Page 3 of Searching for Hope

But one thing is clear. My father would have never been caught dead in a place like this. This is a place where people come voluntarily. The people on leashes are here because they choose to be, not because some sick fuck is making them. You can tell by the expressions on their faces. Even the ones with their eyes locked on the ground have an air of excitement and anticipation about them.

They want to be here.

They have chosen to be here.

“Priest.” Someone approaches and I stare openly at him and the woman trailing behind him before remembering to drop my eyes. She’s the woman who crawled along the ground after her partner offered her to Jericho. An insane wave of jealousy rips through me. I want to stand in front of Jericho and block her approach. But I don’t.

“I didn’t expect to see you here, not after last time.” The man chuckles but it fades when he sees the stern expression on Jericho’s face.

“I admit this isn’t my usual scene.”

I lift my eyes enough to see the woman. She’s staring at Jericho with lust. It’s plain to see. I step closer to Jericho and he must notice the movement because his hand comes to rest on the curve of my waist as he pulls me close. Even through the material of my dress, the skin he touches leaps into flames. I want him to spread his fingers further.

“And who might you be?” the man asks.

I don’t lift my eyes. And I don’t answer. I’m such a good girl.

“She’s off-limits,” Jericho replies in my stead.

I lift my eyes to look at him. Only him. His fingers twitch almost unperceivably and I wonder if he wants to explore my body as much as I want him to. But then he removes his hand and sighs impatiently as the man drifts away. He surveys the crowd almost with disconnect. The people that mingle around him glance up periodically, wanting his approval at the same time as despising their need for it. He holds himself in a way that deems him unapproachable, although many people look at him with such hunger I know they want to try.

And then his eyes come to rest on mine.

My mouth grows dry but I can’t look away. There’s something so magnetic but terrifying about him. Something dark and dangerous and yet so distant and detached.

“We should leave,” he says finally.

“But we’ve only just got here.” Again I sound like a whining little girl and I curse myself internally.

“It’s pointless. This is a sex party and nothing else. The places we need to go are a lot more…” He pauses, searching for the right word and my eyes get stuck on his lips. They are so soft and yet at the same time so firm and stern. They make me feel as though if he tugged on the leash I’d follow him anywhere. “A lot seedier,” he finally decides.

“And that’s where you’re going wrong,” I reply.

“Wrong?” He’s annoyed. “I found your father, didn’t I?”

“Not from a place like this, you didn’t. Or anywhere seedier.” He just lifts his brows so I keep going. “My father prided himself on the company he kept. The people who bought and sold women from him are the people you’d never suspect because they are the people that would never need to. They have women falling all over themselves just for a whiff of the money they so clearly smelled of. They could have had anyone they wanted. But that was their thing. They took power by giving the women no choice. That’s what was so appealing to them. Control. Power. Greed.”

“And you’ve been studying this, have you?” His tone is dismissive.

“I lived it,” I reply haughtily.

“And yet you claim you weren’t aware of it happening.”

Narrowing my eyes, I take in a deep breath before turning on my heels and walking away. I only take a few steps before the collar around my neck tightens and Jericho tugs me back. The mass of him is warm at my back.

“I didn’t give you permission to walk away.” His breath is hot against my ear. His words make me angry, but angry in a way that makes me want to press myself against him like a cat on heat.

Turning to face him, I glare up into his dark eyes. “You said we were leaving.”

He tugs on the leash again, his hand moving to circle around my waist and pull my body flush with his. “Even here we must keep up appearances. I warned you you’d have to obey me.” His gaze dips to the swell of my breasts and he swallows deeply. “And you agreed.”

“I agreed because I thought there would be a point to this, because I thought we might find out some sort of information which would bring us closer to finding Hope.”

Jericho laughs coldly. “And you thought that would happen after attending one function? I have spent years searching for her. I have attended many events that turned out to be pointless. It’s part of the process. It’s part—”

I turn and stare straight into his eyes as I lift my hand and unclip the leash from the collar around my neck.

“Berkley,” Jericho warns.

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