Dark Needs (Tales of Dystopian Decadence Book 1) (10 page)

I flailed back at him with one arm and grasped at the side of the table with the other. “How dare you! Why would you do this? I came here of my own accord!”

“Then no one will believe you if you decide to press charges, particularly against the Regime’s leading financier. The word of a whore means nothing. Your mother’s word was certainly worthless.”

You. Are. Fucking. Dead.
I snarled and struggled in earnest, bucking back against him in an attempt to dislodge his hand from my neck. He only laughed and thrust back at me, then curled his fingers over my shoulders for leverage so he could rub his crotch against my raised ass.

The fabric of my dress inched up, his movements baring my backside. In another moment, he would be between my legs, trying to hammer himself into me. He hadn’t even considered giving me pleasure as Icharus did; only violating me as brutally as possible. And why? To show his power within the Regime, to shame his son, and to desecrate my mother’s memory.

Not going to fucking happen.

My little show of fighting had gone on long enough. I finally let my flailing hand drop to the bosom of my dress, pulled out a tiny derringer, and cocked it. I felt his hands hesitate on my body. “One more move and you will be in a world of pain,” I hissed, pushing away from the table so hard, he stumbled back away from me. When I turned around, Mr. DeVille had recovered from his surprise. His hands were raised, but he wore a smirk on his face.

“Oh my, you do like to play rough,” he said in his rumbling voice. “This is going to be much better than I anticipated.”

“How I like to play never has been and never will be your business.”  I glanced along the billiard table and saw his champagne glass sitting there. A couple of strides brought me to the glass and I reached once again into the bosom of my dress, this time to remove a small vial. I uncorked it with my teeth and poured the contents into the glass. “Enjoy your drink,” I told him, picking up the glass and offering it to him.

“What if I don’t drink it?” he asked, taking it from me with one hand, the other still raised in the air. “Will you shoot me?”

“Yes. As you said, no one will hear the commotion, not with the party going on.”

He sniffed at the glass. “What did you put in it?”

“Just a teeny bit of good old-fashioned arsenic. You won’t feel a thing if you choose to drink it. Consider it the clean, easy way out.”

“Hm, two ways to die. I suppose it’s a matter of picking my poison.” He smiled at his own humor and then raised the glass. “To your health, Adette Johnstone.”

I watched as he downed the champagne and set the glass back on the table. “Thank you so much for not make this messy,” I said, a feral grin curving my lips while I waited for him to die.

“Why, not at all, though I must tell you something.” He leaned toward me and whispered, “Considering the position of power I’m in, I’ve spent years building up an immunity to arsenic and all other poisons known to man.”

“Oh my,” I answered, pressing my free hand to my chest. “That is bad news, indeed. Now let me tell you a secret.” I lowered the gun and my voice as well, and stepped close enough to let my lips brush over his. “That wasn’t a poison known to man.”

I watched with pleasure as he drew back, a shocked expression on his face.

“Thought I must admit, I lied,” I continued, with a shrug. “You will feel something, but it’ll pass quickly.”

Mr. DeVille opened his mouth and then leapt at me, his hands wrapping around my neck. Even as he shook me, I felt his physical strength ebbing. He tried to strangle me, but to no avail. His grip loosened until he slumped to the floor. As soon as the low, watery gurgle from his throat ceased, I knelt and checked for a heartbeat.

Nothing. Nothing but one dead Regime bastard.

I tucked the derringer back between my breasts, straightened to my feet, stepped around his body, and found my way back to the ballroom.

Chapter 12

“Are you sure you won’t stay?”

I held my hat to my head as a particularly strong gust of wind kicked up at the port. “No,” I answered, gripping the valise in my other hand. “You’ve secured my freedom. Now I want to get out there and see what I can do to help others.”

Icharus sighed and reached out to place his hands on either side of my face. “I thought, given everything, you were falling in love with me. We could still give it a try.”

With a sad smile, I tried to think of how to answer him. I could tell him the truth – that I did love him, but… “I don’t want to take any chances. You’ve been good to me and I don’t want the truth of my crime to come back on you. Thank you for everything, especially this opportunity.” The lie came out more blithely than I’d expected, and I rose up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek so he couldn’t see the tears shimmering in my eyes.

“Maybe we’ll meet again one day,” he said when I stepped back from him. “The Constitutionals always know where to find one another.”

“Maybe,” I responded, my smile faltering, then returning. “Canada isn’t that far away. It’s getting there that’s the tricky part.” Regime border control was strict and if you didn’t have the right papers, there was only one way to bypass it – smuggling. Fortunately, Icharus had secured me legitimate passage on an airship, but I feared his good standing within the Regime wouldn’t last much longer after my departure.

I gave him a small wave, trying much too hard to look happy, as if I were going on a vacation somewhere luxurious and beautiful. Then I turned on my heel and strode up the gangplank of the airship. When I looked back over my shoulder at him still standing there, I couldn’t help but blow him a kiss, followed swiftly by tears.

