Unfold Me (8 page)

He’s probably right. Archer is careful and has his own circle. I’m surprised he even decided to help Raphael with Isaac’s training. “But they do share slaves sometimes. I could recognize the tattoo on Caleb’s hip because Archer explained it to me at one of the parties when we saw one of Raphael’s slaves.”

“Yeah, renting the slaves to others is not that uncommon.” He sighs. “But still, Archer won’t fall with Raphael. That much I’m sure of. And even if we don’t achieve anything, it’ll be worth it to see the look on Archer’s face when he finds out he was wrong about you.”

I bite down on my lip. Yeah, I’d love to see Archer’s face, but letting people use Isaac as a slave... I don’t think I can watch that.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Isaac says. “But I’ve told you, I want to do this. Besides, he’s not going to invite you first to some big party with crazy stuff. If you don’t want to do it anymore, all you have to do is leave and we won’t go again. You’re my mistress. You can stop whatever you want to.” He gives me a hopeful look, and I wonder what will happen if I refuse. Will he go back to being sulky and not talking to me? Lilith would kill me if she knew I’m even considering it. Would going back to that party show Isaac that’s not really what he wants to do with his life? Maybe there wouldn’t be much harm in going, just to see Archer’s face. Maybe his interest in me would wane.

“Okay,” I finally say. “We’ll go, but only if Archer was actually serious about it... and we’ll just watch. I’m not letting anyone touch you. And no one is giving you any pills.”

“Fair enough.” A grin breaks out on his face, and I shake my head, then throw the pillow at him. He catches it as I get to my feet. I find my phone and dial the number I never thought I’d use. Archer gave it to me when he found out I was looking for him... just in case, but I never actually called him. I don’t even know if he still uses the number. But as I press the phone to my ear, chewing on my lower lip, I realize it’s actually ringing. Before I can end the call and back down, I hear a soft click on the other end of the line.

“Kitten?” Archer says softly, and I stop breathing for a moment.

“Don’t call me that. My name’s Katherine,” I blurt out.

“Yes, I know,” he says, sounding slightly annoyed. “How can I help you?”

“About that party you mentioned...”

“Yeah?”

“I’d like to accept your invitation,” I say, suddenly feeling brave. “Unless you changed your mind about that. I’m sure I could find someplace else.”

There’s silence on the other end of the line. “You’d like to come to the party?”

“Yeah, that’s what I said. Did you not hear me?” It’s so much easier to talk to Archer when I can’t see his piercing eyes.

“Oh, I heard you. Is Isaac coming with you?” he asks.

“Yeah, of course.”

“Okay then. You know the rules. You both have to get tested if you want to participate...”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll send you the results when I have them.” At least Archer and the others care about protection and STDs, but it’s no surprise since acquiring slaves like Isaac is expensive as hell and the training takes so long, so getting a slave infected after spending so much on him would be a waste.

“If you need help with Isaac...”

“I can handle him.” I’m sure Archer would be pleased to hear if I said I needed help getting Isaac tested.

“Good. I’ll send my driver for you. Friday night.” There’s a hint of laughter in his voice, and I wonder if he thinks that I’m bluffing or that I’ll freak out and run away from the party. Whatever it is, I don’t like that Archer is amused. That’s never a good thing.

“I’ll be waiting.” I end the call and rub the screen of my phone against my shirt. Isaac jumps to his feet and looks at me expectantly.

“He agreed,” I say, and Isaac smiles.

“Don’t celebrate just yet.” I put my phone down on the cabinet. “Archer’s planning something. Maybe some kind of a test for me to make sure I embarrass myself or that I prove him right about not being capable of being a mistress.”

“That doesn’t matter. You’ll prove him wrong.”

“Whatever you say.” I scratch my chin. “But we need to agree on something.”

“Sure.”

“Come here.” I go back to the couch and we sit down. “We need rules. First one is that I won’t participate in anything that requires me being naked in front of the others. I just won’t do it. I don’t want those people to see me like that, okay?”

