Page 99 of Pride: Kneel Before None

Because she was.

Eve may not officially have been on her knees yet… but she would be before the night was over.

Later that evening, Sevenfold’s annual blackjack tournament was in full swing, and we’d gone all out. More of everything. A grander display of fine luxury, a guest list as long as the Strip, and enough champagne to drown the desert.

The extent of the upgrades to the casino in this post-Crestpin era was unnecessary and a gross display of wealth. But if I were going to be known as Superbia’s driving force, the man who had everything and took more just because he could, I needed to outdo myself.

I had invited a plethora of Superbian citizens to come witness the spectacle of the city’s best gamblers buying in to get a shot at a night with Sevenfold’s divine queen.

That included me.

Eve met me at the top of the stairs on the second floor of the ballroom, overlooking the guests milling about between the blackjack tables set up for the start of the tournament.

Several familiar faces stood out amongst the guests.

Zane, the greedy son of a bitch, already found himself lining up his conquests for the evening. Much like how I operated with everything I laid claim to.

Over in the corner, Rowan's omega sat in his lap while the pack-leader alpha bent to whisper something in his ear. The whole lot of them reeked of lust, and I'd put money on somebody getting fucked in a hallway or bathroom before the night was over. I could relate.

Standing several feet from the door, Ignatius engaged in conversation with a former envy broker and his seraph-blooded mate. He looked like he’d rather be anywhere but here, or perhaps it was his indifference to Ignatius’s animated discussion. It was the same look I often gave Valphyr.

The new CEO of Superbia’s extravagant vice and kink hotel, The Gilded Veil, stood with a brooding lycan at her side. Ruby was visibly eating up every opportunity to feed her ambition as she worked her way around the room. She and I shared that same raw hunger for prioritizing what mattered most to us.

Drawing my attention away from the voracious harpexion was a flash of heat that only a rising temper could spark, something I was intimately familiar with. A young woman near the bar argued with the bartender, her voice carrying as she gestured at whatever had set her off. I snorted quietly to myself; a terrible drink could put anyone in a bad mood.

That left Superbia’s laziest motherfucker and my best friend, Caz. Prince of Hell and royal pain in my ass. He sat, lounged back in a chair, while Lily tugged on his arm, looking to coax him into socializing. Best of luck to her.

“Ahem,” Eve cleared her throat, demanding my attention.

Turning to look at her, her ability to simultaneously make my mouth water and parch, desert dry, at the same time was uncanny.

She stood there, looking like a goddess in her violet gown. The halter style of the top crossed strips of fabric over her breasts, exposing just enough of those perfect swells to keep my dick ready to claim its prize. Her trim stomach was on display with the diamond cutout leading from the valley between her tits down to her navel.

The silk skirt fell over her lower body like a waterfall of shimmering fabric, interrupted by a sharp rise of a slit cutting up to her hip. Gold embellishments drew attention to all the curves that mattered. Her strawberry blonde locks were left hanging loose, cascading down her exposed back and the delicious lack of coverage there.

“Do you see what I see, Little Spade?” I asked, as I tipped my head towards the crowd below us.

A tiny smirk appeared as she responded coyly, “Sometimes.”

“Fucking brat,” I muttered.

Gesturing at the grandiose scene laid before us, I looked over at her. “All these people came here for us. Not for the money, but because each of them sees a little piece of us in themselves. They want what we have.”

I leaned in, lowering my voice for her ears only. “But they’ll never have it.”

“Says the man who put me up as tonight’s prize,” she retorted as she shot me a challenging look.

I chuckled darkly. “The House never loses, Eve.”

She hummed in response. “We’ll see.”

Eve slipped her arm through mine before her seductive whisper curled around me. “Better not hit on a pair of aces if you want to keep your winning streak alive.”

She reached behind her back, pulling something seemingly out of nowhere, given the lack of hiding places in that scant dress of hers. Lifting her hand, my ace of spades was tucked between two fingers. The one that remained marked with her virgin blood.

“Missing something?” she grinned.

I plucked the card out of her hand and slipped it away for safekeeping.

“Never. It brought you here to me, didn’t it?”

We descended the steps, all eyes on us and what we represented.

The crowd parted at the bottom of the stairs, carving a path for our arrival.

Despite the differences among all those who found themselves standing in this room, there was something darker woven between us. Something ancient.

It was these infernal virtues that bound us.