It was the blackest room I’d ever seen. The walls and ceiling were painted black. The floor was a glossy black tile. A huge bed of black iron, covered with black sheets, rested against one wall. But that wasn’t what made me take a hasty step backward so that I bumped into Dominic coming up behind me.
The recessed lights in the ceiling shone on the black wooden pegs that jutted out from the wall facing the stairs. At least a dozen of them. From each of those pegs hung a coiled monstrosity of a whip. And I realized the room was most likely a monochromatic black to camouflage bloodstains. Dominic put his hands on my shoulders, or I might have knocked us both down the stairs in my hasty retreat. Adam stuck his head around the corner and fixed me with one of his creepy stares.
“Don’t worry, love. That’s not your room.”
I swallowed on a dry throat and pulled away from Dominic’s grip. Retreat wasn’t an option, so I did my best to feign indifference as I walked up the last couple of steps. I’m a lousy actress. I followed Adam down the hall and tried not to notice that Dominic was no longer behind me. I knew where he’d gone. When I realized Adam was installing me in the room right next door, I balked.
“Huh-uh!” I said, stepping back again. “No way.”
Adam flashed me a shark’s smile. “It’s the only room I have that locks from the outside. And you know I’m not going to trust you in an unlocked room.”
I knew better than to ask why he had any room that locked from the outside.
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won’t try to run away.”
“Yeah, right. Come on, you know there’s no point in fighting this. And you will be safe here.”
I considered making a run for it—Dominic was no longer blocking my escape route, after all—but some shivery, cowardly part of me feared that if I ran, Adam might drag me into that black room instead of Dominic.
“Could you at least do me the courtesy of not…” I found myself too prudish to finish my own sentence, so I made an indistinct hand gesture instead.
Oh, did my discomfort ever amuse him!
“Of not fucking in the room next door?” he finished for me. “I made Dominic a promise, and I’m not a tease. Now, much though I enjoy shooting the breeze with you, I’ve got other business to take care of. Get in the room before I lose my patience.”
Almost sick to my stomach with dread, I stepped into the room. Adam slammed the door shut behind me, and I heard the lock click. I pressed my back against the door and slid down until my butt hit the floor, then hugged my knees to my chest.
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At first, I didn’t hear anything. I sat with my back against the door, every muscle in my body tense, my ears straining for a sound they didn’t want to hear. When the silence stretched for a few minutes, I forced a couple of deep breaths into my lungs and tried to relax.
Maybe Adam was just giving me a hard time. Maybe he and Dominic weren’t doing anything in the room next door. Or maybe the room next door was soundproofed. I remembered those neatly coiled whips and hoped to God it was.
Strangely enough, though the room was scary as hell, I hadn’t noticed any signs of chains or restraints of any sort, like I’d assumed you’d find in an S&M dungeon. Maybe it was just for show?
That faint hope faded when I heard what could only be the crack of a whip. I gasped and hugged myself, retreating as far as I could to the other side of the room, where a platform bed rested against the wall. I climbed onto the bed and squeezed myself into the corner, covering my ears with my hands.
And still I heard it. One lash after another, going on for what felt like forever.
Then it got worse. Dominic started to cry out after each lash. His voice sliced through me. I wanted to crash through the wall and tackle Adam, make him stop hurting him. How could he do that to someone he’d kissed so tenderly not so long ago? How could Dominic let him? How could Dominic like it?
I was crying, and I hadn’t even noticed the first tear falling. I wished I hadn’t been so fucking noble about trying to protect Brian. If I’d just let him win our argument, I could be cuddled in his warm, safe arms even now. My heart ached, and I hated myself more than a little. Words can’t describe how relieved I was when the whip finally fell silent. I hoped Dominic was all right.
Soon I heard evidence that he was just fine.
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there was no way I could misinterpret the sounds Dominic was making now as pain.
The walls might as well have been made of paper. Either that, or Dominic was just that loud. Adam hardly made a sound, though every once in a while I heard a grunt of pleasure that sounded too deep for Dominic’s voice. Their bed was against the wall between our rooms, the headboard thumping rhythmically as the bedsprings squeaked. My fear and revulsion leaked away. My hands slid away from my ears, and instead of just hearing, I listened. And in my mind’s eye, I built an image of the two of them, both naked, both beautiful. Adam, pale and powerfully built, Dominic with his olive skin and his almost lanky frame. Dominic bent over that black, black bed, with Adam riding him. I pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes, but that didn’t make the image go away, didn’t stop the arousal that dampened my panties against all logic. It had never occurred to me that I might find the image of two men going at it erotic. Maybe there were parts of myself I’d never dared explore. That I never wanted to explore.
I fought my arousal as hard as I could, but as long as Adam and Dominic kept fucking so loudly, it was a battle I couldn’t win. Fighting myself every step of the way, I slid my hand between my legs. And then I couldn’t fight it anymore.
My hand moved to the rhythm of their thrusts, and I lost myself to the forbidden, erotic images. I was going to be mortified when this was all over. And I didn’t give a shit.
I clapped my other hand over my mouth as the pleasure mounted. I couldn’t bear the thought that they might hear even the slightest sound from me, though logic said they wouldn’t hear anything over the racket they were making.
Dominic cried out in release, Adam’s cry coming a heartbeat later. My back arched and I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted blood as those sounds burst through the last of my resistance and I came. Afterward, I walked on shaky legs to the bathroom. I’d originally thought the door led to a closet, or I might have hidden in there instead of huddling on the bed. Would the sound of running water have drowned out the sounds from the next room? I didn’t think so. 116 / 226
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I stared at myself in the mirror for a long time. My face was flushed, my eyes and cheeks sticky with tears. I took a shuddering breath then turned on the taps, washing my hands then splashing cold water on my face. Adam had been deliberately toying with me, and I was letting him win. That pissed me off.
