Page 59 of Pure Vengeance

With Steve dead, there wasn’t any reason for me to keep her anymore. Considering she wasn’t even ten when Steve put the hit on Darragh, she bore no guilt herself, and was just a means to an end.

Except I couldn’t let her go until I knew all her secrets.

And maybe I should think about sharing one or two of my own.

Of course, I was already doing that to some extent. She’d hadn’t been inside my house since our wedding day, but she didn’t react to that either. She kept her eyes on her feet as I led her up the carpeted steps to my suite.

Still silent, she followed me to the center of the room. Before she could drop to her knees between the bed and the en suite, I shook my head and got the hex key for her collar from my pocket.

After unlocking her collar, I let it drop to the floor and took off her mitts, then turned her to face the bathroom. “Remove your tail and wash off the blood. There’s a robe hanging on the door. You may wear it when you finish.”

She nodded but didn’t speak as she walked into the bathroom. I had to treat her like a person, and not only because I needed some answers.

When the door closed behind her, I went downstairs to the kitchen for a bottle of wine and some snacks. She’d be doubly appreciative for the chance to eat something from a plate instead of from a steel dog bowl.

After that?

I wasn’t sure. With Steve dead, my taste for revenge was gone. I had no reason to keep Natasha, and a hundred reasons to set her free.

Obtaining a divorce would be easy enough. She’d be so glad to get out, I was betting she’d walk away with nothing but my bathrobe and never look back. If I was feeling very generous, I might arrange for her to inherit what was left of her father’s assets. There was probably enough for her to buy a small house and start over.

Except…

I didn’t want to let her go.

CHAPTER NINE

Natasha

Although I wanted to stand under the hot water forever, I rinsed and turned off the taps. I tried not to look at the sumptuous bathroom while I dried off, but almost burst out laughing when I spotted a hairbrush on the sink vanity.

I most definitely did not look at the mirror. It was bad enough to know the brand on the outer curve of my ass was there, as were the piercings in my tongue, nipples, and clit hood. I didn’t need to see them or my bald head.

It would serve no purpose to get used to such luxury, so I resolved to enjoy it as a one-off experience. Lachlan would move me back to the kennel soon enough. I glared at the tail resting on the sink vanity, wishing I could throw it out the window.

Not that I would. Oh, no. I’d washed the fucker instead, knowing it would be back in my ass before I crawled to my cage.

There’d even been a razor next to the expensive bath products. After gazing at it for several seconds, trying to decide if I could break it apart for the blades, I left it alone. Lachlan didn’t seem to care that I looked like a sasquatch. My pussy and head were the only places Lachlan didn’t want hair, and aftermultiple laser treatments, I doubted my pubic hair would come back anytime soon.

Honestly, not having to shave every other day was about the only good thing to come from being married to him.

And Dante too.

I wouldn’t let myself forget him. He’d deserved so much better than me. I sent up a silent prayer, hoping Lachlan didn’t hurt him when he…

Squeezing my eyes shut against tears, I took the robe from the hook on the back of the door and put it on. The silk robe would have been the height of decadence to past Natasha. Present Natasha, who hadn’t worn clothes in weeks, shuddered under the heavy, scratchy weight of unfamiliar fabric.

Knowing I couldn’t delay any longer, I opened the door and crept from the bathroom.

Funny, I’d expected his private space to smell like brimstone, but all I smelled was laundry detergent and lemon furniture polish mixed with his spicy cologne—just as it had on our wedding night.

Lachlan occupied one of the chairs near the wet bar, and there was a bottle of wine on the table in front of him, along with a tray of snacks. My mouth watered, but I didn’t look at the food. It wasn’t as if I’d get any of it.

“Come sit, Natasha. I bet you’re hungry.”

How long had it been since the last time I heard my own name?

My toes curled in the thick gray carpeting, but I trudged toward him and perched warily on the edge of the chair facing him, keeping my hands in my lap and my head down.

---