This bitch was a stupid cunt if she thought this was going to be some kind of punishment. I would just take a nap. Seriously, this would be a breeze. A walk in the proverbial park after everything I'd gone through with Eden and Ivan over the last six months.Settling back to enjoy having my body on display for the masses, I let my mind wander. I kept myself in good shape. A hell of a lot more shape than a lot of these people could claim. The fact that a lot of these people seemed to just be regular Joes and Jills off the street was more of a disappointment than I'd been prepared for. They weren't the super hotties from porn. The tight bodies of my more rabid fantasies. Sure, there were some who kept things toned, but it was just like going to the grocery store. Body shapes and sizes from across the spectrum. They just happened to be naked or dressed up in PVC or leather. They should feel blessed to see my naked body. Hell, I had an eight-pack for shit's sake. A narrow waist,
Si's flavor exploded over my senses. Not as deep and dark as having his dick in my mouth, but as we shared air, it almost felt like I could taste his soul. No one had ever pulled me in. Demanded so much of me as a Dominant. There was something almost frail and brittle about Si. Something that tugged at a deeper part of me. A part I thought had vanished almost a decade ago. When I released his mouth, I licked my lips. Kissing a man when he had his tongue restrained was something of a trick, but one I wanted to learn more about. I'd never clover clamped a tongue and dick before. But when the image of Si trussed up had come to me, I couldn't shake it from my mind. And the fact that it was his mouth-the thing he'd used to be rude and boorish to Mishka and the others-made it that much sweeter. Especially when his tongue was connected to his dick. The part of him he probably swung around in his life because he thought it made him better and bigger than other people. I looked up i
Every single inch of my body yearned for release. Even my hair felt like it needed to come and I had no idea what that would even feel like. But I had to get away from here. Away from her. Her questions. Her scent. Her gaze that saw too much. Her words that dug too deep beneath my skin. Picking myself back up, I prayed my legs would hold me. It felt like I'd been roofied. But I knew I hadn't been. I looked at her over my shoulder. She looked a little lost. A bit confused. But she stood tall. Her shoulders back, her spine straight. She didn't have her hands out to keep her balance. She didn't have her belly caught in her throat. She didn't have invisible wounds bleeding beneath her skin. She'd ripped me open, shined a light into the belly of the void inside me, and demanded truth. Truth she hadn't earned. Truth she didn't deserve. Who do you love? Her voice ran through my mind again. I bit my tongue. My sore, bruised tongue. But I didn't spill my guts at her feet. Hadn
I lurked near the back wall in the shibari and kinbaku bi section of the club. Watching masters create intricate designs in rope while also restraining their partners was soothing to my soul. I didn't have the patience to learn, but I could appreciate the art in others. Through long practice, I kept my focus on the pair in front of me on the stage. Any stray thought of Si was pushed aside like a breeze through an open park. He didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Nothing except taking the Petters down. And no one would get in my way on this one. Not even a tall, handsome asshole who was broken inside. As I watched the rope bondage take shape, my instincts told me that something had shifted in the room. In the space directly around me. Without seeming to look like it, I cast an easy glance around me. The rope bondage section of S&B wasn't too full on any given night. It was pretty niche, even within the community. I noticed her immediately. For one, her idea of club gear was mor
Shoving my legs into my street clothes, I shoved back into the club. If Nia was part of the Petters, then I needed to talk to her. See if I could get on her good side. I could take them down from the inside out.A smile pulled at my mouth even as an odd sense of joy exploded through my chest. Her face shone in my mind's eye. Then another picture of her on the roof outside the Petters stronghold chased it away. My brow furrowed as I came to a halt. What the hell was she doing casing her own place? Ivan. I needed to talk to Ivan. Scanning the dining area, I didn't see him. Shit. I walked up to the bar. Remembering what had happened to me the last time, I tempered my tone. "Mishka, I need some help, please. Have you seen Ivan?"The huge man turned from the far end of the bar and came down to me. A smile on his face. "You learn quickly. I wasn't too sure when Ivan called you a stupid idiot." He wiped at a spot on the bar with a towel before he flicked it over his shoulder.
I couldn't believe it. It was almost too good to be true. And considering what I'd just talked about with Whitney, I had to tread carefully. Very carefully. "Will Raphael die if he doesn't complete his mission?""Yes. By my hand."Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Raphael flinch as the words came over the line. Whatever he'd done, it had been horrible. What kind of horror must it have been to get kicked out of a family like the Amatuccis? "Why?"His dusky skin paled. He shook his head, backed away from the phone as if it would strike out at him. "He put his family in danger. He came this close to killing me, my daughter, and two of my sisters-in-law."Agonized horror rose up on Raphael's face. A certain kind of resolution and penance marred his features. Whatever he'd done, had marked him, as well as his family. "Raphael, do you deserve to die by Eden's hand if you fail in your mission?" I asked him. He looked at me. He had the same look in his eyes as he had do
Smooshed into the backseat, I sat in silence while Ivan and Nia spoke in quiet tones. "Why no tell me you Petter?" Ivan asked. Nia shrugged. "I figured you knew. It's not exactly a secret around here."Ivan shifted to look at her for a long moment. "I thought you prostitute who works Petter. Not Petter."Nia's shoulders bumped into the air again. "Not my fault you don't listen to the club gossip. I've been with the Petters since I was six."Questions burned in the back of my throat, buzzed around my brain. I willed Ivan to ask them. Figured they'd get answered that way. I doubted Nia would answer any of my questions at all. "Slave?" Ivan asked. Nia's chin dropped in a short nod. "According to my mother, my father is a Petter. I'm searching for him." Something in her tone had me squinting at the back of her head. Her kinky black curls were a riot of midnight in the low lights of the dash. I wanted to reach out and squeeze them in my fingers. See if they were as resi
The emotion in the car was stifling. Overwhelming. I felt like I couldn't breathe. Which was stupid. So freaking stupid. So what if the brothers were having some kind of emotional reunion. Didn't matter to me. As long as the Petters went down, they could fuck each other on the car hood for all I cared. Raphael shook his head. "You think I'm dead."The driver shook his head. "I know my wife. Know her moods and when she's being sneaky. I've known about you for the last handful of weeks."Raphael shook his head again. His hands clenched into fists as he looked out the window. Tension vibrated off the man in seismic waves. If I didn't know any better, I'd assume he was trying to rebuild his walls. To shove himself back into some kind of shell. Become someone he thought he should be so his brother would love him. Reaching out, I shook my arm. Allowed one of my knives to fall out of its forearm holster and into my palm. I dug the tip of the knife into Raphael's thigh. Felt the s