Page 71 of The Inquirer

Bradyn’s voice was gentle, and his touch had been too when he’d undressed me, but I knew what he was going to do now wasn’t gentle. I’d done it to subs myself.

The thick leather strip came down on my ass, and for a moment, I didn’t feel anything. Then came the pain. Less than any of the pinching or twisting of my now-aching nipples, less than the bites Bradyn had given me, but it sent heat through me the same way. I closed my eyes and just focused on feeling the weight and the bite of the next four lashes, each one a little more intense than the first.

Then his hand was there, sliding down my spine and over my ass, first one cheek, then the other. I shivered, my skin so sensitive. The movement made my nipples rub against the bedspread, and that sent another rush through me. When I felt his fingers slip between my legs, I made a sound halfway between a whimper and a moan.

“Don’t worry, firebird. I’ll get you there.” Bradyn’s voice rolled over me, full of promises. “Let’s see if I can make you scream with just my fingers.”

“Nyx, we’re landing.”

I jerked out of the half-sleep daze I’d been in, memories lingering as I tried to get my head together. The night we’d spent at Club Privé had been…explosive.

When we’d gone sightseeing with Kaimi and Rose on Saturday, my voice had actually still been rough from how many times Bradyn had made me scream. And that hadn’t been the only thing left from the night before either. I’d been able to hide the hickeys and bite marks since it was cool enough for long sleeves and jackets, but the ache between my legs from how hard he’d fucked me and how overly sensitive my skin still was had been impossible to keep from my friends.

Kaimi had really enjoyed teasing me about that, and since I’d given her plenty of shit when she and Sitara had first gotten together, I’d taken it as gracefully as I could.

“You all right?” Bradyn asked, concerned.

“I’m good.” I smiled at him. “I really needed this. Thank you.”

He kissed my temple. “I think it was good for both of us.”

I agreed. Walking through the airport with him, hand-in-hand, not only felt good, but it felt natural. Savannah might not have felt like home to me, but being with Bradyn was, more and more, starting to feel like home as much as New York did.

Less than a half hour later, we saw a cop car turning into the driveway a few yards ahead of us, and all that peace we’d gotten in New York vanished. The car didn’t have its lights on, but there wasn’t really a good reason for them to be at the ranch. Every muscle went stiff, and Bradyn grabbed my hand.

“They’re not rushin’, and there’s no ambulance.”

I wasn’t sure if he was trying to reassure himself or me.

Maybe if I’d had a better life growing up, I’d have been more optimistic, but all I could think right now was that something had happened to one or both of the Huxleys. I didn’t say anything, though. Bradyn didn’t need to deal with my shit right now. I liked Brew and Shadae, but they had been friends – almost family, really – to him.

When the driver got us closer to the main house, however, we saw Brew and Shadae standing outside, and the grip on my heart eased. They were okay. And then I saw Isaac too. I wasn’t interested in him, but I wouldn’t want him to have been hurt either, so I was glad to see him standing there too.

“They’re okay.” Bradyn’s hand tightened around mine.

“This where ya’ll want out?” the driver asked as he parked behind the cop car. “Cuz I don’t think I can go around them.”

“This is fine.” Bradyn held out a couple bills. “Here.”

“I’ll get the bags,” I said. “You go to Brew and Shadae.”

“Thank you.”

By the time I got our luggage, Bradyn was hugging Shadae and listening to whatever the Huxleys were saying. I put everything on the grass, out of the way, and went to join them. Shadae was in the middle of a sentence when I got close enough to hear them.

“…we got home, and it was like this.”

And that was when I saw the reason why the cops were here.

Go back to Africa you fucking n-

Fury flooded me. Who the fuck had done this? If the cops couldn’t figure it out, I sure as hell would. This sort of racist bullshit would’ve pissed me off no matter who the victims were. The fact that someone had done this to people like Shadae and Brew made it personal. If I had to stay in Savannah for a year to figure it out, I’d do it.

“I need you to stop right there, miss.” A uniformed officer stepped in front of me. “This is a crime scene.”

“It’s all right, officer,” Isaac called. His expression was tight, and even from where I was standing, I could see rage simmering just under his skin. “She’s a guest here.”

“Are the cabins like this too?” I asked, looking back and forth between Isaac and the cop, figuring at least one of them would answer me.

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