Page 21 of Ensnared

“Answerme, little librarian.Thisis just the beginning of the inquisition.”

Aninquisition.Oh, yes.Icould just imagine him now, giving direction from his throne.Demandingcuffs and chains and exquisitely painful torture devices.Watchingwith those heavy-lidded eyes as his inquisitor spreads me open, bare and naked for the king.Thetwo of them working me over untilIscream and expose my every secret.Exposeevery part of myself and... and...

Mybreaths start coming in shallow pantsItry to hide but know he doesn’t miss.

Luckygives a low laugh from the bar.Jaspermakes his way back down and hands off a whiskey each toBeauandDominic, then takes a seat beside the king.

Jasperwould make a good inquisitor,Ithink beforeIcan control my ridiculous fantasy.

Dominicis still waiting on a response, but embarrassment makes me snarky. “I’mhere, aren’tI?”

Agolden-tanned hand catches the bottom of my silk shirt and tugs.Aftera moment of hesitation,IletBeaupull me down.Atthe last moment, he directs me to his lap, rather than the seat beside him, andIshoot him an indignant look.Hesmiles lazily and picks his drink back up from the side table.Hisother hand remains wrapped around the hem of the shirt, his fingers stroking absently over my inner thigh.Ibecome very, very conscious thatI’mwearing nothing under the dress shirt.

Luckycomes down from the bar, two large, bright orange cocktails in his hands.

“C’mon,Dom, you saw it.Shepractically mounted him on the bank.”Heoffers me one of the frothy concoctions.WhenIhesitate, eyeing the obnoxious color dubiously, he says, “Youshould take it, sweetheart.Theboss man will want to cover the bases, andI’mthinking you might need some good ol’-fashioned liquid courage.Doublemonkey master mix’ll sort you out.”

Idart a look atDomand take the drink.Luckysettles himself back in front of his game, only partially turned our way.Hisown drink is precariously balanced on a raised coaster beside him.Withhis long dark-blond hair escaping down his back,Ican’t decide if he looks ludicrous or completely right.

Aftera moment of strained silence,Luckylaughs and adds more quietly, “He’llcoverallthe bases with you.First, second...”

Beauthrows a pillow at him.

Lookingfor any distraction,Itake a sip of my drink and immediately wrinkle my nose.It’scloyingly sweet, almost a syrup, and obviously devastatingly alcoholic.I’mrunning on an empty stomach too, butIdon’t want to seem as thoughI’mcomplaining.I’lljust go easy on the booze.

“Howmany men have you slept with?”Dominicasks bluntly, drawing my attention from the frosty glass.

“Isthis really necessary?”Ireply, a prim press to my lips.

Tomy surprise,Jasperanswers from where he’s perched besideDom.Nota hair is out of place around that breathtaking face. “Weneed to understand who we’re dealing with, what kind of experience you have.We’renot going to treat a virgin the same way we would someone who has been in the lifestyle for years.”

“Thelifestyle?”Itilt my head, confused.

Beaureaches up and plucks at the tie in my still-damp hair. “Kink, darlin’.Someoneexperienced withBDSM.”

Imove to pull my hair out of his grip, but it only tightens.Hislips tilt in an entertained smile, andIsigh, deciding it isn’t worth the struggle.Assoon asIrelax, he resumes pulling the tie out of my hair until the locks tumble down my back.LookingatBeauseems like the safest option at the moment, nowI’mcradled on his lap—at least whileLuckyis only half paying attention.Orpretending like he is, anyway.

Ilick my lips. “Soare you... ah, all into that kind of... ?”

Hishand trails down my back, then down my hip until he goes back to making those slow, shivery strokes along my inner thigh. “Mm-hmm.Todifferent extents, and in different ways.Wewere all in a private kink club off base when the first strikes went down—a couple of us used to go there to blow off steam whenever we had leave.Wehauled ass to get back to base, but it was blown to shreds by the time we got there.Westuck around for a bit to see if there was anything we could do, but it was chaos.Wecouldn’t find the rest of our platoon.Not... not much of them, anyway.”

Hisface grows grimmer as he speaks.Ican almost see the memories scarred in his eyes.Withoutthinking,Ilift my hand to brush my fingers over his cheek, wishingIcould brush away the hurt as easily.

Beauleans into my touch for a moment, and continues roughly, “Jasperguessed his retreat might be safe—he was our shrink, and our friend, before he retired.DominicandI’dbeen out here a few times and agreed it was our best option.”

“YouknowIdon’t like that term,Beau,”Jaspersays, disapproval sharp in his tone.Theway his chin lowers makes the angles of his face seem sharper, pooling darkness in the hollows.

Luckymock gasps. “Yeah, we’re notfriends.”

“Don’ttest me,Lucien.”Jasperisn’t warm and bookish now. “Ido not find derogatory remarks amusing.”

Luckyglances up from his game atJasperand color floods his cheeks when he takes in his expression.

“Ourpsychologist,”Beaucorrects, inclining his head apologetically.

“Sorry,Jasper,”Luckymumbles.

I’mgrateful for the brief reprieve, because my mind is still caught back at “kink club” and “BDSM.”Buryingmy face in my drink,Itake a long sip to try and collect myself.Okay.Notonly amIagreeing to a crazy sex pact with five strangers, but they’re five strangers into the kind of kinkIdon’t even have the experience toimagine.

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