Disgrace (22 page)

“You may think you are some sort of big deal,
Selena,
but face it…you’re just a whore.” This last word is drowned by the sonic crack from the tail end of my whip. Followed almost instantly by his curse and the shattering of his glass. His shocked eyes focus on the large bubble of blood coming from the knuckles on this hand where my aim has sliced his skin. It was a stupid move in such a confined space but I was confident in my skill and the area was clear. It had to be done. I’ll gladly take the consequence for breaking this club rule. Just looking at the surprise on Richard’s face is reward enough but I get a real surge of warmth that comes from retribution. It might not be much, but I made that bastard bleed.

I crack the whip once more with a showy Tasmanian cut back, which loops and cracks loud just behind me. It is perfect for garnering the attention of my target and the entire room. I stride right up to him, he takes a step back, and I snicker and raise a brow. He steps forward but too late for his error to go unnoticed. Perfect. We are nose-to-nose, I grab his chin and crush my mouth to his. His lips soften, and he groans, leaning into me, but I hold his distance with my grip. His urgent tongue is hungry for more, and when I pull back he almost falls forward chasing my lips. His eyes are liquid fire, his need and desire as transparent as the glass I have crushed beneath my boots. His chest heaves to calm his breathless state.

“I may be a whore…but I will never be
your
whore.” I pat his cheek, my tone is laced with condescension. “But you,
Dick…
you
will always be my bitch
.”
He stumbles back, his eyes narrow, but he is silent. He looks around, noticing for the first time the enraptured audience. He roughly pulls his companion to her feet and marches away, through the curtained entryway and hopefully out of my life. Around us, the room resumes its normal level of noise and activity, but I remain transfixed on the doorway. Leon sweeps me into his arms and hugs me tight.

“Holy. Fucking. Shit. Sam, that was…shit, I am so fucking hard.” He slides me down his body to let me feel the evidence of his statement. His mischievous grin eases the weight of the tension coursing through my veins. I slap him on his chest but wince when he flinches. He will be raw under his shirt, and I didn’t mean to hurt him…not this time at least. I mouth ‘sorry’ but he shrugs it off.

“You are so not the only one, Leon.” Marco lets out an exaggerated groan and visibly adjusts himself.

“Because that was my main objective, to give you two hard-ons.” I sniff and stretch my neck, the last bit of tension leaving my body with a pop. I slide back on to my stool and lay the whip on the bar. “I’ll have a glass of that, Marco…now the bottle’s open,” I smirk.

“I would say, hard-ons aside, you more than fulfilled your objective.” Leon wraps a protective arm around me, as he was unable to do so earlier for fear of highlighting any vulnerability I was absolutely feeling. “Proud of you, babe.” He kisses my hair, and I can feel his wide smile against my head. It must mirror mine.

“I’m proud of me.” I reach for the glass; all eyes take in my shaking fingers. I let out a deep breath, the adrenaline still making my poor heart race and causing havoc with my nerves, now that I don’t have to hold my emotions in check. I tip the flute back and down the entire glass. Fuck sipping, I’d be mainlining this if I could. Leon and Marco chuckle, and a calm settles over me as the liquid works its magic. “I doubt he’ll come back, but I’m happy I can deal if he does. No more hiding.”

Leon raises his glass, and with a pointed stare, he raises a toast.

“I’ll drink to that, no more hiding.” I close my eyes, acknowledging the portent of his words. No more hiding from Jason. He deserves to know the truth.

“F
uck! Fuck!” I end my call to Leon. I know it’s nobody’s fault. The computers are down, but I had banned that fucker the day after Sam told me who he really was. And now he is there…with her. I need to leave.

“Problem?” Daniel raises his brow. Our meeting had just started, but I slip my phone in my pocket and grab my suit jacket from the back of my chair, eager to leave.

“The club,” I reply. He stands as I head to the door. “Sam’s ex just showed up, and because the computers are down, he got in. I’ve only just found out, because I set up an independent alert direct with the server, but Sam wouldn’t have got her normal notification, and she’s there now. I have to go.”

“Of course.” Daniel gives a tight nod and follows me through the door. “I’m sure Sam can handle herself.” His tone is calm, and I can only hope his confident assertion is correct. I am well aware of the image she portrays, but I also know the fragile foundation it is built on. I shake my head.

“I’m not so sure. You have no idea what he did to her.” My voice trails, and I can feel anger heat my veins.

“Go, we’ll sort the rest tomorrow.” We walk along the corridor, but it takes a moment to register what he said.

“The rest?” My mind is very much elsewhere.

“The meeting?” he clarifies with a curious raised brow.

“Oh yes, sorry, Daniel. My head isn’t here.” I shrug, but I am more worried about getting to Sam than discussing tomorrow’s agenda.

“Obviously. Do I need to be concerned, Jason? You know our baby is due any day now, so I won’t be around.” If he is really concerned it is far from evident in his tone, and his face is ever impassive.

