Chapter 8
“There’saprocessfora reason!” Carter shouts for the thirtieth time. I peer up from my book, sensing he’s not going to stop until I give him the fight he’s after. Dog-earring the page, I toss the paperback onto the sofa beside me.
“Fuck the process. I know what I want.” Threading my fingers together and resting my elbows on my knees, I watch Carter pace around the library. Usually a place of solace, when I’m not being scolded like a child. A thirty-four-year-old, heavily muscled and tattooed child.
“Sure you do. You want to land right back in rehab, bringing more shame to your family. Hasn’t your father suffered enough? You know what this month is,” Carter huffs, kicking the edge of a bookshelf.
“Oh you must have read my diary, I’ve actually scheduled my own mental breakdown for next Tuesday,” I drawl, rolling my eyes. It takes more effort than it should to keep my voice level. Irritation grates at the edge of my patience, scratching to be let in. This is probably my fault, allowing Carter to take charge of my entire life. Laziness was a key part of it - when someone is offering to handle every decision and I simply get to enjoy the easy life. Sex on demand, whenever and however I want it. No repercussions. But along the way, I’ve become a spoiled asshole. Exactly what Amethyst’s eyes told me she thought the second she first saw me. Exactly what I’ve been fighting against ever since.
“I promised I would look out for you,” Carter half-shouts, flying into rant mode. I heard the same lecture the day I first saw Amethyst, and he only let me pursue her if I promised just looking would be enough. Watch her dance, throw a few hundred dollars her way and retreat home with my fantasies to keep me warm at night. But I was never going to be content watching. There was never an option where she wasn’t coming home with me, and it’s safe to say things escalated from there.
“I’m a fully grown man Carter,” I push to stand. “At some point, you’re going to have to let me make my own choices.”
“Make your own mistakes you mean,” Carter approaches and spears my chest with his finger. “Forgive me if I don’t want to see you in the back of a police car again.”
“Oh well, thank fuck for Reggie Carter, the savior. Your charity knows no bounds.” I smack his hand aside. Carter shoves at my shoulders, his fists clenching.
“Don’t you dare start this shit with me. You were complacent until that whore put stupid notions in your head.” My patience snaps. Punching Carter in the gut, he doesn’t even falter in reciprocating. Taking me down with his shoulder, we hit the sofa and roll onto the floor, a mess of grunts and fists.
“You’re not well, Huds. You’re never going to be well, and I’m never not going to be here to keep you safe.” Carter shouts, shoving my head aside. There’s no real goal here, just a point to prove.
“Naturally. It’s what you’re being paid for anyway.” I buck him from my hips and knee his ribs, rolling on top. Swinging my fist, I stop just short of his eye. No noticeable marks is the one rule I do abide by and we spar often enough to ingrain it into me. Switching direction, I throat punch him instead and shift so Carter can roll aside whilst choking.
“Sorry to break up your little bitch fit,” a female voice echoes from invisible speakers. I still, gazing at the large, mirrored wall. Amethyst has found the secret room behind, and is currently using the comms system to her advantage. “But thiswhoreheard a rumor about a gala? Maybe I should wait for the formal invite, but Miss Piggington will need a full pamper session. Anti-wrinkle massage, nails trimmed – the whole shebang.”
“No,” Carter shakes his head, his voice barely a rasp. “Not a chance.” Forcing himself to sit upright, I hold out a hand to drag him to his feet. Green eyes meet mine, the stern glare within melting away at my puppy dog expression. Carter’s a harsh bastard, his entire world is black and white, neatly categorized into lists, but he has a weakness. Me.
“I’ve never felt such an instant attraction,” I whisper into Carter’s ear. “And I’m not being blindsided by my dick. I genuinely want her. Her body, her quick wit and smart mouth. It’s different this time.” Carter sighs, even before I’ve pulled back, grinning at him knowingly. At the heart of everything he does, my happiness is Carter’s only goal.
“She has to adapt to how we do things around here,” he sighs and I know I’ve got him.
“She will,” I reassure him.
