SOAR (The Indigo Lounge Series Book 4) (16 page)

“But…you
can’t just leave…”

“Watch
me.”

Tugging
his phone out again, he spoke into it. An usher hurried out and Noah passed him
a note from his pocket, presumably his speech.

The
limo she’d used yesterday pulled up. He led her to it, yanked open the door and
rasped, “Get in.”

Every
nerve in her body jangled in warning of imminent…
exciting
danger. Her
mouth dried as she looked up at him. Despite his ferocious expression, her
heart squeezed for him.

He
stared down at her, his teeth bared in complete, emotionless savagery. “Would
you like me to repeat the request?”

Leia
slid inside the car, wincing when she inadvertently leaned on her injured
wrist. Noah slammed the door and reached over to secure her seatbelt.

For
several minutes, he stared down at her damaged wrist in silence. Then he lifted
it gently and turned it over, examined every inch of the bandage. His jaw
clenched, and the corners of his mouth quivered with rage. “It is broken?”
His words were so gruff
,
they were barely
coherent
.

She
shook her head. “No, just a sprain.”

“Did
you have it checked out?”

“The
doctor at the hotel examined me earlier this evening.”

His
gaze sharpened. “Hotel?”

“I’m
staying at The Celestial. I…moved out of the Palm Beach house this morning.”

He
inhaled and exhaled, his eyes never leaving her face. “In an hour or so, when
the urge to kill isn’t riding me so high, you and I will have a very long
talk.” He started to rest her wrist on his thigh,
then
cursed when she winced again. Carefully setting it down, he pressed a button. A
compartment slid out from beneath the seat. He grabbed a packet of pills,
popped out two tablets and poured a glass of water.

“They’ll
help with the pain.”

She
swallowed them.

After
putting the glass away, he cradled her hand on his thigh and yanked his bow tie
free. Tossing it aside, he opened the first two buttons of his tuxedo shirt and
rested his head against the seat.

Silence
reigned for almost twenty minutes before she realized he didn’t plan on
speaking.

Leia
couldn’t keep quiet, not when one question burned holes into her. “You didn’t
answer me before.”

He
slid her a glance, which still held an unhealthy amount of fury. “Sorry, I must
have been off my head with rage. Ask away.”

Beneath
the waves of volatile energy flowing from him, she nearly faltered. “That…that
redhead…” She licked lips gone dry and tried in vain to calm her nerves.

“What
about her?”

“Did
you fuck her? Not tonight, I mean.
In the past.
And
before you think of denying it, let me remind you that two people who’ve fucked
have a way of looking at each other that makes it un-fucking-deniable,” she
spat the words out.

His
jaw flexed. “I wasn’t going to deny it. Yes. I fucked her. Back when she was my
shrink.”

“Were…were
you going to fuck her tonight?” Why the hell was she doing this, driving
poisoned knives between her own ribs?

“Frankly?
Yeah, the thought did cross my mind.”

By
the savage satisfaction in his eyes, she knew her raw, anguished reaction to
that news was plain to see on her face. She tried to snatch her wrist away. He
imprisoned it against his thigh, the other curling around her nape.

“You
can’t handle seeing me with someone I fucked long before I met you? I’ve
watched you take that ass-wipe’s side over and over again. I’ve spent every
night this past week drinking myself into oblivion because I didn’t want to
think that might be the night he finally crawled into your bed. So don’t you
fucking dare look at me with that broken look in your eyes.
”

SEVENTEEN

Noah
watched her lips quiver and resisted the urge to smash his fist through the
window.

He
raised her arm until her delicate, bandaged wrist dangled between their faces.
“He did this to you this morning, and you didn’t call me. For that, you will
pay. For now, you will reassure me thoroughly and repeatedly until I’m
satisfied, that you’ll never be alone with Snyder again.”

“I
wasn’t planning on it, but not seeing him at all…that’ll be hard to do since we
work together.”

“Not
fucking good enough. I want your word, or we do things my way. And don’t think
I won’t know, because I will.”

Her
hand trembled in his. “I won’t be alone with him. I promise.”

He
wanted to ask her whether she was hurt anywhere else, but Noah didn’t think he
could handle an answer in the affirmative.

Despite
knowing she would be attending the charity event, a bolt of shock had rocked
him when he’d seen her standing in front of him. Especially after Snyder had
arrived alone.

One
look at her injured wrist and everything had ceased to register in his brain.

He
suppressed a grim smile. When Shannon had reminded him tonight of the
detrimental effects of repressing his emotions, he was sure she hadn’t meant
him to smash another guy’s jaw. Her wandering fingers had told him exactly how
she expected him to unleash his emotions…

Leia’s
hand moved beneath his.

He
turned his head and captured her gaze.

Fear.
Excitement. Hunger. He tracked the emotions across her face, and a different
monster took hold of him.
One that wanted to consume her
until there was nothing left.

