Darkest Desire by Tawny Taylor Page A

at Malek’s—her—house the other night. In the dungeon with Talen. Feeling a little uneasy, especially when a couple of men standing close by gave her an appraising up-and-down look, she took a slight detour, heading into the kitchen to avoid passing directly in front of them.
    Just as she was helping herself to a fresh glass of champagne from the tray sitting on the kitchen island, Gwen came bouncing up to her. The man she’d been speaking with was behind her. “Lei, this is Brent. Brent, this is my friend Lei. You two know at least one person in common.” Off she flounced, before Lei and Brent had even exchanged hellos.
    Lei gave him a friendly smile as she offered her right hand. “Brent, it’s nice to meet you.”
    â€œYes, it’s nice to meet you, too. Malek has told me a lot about you.” His handshake was firm and strong and brief, thank goodness. His voice was masculine, a deep baritone. His face was traffic-stopping gorgeous. And his expression was not the least bit creepy.
    â€œMalek has talked about me?”
    â€œSure. Malek and I are good friends. Close friends.” His gaze flicked around the room. “Is he here with you?”
    â€œNo, I came alone.”
    â€œOh, really?” At her nod, he asked, “So, how do you know Gwen?”
    â€œSchool. You?”
    â€œI met her through a mutual friend. She’s—”
    â€œLei!” the object of the conversation cut in, grabbed Lei’s hand, and started tugging on her arm. “Sorry,” she apologized to Brent. “There’s someone who wants to meet her. Lei, this way.”
    â€œOkay, sure.” Lei glanced over her shoulder. Brent had already found someone else to talk to.
    â€œI met these guys last weekend,” Gwen jabbered. “They are both super hot and have great jobs. They’d like to go on a double date.” She whispered, “The tall one’s mine,” before halting directly in front of the two men Lei had noticed earlier.
    Once again, they gave her that look, the kind her Johns used to give her. Creepy. A little shiver of unease quaked up her spine. Then she felt even more uncomfortable when she realized one of them looked familiar, too. And this one wasn’t a friend of Malek’s.
    â€œPete, Rob, this is my friend Lei.”
    â€œNice to meet you, Lei,” the shorter of the two, Rob, said. He wasn’t the one she thought she recognized. It was the other one. Pete. Judging by the way they were both staring at her, she was pretty certain she had been right about Pete; he had been one of her Johns. And he’d told Rob about her former career—that term used loosely.
    Gwen chattered, “Rob here was telling me about an artist friend of theirs who was having an event at—”
    â€œExcuse me,” a woman interrupted, stepping up to Gwen. “We’re out of champagne. Gwen, did you have some more somewhere?”
    â€œOh, sure, I’ll get it.” Gwen gave Lei a raised index finger. “Be back in a minute.” Off she trotted, leaving Lei with two men who gave her a serious case of the icks.
    Lei decided a hasty retreat was in order. “Excuse me, but I see a friend—”
    â€œDon’t I know you from somewhere?” Pete asked, a semi-sneer pulling at his mouth.
    â€œOh, I doubt it.” She took a couple of steps away. But one of them grabbed her arm, snapping her back around. She shot the offender, Pete, a warning glare. “What the hell? Let me go.”
    â€œI do know you,” Pete said, a cruel smile taking the place of the sneer. His grip tightened. “How about we go upstairs and get more comfortable? Or maybe we should hit a hotel, where we can have some privacy?”
    Lei jerked her arm. Her heart rate kicked into high gear and her face started burning. The air was getting thick. She couldn’t breathe. “Let go. Now. Before I—”
    â€œWhat?