Page 51 of Hurt for Me

“Good kitty,” the white-haired man said. Another sub brought over shot-size drinks on a large tray. “Let’s have a toast.” He saw Rae’s hesitation. “No need to worry. It’s all natural—just a blend of fruit juices and vitamins. Got to keep up your strength.”

Everyone in the circle of people, including Bessie, took the offering. Rae reluctantly accepted one. The sub handed one to Dayton without asking Rae if he could have one first, which she found odd since it went against normal protocols and no other sub was offered a drink. She stared at Dayton, hoping her eyes were telling him they had no choice but to take the shot. If they didn’t, they would look out of place. She told herself it was probably safe since they were all drinking it.

“Bottoms up!” the man said, and they all downed their shots. It tasted too sweet and tangy, and she wanted to throw it up.

Rae needed to get away from the group before she went into a full panic attack, so she pushed through the crowd to Dayton, grabbed his leash, and directed him to follow her. He tried to whisper somethingto her as they walked, but she stopped him. She was too nauseous to speak yet.

She found an obscenely lavish bathroom, leaving Dayton outside while she ran cold water over a thick hand towel and pressed it to the back of her neck, which didn’t do much to calm her. She’d been in the bathroom for too long, and she didn’t want Dayton to worry. After leaving the bathroom, they wandered around forever, searching until they eventually found an exit leading to an outside courtyard surrounded by a beautiful garden. It looked like something out of a fairy tale, with tall hedges and pathways leading in various directions.

As soon as she found them a quiet, secluded spot, she pulled off her cat mask. Dayton yanked his off his head as fast as he could and removed the collar and leash from his neck. His face was as pale as if he’d walked through a thousand ghosts at once.

“Are you okay?” she asked him.

“No. You?”

“Not even close. Let’s sit down and cool off.” She saw he was overheated from wearing the mask. At least the evening was pleasantly mild.

There was no bench in the hidden spot she’d found, so they sat on the thick grass. Dayton loosened his black tie and collapsed back onto the ground like he was exhausted. Rae removed her boots and stretched out on the grass next to him. They stayed silent for a long time.

“That was ... I don’t even know what the fuck I just witnessed in there,” he said, looking up at the sky. “That one woman being cut up and the other woman with the three men ... you have no idea how hard it was for me not to do something.”

“I know.”

Dayton turned his head to look at her. “I could tell you were trying not to hurt the woman when you were whipping her. I’m sorry I got you into this.”

“I got myself into this,” Rae said. “Did you get the footage?”

“Yeah.” He sat up and removed his jacket and tie. “God, it’s so hot.”

Now that he said it, Rae found she was hot, too, but the night air had felt so cool and inviting before.

“There were too many people I recognized in there,” he said. “Politicians, business leaders. I even saw the former police chief. This is so much worse than I imagined.”

“I want to know who that white-haired man is. He seems to be a leader of ... whatever this is.”

“He has to be. How he treated those women, like they were animals. I wanted to kill him.”

Dayton turned quiet next to her. She noticed he was running his hands along the grass, up and down, his eyes closed, and she wondered if he was doing it to self-soothe after witnessing so much horrible shit. But then she found herself doing it too. The grass was so cool, and her skin felt fevered. She wanted to remove the sweaty lace clinging to her breasts, but her brain kicked in and stopped her from pulling off her halter top.

“This is the fluffiest grass I’ve ever felt,” Dayton said, his eyes open again and staring at her. “It feels so good.”

“It does feel good.” She wanted to roll around on it like a dog, to feel each blade poking her skin. A question popped into her head, and she paused her grass-stroking. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Why did you look up information on me? I mean, outside of your investigation.”

He didn’t appear surprised by her question. “I wanted to see if my instincts were right about you.”

“What did your instincts tell you?”

“That you’ve been through a lot.” He smiled a little. “And that you would be someone important in my life.”

Rae couldn’t fully process the candor of his words, her mind concentrated on both the overwhelming sensations around her—thecool grass, the heavy, sweet scent of the garden’s flowers, the hum of insects—and how what he said pooled in her chest, warm and fuzzy.

She turned onto her side, facing him, and he did the same. “And were your instincts correct?”

He reached out and cupped her cheek, and she couldn’t breathe. She wanted to feel his lips on hers, and then he was there, inches from her face, his woodsy-spiced cologne drawing her closer until there was no space between them, only urgency as he held the back of her head and their lips met. His hand pressed low on her back, pushing her into him, his hardness against her as their kisses grew deeper and more needful.

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