He
cupped her cheek with his free hand. “You belong to me now, Leia. No
inhibitions. No excuses. You scarified yourself for him. I accepted your
sacrifice. Now, you’re completely and irrevocably mine.”

He
rubbed his thumb along her lower lip. Her mouth dropped open. He breached the
soft tissue, took control of her mouth and explored. His nail scraped her stud,
triggering a bolt of electricity up his spine.

“If
I want to fuck this mouth for a solid hour, you’ll let me. If I feel like
eating your ass until you drown in your own juices, that’s what I’ll do. But
remember this - the second you say
stop,
all bets are off and I bury
that motherfucker in the deepest, darkest hole. Understand?”

Her
eyelids fluttered down, and she mumbled around his thumb. He slowly withdrew
his digit and smeared her saliva over her pink mouth. “Speak.”

Wide
eyes threatened to drown him. “Yes, Noah.”

A
savage part of him regretted her easy acquiescence. The dark part, which craved
to punish her for allowing
herself
to be hurt, wanted
an excuse to go after the bastard.

When
the car stopped in front of his building, he was almost relieved. Alighting, he
looked up at the steel and glass structure and acknowledged he couldn’t
continue living in this soulless place anymore.

First
thing tomorrow, he’d rectify that.

For
now…

Tucking
her right side into him so he wouldn’t aggravate her injury, he walked them to
the elevator and pressed the button for his floor. In her heels, she came up to
his jaw. The scent of her shampoo tickled his nostrils as he breathed her in.

Their
eyes met…meshed in the mirror opposite.

He
positioned her in front of him and slowly circled her tiny waist with his
hands.

“If
this wasn’t an office building, I’d commence your punishment right now. I’d
bend you over and fuck you raw right here,” he growled in her ear. He pressed
himself forward and delighted in her shameless shiver when his rigid cock
jumped against her ass.

The
elevator stopped, and he guided her forward. He only bothered with the lights
he needed to get them to the bedroom. Stopping before his bed, he shrugged out
of his tuxedo jacket and flung it over the dresser before facing her.

“First
you shower. Then we’ll talk. Then I fuck you.”

He
started to walk away, but stopped when he noticed she wasn’t moving. “Problem?”

She
held up her wrist. “I can’t undress myself. The chambermaid at the hotel helped
me get dressed earlier.”

Struggling
to preserve the last of his endurance, he closed his eyes. If she couldn’t
undress herself, she couldn’t take a shower on her own either. Inhaling deeply,
he retraced his steps.

First,
he removed her jewelry and placed them on the
night stand
.
Then he steadied her, so she could kick her shoes off. He caught hold of her
jacket, started to pull it off. She tensed.

“Noah…”
A trace of apprehension darted over her face.

He
saw why a second later. A large, purpling bruise covered her right shoulder.

“
What
the fuck
?” He pulled the jacket off her shoulder, remembering in time to
take care with her wrist. Smaller bruises covered her upper back.

Fingers
shaking, he pulled down her zipper. With every inch of skin exposed, the blood
thrummed in his ears until all he could hear was the sound of his rage.

“Jesus,
Leia! He did this to you, and you asked me to spare him?” His voice trembled
badly. Feeling his eyes itch, he rubbed them. His hands came away wet.

The
hell…?

Turning
away sharply, he strode to the window, one hand spiking into his hair. He
tugged hard, making his scalp scream and his eyes sting even more. Reassuring
himself that the wetness came from the pain, rather than any other stupid
emotion, he slammed his hand against the window.

He
wasn’t sure how long he stood there, the urge to howl in pain and frustration
building inside him.

When
her hand settled on his back, he stiffened.

“I
didn’t just take it, Noah. I fought back. His face was already aching before
you punched him tonight. And he’ll need an icepack for his balls for the next
month.”

Bitterness
churned his stomach. “If you’re saying that to make me feel better, save it.”

“I’m
not. I promise.”

His
breath shuddered out. “Go to the bathroom, Leia. I’ll be there in a minute.” He
didn’t want her to see the state he was in.

She
walked away without argument.

He
pressed his forehead against the glass and closed his eyes.

What
the fuck was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he walk away from her? From the very
first moment they’d met, he’d known she had the power to turn him inside out.
Hell, she’d proved that over and over since then. He’d believed he was a
masochist only when it came to sex.

Now,
he was starting to believe he was defective enough to like having his heart
ripped out and shredded repeatedly. To his knowledge only foolish assholes who
made the mistake of falling in love—

Hell
no…

He’d
made the mistake of thinking himself in love with Ashley and had ended up in an
NYPD cell for his troubles. And even if he was prepared to make room in his
life for the possibility of love, Leia had made it clear she wanted nothing
like that from him. Sex was what she wanted.

Well,
sex was what she would get.

Gritting
his teeth and forcing the absurd trembling in his body to cease, he toed off
his shoes, removed his shirt and crossed the room to the bathroom.