“You don’t need to be concerned, Daniel. You have been a little distracted yourself since the wedding, and the company is still standing,” I challenge, only mildly affronted at his remark. “If I’m honest, I could do without hand-holding the intern you dumped on me.”

“Ah, Peitra, yes, my apologies. You have to admire her tenacity. I am not one for nepotism, but she was very quick to highlight her business achievements and that she isn’t, in fact, related to me.” He presses the lift button. He shrugs lightly.

“Tenacious is one word. She may not be related to you, but being your wife’s best friend’s cousin meant she got close enough to ask for the placement
personally
. Something no other candidate was ever likely to do.” My irritation is evident but not entirely related to the topic. I re-press the button. Is it stopping at every damn floor on the way here?

“True, but she’s very bright I thought she would help.” Daniel offers and I raise my brow when I face him.

“If it’s help I need, then let me have Colin, your PA, and not some love struck graduate.” He grins at my comment. I may have only met her one time, but I would have to be numb from the neck up to not know her interest was more than business related.

“Don’t tell me a beautiful woman makes you uncomfortable. That’s a first.” Daniel chuckles.

“Beauty I can handle—”

“Jason, if she’s a problem, reassign her to another department. I only put her with you because I will most likely be on paternity leave and, sitting in an empty office, she is not likely to learn much.” He reaches for his phone, which started to buzz. He nods to indicate he is going to take the call.

“She won’t be a problem.” He acknowledges my comment with a silent grin. The lift doors open to the soft ping indicating its arrival. “We will resume this meeting first thing tomorrow.” I drag my hand through my hair and punch the ground floor button aggressively.

“Make it mid-morning, Jason. Don’t rush in if Sam needs you, okay?” The doors close before I can respond but I’m grateful. He doesn’t need to see that it might not be a case of what Sam needs.

It’s late, but on Friday night in central London, it may as well be rush hour. It is taking forever to get across town. I’ve never had a full-time submissive, never committed to more than play sessions, and the crushing pain in my chest makes me realise exactly why. I have let her down, and if she breaks tonight, I will never forgive myself. If that bastard lays a single finger on what I consider mine, the murky waters of the Thames will have one more body to take out with the morning tide. I blast my horn at a group of drunks spilling onto the road, clearly scaring the shit out of at least one. The others I see flipping me off in my rear view mirror. Why is every fucking idiot out tonight? I swear the next time I’ll just mow them down. I slam my brakes as I hit a solid line of stationary taillights.
Fuck!

The glow of the lights casts a demonic filter over my reflection. All I can see in my red haze of rage is the vision of my girl. I’m too far gone for her image to calm me. I’m too far gone when it comes to Sam, period. As much as she could belong to anyone, I consider her
mine
because she willingly surrenders to me. It’s the most beautiful thing when she submits to me, open, vulnerable, and that trust just fucking blows me away. But, even at that moment, when her life is truly in my hands, she is never completely vulnerable. That has only ever happened when she is reliving her time with
him.
She is a remarkable woman, sexy and strong, but the second her memories of the horror she endured at his hands invades her thoughts she is shattered, rendered broken and so fragile I barely recognise her.

Having witnessed this firsthand makes my stomach churn, and I struggle to see how any interaction will not end in disaster. I let out a frustrated howl, slamming the wheel at the impotence of my situation. I’d abandon my car if I thought I could get there on foot any quicker.
Wait.
I check the map, a mile, maybe two on foot. I swerve my car as close to the curb as I can get, grab my phone from the dash and leap from the car. The driver behind me leans out of his window and screams something. I shrug. It’s an arsehole move to dump and run, but the other cars behind can still get around.

I turn and hit the pavement, strong strides quickly covering the distance I need to get to my beautiful girl.

I round the corner to the square. The club is in the middle of a row of Georgian terrace houses, which are mostly offices; very few are family homes. Some, like the building I own with the club have a private residence at the top, but this is mostly a commercial area of the city. This time of night, parking shouldn’t be a problem, but I notice every bay is filled, so either way, I would be blocking a road with my car. Least of my worries. I am just about to swing around the railing and descend into the basement entrance when I pull myself to an abrupt stop. Very nearly too late, which would’ve sent me, Leon and Sam tumbling down the concrete stairs.

I draw in a deep, steadying breath. I grab her shoulders and my fingers eagerly sweep and investigate her coat covered body. Unsatisfied that I am learning anything, I roughly push the garment from her shoulders. I take another sharp breath but not from the exertion of the run. Fuck, she looks smoking hot. Skin-tight, halter neck, bright red, PVC cat suit shines and teases in the light of the streetlamp. I only pause for a moment then continue to cover every inch of her skin, exposed and undercover, I check for anything amiss. She giggles and jumps when I touch her waist at the side and groans once I thread my fingers into her messy bun. I tug and she arches her neck exposing her delicate throat. She hums out a sweet moan, heavy lids with luscious long lashes frame eyes dark with wanton desire, but I haven’t finished. I release her and cup her cheeks.