“She will not,” a hushed whisper comes from the speakers. I chuckle, patting Carter’s shoulder as I make my way to the door. A huge, metal structure, barring me from the outside world. The library is one of a few rooms, including the games room, gym and my bedroom, which have a keypad to gain entry. Only the men of this manor have keycards, but the code to the keypad next door is unknown to me. Before Carter has a chance to call Owen or Sebby, the door releases. Amethyst must have found the button within the control room.
Stepping into the hallway, she meets me there in a sleek black dress. I’ve seen it before, but holy hell. Not as comfortably and confidently worn as this. Slits in the fabric start at her ribs, leading all the way down her hourglass figure to the knees. The gaps are risqué, and easy to see she’s not wearing any panties underneath. Tall, studded heels put her at my chin height, her violet hair ruffled into an after-sex look. My mouth has gone dry, but there’s a compliment on my tongue until Carter barges past.
“How did you manage to get in there?” he growls, quickly slamming the control room door closed. As if I care to sneak in and watch back the footage of myself screwing the help on every surface imaginable. I take no satisfaction in my depravity.
“Um, easily? The code is the license plate to the limo,” Amethyst purses her lips. Carter groans about needing to call the security company, storming away with his cell pressed to his ear. That leaves me alone with Amethyst for the first time. A dangerous notion indeed. Dragging her gaze over the length of me, Amethyst’s purple eyes shift to the keycard lock on the library door. “So, what’s with the security?” I take her hand in mine and for once, she doesn’t fight me.
“Sometimes I need a safe space to…vent or escape. A sanctuary, if you like, to keep me out of trouble and away from the Elites when I’m in a certain mood. I can only leave when one of the guys buzzes me out.”
“So it’s a prison,” Amethyst nods in understanding. I can’t help but smile at the nonchalance of her tone.
“A very lavish prison,” I agree. I don’t expect Amethyst to understand how my life has come to this. In fact, no one really understands, not even Carter, how it feels to have your own mind constantly sabotaging you. For your body to take charge, flooding you with fuel-filled testosterone that needs expelling if you are to survive the next breath. And once you’ve had that taste, fulfilled that need, the next begins bubbling beneath the surface. No high is big enough, no pleasure lasts long enough.
“Come,” I lead her along the hallway. “Let me give you that tour. You might be pleasantly surprised.” For the next hour, Amethyst allows me to show her my home. Starting with explaining what she thought were the Elites bedrooms, are in fact sex rooms. Five in total, each decorated for whatever fantasy I wish to indulge. Dominatrix, barbie girl, doctor’s office, classroom and prison cell. Each specially designed with built-in bathrooms.
The Elites actually live in a self-contained apartment block in the gardens. Carter thought they should have a safe place, off limits from sex in the same way they are banned from entering our bedrooms in the manor’s west wing. The lower level is for recreation; every guy’s wet dream complete with a gaming room and theater. A home to be damn proud of. Yet, each door I open, Amethyst peeks inside, hums in neither appreciation or disappointment and then we move on.
“You know, usually by now, women would be stuffing their panties in my mouth,” I joke, knowing I’m coming off like a complete dick. To be honest, that is my reality and I don’t know how else to act around her lingering silence. Amethyst scoffs, pausing by the French doors looking out to the pool.
“Seems like you’ve got everything you could possibly want,” she sighs. Breathing heavily to create a fog on the glass, she draws two eyes and a slanted mouth that indicates one emotion only. Boredom. “Seriously Myles. What the fuck am I doing here?” My name on her tongue is a sin. A shudder teases my shoulders, ending in the base of my spine. Leaning my forearm on the glass, I lean into Amethyst’s body. Stealing her breath, absorbing her aura. Curling a stand of violet hair around my finger, I murmur into her ear.
“This can be yours too, if you’ll stay a while.” Another scoff, her toughened shell harder to break than I’d originally anticipated.
“I also have everything I could possibly need. My pup, that one ride or die best friend, my sharp wit and a string of men at the ready for mybase needs. There’s nothing you can offer me.” A growl rumbles from my chest at that last one. I’ll make it my life mission to locate each of the men she has on standby and ensure they can never pleasure her again. It’s me or nothing. Reining in the pulsing anger that would have her bent in half and my cock seethed to the hilt, I exhale a shaky breath.