His Ultimate Demand

‘What happens after your meeting?’

He forced nonchalance into his voice. ‘We return here to indulge in...whatever we please. Tomorrow when the lock down is lifted, we leave.’

CHAPTER SIX (#u4017a3b2-e6af-5f18-a53a-4ede2f98d967)

THE REST OF the morning turned out to be a study in how the very rich and influential operated. Having grown up in relative wealth and seen the lengths to which people went to keep what they had, Ruby had imagined she knew how power and influence were wielded.

Watching Narciso Valentino command a room just by walking into it took her education to a whole different level. People’s attitude transformed just by him entering their presence, despite his mask now being back firmly in place.

Although dressed more casually than he’d been last night, he exuded the same authority and attention as he moved from room to room, chatting with other well-heeled guests. The brief time he left her to attend his meeting, Ruby was left with a floundering feeling in her stomach that irritated and shocked her at the same time.

She was finishing her buttered brioche and café Americano when she sensed a gaze on her. Anticipating another of the speculative looks she’d been on the receiving end of since she came downstairs with Narciso, she stemmed her apprehension and raised her head.

The man who’d played against Narciso last night and won thirty million dollars was watching her with stormy grey eyes.

He moved forward and pulled out a chair. ‘May I join you?’ He sat down before she could stop him.

‘Sure. It’s a free country, I think.’

His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. He steepled his fingers together and stared at her. ‘Where’s my... Where’s your companion?’

‘At a meeting...’ She paused and stared down at his wrist. ‘I thought those smartwatches could tell you where each guest is. Why are you asking me?’

‘Perhaps I just wanted a conversation opener.’

‘Needing an opener would mean you have something specific to discuss with me. I don’t see what that could be.’ Her discomfort grew underneath that unwavering, hostile stare. She started to put her flatware down, thought better of it and hung on to the knife.

His gaze went to it and swung back to hers. ‘You won’t be needing that.’

‘I’ll be the judge of that. Now, can I help you with something?’ As she’d thought last night, there was something vaguely familiar about him. But like every single guest present, his mask was back on and nothing of the rest of his features was enough to pinpoint where she might have seen him before, and she was not going to commit another faux pas by asking him his name.

‘I merely came to offer you a warning. Stay away from The Warlock.’

‘Considering you won over thirty million dollars from him last night, I’d have thought you’d be in a better frame of mind, perhaps even celebrating your huge windfall, not wasting your time casting aspersions on someone you defeated.’

‘He thinks he has bested me but he’ll soon learn the error of his ways.’

‘Right. Okay...was that all?’ she asked, but his eyes had taken on a faraway look, as if he were somewhere else entirely.

‘He’s been poison ever since...’ His mouth tightened and his eyes grew colder. ‘For as long as I’ve had to deal with him, he’s been nothing but trouble. He was given his name for a reason.’

‘The Warlock?’

His hand fluttered in a dismissive gesture. ‘No, I meant his real name. Take my advice and remember that once he tells you who he really is.’

‘I’m not supposed to know who he is, so what you’re saying means less than nothing to me.’

‘Or you could understand perfectly what I mean.’ His upper lips twisted. ‘Unless spreading your legs for him has robbed you of all common sense.’

The barb struck too close to home. ‘How dare you?’ She jerked back at the sheer hatred pouring from him. Ice-cold sensation drenched her veins at the same time as warm hands cupped her shoulders.

‘Ruby?’ Narciso clipped out her name. ‘What’s going on here?’ The question was quite rhetorical because she was sure he’d caught part of the exchange.

Certainly, his flint-hard gaze and tense jaw made her think of her earlier assessment of just how dangerous an opponent he could be.

For whatever reason, the man sitting across from her spewing vitriol had wronged Narciso Valentino on a very deep level. The skin around his mouth was white and the hands curved over her shoulders were a little less than gentle.

Ruby carefully set her knife down and took a deep breath. ‘Nothing. He was just leaving. Weren’t you?’

The older man smiled and took his time to rise. His eyes locked on Narciso’s and for a moment Ruby thought she understood the connection, then dismissed it. What she was imagining couldn’t be possible.

Pure visceral hate existed between these two men. It coloured the air and crawled over her skin.

In her darkest days before she’d actively distanced herself from her parents, her father’s behaviour had permeated every single corner of her existence and she’d imagined she hated him. She could never accept the way Ricardo Trevelli lived his life, or the careless way he treated her mother. But she’d never encountered hate this strong. It was a potent, living thing.

She shivered. Narciso felt it and glanced down at her before refocusing on her unwanted guest.

‘Do I need to teach you another lesson, old man?’

‘Keep your money, hotshot. I understand the need to brag in front of your woman. Shame it had to cost you so much last night.’

‘It was worth it to see your face. If you need a refresher on how to win, I can accommodate you.’

The old man sneered. ‘The time is coming when I’ll wipe that smug look off your face once and for all.’

Narciso’s smile was arctic. ‘Do it quickly, then. I’m growing tired of your empty promises.’

Ruby sucked in a shocked breath at the blatant taunt. With a thick swear word that would singe the ears off a Sicilian donkey, the old man swivelled on his heel and walked away.

Narciso pulled back her chair, caught her up and swung her around to face him. ‘What did he say to you?’ he demanded, his nostrils pinched hard with the anger he was holding back.

‘Oh, he was educating me on the real meaning of your name, albeit very cryptically. Who is he anyway?’

He looked after the departing man and visibly inhaled.

‘I told you—he’s no one important. But I want you to stay away from him.’

‘That would be difficult since I don’t even know who he is.’

Tucking her arm through the crook of his elbow, he led her out of the dining area styled with large, exquisitely scrolled Chinese screens. She’d heard one of the guests comment that the stands holding up the scrolls were made of solid gold. Q Virtus, its mysterious owner, Zeus...in fact this whole place was insane with its surrealistic extravagance, secrecy and decadence.

‘You’re an intelligent woman, hopefully equipped with enough of that intuition you women are so proud of. Use it and stay clear of him.’

‘Funny, he said the same thing about you. And why does that sound suspiciously like a threat?’

He led her into another express lift and used his thumbprint and her smartwatch to activate the panel before pressing the button for the sub-basement.

‘Because it is one.’