Page 23 of Bind Me, Sir

“No, and honestly, I-I can’t afford one, either.”

“The court will appoint an attorney,” I told her, hoping to soothe the anxiety scrunching her face.

“But I ought to be there for her,” Natalie argued, trying once more to pull away. “She needs me.”

“They can hold her up to seventy-two hours before she’s charged and bail set.” I hated how her shoulders drooped and lower lip trembled. “I doubt the police department will allow you to camp out in their waiting room.”

She chewed on the inside of her lip, and even in the night, I could make out the war in her eyes. “It’s my responsibility to make her into a good person, or I’ll fail my mom. I-I have value because of Luna’s need for me.”

Natalie’s words hit me like a punch to the gut, and I shook my head, amazed she didn’t see her own value beyond responsibilities fate had tossed her beneath. She needed a dominant to set her straight. She needed me.

The thought near floored me—and set my mind on having her.

“She’s never going to learn to stand on her own if you’re always there to keep her from reaching the bottom,” I pushed with a tone a true submissive wouldn’t be able to ignore. “Let her become an adult, Natalie. You’ve shown her how by your own selfless life—you’ve done all you can. It’s time for her to reap the consequences of her poor actions.”

I tugged Natalie closer once more, and she came willingly, tilting her forehead against my chest and filling me with a sense of accomplishment—rightness.

“I-I’m so tired, Jordan,” she whispered. “Exhausted from constant worry, the constant inner stress over needing to keep her from harm. All the guilt—the bullshit. So tired of it all.”

I twined my fingers through the hair at her nape and tilted her head back, her pliancy in my arms swelling my cock fully. I’d had my fair share of actresses, so I trusted my gut over the sincerity, the pain in her eyes. Truly broken, Natalie needed to be put back together—and I knew I could give her that.

“Let me help you forget, Natalie,” I murmured, brushing my thumb over her trembling lower lip. “Allow me give you what you need tonight.”

Chapter Twelve

Natalie

I stared up at Jordan, my heart seized, my breath ripped from my lungs. Blinking didn’t make my brain catch up with what he’d said, what I felt sure I’d misheard.

He rubbed his thumb across my lower lip again, and I trembled at the heat rushing through me. My lips throbbed in time with the heartbeat suddenly pulsing between my thighs.

“Allow me the pleasure of setting you free,” he said, his focus on my mouth.

I gulped at his murmured words, and the sudden yearning for what he offered weakened my knees.

Soaked my panties.

News of Lily’s pregnancy had triggered something inside me, something dark and selfish, something that brought to light all I had sacrificed for my sister. Hearing of yet another bad choice she’d made broke the final piece of strength I had left inside me.

“Yes,” I whispered in reply to Jordan’s suggestion, finding a bit of release even with that one word.

A smile curled the side of his lips, and he laced his fingers through my right hand, tugging me along after his steady stride.

We approached the church.

Oh God.

I gulped and nearly stumbled, but he led me onward, straight to my doom—or freedom, I didn’t know. We had nothing in common, no foundation built to support any type of relationship, so I told myself as he punched in the code and led me into the dark interior, that while I’d agreed to submit myself to him and hopefully experience the release Lily claimed to enjoy, I needed to guard my heart.

A flick of the lights flooded the room in brightness, and I blinked until he dimmed them enough I could glance around the church’s interior. It appeared the same as the first time I’d trespassed—dark and seductive, the excitement of the unknown heightening my pulse and breath.

Jordan released my hand, and I clutched my arms around my middle as he flipped the switch on a lone electric candle in the front window.

“To let others know the church is occupied,” he explained once he turned to find my brow furrowed in question. He took his time lighting candles around the room, and eventually flicked off the dimmed overhead lights and stood before me.

A shudder rippled over me at the look in his eyes, a darker blue, like the sky at twilight, full of unknown, lurking shadows. He stared at my lips and tugged me close. I dropped my arms to my sides, unsure of what to do but trusting him to tell me.

“We need to talk about a few things first, okay, love?”

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