Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 98819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
I give a little nod, both grateful that he shared and wary of what it might mean. I get the sense that St. James doesn’t open up to anyone. Ever.
He checks his watch and rises. “I should go. Our guest will be here soon, bellowing and ready to break things.”
“Like a bull in a china shop.” Although that isn’t really fair to Rex. He can be subtle and gentle when he wants.
But not lately.
I start to rise, and St. James stops me with a single raised finger. “Wait here. I’ll make sure he’s contrite or at least ready for polite conversation.”
I don’t know if anyone can make Rex back down, but St. James is my best bet.
“St. James,” I call. He stops halfway to the door but doesn’t turn around. “Thank you.”
“Anytime,” he murmurs, leaving me with a sense of disquiet.
8
Rex
* * *
I storm into Club Empire just as St. James strolls into the foyer. “I want to see her.”
“Rex. Lovely to see you again.” Now St. James looks weary, like he’s been up all night and would like to go to bed instead of dealing with a lover’s spat. It will be easier to overpower him in this state.
I remind myself that I can’t kill him until he tells me where Inara is.
“Give her back.”
“Right this way.” St. James pivots and leads me to the elevator.
I’m surprised he didn’t fight me. I almost wish he would.
But it seems he’ll do me the honor of escorting me. A risk on his part. I might kill him before we reach Inara.
He leans in to press a button and close the doors, but the elevator doesn’t move. He hasn’t pressed a button for a floor.
I round on him. I’d knock him out right now, but I need to find Inara first.
He holds up a hand. “Before you speak to her, I need to know you’ll behave. I’ve made certain promises to her, and I need to know you’ll uphold them.”
The thought of him speaking to Inara long enough to promise her anything makes me want to put my hands around his neck and squeeze.
No, I need a good, gruesome fate for St. James. A torture session followed by removing his tongue.
He isn’t special. He’ll bleed like all the rest.
But then St. James adds, “She’s not hurt, but she is frightened.”
I remember how she looked on the footage Hamish sent over, and the all-consuming rage leaks from my veins. I let my shoulders relax.
“What promises?” I growl.
“First, that you’ll honor this as neutral territory. No dragging her out of here by her hair or anything else.”
“I wouldn’t do that.” He makes it sound so distasteful, but I can’t sugarcoat what I’ve done. “I’d drug her first.” I’d cradle her unconscious body against me and hold her the whole way home.
“Ah. Then no drugging her, either.”
I grumble my assent.
“One more thing,” St. James says, then adds in a softer tone, “This isn’t her request, but I’d advise you to take caution before touching her.”
“What?”
“Before she met you, she didn’t allow anyone to touch her,” St. James quietly reminds me. He must have read her scene requests when she first applied to be a member of the club. For a moment, we’re simply two doms discussing how to best care for a treasured submissive. “Touch means something to her.”
This is why St. James is so dangerous. He can sum up a person’s deepest needs and darkest desires in a single glance. And he has no soul to stop him from using this insight against you.
But he’s right about this. Godsdamn him.
Inara strapped to the cross, sassing me even as she quivered in anticipation for the flogger.
Inara shaking when I ran a gloved finger down her spine.
Inara, resting in my arms, sated.
I trusted you, she shrieked from the cage. And you would do this to me?
I’m the only one she allowed to touch her. And then I betrayed her trust.
I don’t ask how St. James knows the intimate details of our relationship. I want this conversation over. “I won’t touch her without her consent.”
Without another word, he presses the elevator button to take us to the floor with the private rooms.
I thought he might be keeping her in an office or in the bar upstairs. But no, the elevator descends, and I’m reminded of previous visits on happier nights. Every night I met Inara here, I was full of hunger and a certain satisfaction in having trapped her. But also the wary anticipation a hunter reserves for vicious prey. I’d always known she’d be dangerous to me.
She’s the only one who can destroy me.
Now, as the elevator descends, I wonder if I’m descending to my doom. She can scoop out my insides, leaving me a shell of a man, driven by lust and my need for control, with no softness to temper my monstrous desires.