Page 27 of High Roller

“Eyes on me, Mariposa. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Master Victor,” I whisper. “It’s clear.”

He pats my head. “Good girl. Now turn around and face the room.”

I do as he says, and he stands, still holding Lili’s leash. Then he surprises me by taking out a pair of handcuffs. Without saying a word, he bends to one knee and puts one cuff on me and the other cuff on Lili, so that we are attached to each other.

The surprise doesn’t stop there, he holds the end of Lili’s leash to my lips.

“Open.”

I obey instinctively, and he places the leash in my mouth.

“Stay like that until I return. This way you can’t tell her things you shouldn’t.”

My face flames, and I realize Liliana has revealed to him that I told her something I shouldn’t have. Probably about the way he punished Harper last week.

I look at Lili with a glare as Victor stands. When his back is to us, she looks at me sympathetically. “I’m so sorry, Gracie. I did not mean to get you in trouble. He just made me angry, and I blurted some things out.”

I can’t speak or I’ll drop the leash, and my luck Victor will be watching. Despite my penchant for pain, I have no desire to be whipped by Victor when he won’t do anything to alleviate the arousal it will undoubtedly cause, and I would like to enjoy our needle scene later.

“You like Victor, don’t you?”

I stare straight ahead, refusing to acknowledge her question.

She sighs and shifts on her knees as if she’s in pain. It can get uncomfortable kneeling for extended periods of time, but I feel no sympathy for her. Not when she got me in trouble.

We sit in silence for several more minutes before she speaks again.

“Do you realize how gorgeous you are, Gracie? I’m enjoying having you by my side.”

Is this woman flirting with me? I look ridiculous sitting here with a leash in my mouth. And I’m at a loss for how to respond to her compliment. She pats my leg, and I scoot as far away as the stupid handcuffs will allow. Even though she withdraws her hands. My thigh tingles where she touched. This is not what I was expecting.

“I’m sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable,” Lilli says.

I glance her direction, shake my head. If I try to answer I’ll drop the leash, and I know Victor has eyes on me even if he isn’t in the room.

“I see why you love it here,” Lili comments. “I wish I had found it under different circumstances.”

Would Victor be attracted to her If she had just walked in off the street? There was a definite pang of jealousy when I watched him lead her into the room on a leash a little while ago. It’s always been hard to see Victor with other women. I don’t know why it’s even harder with Lili. Where is he, anyway? Is he doing this just to mess with me as part of my punishment for sharing inappropriate things with Lili? Or did he really have something to attend to?

I look across the room and see Master Owen talking with Master Victor. Both men seem tense, and I fear that something is wrong.

I’ve always stayed out of their business outside of the club, but lately, I’ve been hearing snippets, and working with Bellamy on bookkeeping for the club has revealed certain details that I’m probably not supposed to have.

Someone—Lili’s husband apparently—is out to harm the four owners of the club, affectionately known as the Sin City Suits. The four men—five now that Bellamy is married to Owen and Tobias—are looking for a way to bring him down.

But I don’t know what he’s doing to harm them or how they intend to make it stop. And I like it that way. Information is dangerous, and I don’t want to be collateral damage.

Victor and Owen approach us, and Owen tousles my hair. “Sounds like you’ve gotten yourself in trouble, pet,” he teases with a wink.

Owen is a sweetheart, despite his reputation for being a hard ass with his submissive and wife, and I feel at ease with him.

Victor reaches down and pulls the leash from my mouth.

“I apologize for speaking out of turn, Sirs,” I murmur, dropping my gaze.

“Good girl. I need to take our guest with me, so I’m going to free you. We will discuss the rest of your punishment later.”

---