into the limo and closed the door.
    The interior was spacious, with bench
seating spanning the length. Dark glass separated us from the
driver’s space. A row of half empty liquor bottles lined the
opposite wall, sunken into deep cups.
    Soft music came through hidden
speakers just behind my head as I stared up at the sunroof overhead
large enough for three people to stand up in. “You seem to be one
man short tonight,” I commented idly.
    I looked down at Mr. Dorian when he
did not respond and was captured by the intensity of his gaze. He
shrugged. “Cullen disobeyed orders. He let his desires for you
overrule him.”
    “ Is this the part where you
imply that you bumped him off and I’ll read about his body being
found somewhere out in the desert in a week’s time?”
    “ No.” He shook his head and
a clump of hair fell over his eyes. He brushed it aside and I
decided that I would have liked to do that for him. To feel the
silky texture. God he was hot. I could stare at him the entire
night and still feel as if I’d not had my fill. “If that were true
I guarantee you that his body would never be found.”
    My lips parted in surprise but quickly
tugged up into a smirk as I noticed the glint of humor in his eye.
He has a sense of humor after all. “Well, look at you. That stick
must not be shoved as far up your ass as I thought.”
    “ Coming from you, Ms.
Hildebrand, I’ll take that as a compliment.”
    “ Dazzle.”
    He shook his head and leaned forward
to close the gap between us. I could smell his cologne easily now,
a perfect blend of spice and musk that played havoc on my senses.
Did he know this was my favorite cologne? He seemed to know a hell
of a lot about me so it wouldn’t surprise me. “No. You will never
be Dazzle with me. Only Ava.”
    I bit down on my lower lip, suddenly
deeply uncomfortable with the way he looked at me, the way he
spoke, as if caressing a lover. This wasn’t some guy paying for a
few jollies. He wanted something more and what he hoped for wasn’t
on the table.
    “ So what’s the gig
tonight?” I asked, hoping that he would retreat so that I could
catch my breath. His presence was commanding, all consuming. I’d
only ever known one other man in my life that could achieve
that...but that was a long time ago and it was a past that I was
not willing to think about. “There’s no pole