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Yet at each turn, and especially thanks to the ability that Angelica possessed of experiencing revisiting visions, it was becoming clear that Sweet Dove was a significant player in Starlin.
His heart sank like a stone.
For a long time, he’d wanted to face his captor, to confront her head-on, even to choke the life out of her. But he wasn’t alone anymore. He had Angelica to think of. He also had tens of thousands of slaves, present and future, whom he held as the beacon in his mind, the one idea that kept him on a steady course.
Now Sweet Dove appeared to be at Starlin’s center.
His only consolation was that neither Engles nor Sweet Dove suspected his subversion. Engles had spoken only of Reyes as an ambitious man, as wanting a seat on the board, with a powerful desire to rise within the organization. He could breathe easy because it was clear his cover held.
As for Sweet Dove, he thought he understood her, that the last thing she’d ever believe was that he’d want her destruction. She truly believed he was a slaver and that she’d had a hand in helping him along that path because she’d been his torturer. How wrong she was.
His sole relief in the current situation was in knowing that Sweet Dove wouldn’t be at the sex performance. He didn’t think he could hold his rage back if he knew his former captor was watching and enjoying herself at his expense.
Her presence would have been a deal breaker.
Angelica grew very quiet and he remained holding her in his arms for a long time. No doubt she was processing all that she’d witnessed, both in the woman’s death and in the subsequent vision.
Eventually, his thoughts turned to the difficult dilemma of managing the upcoming sex performance. He didn’t lack for experience. But technique and even theatrical quality was one thing. Making love to someone he cared about for the perverse pleasure of others was an entirely different hole to dig.
He’d already been told that Angelica would have to be tied down. Though he refused to consider using chains or ropes, he thought he could handle silk scarves. The truth was, if Engles insisted on anything else Reyes would refuse. He wouldn’t subject Angelica to the rigors of steel or iron bondage.
His phone dinged indicating a new text message, but his phone wasn’t handy. As though reading his mind, Angelica slipped off his lap. He rose and headed into the bedroom, where he’d left his phone on his nightstand on the far side of the bed.
Because Angelica hadn’t followed him, however, he didn’t get far when the blood-chain gave its tug. As he glanced back at her she seemed to awaken from her own lost-in-thought reverie, nodded, and moved with him. More and more they worked in tandem.
Once he retrieved his phone he read the text, then glanced at Angelica. “From Engles. I’m to wear dominance gear.”
She touched the chain at her neck. “You’re upset and you’re scowling. Why? Isn’t this what you expected?”
“It’s all leather and shit, no shirt, usually a flogger. It’s the idea of it I can’t stand.”
She shrugged. “It’s fine with me, Reyes. Because it’s you, I can handle it.”
“I’ve already decided that there are lines here I won’t cross with you. One of them is that though I’ll be tying you down, I won’t use chains or ropes, nothing like that.”
“But you’re okay with silk scarves, like we originally discussed?”
“Yes.”
She drew close and slid her arms around his waist. “Scarves actually sound kind of nice.”
His lips curved. “You’re trying to put a positive spin on something hideous.”
“Maybe. But I’ve been thinking. What if we practiced a little, set up some kind of overall rhythm to the event, something planned, more theater than actual lovemaking?”
He met and held her gaze; then he kissed her. “I think that’s a brilliant idea.”
The rest of the night was spent talking through what kind of order of sexual effort would most likely please a pair of sadists best. Which led, not surprisingly, to taking Angelica to bed for one last round, with gentle overtones and a series of cl**axes that made him wonder how the hell he could ever let her go.
###
The next night Angelica flew with Reyes, her heart beating so hard she felt sure she couldn’t take much more. She wore only a thin lavender negligee and Reyes’s chest was completely bare, his tattoos on display. She thought maybe that during the upcoming ordeal she might be able to save her sanity by focusing on the collection of symbols and vines that curled around his shoulder and arm. Besides, she actually liked his snug black leather pants.
They’d talked for a long time about how to get through the experience, which moves he’d make and why, and especially what would be acceptable to each of them. Reyes, for one thing, would call a halt if Scorpion or Engles demanded anything extreme, like binding her with chains or inflicting any kind of torture.
The real problem was that neither she nor Reyes had any way of knowing how much Scorpion would be dictating what was about to happen. But Reyes assured her repeatedly that the moment any of their agreed-upon lines were crossed he’d shift to altered flight and get her the hell out of there.
When he touched down outside Engles’s mansion, where the after-auction party had been held, Angelica once more looked around in awe. Engles might be a bastard, but he had an artistic eye. He’d created great beauty in the external landscape of his property with the lake and waterfall, the stonework and the palm trees all lit up, a terrible dichotomy.
Ready for this? Reyes’s words ramped up her heart rate yet again.
She had only one response. Hell, no.
You say the word, and we’re outta here, no questions asked, no recriminations.
I know. I think it’s the only reason I can put one foot in front of the other right now. She wouldn’t turn back, though, not with a seat on the Board of Governors at stake.
Engles met them in the foyer. He wore tailored slacks and a red silk shirt open at the collar. He held a familiar tumbler in his hand. His gaze skated over Angelica and the sheer negligee she wore. His eyes fell to half-mast and the bastard didn’t try to hide his arousal.
She kept her eyes lowered.
“Looks like we’re going to have some fun.”
Reyes didn’t say anything, but the chain at her neck vibrated heavily. He despised Engles anyway, but the man always seemed to be able to say the exact thing that would fill Reyes with rage.
Engles gestured for them to enter and Angelica almost took a step, but Reyes got in Engles’s face so fast that she gasped. “You don’t touch her. Have you got that, Engles? And I don’t give a f**k who you are in this organization. She’s mine to do with as I please. I’ll only share my slave when I’m good and ready and not a second earlier. Understood?”