He nods.

“Second, I really don’t want to let anyone touch you or have sex with you or just... do anything with you, but... if you want it, I guess I can’t really stop you. All I’m saying is that I want a sign from you. If you signal to me, I’ll find whatever excuse and stop whatever you’re involved in.”

“Yeah. I can put my middle finger over my index finger. But you don’t intervene until I give you that sign.”

“Only if you promise that you won’t hold back on giving the sign just because you think we’re upsetting Archer or achieving something.”

“Fine.” He presses his lips into a tight line. “Anything else?”

“I don’t know. Do we need to worry about anything else? Is there something people could ask of me?”

“I don’t think so, but if they do, we’ll figure out.” He winks at me.

I just hope he’s right.

“He sent a limo for us?” Isaac gapes at the huge car with tinted windows that stops in front of us.

“Yeah. He likes to show off.” I play with the hem of my short cocktail dress. I’m sure it’s not just to show off, but also to make sure we don’t see where we’re going, because the windows are probably black from the inside too.

“Are you ready?” Isaac asks under his breath as a man in a suit comes out of the car to open the door for me.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Good,” he says. “And whatever happens, don’t talk to me like this. You know how people will react if they see you having a casual conversation with your property.”

I glance at him, fighting the urge to roll my eyes. As I get inside the limo and settle myself into the soft seat, I see that I was right. It’s impossible to see anything through the windows. The driver eyes Isaac for a moment, but Isaac’s face is expressionless as he takes a seat next to me. I bet Archer told the driver to monitor us and report to him because he doesn’t trust me.

As the car starts, I lean my head on the seat and close my eyes.

“I want to show you something, Kitten,” Archer says, his arm wrapped around me as we sit in his limo that is taking us God knows where. I didn’t even bother asking where we’re going because I know he wouldn’t answer me and wouldn’t be pleased that I dared to ask. So I stare at the dark windows through which I can’t see anything, aware that any attempt of escape would be useless.

The door is locked, and even if I somehow managed to overpower Archer and get out, who says I’d be able to run? For all I know, we could be driving in circles on Archer’s property, and this is all a test to see what I’ll do.

“Put this on.” Archer hands me a black mask ornamented with lace. As I place it on my face, I realize Archer has put on an identical mask. Most of his face is covered except for his eyes and mouth. “Kiss me.” He leans forward and I press my lips against his. The door opens and Archer gets out, extending his hand toward me. “Come.”

As I get out of the car, I realize we’re in front of a big building that reminds me of a hotel, but I’ve no clue where it is. I take Archer’s hand and he bends his head to whisper into my ear. “Tonight you’re my companion.”

I look at his face, trying to understand what he means, but I can’t see anything behind that mask he has on. We step into a well-lit hallway and Archer leads me toward the big door at the end. When the door opens, we enter a room that smells of sex and alcohol.

Someone touches my arm and I blink back to reality. Isaac just gives me an intense look and I realize the car has stopped. When the door opens, the driver hands me a mask identical to the one I was wearing when Archer and I went to parties. For a moment I wonder if it’s the same mask. I wouldn’t be surprised if Archer has kept it to remind me of our times together. I place the mask on my face.

“You’re coming with me,” the driver says to Isaac, and my eyebrows shoot up. “He’ll be ready for you inside,” he says to me, and Isaac gives me a barely perceptible nod.

“Okay, thank you.” I head toward the door, my high heels sinking into the rich, red carpet. I look around, but I don’t think I’ve ever been to this place. But that’s why Archer and the others are hard to catch; they always find a different place for their parties, and it’s not always in a secret room inside a five-star hotel.

This is a two-story building, and as I peer inside through the windows, I see multiple tables, so I assume it’s a restaurant. Archer probably rented the whole building for the night and might even have prepared some kind of an event in it to fool anyone who might be snooping around, but behind all that, a real party will be going on in a different part of the building.

Two guards at the door open it for me and I see a man in a white suit waiting for me.

