Seduction Squad: Tainted

By Amanda Stewart

The members of Seduction Squad are beautiful, skillful and deadly. Trained in the twin arts of seduction and assassination, their mission is to discover the darkest secrets of the world’s most powerful men.

Sex, secrets and slaughter

On Christie Mason’s eighteenth birthday, crime boss Theo Ward took her virginity and walked out of her life without a backward glance. She’s quietly nursed a broken heart for ten years, but now, all signs point to Theo having masterminded her father’s downfall. For that, “Uncle Theo” will pay.

In exchange for induction into the Seduction Squad, Christie will gain access to Theo’s lavish floating sex party and take out a powerful Colombian politician—one of the Squad’s untouchable targets.

What she’ll do to Theo is her reward.

Christie hadn’t bargained on her body betraying her, or on Theo still being all she ever wanted. And while Theo can’t get enough of Christie, he’s suspicious—and on borrowed time: Christie’s not the only party guest out for revenge.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Carina Press
• Release date: Jul 10, 2017
• ISBN: 9781488028250

Book preview

Chapter One

Christie

There may have been easier ways to get my revenge. Public humiliation. Hire someone to slit his throat. Or better still, keep him alive. Leave that big, beautiful body broken. I’d considered all the options. But I wanted to get up close. I wanted to look into his eyes. Wanted to watch him suffer. Easy wasn’t an option.

Sex, secrets and slaughter. The unofficial motto of the Seduction Squad. I had been trained in the twin arts of seduction and assassination. Had it been easy? No, it had been hell. But I was ready for him now.

Ten years ago, he had seared my body with his touch. He had reached into my chest, torn out my heart and cast it aside without a backward glance. Six months ago, he had crushed my world beneath his heel. Now I was coming for him. I wanted to leave my mark on his soul.

* * *

Remember, this is just the start.

The caution in the Signora’s voice was a reminder that there was a long way to go before I could say I had succeeded. But, as I sank onto the luxurious bed and listened to the sounds of the crew on deck preparing for departure, I allowed myself a tiny sigh of relief. Just one. When I started out on this venture, I hadn’t seriously believed I would get this far. Hoped, maybe. Schemed to make it happen. Even gone through a fast-track induction into the Seduction Squad, that exclusive, hand-picked group of women whose mission was to seduce or kill—and sometimes seduce and kill—the most powerful men in the world. Now I was here. I was on board the luxury yacht called The Dark Side and, for the first time, I felt a surge of anticipation. Soon I would be face to face with Theo Ward for the first time in ten years. How would he react? I almost laughed out loud. How the hell was I supposed to answer that question when I had no idea how I was going to react?

"Ferran Garcia will be boarding The Dark Side in four days’ time for one of Theo’s private parties. It is your job to ensure he doesn’t leave that boat alive. What you do in the meantime is your business. It’s too dangerous to call again. Message if you need help. The Signora paused before ending the call. And be careful, Chris. I know you and Theo Ward have history, but that man is not a normal client."

The other squad members all used aliases. In my case it had hardly seemed worth the effort. Theo already knew my real name. In the end, the Signora and I had compromised, shortening my name from Christie to Chris.

As I slid my cell phone into my purse, there was a knock on the cabin door and I hesitated. What if it was him? If Theo saw me before we sailed, my plan was over before it had begun. The element of surprise would be lost. There was a good chance I would be off this boat so fast my designer heels wouldn’t touch the gangplank.

I rose from the bed and looked through the spy hole in the door. The wide-angle view showed me a man in uniform. I recognized him, although he hadn’t been in uniform the last time I’d seen him. Forcing my breathing into a semblance of normality, I opened the door.

I am Paolo, the Chief Steward. I have brought the clothing you will be required to wear for the evening’s entertainment. He handed me a garment bag and a shoe box. There are instructions included on how to do your hair and makeup. Please follow them precisely.

I had first seen Paolo a week ago when, along with a number of other young, blonde women, I had turned up at a bland office two floors above a computer games store. I had filled out a questionnaire and had my photograph taken, before being shown into a room for an interview.

Yes, I was responding to the advertisement I had seen online. That was a lie. The Signora had done her research and found out how Theo selected his onboard companions.

No, I had not been on board The Dark Side before.

Yes, I understood that the job would require me to perform sexual favors in return for payment.

Yes, I was willing to act as a hostess at the client’s private party.

