The Guru: Shadow (Dark Triad #1)

20. Deis

20

DEIS

PLAYLIST: START A WAR - KLERGY, VALERIE brOUSSARD

H er wit, her playfulness, the darkness deep in her waiting to be freed, and her eyes reflecting the world in them – all of it was perfection. Never had he believed to find a woman to see behind his masks, to even see him triggered, and yet have the courage to stay, even to challenge him. But there was something about her that reflected himself in her, while the rest of her couldn’t be any more different. She fenced herself in, in a cage of morality and righteousness.

All the other women he had met wanted the same thing: his money, his status, and what it would gain them being associated with him. Except maybe for Delilah. Delilah was very intelligent and didn’t need to become more famous. She wanted a love match, with someone giving her prestige. She was a fool when it came to love, and that made her nothing better than all the others.

Emma was different. She didn’t even recognize him, she had no interest in any of his lifestyle, as she had made abundantly clear, and that was what only further piqued his interest. What she wanted was the rush. She wanted to feel alive, while she thrived for the exact same thing he did. Control .

And because she did, he would strip all the control she ever had from her to make her his. Truly.

Right now, she groaned as he once again didn’t give her a straight answer. It was a little game he played with her, an amusing one.

“Then who are you?” she asked again, breathing heavily.

But he could not tell her, yet. It was too early to let her in on this, to let her know and see why she was his, why she wasn’t here by accident, and she would for sure flee in absolute disbelief, if not disgust. So, he went for her, grasped her neck, and held her steady until his lips almost touched hers.

“Your wildest dream and your worst nightmare,” he whispered, before he licked with the tip of his tongue over her lips. Her sweet and salty taste opened a world of its own in his mind. Tasting her made him stand in the peaceful, silent eye of a storm, while around him the world blew apart.

“That is not an answer to my question,” she said stubbornly, not trying to let on that it turned her on, but he could see it in her eyes. The eyes that let him see straight into her soul.

“You are asking the wrong questions, ma belle .”

And with that, he wandered down her neck, softly sliding down it with the tip of his tongue. In him rose the urge to take her, throw her onto the desk, and fuck her until she’d collapse from orgasm exhaustion. But he had to suppress it. Right now, was not the time. When he consumed her, it would be so special that she’d never want anything else. He’d show her what it meant to be wanted, to be worshipped and to be lost in the sweet moment of giving up control.

She scuffed.

“What would be the right question, then?”

“That you must find out by yourself.”

With his lips, he trailed down her neck and made her bent backwards. But then something happened that he had not anticipated. She pushed him back, and it took her one movement until her hand closed around his throat, her eyes burning him to the ground. It was sexy beyond anything, seeing her lashing out.

“Listen to me very carefully,” she said so calmly and darkly, that it aroused him beyond everything. “I’m so done with your games, your manipulation. You will let me go and leave me the hell alone, or heaven forbid, I will bring hell down on you. Do you understand?”

Oh, if only you knew, ma belle.

“Do you understand?” Her grip intensified, pressing exactly the right points, regulating the blood flow from the main arteries.

“No. And what will you do? There is nothing I haven’t survived, believe me. Others have threatened me with worse.” He could have pushed her off, but it was way too arousing.

To his surprise, a grin flashed on her face, so malicious it caught him off guard. And when she whispered against his ear, it was sizzling and shattering at the same time, “They did not see.”

And with it, she let go of him, even pushed him back, and went for the door.

In him, an explosion of arousal fired through his veins. Because she had said exactly the right words.

“Game on, baby,” he called after her, and it made her stop in the door frame. She turned around ever so slowly, her head tilted, her eyes piercing him. And just for a fraction of a second, the corner of her mouth twitched, a small huffing noise leaving her before she turned and left without another word.

Oh Emma, we are going to have so much fun.

As he stood there, taking in what had just happened, his hands wandered to his throat where she had just grasped him. Her grip had been so intentional, so on point.

She knew what she was doing.

And he couldn’t help shaking the feeling there was something about her he did not know.

His phone vibrated in his pocket.

“She’s heading back to the garage,” Ed told him on the phone while he made his way to the elevator. “I believe she took one of your car keys. ”

“How did she get those?”

“When she went for the elevator, she opened the drawer next to it.”

“Did it look as if she knew where they were?”

“Yes.”

“Did she take the gun, too?”

If so, it would become very, very interesting.

“Not that I am aware of.”

Good. So, she isn’t out for blood.

“Let her go. I wanna see how this turns out.”

It’s either gonna be gold or there will be damage control to do, but either way, it will reveal a lot.

She had nowhere to go, the paparazzi waited everywhere for her, and for some reason, he could tell she would not face them. Her personality was a hidden one; she had no interest in being in the spotlight, so she would go somewhere to hide. Only she had nowhere to hide. She had no family nearby, no money. Maybe she’d try for Julie, or Julie’s friends.

“Ed, have a tap on Julie too. I wanna know what’s going on there. Let me know if she contacts her in any way.”

“Done. Look at Emma’s Instagram.”

There it was: a photo, supposedly of her and him from the back at JFK airport.

“AI?”

“I believe as much, but it’s good, really good, not the typical glitches.”

“The paparazzi are leaving,” he said while staring at the feed from the entrance. “She has them fooled. How is she so good at all this?”

“I don’t know. We have no history of her using AI tools, nor researching it. Maybe from the agency?”

“Ed, there is something about her we do not know, it’s getting clearer and clearer by the day. Find. It. Out!”

How he hated not knowing. Especially with her being connected to everything. And he couldn’t just shake the feeling of a coming betrayal lingering on his doorstep.

Switching to the cameras in the underground garage, he saw her. She didn’t even try to hide it, she actually stared into the camera, and as he zoomed in, he saw something in her eyes for the briefest of moments. A sweet, angry glare while she mouthed the words, “Game over.”

It made his heart jump in apprehension, unable to suppress the grin appearing on his face. So, the game was still on. And he would win, either way.

The rush, it’s the rush. She wants to feel alive.

Only a part of him wasn’t sure to what length she would go after her threat. It could be anything. She had called him in once, she could have him arrested for Carl, although she’d be in the firing line too. She could have him in for illegally tapping her phone and for stalking. But then, he had things on her too. Only she did not know.

“She’s taking the Audi.”

“It’s the most common one, she doesn’t want to be noticed,” he told Ed, not that Ed didn’t suspect as much.

“Team’s in place. Sending you the GPS of the Audi”

But he would not intervene. Not if absolutely necessary. He needed to see the extent, see the consequences, and most of all, he wanted to feel the moment of triumph when she realized he would always win.

Always.