Page 5 of Salacious Devotion

I wait. I’m going to freak this woman out when she emerges because I’m too close to the door. Seconds tick by, and then minutes. I’m certain I saw her go in there. Is my mind playing tricks on me? I really should head home and go to bed. I’m losing it. I’ve resorted to following a stranger through a club on my dead girlfriend’s birthday.

What’s taking her so long? She’s probably trying to build up the nerve to wander deeper into the club. Submissives can be extremely nervous when they first join a club alone. It’s understandable.

Suddenly, the door opens, and I quickly tuck my fingertips in the front of my pockets, trying to look less like a deranged lunatic.

The woman stops short since I’m practically blocking her. When she tips her head back to meet my gaze, I gasp, and all the blood drains from my face. I stare at her without blinking while time stops. I’m shaking.

It’s her. It’s also not her. Yes, it’s her. I lick my lips. “Paige…” The word comes out of my mouth like a prayer. A mere whisper.

She jerks her gaze away from me and shakes her head. “My name is Shannon.” She starts walking, picking up her pace to put space between us.

I spin around and follow her.

She hurries for the exit, pushes through the door, and disappears.

I shake myself from my stunned stupor and jog to close the distance. As soon as I bust into the reception area, I see her exiting into the stairwell.

“Is everything okay?” Marny asks.

I rush past her, ignoring her. I’ll apologize later. I bust into the stairwell and find the woman already halfway down the steps. I take four at a time, unable to stop myself from grabbing her arm forcefully to stop her.

She tries to jerk free. “Let go of me. I don’t know you.”

The fuck she doesn’t. This is not some doppelgänger. She may have different color hair and eyes, but her voice has not changed. “Paige.” I grip both her biceps and press her against the wall in the stairwell. “Holy fuck…” I’m staring at a ghost.

“I don’t know you.” She looks away.

“Yes, you do. What’s going on? How are you alive? What are you doing here?” I shake her. “Answer me.” About ten different emotions are running through me, but the one winning right now is anger.

Her eyes go wide as she turns back to look at me.

I instantly switch to relieved and pull her into my embrace, holding her close. I bury my face in her hair. It may be the wrong color, but it smells the same. Burnt vanilla, she always called it.

She’s rigid in my arms, not hugging me back.

I feel like I’ve tumbled into another dimension. Nothing makes sense. I can’t let her go, though. If I’m asleep, I never want to wake up. My brain is desperate for answers while this woman remains stiff in my arms. She’s no longer fighting me, at least.

Suddenly, I have a thought. I hold her back again and look into her eyes. “Do you have amnesia?”

Tears trail down her face. She stares at me. “You should let me go,” she whispers. “You never saw me. I shouldn’t have come here.”

“Paige…”

“Shannon,” she corrects, looking around. No one else is in the stairwell. No one can hear her, but I get the feeling she’s praying that no one has heard her real name.

“Okay, Shannon…”

She glances up and down the stairs again. “I can’t be here.”

I take her hand firmly in mine and nearly drag her back up the steps.

“Dane…”

I jerk my head back to look at her. “You know my fucking name.” I’m angry once more. I was about to give her some slack for having amnesia, but she knows my name.

She purses her lips.

I keep walking, pulling her behind me. When I reach the second-floor landing, I stop at the door that leads to the third floor, type in my code, and open it.

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