Page 2 of Devilish

Picking up my pace, I strode toward them, blood ringing in my ears as the man on his knees reluctantly reached for the edge of his cropped shirt and pulled it up over his head. He didn’t want this, that was blatantly obvious as he clutched the material over his leather-clad knees in a final act of defiance.

Rupert leaned down and snatched the shirt out of his hands, tossing it to the floor. Then he walked around behind him and said, “Give me your hands.”

The young man swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he slowly put his arms behind his back. Rupert crouched down and yanked them together hard, making his companion wince, and just as he started to wrap the red rope around the man’s upperarms in a careless, unpracticed way, I stepped off the main floor and into the space he’d commandeered.

The one on his knees raised his head, and fucking hell… If I’d thought he was pretty from across the club, up close he was absolutely devastating. If he’d been down on his knees for me I would’ve treated him like the most exquisite diamond I’d ever had the pleasure of looking at. Not manhandled him like some overbearing thug who didn’t know what a priceless gem he had before him.

Holding his eyes and giving no regard to Rupert, who hadn’t even noticed my presence, I asked, “Safe word?”

A wrinkle of confusion between his brows confirmed what I already knew.

Rupert glanced over his shoulder, looked me up and down, and, with a quick “no thanks,” went back to wrapping the rope around the beautiful man’s chest in a way that made me cringe.

But if he thought he could dismiss me so easily, he had another thing coming.

“Safe word,” I said again in a tone that brooked no argument, and this time Rupert shot to his feet to face me.

“Look, pal, we’re not interested. Beat it.”

A slow smile spread across my mouth. This was going to be especially gratifying.

“I don’t believe we’ve met,” I said, glancing back at the one on his knees to make sure the clumsy rope work wasn’t causing him pain. “Lucien Vale. I’m the owner of this club.”

Surprise flitted across Rupert’s face, and he tossed the rope he held over his companion’s lap haphazardly before holding out his hand.

Welcoming him into the fold?I think not.

“Are you aware of the safety procedures here at The Veil?” I said.

Rupert dropped his hand and straightened his shoulders, but he was still several inches shorter than my six-foot-two.

“Sure, sure.” He waved me off. “I signed the paperwork.”

“You must have to be allowed entrance into my private club, or any of the ones I own around the world.”

“Is there a problem here?” he said before gesturing to his bound companion, whose gaze kept flicking between the two of us. “Or can I get back to what I came for?”

“What youbothcame for,” I corrected him.

“Right. Sure.”

Then Rupert made the mistake of turning his back on me, and before he could make another move, I clamped my hand down on his shoulder.

“What the?—”

I turned to the one on his knees and demanded, “Safe word.”

He bit the inside of his cheek and looked to Rupert, who opened his mouth to speak, but I held my hand up.

“Not you.” I nodded toward the beautiful bound one. “Him.”

Those full lips parted and then he shook his head.

“You don’t know what that is, do you?”

Again, he glanced at Rupert and shook his head.

Fury licked at my veins. “You tied this man up without a safe word?”

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