Page 42 of The Sadist and the Brat

“Because it’s weird.” Sadie bit her lip. “Isn’t it?”

“You playing with Jack?” Rebecca tapped a fingernail against her glass. “I thought so at first, but now I think it’s kind of perfect.”

Sadie blinked, baffled. “Why?”

“Well, he’s not going to put up with your usual shenanigans—”

“Because he’s a humorless goob,” Sadie pointed out.

“Excuse me, but putting a picture of his face on RestingDickFace dot net invalidates that argument.”

“Okay, that was funny,” Sadie conceded.

“But all the testing and pushing you do with other Doms? He’s not going to let you get away with that.”

Sadie frowned. “I don’t test.”

“Please. You push them to see how hard they’ll push you. None of them have pushed back hard enough, but I bet Jack will.”

Sadie drank her wine. “I don’t know if I want Jack to push me.”

“Then you better not do the scene, because he’s going to.”

“Shit.” Sadie drained the rest of her drink. “I need more wine.”

“Bring the bottle back,” Rebecca told her, and Sadie went to fetch it.

“You don’t think he’d hurt me, do you?” Sadie asked, filling her glass as she walked back to the couch.

“Of course not.” Rebecca held out her glass. “I mean, he’s a sadist, so he might hurt you. But he would neverhurtyou.”

“I don’t know anybody who’s played with him before.” Sadie filled Rebecca’s glass, then set the bottle on the end table and resumed her seat on the couch. “Aside from Olivia, and that was under special circumstances.”

Rebecca pursed her lips. “Nick says he doesn’t play as much as he used to. I guess he was really busy at work for a while, and he’s only started coming back around regularly in the last year.”

“That’s what Amanda said.”

“She would know.” Rebecca struggled to sit up, dragging her booted foot over the sofa cushions. “Did she say anything else?”

“Just that if James had to choose someone to look after her, Jack would be at the top of the list.”

“High praise.”

“I guess I’m just…uneasy,” Sadie decided. “Off balance, you know?”

“Which is probably right where he wants you,” Rebecca pointed out.

Sadie blew out a breath. “God, I hate him.”

Rebecca snickered. “Does it help to tell yourself that?”

“Not at all. I’m fucked, aren’t I?”

“Yep.”

“Then I might as well enjoy it,” Sadie decided, and drained her wine.

Rebecca just laughed and raised her glass in a toast. “Here’s to enjoying it.”

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