Dark Secrets Read Online Free Page B

was good for business so I never let him slide down those paths—aside from him giving my sheets the odd pinch. If anyone knew what I was really doing I’d have had the Union and the FAA on my door for more than drinks and an evening of entertainment.
    His hand moved, and he thought he grasped my cock, but instead he gripped his own. Lost in the illusion, he stroked hard. He was paying a lot of coin to pleasure himself. But tonight I couldn’t even find comfort in that knowledge. His mind was open to me; I saw how he’d used Anisa and while he’d enjoyed every moment, she’d cried. Anisa didn’t love Brixen; she feared him and through him I felt the rush of power that brought.
    As his heart pumped faster I wanted to urge it on. Make his blood boil until the muscle split and spilled out all the poison once and for all. His face turned purple. My jaw locked. It would be so easy.
    Kill Brixen, free Anisa and…
    And nothing.
    I was nothing. So low she wouldn’t notice, if she even remembered me.
    And I couldn’t kill him. Not just because it would be bad for business to have the Lawman die in my bed. I lacked the strength of will or the ruthlessness to finish. I was pathetic.
    The Lawman convulsed as he stained the sheets. I removed my clothes and lay on the bed. It was time to bring him back to reality. As he rolled over and lay on his back, I eased my hold. Cautiously, slowly and gently. Too fast, and I’d break what I’d created.
    It was too dangerous for me to try and block Brixen out of my mind—I didn’t trust the man as far as I could shove him, so his thoughts still buffeted mine, but he was pleased with himself. I feigned satisfaction, if not exhaustion. It was tiring, trying to change someone’s perception and make the person see what I wanted them to see. I’d never done that with Anisa, not even to make her smile. She’d done that whenever I took her hand or stole a kiss. I knew with Brixen she’d never smile again.
    I poured Brixen a shot of the expensive and sometimes fatal Asperilli, brewed from the toxic bark of a tree that grows down south—men died making this drink. There were worse jobs than mine.
    I’d have a shot after he left, but with Brixen I needed my magic sharp. He was as unpredictable as a desert skitter and I could never tell if he was going to walk past or attack. He downed the shot without pausing to enjoy the sharpness and the woody taste. It was wasted on him.
    He wiped his lips on the back of his hand. “You know, this is the only lust house with Asperilli.” He held out the glass for another shot.
    “This is the most exclusive.” I could afford to put on good liquor. I had to, as people expected a certain level of hospitality.
    Brixen snorted. “One whore is much like another. They all squeal.”
    I almost stopped midpour but kept going, filling his glass to the top with sparkling green liquor. He wasn’t talking about me. He was talking about Anisa.
    His memory of their first night broke like a blister in my mind. His glee at her pain trickled like pus; it was all I could do not to flinch away. But I couldn’t escape because it was all in my head. Some things couldn’t be unseen. The bastard had pinned her down and taken her without any kindness. He thought he’d taken her virginity. There was no reason to change that idea. I swallowed, wishing I could pick up the bottle and take a few long gulps.
    This brute’s idea of bedding was the reason women came to see me. At least I gave them the gentle touch they desired, if only in their mind, and their bodies readily believed my lies. I felt no guilt. I was making people happy.
    Brixen deserved to suffer. Could I make him think his penis was always limp? Maybe, but it would be a difficult illusion to maintain, as he would touch the flesh between his legs and know it was a lie.
    He sighed. “She is a beauty waiting to be broken. You should have heard her screaming my name.” He drank the second shot more slowly. His