Page 76 of His Keepsake

Grayson shook his head slowly. “No. But we stopped Wharton from doing more. If you want explanations, come with us. No abduction, nothing but a meal. I mean, seriously, Emme, if we wanted to take you, we would.”

Oh my.

“How did you stop Wharton? I mean…” I bit off what I was about to angrily say. My curses degenerated into the archaic when I was really disturbed. Why not join them for a drink and a meal? “I suppose, I could join you.”

“Good. This way.” Grayson gestured.

On the sidewalk, they took a place on either side of me. Neither touched me. I had two well-built men in neat but casual jeans and shirts acting as escorts. This amused me.

I couldn’t help but intermittently check them over, noticing things that had been lost to me in the throes of coerced sex—such as the small scar beside Axl’s left eyebrow, or how Grayson’s fingers were extra-long.

I wondered how often he had to have the sides of his hair shaved to keep it that way.

I wondered how it would feel to run my hands through the top curls he left long, without being told to—just because I wanted to do it.

Those were normal things, and nothing we had done so far was that. What they had done had been awe-inspiring sexually, and sometimes frightening. It made me worried about ‘going normal’—if this were that.

The black Porsche a block away seemed our likely destination.

The two of them were causing mindfucks by their very presence at such a bad moment in my life. I’d never felt more fragile. Survival until my next job should be a priority because dismissal after a show-cause notice meant no further pay, and a sucky note from them, if I asked for a reference.

I was doomed currently. I hated the in-between-jobs hiatus, even if it meant being able to, theoretically, do anything. Make that—do anything I could afford.

“Yours?” I asked Axl when we arrived at the Porsche.

“Yes. A Panamera.” He clicked the key and indicated the back passenger seat.

I’d always envied those driving this sort of showy car. The seat gave under my weight as if I’d sat on a muscular cougar—all grace and good-quality materials.

Secretively, I smoothed my hand over the seat. This was the smell, the look, the feel of being rich. He pulled away from the curb. As we smoothly rumbled down the street, I turned to Grayson. “Where are we going?”

“A bridge restaurant called The Cherry Blossom.”

I nodded. “Heard of it. Are you buttering me up, so I don’t hand you to the cops?” This was my time to be snippy to them, if I ever was to be.

“No.” Axl glanced across as he steered. “If I butter you up it will be with you ass-up over something.” He winked.

I blushed.

“Damn,” I whispered that and shook my head. “Incorrigible.”

“We are doing this because we think we owe it to you. I indulged my fantasies. I wrecked your career, a little. Temporarily,” Grayson said, and he sank back into his seat. “We also think maybe we like you.” He smirked.

They liked me? I blew straight past that—none of us knew much about the other, except for the kinks we had. I suppose I knew Grayson had some morals and boundaries. He was the one who had let me go.

“You wrecked it temporarily? A little?” I fumed. I calmed myself. I should wait until we were in public at the restaurant. Not here, where yelling at them might, and probably would, get me…hurt.

I wrenched my mind away from all the fun sorts of hurts Grayson might provide.

Paddles, whips, crops.

Mentally, I shook myself.

But Axl might not be as fun. I had never met anyone who seemed so sly with his ways. As if he said one thing and casually did the opposite when no one was looking. I might be wrong. I probably was. There was one way to find out—see more of them.

We left the Porsche at a riverside park. The Cherry Blossom was to the side, in the middle of the old stone bridge, and was reached from the footpath that led across. The name suggested Asian cuisine, probably Japanese, and they had a mix of different Asian cooking styles on the menu.

With sushi, nigiri, dumplings, and spring rolls ordered, I waited for the two men to break the ice. They were my ex-abductors, and maybe my saviors today, even if it was too little, too late. I was too unbalanced to make small talk.

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