Page 24 of Disgrace

“Have you ever seen him there?” I can feel my anger start to boil. This is exactly why I bought the club.

“No, thank God. I get the heads up from the admin team if he is signing in. It’s not that I don’t think I could handle it. On my home turf, with my armour, as Mistress Selena I mean, I’m sure I could, butifI couldn’t. If he somehow made me break, I would lose too much, and he is not worth it.” Her tone is resolute but tinged with an unbidden vulnerability.

“I checked all the members when I bought Angus out. We only have two Richards from memory…” I mumble absently.

“He calls himself Master Alpha, but he uses the Greek symbol. Can you believe it? Pretentious arsehole…wait…what? You bought Angus out? So you’re the sole owner?” She sits up and far out of my arms.Shit.

“It doesn’t make any difference.” I add quickly and try to brush the comment off and add with a light laugh. “It doesn’t make me your boss or anything.” I reach for her, but her face darkens with anger, and her eyes flash with hurt.

“You’re damn right it doesn’t!” she bites. “What it does mean is all this truth bullshit is one-sided. I have told you nothing but the truth and you…you…” She points her finger but her hand shakes, a sarcastic laugh spilling from her tight lips. She snatches the sheet from the bed as she stands, angrily wrapping it around her sweet body. She looks furious. She looks sexy but mostly furious.

“I didn’t lie. It never came up.” I find my hands instinctively shield myself between my legs; she looks really mad, and I am very naked.

“Oh!” She laughs bitterly. “Oh, really? Lying by omission defence. That’s what you’re saying? Well, Angus has been absent for the last eight months, and in that time, we’ve seen each other at the club what? Maybe two or three times a week? When did you buy him out exactly?”

“Eight months ago.” I admit reluctantly.

“And why might no one have told me in all that time?” She narrows her eyes with justified suspicion.

“Because only a few people knew, and I said their jobs depended on keeping it confidential.” No point lying now. Her brows rise, then pinch when her eyes narrow once more. If looks could maim, I would be in agony.

“Sam—” I rise from the bed but halt at her hand.

“Don’t you fucking move. If you value what you hold in your hands, don’t move a fucking muscle.” She drops her sheet, and I stand impotent while she hurriedly dresses, murmuring curses under her breath.

“Sam…” I step, but my foot doesn’t reach the carpet just hovers midair before retreating back to its original position.

“You’re such a fucking idiot, Sam…Idiot and I’m gonna kill Leon for setting this up!” She practically screams. She shakes her head and tears fall onto her cheek.Shit no. Her voice is soft and catches. “You know Jason, I don’t give a fuck whether you own the club, but lying…I thought you were different.”

She grabs her bag and is out the door and down the stairs before I can grasp what just happened. I hear the front door slam and panic. This is not happening. I snatch the sheet from the floor and gather it round my waist. I race out the bedroom door, leap down the stairs and run barefoot out into the street. It’s midafternoon but Boxing Day and, thankfully, not a soul around. Not that I would care. I would run bollock naked after her if I had to. A frantic search up and down my narrow street before I see a flick of dark hair disappear around the corner onto the river walkway. I don’t hesitate, my bare feet pound the cobblestone and I skid around the corner to see her stomping away. Her hands clearly wiping her face. I run to catch up; it only takes a few on my long strides.

“Enough!” I shout loud and gruff and a little bit pissed off.

She halts and spins, shock and amusement fight for precedence on her flawless face. I drop the sheet and step up to her and hold her shoulders stiffly. Wide eyes and amusement win.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say something sooner. I should have. But then you might’ve asked why, and I wasn’t ready to answer that, not without sounding like a creeper at least.” I draw in a breath and shiver, the wintery chill in the air hitting all those usually hard-to-reach places. Her gaze is a mix of vulnerable confusion and utter shock, but my eyes are just as intense and filled with the passion I feel for her. “I bought it so I could veto the membership…so I could keep you safe. I really like you, Sam. I havelikedyou for a long time.” I draw out the emphasis on the word ‘like’ very deliberately. She has to know I feel more. I just don’t want to freak her out any more than I already have. “There didn’t seem any point telling you about the club while you were ‘dating’ Leon. And, it didn’t seem like a first date type of conversation, but I never lied to you. I would never lie to you. I am different. Let me prove it. I have nothing to hide from you, Sam.” I hold my arms out, my nipples could cut glass, and I am literally freezing my bollocks off. She rushes forward and wraps her arms around me, barely covering my naked body with her small frame, but I appreciate the sentiment and relish the warmth. She rubs her hands up my back vigorously.

“You fucking idiot! You’ll catch pneumonia.” She drops to pick up the sheet just as some squeals of laughter erupt from a group of girls on the bridge ahead crossing the Thames. Sam laughs shaking her head. “Fuck, Jason, what we’re you thinking?” She pulls the sheet closed around my body and lays her hand on my chest, over my heart. I move my hand to cover hers.

“I was thinking I would be a fucking idiot to let you go.” Her smile lights her eyes and warms me though to my bones.

“You’re naked on the South Bank. I think you have established a new benchmark for the idiot title.” She snickers. I swiftly bend and scoop her into my arms. Dipping down to retrieve the bag she had dropped. I silence her laughter with my mouth, desperate to taste what I so nearly lost. I slowly step toward home, reluctant to relinquish her lips. I reach my front door. Leaving the house in haste like I did, I am thankful I have a fingerprint entry system. I drop her bag and carry her back up to my room.

“I need to tie you up.” My voice is gravely and hoarse with urgency. It’s more than desire; it’s a primal need I feel in my veins like liquid fire, raw and relentless. I need to reclaim what is mine.

“I know.” Her voice is tentative but her body is awake to my demand. Her eyes darken with pent up arousal swirling seductively in dark chocolate pools. Her chest rises and falls in rapid, sexy breaths, and her tongue traces some moisture onto her dry lips. She needs this as much as I do, she just doesn’t know it…yet.

“Comfortable?” I tighten the last restraint on her wrist and slip my finger under the tie to check for circulation. I don’t actually keep toys and kit at my home, kind of redundant when you own a sex club, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know how to improvise.

“Yes, Sir.” Her breathy voice is pure sin. Her eyes meet mine with a mix of fire and nervous hunger.

“Good.” I won’t be long. I walk to the door.

“Jason?” she calls, her tone incredulous. I bite back a smirk and fix her with an impassive expression. “Sir?” she amends, but it sounds dangerously like a snarl. I step back and trace my finger down her cheek, all the way to her collarbone and toward her breasts. I hold her nipple between my middle finger and thumb and begin to squeeze. Her eyes widen, her breath catches, and her legs flex against their hold.

“That tone, sweet girl, now means I will take as long as I damn well please.” Her back arches with the final pressure and sags when I release. I don’t turn back for fear I’ll never get to leave, if her face is anything like the fiery expression in her eyes.

It takes me five minutes to gather the bits I will need but I decided to wait it out for another twenty. I am tempted to sort myself out, I am so fucking hard just thinking about how Sam is waiting upstairs but decide against it. I know exactly where I want to come. I push the bedroom door, her head snaps to face me then just as quickly returns back to the centre. Her breasts rise and fall with her rapid breathing. Perfect swells of soft round flesh, peaked with pert, hard nubs. She swallows thickly and lets out a long, deep sigh.

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