She
was reaching behind her with her uninjured hand, squirming to grasp her zipper.
Her hair had lost its fight to stay up and tumbled down her back, hiding most
of the bruises.

“I
told you to wait for me,” he snapped.

“No,
you
ordered
me to go to the bathroom.”

That
little hint of fire sparked a flame in his belly, eating through the icy rage
engulfing him.

Moving
her hand away, he took over, lowered her zipper and let her dress drop. She
stepped out of it, clad in only white, lace-topped stockings and a matching
thong.

He
crouched and came eye to eye with the bruise on her hip. The sound that escaped
his throat didn’t seem human.

She
glanced warily at him. “It looks worse than it feels.”

“Is
that supposed to appease me? Because it’s not working.” He pulled off her thong
and rolled down her stockings. Her hand steadied on his shoulder as she lifted
each foot. Her fingers slid over his nape and curled into his hair, caressing
gently.

“Tell
me what will work and I’ll do it,” she murmured.

Pulling
her fingers free, he stood, pushed her into the shower stall and turned on the
jets, making sure to keep her bandaged wrist out of the spray. He didn’t want
to spend time drying her hair, so he twisted it up in a bun on top of her head.
Then grabbing a cloth, he washed her.

“Your…your
trousers are getting wet.”

Noah
ignored her, focused on getting the job done before he lost it. Each bruise he
washed made rage thicken his blood. Every inch of smooth skin made him crave
her with a wildness that reminded him he’d been helpless against their insane
chemistry from the very start.

When
he was done, he dried her, wrapped her in a towel and swung her into his arms.

She
stared up at him with a mixture of wariness and worry.

“Noah,
please talk to me.”

In
the bedroom, he pulled the towel free and slowly circled her, allowing
himself
to finally study her properly. The worst bruised
places were her shoulder and hip. A few faint ones dotted her back and ribs,
but those would fade within a day or two.

Returning
to the bathroom, he took a tube and brought it back. Uncapping it, he applied
the balm on the affected areas, swallowing a growl of rage every time she
winced. Done, he tossed the tube aside and cupped her face.

She
must have witnessed the true depths of his fury, because her eyes widened.

“Noah—”

“Shut
the fuck up and listen to me, Leia. From now, until I set you free, I’m the
only one allowed to bruise this skin. Not even you are allowed to mar it. I
don’t give a shit if you hurt yourself by accident. I see a mark or a scratch
on you that I didn’t put there, the monster comes out. Are we clear?”

She
nodded. He let her get away with not vocalizing. There was no way she could’ve
misinterpreted his words.

Slowly,
he stepped back and pulled down the covers. He picked her up and placed her in
the middle of the bed.

“Before
we start, are you hungry? Do you want a drink?”

A small shake of her head, her beautiful eyes wary.
“No.”

Nodding,
he walked into his closet and opened the large box he hadn’t yet bothered to
unpack. Locating the items he needed, he returned to the bedroom.

Her
breath hitched the moment she saw what he held. Eyes wide, she shivered and her
thighs clenched together. He laid the items on the bed and sat down.

“Tell
me exactly what happened with Snyder.”

He
listened, eyes fixed on the headboard so he wouldn’t lose his shit. When she
was done, he forced
an exhale
and looked into her eyes.
“What do you feel for him, Leia?” He needed to absolutely sure.

“Before
this morning, I was grateful for what he did for me. But now, I can’t help but
think he was…”

“
Grooming
you?”

Her
eyes clouded. “I know what you thought when you first met him but I couldn’t…I
didn’t want to believe…”

Noah
rose to his feet. Grabbing the items, he held them up.

“I
need to erase what he’s done to you. I need you to feel my hand, not his. So
which is it to be? The ropes. Or the bull whip?”

Her
mouth opened, but no words emerged. Her eyes, totally devoid of her earlier
apprehension, darted between the two choices, her nipples slowly peaking.
 
“I can’t…I don’t know…”

“Fine.
The ropes it is.” He tossed the whip away and picked up the three white silk
ropes. Passing them between his hands, his blood began to thrum to a different
beat.

Her
nipples furled tighter, her nails digging into her thighs.

“Place
your wrists up on the pillow beside your head. Because of your injury, I’ll
have to tie your elbows.” He waited for her to obey before he moved lower on
the bed. “Draw your knees up. Open them wide.” Again, he forced himself not to
become absorbed in her body. The ferocious hunger running rampant through him
dueled with the rage. The second emotion needed to be dealt with before he did
anything to put her at risk.

Working
quickly, he looped the rope twice around her waist, placed the knots where he
needed them, then hooked two loops on either side of her thighs and bound her
ankles before securing them to the special hooks set into his bed. He stretched
the ropes so she was wide open to him. Once he’d secured her elbows with knots
that restrained her in a perpendicular hold, he stood back and looked down at
her. “Does it hurt anywhere?” he asked.