Paolo had been seated in a corner of the room, watching me closely as I answered the questions. Although he didn’t speak, I got the feeling the final decision was his. His expression now as he handed me the items was neutral. If he had a problem with being Theo’s pimp, he didn’t show it.

Since I didn’t know how many garment bags Paolo had distributed before he had reached me, or how many he still had to give out, I knew nothing about the competition. How many other women had gotten through the interview process? I got the feeling Paolo wouldn’t be open to answering questions on that subject.

Still, it couldn’t hurt to try and get him talking. When do we sail?

Soon. He turned away. It was a clear signal that our conversation was over.

I returned to my cabin and locked the door behind me. Not that I seriously imagined Theo was going to come bursting in on me. And, if he did, what was I going to do? Refuse to let him in? He was paying a hell of a lot of money for my services. Services I was well trained to deliver. Ten years was a long time and a lot had changed. Maybe this time he would like what he saw enough to see it through.

I told myself that once we sailed this feeling of nervousness would disappear. This was what I had planned. I was here. On Theo’s boat. Even if he didn’t choose me to share his twisted little games tonight, I was determined to force a confrontation.

But he was going to choose me. I would make sure of it.

Placing the garment bag on the bed, I undid the zipper and removed the clothes. And—oh, shit—this was even more screwed up than I had imagined it would be. As I stared down at the familiar items, the powerful engines kicked into life and I staggered slightly with the roll of the boat as we began to move. There really was no going back.

This was the outfit I had worn on my eighteenth birthday. Not something similar. This. Exactly. Every item was perfectly replicated. Theo must have a photographic memory. Even the panties were the right make and color. And they had been ripped off before he’d really seen them...

I laid each item out on the bed. Denim miniskirt. Navy-blue bra top. Black lace blazer. Those white lace panties that hadn’t survived the onslaught of his rough hands. A shudder ran through me at the memory. Inside the shoe box I found a pair of black, knee-high boots. God, I’d loved those boots. The size was perfect. At the end of the interview, when I’d been informed that I was successful, the guy who called himself a recruiter, had taken down details of my measurements.

I took a moment to consider the implications of what I was seeing. How many times since I’d last seen him had Theo handed out one of these replica outfits? How many women had pretended to be me? Erotic images crowded in on me and I shoved them aside, alarmed at how they made me feel, not wanting to give way to an emotion so strong it threatened to bring me to my knees.

Although my mind was a jumble of wild notions, some clear thoughts gradually began to emerge.

Ten years later, and he still wants his women to look like me. I probably shouldn’t like it that I was his fantasy. It shouldn’t make me hot. But it did. I had been eighteen, he had been twenty-six. Now, at last, the balance of power had shifted. Maybe I should be creeped out. I wasn’t. If I was honest, I was unbearably turned on at the thought of Theo paying women to dress up in the clothes I’d worn that night.

I had spent the last ten years believing Theo had forgotten me right around the time he ruined my life. The knowledge I wasn’t the only one who had spent a decade reliving that night soothed my hurt pride like an emotional orgasm. Our dark, shared kink made me feel dirty and strong at the same time. I was energized by the realization that I could do this. I could hit Theo where it hurt. Right in his near-incest powered hard-on. I didn’t need the instructions on how to do my hair and makeup. Every second of that night was imprinted on my mind. Memories of the party I’d gone to were hazy. Not because I’d been drinking. The couple of beers I’d had at the start of the evening had worn off long before I’d returned home. No, the things that had lingered in my memory were to do with Theo. The look in his eyes when I walked into his bedroom. How his lips felt on mine. His tongue in my mouth. His hands rough on my breasts as he tugged down my bra top. The hot, heavy weight of his cock against my thigh as I straddled him.

I shuddered with remembered hunger. But this wasn’t about that night. No matter how much my mind—and the throbbing in my clit—tried to take me back there. This was about now. It was about redressing the balance. Once that was done, the Signora had given me a job to do. When I walked back down that gangplank, I was going to do it with my head held high.

Chapter Two

Theo

I tossed my jacket and tie onto the bed in my cabin and went over to the bar. As I reached for the bottle of my favorite 40-year-old Scotch, I rolled my neck to relieve the coiled tension in my muscles. I had spent the last few days in my own special hell, and I had earned this break. The Dark Side was my escape from reality. Seven years ago, I had bought it from a Saudi Arabian prince for that purpose. When your reality looked like mine, a fantasy world was a