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Once we were high above the city, flying north toward the Canadian Free State, I reached into the pocket of my plush black overcoat and withdrew the small, square envelope bearing the seal of St. Eden’s School for Young Ladies. I broke the red and black marbled wax, opened the envelope, and removed the folded piece of paper to read the headmistress’s words to me.

My dear Adette,

Congratulations on a job well done. I knew the three of us could make this happen. It takes trust, you know, to see through something as delicate as assassination. Think about that as you leave our fair city – you trusted Icharus to at least get you in place to act out your revenge. I thought you were well-matched and I am sorry to see you go, as I know he is.

I also know you’re a hardhearted girl, but maybe – someday – you will find a bit of that heart softens toward the right person. Truly, I hoped it would be Icharus. He would cherish you for the rest of your life. But I know how painful the memories must be, and he would be a constant reminder of what you lost, wouldn’t he? But what about what you might have found with him?

I understand my students better than you thought. Don’t second-guess me again, my dear. For if I call upon you – and I shall – it will always be with good reason.

For now, seek out whatever it is that will make you happy and know that you won’t be very far from my thoughts. I loved your mother more than you knew and I will always have your best interests at heart. So heed my advice, and make a little room in
your
heart for love.

Yours truly,

Eden St. James, Headmistress

Epilogue

The Canadian Free State.

Last bastion of liberty in North America.

I watched the bustle of activity around the base. Even though the Constitutional rebels and their Canadian allies had taken me in and given me the opportunity to be useful from the moment I’d landed, although they applauded my acts of bravery on behalf of their cause and told me I had begun a revolution, I still felt incomplete.

Yes, I was doing the work I’d always yearned to do. Both my knowledge and my new duties served the Constitutional cause. In return, they were continuing the education my mother had courageously defied the Regime to give to me – the true history of our world before Commander Korroziya and his military rule. Now that I’d had my vengeance, I would help others get their freedom back from the tyrant who had seized all the power in our country; who had taken our way of life and destroyed it for his own egotistical ends.

Despite the gratitude bestowed on me and the assertions that I had done something glorious, there was nothing glorious about how I felt.

With a sigh, I dusted off my khaki cargo pants and resumed fieldstripping the machine gun. It had misfired during my morning practice. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Working on disassembling and cleaning it quickly was just as important as knowing how to shoot it in the first place, so I welcomed the work.

I welcomed any work that took my mind off Icharus.

Off the man I had foolishly left behind, even though…

A shadow passed over me and then someone sat next to me on the hard, wooden bench. Sunlight glinted off the butt of the dark rifle in hands that were definitely masculine. Hands which bore a tungsten band on the right ring finger. The right hand titled just a little and I saw the gold-plated D that protruded from the top of the ring.

I raised my eyes to his gaze, a gaze that was as unwavering as ever. “Icharus…” After speaking his name, I couldn’t seem to catch my breath. The past month had felt like an eternity of heartache, of missing him beyond reason.

“Did you think I was going to let you have all the fun?” A playful smirk tugged at his lips.

The only thing I could think to say was, “But you’re supposed to be in L.A.”

“Yeah, about that.” He set the gun aside and shrugged. “It turns out undermining the Regime from within isn’t as fun or easy as you might think, especially when all you can do is think about the woman you love. Besides, their net was closing around me. Commander Korroziya’s lackeys were sniffing all around, trying to pin my father’s murder on me. So I liquidated my assets, handed everything off every penny to a worthwhile cause, and got out of town.”

I couldn’t stop staring and I was sure my mouth was hanging open as I blinked at him like an idiot. “You love me?” I finally whispered.

“Yeah, you know, that thing you feel for someone when you care deeply about them.” He edged closer to me on the bench. “When you can’t wait to see them or really can’t live without them.”

“Or when you are excited to wake up next to them every morning?” My lips parted as his brushed over mine, and I let the machine gun settle on the ground at my feet.

“So you know that feeling. I thought you did,” he murmured against my mouth, before claiming it with his.

When we finally separated and caught our breath, I rested my forehead against his and asked, “What now?”

“Now,” he answered, “we do what it takes to kick Regime ass together.”

Other Books in the Series

Tales of Dystopian Decadence, Book 1: Dark Needs

Tales of Dystopian Decadence, Book 2: Sweet Desire (coming August 19)

Tales of Dystopian Decadence, Book 3: Wicked Surrender (coming September 9)

Other Books by the Author

Geared for Lust: A Trio of Sensual Vignettes

About the Author

Finley has a thing for speculative erotic romance – dystopian, paranormal and more – and the characters who make reading and writing it worthwhile.

Just a small-town girl, she is very content with a good cup of coffee and the occasional rainy day while dreaming up strange, sexy new worlds.

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~****~

Thank you so much for reading
Dark Needs
! If you enjoyed the book, please share a review on Amazon or Goodreads. Your support means the world to me!

                                                      Finley