Vienna Betrayal - Lila Dubois Page 0,1
herself so that she was both enticingly submissive, but not forgettable?
Alena sat on a floor pillow, but rather than kneeling, she tucked her legs to one side. As she sank to the floor, her cloak—maroon velvet with black closures running from her neck to waist—spread out around her, falling open enough to reveal her legs.
His gaze fell to her limbs, and his attention traveled from ankle to knee up to her thigh, where the lacy band of the stocking gave way to pale skin.
“Your name?” This time he spoke English. He had an accent, a lovely almost lyrical one with just a hint of the hard Germanic syllables.
She’d studied up on the German spoken in Austria before coming to Vienna, and even had she not researched the quiet man, she would have heard the difference from a traditional German accent both in the way he spoke German and his accent when speaking English.
“Alena,” she replied. “Is my accent so obviously American?”
She’d been hoping to make him smile, but he only nodded.
She should have expected that from her quiet man.
“I’m Alexander.”
Alexander Wagner, age 45. Billionaire CEO and president of the powerful Wagner Company. A man who was private bordering on reclusive.
The Wagners were an old Austrian family, and had made their fortune in shipping, bringing things into central Europe along the Danube River that passed through Vienna. The company had survived through both world wars, and was now a global powerhouse.
Alexander had never been married, and when he did socialize, preferred blondes. His primary residence was here in Vienna, but he also had homes—estates more accurately—near Beleu Lake in Moldova, and in St. Moritz in the Swiss Alps. In the few video interviews she’d found, he spoke concisely and slowly, his entire demeanor one of quiet reserve.
Watching those was when she’d first started to think of him as “the quiet man.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alexander.”
“You would like to play?”
The words seemed innocuous enough, but her whole body flushed with heat, then icy cold.
“Play” was a loaded word when it was spoken in this setting.
The Orchid Club was an innocent name for a debauched society of one-percenter BDSM aficionados. Every month the club moved to a new location. Members took turns hosting, and the host provided the facility and picked the theme, while Lillian, the club’s manager, handled the details of the three-night event.
Alena had been a member for a little over three months. She’d attended her first gathering in Copenhagen two months ago, and again last month in Rio de Janeiro.
Alexander Wagner had been at both.
Copenhagen had been for observation. He’d disappeared into a private room with a tall blonde on the second night, and a different blonde on the third.
In Rio she’d tried, and failed, to attract his notice.
But here in Vienna she’d succeeded. Now all she had to do was follow through.
On the floor at his feet, following through seemed a lot more dangerous than it had when she’d drafted this plan, this series of moves in the game.
“Yes…” She shifted, the cloak sliding away from her skin, exposing her hip and the wide satin bow that served as the hip band.
All it would take was a single tug and she’d be exposed and vulnerable.
Alexander’s eyes widened. A small reaction, but enough to tell her that he’d noticed the bow, and was calculating how easy it would be to undress her.
Not that she had much on under the cloak.
“…Sir,” she finished.
His attention jumped from her hip to her face. The light in this room was low enough that she couldn’t see the color of his eyes, but she knew they were a lovely hazel. Brown around the outside, and a clear leaf green at the iris.
She held his gaze for a moment, then very deliberately bowed her head.
Alexander stepped forward and she caught her breath. The toes of his shiny dress shoes were mere inches from her knees.
He stared down at her, and once more the silence stretched long and seemingly endless.
“When I return,” he murmured, “you will remove the cloak, and we will begin negotiations.”
Alexander turned and walked out of the room.
Alena exhaled, sagging for a moment. She’d been building to this point for months, each step she’d taken a carefully chosen strategy.
Alexander Wagner had been easy enough to research, but hard to get to. His position and wealth meant he was protected by layers of corporate structure and a personal security team that accompanied him whenever he was out in public.
She’d considered and rejected half