“This way, miss.” He points toward a set of doors, and, after passing through two different hallways and more doors, I emerge into what looks like a ballroom, with marble floor and golden ornaments on the walls, but instead of dancing in fancy dresses, the masked guests are having sex.

A naked woman with a golden collar around her neck comes to my side, her knees slightly bent, her eyes downcast, while she lifts a tray with glasses of champagne. I pick up a glass and scan the room. There are at least twenty masked people in here, but I don’t think I recognize anyone. Most of them are men, though.

The naked slaves are either on their knees at the end of the room or pleasuring the guests, but I can’t see Isaac anywhere. I’m not entirely sure what to do, because I definitely don’t want to watch slaves sucking off guys with masks who are drinking, chatting, and enjoying themselves. A woman, who is sitting in a chair and petting the hair of the slave at her feet, looks up at me, and I wonder if she can somehow recognize me or if she’s able to tell that I’m not really one of them. Maybe I’m just being paranoid.

As I circle the room, I notice a sign for the restroom and head there. Hopefully by the time I’m out, Isaac will be brought to the room.

“Having fun?” a voice behind me says, nearly making me jump. I turn around and meet Archer’s blue eyes.

“How did you know it was me?”

He stalks toward me until we’re only inches apart. “I’d recognize those legs anywhere.” He runs his hand over my bare skin, making me shiver.

“You don’t have to waste your time with me.” I take his hand and move it away from my thigh. “You should be having fun with your slaves.”

He laughs. “Oh, I will, but will you?”

“I don’t know.” The corners of my lips tilt up. “Although, I have to admit I’m a bit disappointed. Your parties tended to be more interesting and more than just sex.”

Amusement flashes in his eyes. “You might get an invitation to one of the interesting ones, but you see, I don’t know how serious you are about this whole thing.” His lips turn into a straight line. “I don’t trust you, Kitten. You’re playing a game with me.”

“And what game would that be?”

“I don’t know yet, but you being here...”

“Does my presence here bother you? Because I can always leave,” I say in my best concerned voice. “I know you’re afraid you’ll find out I’m not the woman you think I am.”

He snorts. “I’m not afraid of anything.”

“Of course not.” I toy with a strand of my hair and twirl it around my finger.

“You should go find that slave of yours before someone decides to steal him from you.” Archer winks at me. “See you later.” He walks away, a smile playing on his lips. Taking a deep breath, I stride back into the room, and my breath catches in my chest when I see Isaac kneeling near the wall with the others. The only thing he’s wearing is a golden collar around his neck.

“Come,” I say, as I stop in front of him, relieved no one has touched him. A masked man sitting nearby looks Isaac up and down, lust evident in his eyes, and I want to step in front of Isaac and hide him from everyone’s view. I don’t know how he can stand everyone watching him, but I guess he’s used to it. God, I was so stupid to agree to this. Archer will never trust me, let alone let me into his inner circle.

I sit down on one of the couches at the back of the room and Isaac settles next to my leg.

“This is pointless,” I whisper, keeping my mouth as straight as possible. “And everyone’s looking at us weird. They know we’re...”

“Shh.” Isaac runs his finger up my leg, and I’m glad no one can see me frown under my mask. “They can tell we’re new here because they don’t know me. We should make a small performance for them and Archer.”

“What are you suggesting?” I don’t want to entertain these people. I’d rather slam their heads against those tables full of drinks. Isaac’s hand goes up my dress and I gasp. “What are you doing?” I hiss.

“If you want me to stop, just say it and I will.” His eyes meet mine. “Do you trust me?”

I give him a brief nod and tense as he pushes my legs apart and lowers his head to plant a soft kiss on my upper thigh. My dress inches up, and I can sense everyone’s eyes on me. Isaac pulls aside my panties and presses his mouth against me. Desire spreads through me, and my hand ends up in Isaac’s hair. His hot, wet tongue parts my folds and I’m having a hard time sitting still and not shoving my hips forward. My eyes flutter back in my head as Isaac twirls his tongue, increasing the pressure building up inside me.