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And what’s worse? Doing it in front of the men I truly thought cared about me.
But their presence here is all the evidence I need to prove that they played me, and I was the idiot who fell right into their trap.
Your father taught you better than that, I reprimand myself as I barely hold back the tears pooling in my eyes at the thought of them. I cared for them. I let myself be vulnerable with each one of them, and this is how they repay me? By handing me over to the man who only wants me for my family’s legacy.
I swallow heavily as Charles slips me from his lap, making a show of holding my hips as if I’m about to fall flat on my face in the heels I’m wearing, but he and I both know it’s only to show his possession to every other man in the room. I open my mouth to ask him to reconsider this ridiculous plan he’s concocted, but his hand snakes into my hair and grasps me so hard that I let out a hiss.
He drags my face down to his, not caring that my ass is on show for everyone. “You will do this, Camilla. And you will not embarrass me,” he growls. “Believe me when I say you will not like the consequences if you fail.”
I nod slowly, forcing my face to remain emotionless as I stand up straight. I take a deep breath and turn on my thin heel, moving toward the steps that lead to the stage before I can change my mind. I mean, it’s not as if I have much choice in the matter, so I may as well get it over with.
The lights on the stage are blinding as I look down at Charles and his friends, who appear to be in various stages of discomfort. Noah looks like he’s about to lose his mind, Knox appears unaffected by what his cousin has just asked of me, and Billy looks like a kid in a fucking candy store. The other men just blend into their surroundings, and I don’t trust myself to look at the other guests, the ones who are to blame for me being here at all.
If I look at them, I’ll break, and I can’t afford that. I can’t afford for anyone in this place to see me weak.
The song changes, and I glare at Charles as “Pony” by Ginuwine starts blaring through the club. How fucking original.
Suddenly wishing I’d gone to more parties in high school to prepare me for this moment, I sway my hips slowly at first, trying to decide how the hell I’m going to play this. I don’t really have any options that don’t involve me going through with this. Charles isn’t fucking around about this, and I’m not so stupid to believe this isn’t his way of testing me.
Dangling the men of the Legion in front of me and then forcing me to dance for them all like their own personal entertainment is actually kind of ingenious, but that thought just makes me angry.
I turn around, facing the back of the stage, and bend slightly, shaking my hips side to side and giving them all a glance up my too-short skirt.
This should distract them for a second, I think to myself as I peruse the back of the stage. An exit door would be too much to ask for clearly, but there are a few offices I can make out from here behind the far curtain.
It would be a big ask for me to run in these heels, get the door locked, and escape before they can locate a key to the room, but I’m running out of options.
“Come on, Camilla. You can do better than that,” Charles shouts. “Show everyone what a good slut I’m marrying.”
I glance over my shoulder and catch Kovu’s eye. At this point, I’m used to seeing crazy behind the wild blue eyes, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen them look quite this unhinged, and my breath catches in my throat.
Kaos has a hand planted in the center of his chest as he speaks softly to him, but he can’t tear his eyes away from me either. Is it guilt? Or is there some other reason he’s staring at me like he’s as close to snapping as the man he’s holding back?
I tear my eyes off them and find a clock at the back of the wall to stare at as I sway from side to side, psyching myself up to go further than this. Much further.
I slide my hands down my body until I reach the hem of my dress. The flimsy material moves with me, and I realize the lights make it pretty much see through. Perfect.
It’s not as if I don’t know this was Charles’s plan. Men like him get off on power, and what better way to show someone how little power they have than to belittle them the way he is me.
I force the vulnerability down and turn again, lifting the bottom of my skirt up over my ass and giving it a shake that I hope is seductive. Why wasn’t this part of my training? Apparently, it’s a necessary skill to have.
The catcalls from behind me are all the confirmation I need that they’re enjoying the show, but that doesn’t ease any of the uncertainty beating down on me.
I need to figure out how the hell I’m going to get myself out of this wedding, and each day that ticks by is just another day closer I am to meeting my fate.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
KOVU
Anger like I’ve never felt before beats down on me, and I mentally make a list of every person in this place because they have to die. They cannot continue to breathe when they’ve seen my woman look like this.
It’s clear as fucking day to me that she’s scared, uncertain even, but the mask she keeps in place for the rest of the world doesn’t falter.
She shakes her ass like she was made to do it, and if it weren’t for the fact all these assholes were staring at her, I’d be throwing her down on that stage and fucking her so hard she’d still be feeling me in her cunt three days from now.
Unfortunately for us both, Kaos is holding me back, his entire weight pressing into my chest to keep me from plucking my woman off the stage and dragging her out of here.
If it weren’t for the fact his body is vibrating with rage, I’d be reconsidering my decision not to kill him for what he did. But he’s just as pissed as I am, and some of my anger toward him begins to diminish.
