Page 77 of Elicit (Decadence After Dark)

“I just don’t want to see her end up like me.”

“What’s so bad about where you ended up?” I toy with her, attempting to veer her off the haunted path she’s headed down. London’s past will always plague her; I have no doubt. But when she slips into the darkness, I vowed to be her North Star. To lead her out of the shadows and into the light.

“You saw the burns he left on her wrists. She was scared.” She avoids my question spectacularly.

“I’ll never let anything bad happen to her. I promise. I’ll never let anything bad happen to any of my girls. Especially this girl.” I squeeze London securely.

London breathes heavily before she speaks. “Where I ended up isn’t bad at all. But I got extremely lucky.”

“Luck had nothing to do with it. Fate brought you to me.”

She lifts her face, and I kiss her before she can say another word. I don’t want a verbal response. I want physical affirmation.

London doesn’t disappoint. She falls head first into the embrace, confirming the one thing I want to know. That she’s all mine, no matter the tribulations of the past, the challenges of the present, or the uncertainty of the future.

Without a doubt, I am definitely all hers.

“Go to sleep, little bird.” My contentment peeks through.

“I’ll try.” She exhales unsettled.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” I lull her. “I’ll be here to love you in the morning.”

I feel her eyelashes sweep over my skin as I finally open the message from Kayne:

The kitten is out of her cage.

Well shit.

Kayne and I didn’t exactly have time to devise a solid plan for Ellie. We glazed over a few options, but didn’t set anything in stone.

One thing was definitely agreed on, and blindly apparent. The importance of her safety.

And in order to achieve that, we need to deceive everyone involved. With the perilous nature of the operation, the high stakes, and Javier’s depraved inclinations, it didn’t leave us much choice. Ellie needs to believe she is owned. Javier needs to believe she’s claimed. And Kayne and I need to pull those two things off seamlessly. To beat a ruthless monster, sometimes you must become a ruthless monster. I just hope it doesn’t destroy the three of us in the process.

There are more than our lives at stake. There are people in this house and across borders who are innocent and need to be saved.

Moral sacrifice for the greater good? We shall see.

Kayne said when he left Ellie in her new room last night she was pretty shook up, so this morning should be fun.

She’s alone, she’s scared, and tangled in a mess she was never meant to be a part of.

On top of that, when I enter her room, she’s going to embark on a whole new journey. One of dominance and submission and sexual discovery.

I open the door, and she jumps frightfully on the bed, withdrawing into a naked little ball.

“Ah, you’re up.” I saunter toward her, and she recoils. “There, there,” I coo, pulling on the chain attached to her collar fastened to the vining iron part of the headboard. I will admit, Kayne’s lecherous fantasy translates well into real life. Ellie is absolutely appetizing completely bare, collared, and chained helplessly to the bed. “Aren’t you a pretty thing?” I muse. “No wonder Kayne wanted you. Come here.”

“No. Who are you?” She fights me. Kayne was right; she is frisky.

“Jett.” I yank harder, forcing her closer to me. “I’m your keeper.”

“I don’t need a keeper. I need to go home!” she screams.

Oh no. We can’t have outbursts like this. I grab her face, inspecting her features closely. “Sweetheart, the only place you’re going is into the shower.”

“I took a shower last night,” she snaps bitterly.

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