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“And do you want to sit?” he asked me before taking a long pull from the bottle while keeping his eyes on mine.
I swallowed hard, unsure of what I should say next. Should I apologize? No. Absolutely not. Just because I was currently feeling a little lightheaded from the sight of King and his perfectly sculpted body didn’t mean I had to allow him to boss me around.
“I came here with Sebastian to see his stables. So, yes, I believe I do,” I replied and sat back down. I could feel Sebastian watching me, but I was unable to stop looking at King.
A slight twitch of his lips was the only softening on his face. He didn’t actually smile, but it seemed like he wanted to. “Then, by all means, sit.”
“That’s enough, King,” Sebastian said from where he still sat, leaned back with his right ankle propped on his left knee and one of his arms stretched out over the back of the sofa.
King shifted his attention to Sebastian. “I thought you were leaving today.”
“Change of plans,” he replied.
King’s entire body seemed tense as he stared hard at Sebastian, but he said nothing. I felt as if they were having a silent conversation. Were they cousins? This family that Maeme had was confusing, and no one had actually cleared up who was who for me.
The door opened behind King, and I watched as an attractive blonde woman with long, straight hair draped over one shoulder walked inside. She had on a pair of minuscule cutoff jeans and a black crop top that showed her flat, tanned stomach and pierced navel. Her eyes went directly to King, and she smiled before sauntering in his direction.
“You were taking too long,” she said, running a hand up his tattooed biceps.
King glanced at me, and for a moment, I saw what I thought was regret in his gaze before it dropped to meet hers. “I didn’t tell you that you could get up, did I?” he asked in a hard tone that startled me.
She shook her head and stepped back from him, then dropped her gaze to the floor. “No, sir. I’m sorry,” she replied softly.
He reached up and ran his hand over her head, as if to reassure her. “Go back to where I left you and wait.”
She nodded. “Yes, sir,” she replied before turning and leaving the room quickly, without another word or glance in our direction.
“All right, Rumor, let’s you and I go on that tour, shall we?” Sebastian said a little too brightly.
I lifted my gaze to his. A sick knot formed in my stomach as a slow understanding of what I had just witnessed began to connect. The screaming had been her. King had been in there with her. That was why he was shirtless, barefoot, and sweaty. He’d been…beating her?
The smile on Sebastian’s face didn’t mask the apology in his eyes. He hadn’t wanted me to know who had been in that room. I trusted King. He’d saved me. Brought me here. They all knew that.
Did Maeme know he did that to women? And why would he do it? What was the purpose? Was he like Hill? Did he like hitting women?
I was unable to stand up.
The sound of a door slamming made me jump, and I spilled water over the rim of my glass as my eyes swung back to the door. King was gone. He had left.
“I’m sorry about that. With what you went through, that shit has to strike a chord. He’s not mad at you. He’s upset that you heard it,” Sebastian told me, stepping in front of me. “Come on. There’s a lot more to see.”
I shook my head and sucked in a deep breath. “No. I…I think I want to walk back to the cottage. If you don’t mind,” I told him, standing up and holding my glass out for him to take.
As he took it, he sighed heavily. “I understand. I’ll walk you back.”
“No,” I blurted. “I want to go alone. I’ll be fine. I remember the way.”
“Rumor, I’m not going to hurt you. No one is. I swear it.”
I nodded. “I know. I just…I just want to go back alone.”
He looked at me as if he wanted to argue, but finally stepped back. “I get it.”
Good, because I didn’t. None of what I had just learned made sense. Sure, the girl hadn’t been bruised, nor did she walk as if she were in pain, but I had heard her screaming. He’d talked to her like a child. Sebastian had said she was being tied up and whipped. That was all something that made no sense to me. I had assumed people who did that were role-playing. Not actually causing someone real pain. It was a kink thing that I would never get. But the whole control thing I’d seen was unhealthy. Wrong.
I started toward the door and paused to glance back at Sebastian. “Thank you for bringing me,” I told him, feeling rude about the way I was running off.
He set our glasses down and smiled at me. “He only does it to women who want it. He doesn’t force anyone.”