When in doubt, get angry, that’s my motto.
The anger actually helped me feel better. Yes, I was still embarrassed by how I’d reacted to the sound of them having sex. And yes, I was still freaked out and vaguely sickened by what had come before. But I felt steadier, calmer.
I turned my energies toward thoughts of escape. Not that I felt I was literally in danger here. I’m not the trusting sort, but I believed Adam really wanted to protect Lugh. I just thought the price I’d have to pay for Adam’s protection was too steep.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t any way out except through the door I’d come in. The windows were shielded by decorative iron grilles, a notuncommon safeguard against thieves. I messed with the door a bit, but I’m not a locksmith.
About forty-five minutes after the festivities next door had halted, a key slid into the lock on my door.
I’d been pacing the room, frustrated and trapped, but I stumbled to a halt. I tried to brace myself, but I wasn’t sure my nerves were up to another sparring session. If Adam goaded me, I’d give him far more satisfaction than I wanted.
Only it wasn’t Adam who stepped into my room a moment later, it was Dominic. He shoved the door closed with his foot, and I saw that he carried a tray. Seconds later, the aroma of garlic and green peppers hit me, and my stomach reminded me I hadn’t eaten since noon. He didn’t meet my gaze as he laid the tray down on an antique writing desk that faced the window. As I watched, a flush crawled up his neck. I wasn’t sure which one of us was more embarrassed.
“Are you all right?” I asked him.
He looked at me for the first time, and though he was still blushing, there was a hint of a smile on his lips. “I’m fine.” He cleared his throat and stared at his feet. “And I’m sorry about…all that.” His cheeks reddened further. “Adam does enjoy his mind games.”
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He pulled out the chair in front of the desk for me, every inch the gentleman. I was way too hungry to ignore the invitation, especially when the scent made my mouth water like Niagara Falls. I was, however, still in a pretty bitchy frame of mind.
“Sounded like he wasn’t the only one enjoying it,” I said, then wished I hadn’t. First, it was snarky. Second, I really didn’t want to talk about their sex life.
To my surprise, Dominic didn’t take offense. He grinned at me, a surprisingly sweet, boyish expression. “He can be a jerk sometimes, but he sure knows how to make up for it.”
I sat and examined my plate, which featured chicken smothered with peppers and onions and tomato sauce over a mound of spaghetti. It smelled heavenly. There was also a glass of dark red wine, which I ignored. I sampled a bite of the chicken, and I think my taste buds had an orgasm. Dominic plopped into a recliner and looked at me expectantly. I licked my lips to catch the last drip of sauce while I cut off another hunk.
“Did you make this?” I asked with my mouth full. My mom would have had a conniption fit over my table manners.
“Yes,” he admitted modestly, though I could tell he was pleased with my reaction.
“It’s delicious,” I told him, just to make sure he got the message. “You were wasted as a firefighter—you should have been a chef.”
His smile fell away, and I wished I’d kept that little gem to myself.
“Sorry. That was insensitive. I was just trying to give you a compliment.”
I tried a wry grin. “I’m not very good at it.”
He laughed at that, and it made me feel a little better. The laughter faded, and he rubbed his chest absently.
“It’s only been five days,” he said. “Sometimes it feels like it happened an hour ago. Sometimes it seems more like a year. I don’t quite know what to do with myself. If it weren’t for Adam, I think I’d have gone crazy by now.”
I wondered if I would ever come close to getting this guy. “How can you be so close to him when you’ve only known him for five days? I mean, only known him as yourself. Er…” I couldn’t think of how to phrase my question so it made sense, and I really wished I hadn’t tried. Dominic gave me a funny look. “I was still me when I was hosting Saul. It’s not like I ceased to exist just because I wasn’t in the driver’s seat.” He 118 / 226
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smiled faintly. “Saul was very fond of Adam, but I was the one who always loved him.” The smile turned sad, the pain in his eyes enough to make me wince. “And I loved Saul, too. He deserved so much better than he got.”
I really hated seeing his pain, and I thought about the secret Adam was keeping. Lugh told me they weren’t allowed to tell humans the truth. But there was nothing stopping me.
“Did Adam tell you my…situation?” I asked him.
Dominic shook off his melancholy with a visible effort. “He told me you were hosting someone who can’t control you.”
“Did he tell you who it was?” I didn’t get my hopes up, which was a good thing.
Dominic shook his head. “No. He just said that it’s someone who outranks him in their world. Someone important.”
“Yeah, well, my uninvited guest told me something I think you should know.” I tore myself away from my plate, because this wasn’t something you told someone while you were casually stuffing your face.
“The whole thing about exorcism killing demons is apparently a myth. Your demon isn’t dead.”
For a long, frozen moment, Dominic stared at me in shock. Then he burst into tears.
It startled me for a moment. I’d seen him cry before, right after the exorcism, but that hadn’t been as shocking. Yeah, I know gay guys are supposed to be more sensitive, more in touch with their feelings, yada, yada, but Dominic just looks too much like your typical manly man. I hadn’t the first idea how to deal with his tears.
He moaned Adam’s name, and the tears turned into wrenching sobs that tore at my heart.
Well, shit. I might have just given Dominic the good news that his demon wasn’t dead, but I’d also given him the bad news that Adam had known and hadn’t told him. Although I hadn’t done it consciously, I think there was a small, spiteful part of me that wanted to stick it to Adam for what he’d done today. But sticking it to Adam by hurting Dominic was just low and mean.
“He couldn’t tell you,” I said, wondering if it was even possible to heal the wound I’d just made. “It’s against their laws.”
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Dominic should know his demon was still alive, but this sure as hell hadn’t been the way to go about it.