Page 122 of Stalked By Seduction and Shadows

“Are you aware of how powerfully you light up the room?” the woman asked me. Her deep brown skin sparkled under the red light, as if she’d adorned herself with shimmery powder. Her dark black curls gently brushed her shoulder, and she wore only purple lingerie. “I’m Zara, and this is Lars. We always think you look so lovely, but this dress is stunning.”

Lars was tan, shirtless, and perfectly sculpted. Rune would overshadow him completely with his size, however.

I wondered how close Rune was behind me, and if he was listening. “Thank you,” I said, returning her smile. “I’m Scarlett.”

“Where’d you get it?” she asked.

“Some guy who’s obsessed with me,” I said without missing a beat.

“I could’ve guessed that,” Lars said, his voice smooth and teasing. “His efforts must not have been up to your standards if you’re down here without him.”

Reggie laughed.

At the flash of movement behind Lars and Zara, my smile faltered. An imposing figure and a leggy blonde passed by. Rune might’ve been listening all right, but he hadn’t followed me down here alone.

What the hell was wrong with him? Anger stoked in my blood, and someone across the room screamed.

Now that his back was to me, it was my turn to try to murder him with my glare. The blonde wasn’t the only one with him. Suddenly more and more women had gathered around him like vampire and mortal groupies. There was even another human in the mix, which nearly sent me over the edge.

“Oh wow,” Reggie said, and the other two followed our line of sight to Rune.

“Is he ending his mysterious break?” Zara asked.

“Break from what?” I heard myself ask, even as my body surged with heat and I struggled to catch my breath.

“From topping,” Reggie answered.

My brows shot up. “And that means what, exactly?”

Zara glanced at me curiously, and I felt far too intense to tone myself down and hide my inner chaos. Even though I knew I was starting to slip, to reveal too much emotion. My plans were very much backfiring, and it only drove my frustration to frightening levels.

“Tops are the people who do, bottoms are the people who receive. The man wielding that cane over there is the top,” Reggie explained patiently. I begrudgingly pulled my eyes off Rune to see a man bent over a bench, a different man whacking him with a long, thin piece of wood. Red lines covered his ass and thighs. “This can apply to sex acts, but also to rope, bondage, impact, or other forms of sadomasochism.”

I didn’t care what the fuck it applied to. My anger was a rising tide, interacting with the mood of the room as moans grew louder, some shifting into pained grunts and groans.

When the human woman lowered to her knees to look up at Rune, my fists clenched so hard my fingernails nearly broke skin. Rune gestured wordlessly for her to rise again after a few moments, but she shook her head with a smile.

“The unattached bottoms and subs around here absolutely worship him,” Lars said. “He’s the gold standard of tops. I’ve seen him work. It’s a sight to behold. A true sadist, but he has never once pushed anyone beyond their limits.”

“Any one of them would dedicate their lives to serving him in a heartbeat,” Zara agreed, nearly wistfully. She’d gone back to watching Rune speaking in a low voice to more than a half-dozen women.

“My wife included,” Lars said with a light-hearted eye roll.

Zara laughed and rubbed his arm.

The roots of Rune’s infuriating god complex were revealed more and more each day. Half of my brain wanted to rage, run, and provoke him, and the other wanted to storm over there and make him claim me this instant.

I took a deep breath. Whoa, Scarlett. Chill the fuck out.

I’d never been like this before. I’d never felt such a sickening, cloying feeling in my guts, twisting around my every bone and surging rage and panic.

“How long has his break been?” I asked.

“A couple months, though public play was always rare for him,” Zara said, slowly turning back to me and resuming her probing stare. “He still comes down and soaks up the subby attention, mostly to act as a monitor and teacher. We haven’t had too many incidents lately, but combining feeding, sex, and kink will always be a high-risk activity for mortals.”

“Hmm.” The more I told myself to calm down, the less calm I became.

How gracious of Rune not to dominate other women while he was stalking me and watching me sleep.

---