Page 162 of Prized Possession

“Absolutely.”

“Good, because I enjoy both in different ways,” she admits, the flush on her cheeks becoming redder with her confession.

I have to admit, I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy sex without the control and dominance element, but I did. I know what she means when she says she enjoys both.

“As much as I hate to leave this bed while you’re still naked, I better get going. Miles and Jake are already moaning that I’m late,” I tell her, hating how she tenses when I avoid mentioning where I’m going.

“Yes, and I have a cake to make.”

As she says that, her face brightens up.

“I think we’re both going to have a very good day,” I tell her, capturing her lips for another kiss.

“Enough of that or we’ll never start our great day,” she jokes, slapping my arm playfully.

With regret, and a lot of moaning, I climb out of bed and head for the shower, getting ready for what I know will be a fucking fantastic day.

I arriveat the warehouse Miles gave me the address for about forty minutes later, which is apparently far longer than either Miles or Jake is happy about. They both have matching annoyed expressions on their faces, but I dismiss them both.

“Good morning,” I say chirpily, loving the confused looks that spread over their faces.

Miles turns to Jake. “Did he just say good morning? Like a normal person, in a happy, cheerful voice?”

Jake visibly shudders. “This is the most animated I’ve ever seen him…and it’s freaking me out. What happened to Mr Dark, Broody, and Miserable?”

“He started the day with an amazing blowjob, which I highly recommend,” I point out.

Jake makes gagging noises, pretending to vomit, while Miles laughs.

“Yeah, that’ll do it,” Miles adds.

Jake glowers at him. “Don’t encourage the arsehole. He’s talking about my fucking sister.”

“You wouldn’t be as uptight if you started the day with a blowjob?” I rather unhelpfully point out.

Jake takes a menacing step towards me, glaring at me, but I just roll my eyes, while Miles holds out his arm between us.

“Enough,” Miles says firmly. “We’re all going to have a great day when we get in this room.”

The reminder of why we’re all here is enough to straighten us all out. We pull on the professional masks we’ve spent years perfecting, looking like cocky, dangerous arseholes as we get ready to play out the plan we’ve been perfecting over the last few days.

Initially, Miles and I were worried about involving Jake. Although he left rehab to help us, knowing he’d need to take his place as ruler if we were to avoid conflict, it doesn’t mean he was ready to leave.

He’d finished his mandatory detox period, but both him and the healthcare professionals felt he needed more time to work on his issues.

Choosing to put Chloe and us before his own wellbeing means a lot to me, and I know it’s just another of many sacrifices we’ve all made for this job, but that doesn’t stop me worrying about him.

He’s still seeing his psychologist and rehab support worker on an outpatient basis, but one of the things they warned him about is stepping back into the life that pushed him towards substances in the first place. It’s easy to fall off the wagon when you’ve not long been on it.

Miles has been helping him stay sober, going with him to meetings, and generally being there for him, but we both worry about putting Jake under too much pressure too soon. This is something we could do without him, but he was adamant he wanted to be here.

This guy not only assaulted his sister, he lied to Jake’s family, and disrespected them. He’s here for both Chloe and his family name, but really, he wants closure.

He had suspicions about Frank, and didn’t trust him, yet he never stopped his parents from forcing Chloe to date him.

That guilt will be with Jake for a long time, and this is his way of righting the wrongs he made when he was more focused on substances than his family.

Miles opens the door, and I see Frank is tied to a chair in the middle of the room. The chair has been bolted to the tiled floor. He’s wearing nothing but his boxer shorts, just as we planned.

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