Page 22 of Prohibited

She wanted to kill him.

“Perfect,” he whispered, licking his lips and rolling them together like he was tasting a rich, deep wine. Then he straightened again and slackened his hold on her throat. The knife was in front of her face again, causing her heart to smash against her ribcage and her lips to part. “Now–”

The door to the room opened and Evie started. For a brief few moments, she had forgotten everything outside of this man and his knife.

Footsteps came toward them. A slow, off-balance rhythm. Not Ryan’s footsteps. There were more? The look on Alex’s face changed from pleasure to irritation.

She flinched at the prospect of what could possibly come next. First a beating, then a madman with a knife cutting into her face. What else?

A golden red head of hair came into view. Below it, a good and handsome face. The sort of face any woman would want her husband to have. Guileless and pleasant. A splash of freckles over his face and his arms. It gave him a charming, boyish look, though he was a man already into his 30s. Broad through the shoulders, and taller than Alex, though not as tall or as broad as Ryan. Well-muscled forearms beneath the rolled up sleeves of his work shirt. A cane held firmly in his left hand.

Evie’s eyes widened slightly as they roved over the cage of leather and metal trapping his left leg. Perhaps a war injury. Perhaps something else.

She raised her eyes to his face and found his green eyes snapping anger. But they weren’t trained on her. They were on the man coiled around her like a pretty snake.

“Alex,” said the man. He had a beautiful, clear tenor voice. The sort of voice that guaranteed a sweet song. “What in the hell are you doing?”

Chapter nine

Lindsay

Finding Alex in a compromising position with a naked woman and a knife did not remotely surprise Lindsay. These things were the least of the depravities he was capable of.

The very thought made him shiver.

And though he would be punished severely later for his interference, he also was never one to back down when Alex was behaving badly. And right now, he was definitely behaving badly.

“Don’t interfere, Pony.” There was a real warning in Alex’s voice, but Lindsay wasn’t going to be intimidated.

“Interference is the least of what I should do,” he said, eyebrows lowering over his eyes.

“That mouth will only continue to get you into more and more trouble, Pony,” Alex said. His eyes flashed with annoyance, but also anticipation, and his beautiful lips drew up ever so slightly at the corners.

Lindsay drew the key out of his pocket and slipped it into the lock, clicked it open.

“Come now,” he said, now standing in the absent space where the door had just been. He rested his shoulder against the bars. “Give it a rest.”

There was a pause, Alex’s face blank and impassive.

“Beg me.” Alex nodded to the ground. “Go on. Like a good boy.”

Suppressing a sigh, Lindsay slowly bent his leg in its cage and folded around it, shuffling awkwardly to get to his knees.

“Look at him, Dolly.” Lindsay raised his eyes to see Alex moving gracefully off of the woman and grabbing the hair at the back of her head to haul her up. Evelyn. Seeing her in nothing but the remains of a camisole and a pair of drawers around her thighs, blood running over one lovely breast was enough to steal the breath from him. Shock and desire mingled uncomfortably together. “He cares, that one. Big heart.” Alex leaned closer to whisper in her ear, though Lindsay caught his words. “Big cock, too.”

She looked visibly shaken, eyes wide, body stiff. Muscles bunching, jaw clenched tightly.

“He’s such a good boy.” Alex slowly released her from his grasp, relinquishing his quarry. Her rib cage expanded and collapsed with the puff of her relief and she drew her bound arms and her knees toward her chest, closing in on herself. Alex ignored her and walked toward Lindsay. “Put your hand on the floor.”

Lindsay did so with only a hint of hesitation, apprehension wrapping itself around his insides. As always, it waschased by anticipation. And then, the trailing ribbon of shame.

Alex wasted no time pressing his beautifully shined leather dress shoe onto Lindsay’s hand. A shudder of anticipation and pleasure went through Lindsay that he worked with all his might to suppress.

“Such a good boy,” Alex whispered. “Even when he’s being bad.” He shifted forward so his whole weight came down on Lindsay’s hand. Lindsay cried out. There was no sense in suppressing his reactions. Alex consumed them voraciously, no bottom to the pleasure he was capable of receiving. Lindsay gave them, similarly inexhaustible in his supply.

“But you can play the hero if you wish.” Alex stroked his hand through Lindsay’s hair and then again to take a fist full of it, tilt his head back carefully. His empty blue eyes searched Lindsay’s face, gathering what they wanted from Lindsay’s expression. “I know it makes you feel important.”

A flush burned Lindsay’s cheeks but he said nothing. Alex pressed a rough kiss to his temple and then whispered in his ear. “I’ll give you your way this time, Pony, but if you interfere with my playtime again I’m going to make you very sorry.” Alex released him and a shiver went through his body, anticipation and apprehension colliding.

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