Page 97 of When the Woods Go Silent

What if Torrence is here, and something happened with that guy who tried to grab Rose? If he’s friends with Kier, he might want to hurt Torrence, too.

Worry shoves me inside before I can think of a better plan. I’m in a back storage room, stacked full of shelves of cookware and boxes. I’ve just entered the empty kitchen when my phone dings.

Rose, not Torrence.

Did you leave?? I can’t find you.

I ignore her text, not willing to try and explain it now. Another noise echoes through the restaurant, like a moan. Oh, crap. What if Torrence is here, hurt? What if Kier and that other guy came to finish the fight?

I track the sound to the bathrooms, hearing a string of angry words coming from the men’s.

But when I push open the door, my jaw drops, and I’m frozen in place.

Because it isn’t Torrence.

And as far as I can tell, these moans definitely aren’t from pain.

Arlo has his back to me, and he’s pressing a naked young man face down against the sink, the pale color of his skin a stark contrast to the black marble. The wet sound of skin against skin echoes in the tiled room, and embarrassment flushes my face. I stumble over my own feet as I back away, a whispered apology on my lips, but then Arlo looks up.

His ice-blue eyes catch mine in the mirror, and he grins wickedly, his hips still snapping into the other man’s. Arlo is fully dressed, but it’s all too obvious what they’re doing. I should definitely not be here.

“Stay, Ruby. He likes to be watched,” Arlo says then, giving me another shock.

My movements pause again, my body obeying the command before I can think better of it. I squeeze my eyes shut, shaking my head.

“Master?” a hoarse voice asks, uncertainty lacing it.

“Bow to her, filthy slave,” Arlo croons, and my eyes pop open against my will, just in time to see him yanking a handful of the young man’s hair, forcing him around to face me and kneel. I cringe away from his nakedness at first, but then he drops his face to the floor and kisses the dirty scuff of my worn tennis shoe while Arlo goes to one knee and slowly fucks him from behind.

“You could do it so much better,” Arlo says, echoing his words from the previous night as he stares up at me. I refuse to meet his eyes, trying not to look at any part of the bizarre scene in front of me. I should definitely be leaving, but I’m frozen in place, locked in the shock of it all.

“You could be his Master, if you wanted,” Arlo whispers, and the man on his knees makes such a desperate noise of need that I step back, confused as I find myself standing straighter, looking down at the pair of them as a trickle of power drips down my spine. Master? I’ve never dabbled in that side of kink before. Sure, I’ve had men who thought it was cute to spank my ass and call me good girl, and it never did a Goddess-damned thing for my sex drive.

Now, I think I might know why.

But none of this... whatever this is... is what I came here for.

“Um... Torrence?” I manage, gathering my thoughts and focusing my gaze hard on the blank wall. As much as I might be interested in trying a kink like this, I absolutely don’t want to watch Arlo performing it.

Arlo chuckles. “Yes, Torrence would do so well under your control. Think about it,Mistress Ruby.” He hisses the words at me, just as a door bangs from the direction of the kitchen.

“Oh, fuck yes,” Arlo curses, still laughing under his breath, then bears down on the naked man, both of them breathing heavier as my phone pings. I fumble it as I turn away, dropping it to the tile just as Arlo groans dramatically in satisfaction.

My cheeks have got to be tomato red at this point. I bend to scoop up my phone, desperately avoiding looking at the trembling man on his hands and knees. I squeeze my eyes closed as I stand and pivot.

Right into Torrence’s arms.

“Arlo, what the fuck!” he roars, grabbing my elbows so firmly that he lifts me right off the ground and swings me behind him. I hear a faint chuckle right before the sickening sound of fist meeting face. Arlo is being hauled out of the bathroom, his dick bouncing around as Torrence pummels him.

He gains his footing and dances sideways, sneering. “Little pet has you by the balls, man. The crown is slipping.”

Torrence yells something I can’t understand, and Arlo laughs again, ducking a punch. “You have totrainthem to be slaves, Tor.”

He moves to hit back, but Torrence lunges and shoves him hard into the wall. His skull cracks against the drywall.

I make the mistake of looking back at him, and he catches my eye, still grinning like we now share a freaking secret.

“-liked the show-” he manages, just before Torrence lands a knockout blow to his temple. Arlo crumples to his knees, and I’m frozen again when I should be running, just trying not to freak the hell out. What is wrong with the world today?

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