Emma woke from a light knock on the door. She was confused for a moment; she didn’t recognise the sheets, or the bed, or the room. Last night came back to her as a freight train mercilessly ploughing through her sleepy mind. There was a second knock on the door.Emma sat up and called for them to enter, making sure the cover was up around her waist. She had been sleeping in her tank top and panties since she didn’t have any of her nightclothes. The older woman from the night before walked into the room with a smile on her face.“Good morning, miss Emma,” she said.“Good morning, Anna,” Emma replied. At least she thought that was the woman’s name. The smile she got back had her thinking she had been right.“I have some new clothes with me and some make-up,” Anna told her and put the bundle she had in her arm on the dresser. “Thank you,” Emma said.“Not at all. Let me have a look,” Anna said, walking up to Emma and turning her head to look at Emma’s cheek. Anna made a tutting noise.“
Bane looked up at her.“Say whatever you want,” he told Emma. “Obviously, I can’t say I’m your girlfriend. How about I tell them you hired me as a private nurse?” she pondered.“Why is it fucking obvious that you can’t be my girlfriend?” he asked. She thought he sounded angry, which confused her. “Because you told me yesterday that it wasn’t what this was. I can’t go around telling people you are my boyfriend and then pretend to turn a blind eye when you pick up other women,” Emma explained. “Right,” he said. But he didn’t sound happy. Maybe he just wasn’t a morning person, Emma thought. They sat in silence for a while longer. They had both finished eating when the two men Emma vaguely remembered had driven them to this place last night entered the dining room. “Emma, this is Tom and Luke. They will take you shopping and anything else that you need. Just let them know where you need to go and they will take you,” Bane told her. Emma looked up at the two giant men, both dressed i
“Since this morning, apparently,” Emma said, hooking her arm into Simon’s. “And I might need your help to pick out more than one dress,” she added. “Emma,” Simon whined. “I told you, just because I’m gay, it doesn’t mean I like shopping,” he objected. “Please, pretty please? You are the only one I can trust. I know you will tell me the truth about what fits and what doesn’t. And I will spill the tea, and it is a really, really excellent tea to spill,” she begged. “Damn you and your knowledge of my weaknesses,” he groaned. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said. They headed into the first shop to start their hunt. Emma felt bad that she had to lie to her friend, but she couldn’t tell him the truth. She didn’t think she would survive if Simon cut her out of his life. He was a good man, but Emma knew that when she more or less voluntary had signed a sex contract, she had become a glorified sex worker, a pet. She didn’t think anyone would think that would be okay. So she avo
After lunch, Emma and Simon headed back and found the salon. They were greeted by a small woman that had energy rolling off her. She was happy and sparkly, and Emma found it contagious. She introduced herself as Tammy, Jill’s friend.“I love your hair colour. The honey blond is so right for you. We will make it into your signature look. We’ll just have to work a little on the style. When was the last time you went to the hairdresser?” Tammy asked Emma as Emma sat down in her chair.“Oh, let me see. Five years ago?” Emma said hesitantly.“No, I dragged you into one when Joan got married. That is like three years ago,” Simon corrected her. “That’s true.” Emma nodded.“Oh my. Well, that explains it.” Tammy said.“Is it that bad?” Emma asked.“No, not at all. It just has no shape. I would love to just put in some layers and freshen it up a little. Would that be okay?”“You’re the professional. I trust you,” Emma said.Emma spent a couple of hours being pampered, getting her hair and nail
Bane stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked at his watch, five minutes to six and still no Emma. He felt his irritation grow. If she thought she could get away with defying him, she had another thing coming. He wouldn’t hesitate to go up there and drag her down.The rhythmic sound of heels hitting the stairs made him look up. Emma was walking down the stairs. At least Bane thought it was Emma. This creature looked like an angel if god had added sexy and temptress to the list of angel requirements.Gone were the dull clothes and messy hair. Bane had always suspected Emma’s clothes were hiding her true form. But looking at her now, he realised he had underestimated her natural sensuality. She was wearing a soft pink dress with silver sequins strewn all over it, making the light bounce off it. It created the illusion that she was sparkling. The left arm had a full sleeve, and the other arm was bare. There was no cleavage to speak of. But the waist was cinched and made her full br
The grip at the base of Emma’s neck wasn’t painful. In a way, it was comforting, and to her own horror, Emma found herself liking it. She knew Bane was claiming her as his own. She would rather be his than being left exposed to the two men across the table that were both drooling over her.She still wasn’t entirely comfortable in her dress; it drew far too much attention to her. But at least Bane seemed satisfied with it. And it had the desired effect on the two men. They were definitely distracted as they started talking business. Emma listened to the conversation while sipping her cocktail. It tasted okay, better than most of the ones she had tried before. She had a hard time keeping up with the discussion around the table. They seemed to use codewords. She guessed that would be wise since they were in public discussing what Emma presumed to be illegal things. After listening for a while, Emma understood the jest of what they were saying. The two men were trying to sell something,
“Put your guns down,” Bane growled at Victor and his men. Victor made a jerky nod with his head and his men and himself put their guns away. Bane and Jax also put theirs away and sat down at the table again. They must have stood up as they had drawn their guns, Emma thought. Luke and Tom still had their guns out, but they lowered them.“Have a nice evening, Victor, and give my best to your boss,” Bane said, dismissing the four men for the second time.“The same to you, Mr Velky,” Victor said. It only took them minutes to exit the restaurant. When they did, Luke and Tom put away their guns and Emma felt herself relax. Jax moved to a seat opposite her and Bane. He had a smile on his face. A waitress appeared at the table. Jax ordered a steak, medium, without having been offered a menu.“I’ll have the Steak au Poivre and the lady will have the seared lamb,” Bane said. He hadn’t looked at a menu either or asked Emma what she would like. Emma thought she should be upset about it. But t
Bane was standing at the bar, talking to the club’s manager and Jax. Emma’s revelation that there had been an increase in the number of overdoses from unpure drugs had made Bane inform his manager to keep an eye out. As they were talking, Bane had a clear view of where Emma sat. She had turned her back towards them, looking out over the crowd. She was showing off her almost naked back and Bane found the view tantalising.He also enjoyed all the men, and some women, that were also looking at his angel. She didn’t seem to notice how much attention she was attracting, how natural and easy her sensuality was. He lost track of the conversation he was having when a man approached her. Bane could see her tense up. He was ready to stride over to her when Luke handled the issue. Bane looked on as Luke took up post next to Emma. He was now free to go back to the conversation with Jax and the manager, but found that he was irritated.“Bane?” Jax asked.“What?” He sounded harsh and irritated ev