“Hi, sexy. I was hoping you’d show up. Where’ve you been?” she said as she pressed close, her hard nipples crushing against him.
“I was doing something.” He threw back his shot, then motioned for another. “You couldn’t find another brother?”
“No one here compares to you.” She squeezed his bicep, then bent down and traced his tattoo with her tongue. “Wanna have some fun?”
Rock wished he was feeling it the way he had the previous night. “Sorry, babe, not tonight. I’m so fuckin’ tired. Another time.”
Her eyes widened. “Didn’t I please you last night?”
“Yeah, and I did the same to you. It was great. It’s not you. I’m just fuckin’ tired, that’s all.” That wasn’t all. The woman at the mansion had disturbed him. He couldn’t get her out of his mind.
The brunette stayed next to him until Bones came over. “You having a good time with this one?” His whiskey breath fanned over Rock’s face.
“She’s cool. We had some fun last night. Passing on it tonight.”
The brunette smiled widely at Bones, and Rock knew she’d found a replacement. He blew out a relieved breath as she walked away from him, her arm around Bones’s waist and his draped over her shoulder.
Rock stared at the party unfolding before him, but his mind was on the woman at Frederick’s party.I want to see her again. Fuck, what am I talking about? I don’t know why she’s still in my head.But she was. Maybe it was the way her full lips took the pieces of food in her mouth, or the way her delicate hands gripped the table when her partner humiliated her. He didn’t know; he couldn’t make sense of it. All he knew was that she stirred something deep inside him. It was like she was a magnet drawing him to her.She didn’t even know I was in the damn room. This is fucked.
Shaking his head, he left the party and stumbled up to his room. When he closed the door, he took out a bottle of brandy, put on a CD of Lee Benoit’s music, and sat in his easy chair by the window, looking out into the darkness as the music filled the quietness around him. The spirited melody played by the fiddles eased the muddled feelings he had rustling inside him. He closed his eyes and let the rich, dynamic sounds of the button accordion take him back, and for the first time since he’d left Lafayette so many years before, he felt homesick. Right then he’d kill for a proper jambalaya, a lively two-step on the dance floor at Clementine’s Bar, and Clotille wrapped around his body.Why the hell didshepop into my mind? I haven’t thought about her in a long time.And when hehadthought about her, disappointment and bitterness filled him. But at that moment the bad feelings weren’t there, and he was eighteen again and loving his sweetheart. And ithadbeen good for that one single moment when they’d come together, their hearts flashing and throbbing as one. But that had been before he’d found his mother cold and bloody on the kitchen floor.
Fuck! No!
He poured more brandy into his glass and cranked the music louder.
That night, he wasn’t letting the demons in.
Chapter Three
Ican’t believeRoche was here last night. What’s the chance ofthatafter all these years?Clotille paced back and forth in the small room off her bedroom. She remembered she’d heard he’d left Lafayette right after he was released from prison. Someone had told her he’d joined up with a motorcycle gang, but she’d never expected to see him again. Being back in the same state as Roche made her feel better in a strange way. She’d missed him terribly over the years, and in her mind, she’d played the fantasy of running into him many times over years. It had finally come true, but it wasn’t at all the way she’d imagined it.
Red stained her cheeks and her stomach clenched when she recalled the humiliation of the previous night. The minute she’d spotted Roche, she’d made a concerted effort to keep her face hidden as much as she could. She’d have died if he’d recognized her, knowing what she’d become. But he didn’t seem to know her even though he’d watched her. She’d sensed it, and when he was whispering to the other biker, she’d stolen glances at him.
She rubbed her sore arms and wrists and tried to sit on the loveseat next to the window overlooking the garden. She gasped in pain and breathed heavily as she settled onto the cushion.Frederick went too far last night.Earlier that morning, after he had left to play golf, she’d run to the bathroom to look at her behind in the full-length mirror. Angry red stripes, welts, and the beginning of bruising on her ass showed off his handiwork. She knew he loved seeing how beautiful her butt looked, and sometimes he’d have her bend over on her knees for a long time as he sat on a chair, legs crossed, admiring it.
She sighed, happy that she had a slice of aloneness. The only room that she had any privacy in was the small room off the bedroom they shared; the rest of the house had cameras in every room and hallway. When she’d first come to Frederick’s house, she’d insisted upon having one room that was all hers or all bets were off. He’d agreed and it had become her refuge. Clotille especially welcomed her cocoon after a very intense session, like the one she’d just endured.
Her thoughts drifted back to Roche. She still couldn’t believe that he’d been less than ten feet away from her. A shiver shimmied up her spine.From what I could see, he’s still handsome. He’s built himself up, and he looks so damn good.When she’d first recognized him, her heart had skipped a beat and her insides clenched, but then she’d become consumed with him not recognizing her. It’d been his soot-black eyes that had given him away. They still flashed with fierceness and pride. They were the same ones that had once dragged her into their depths and made her fall in love with him. And she knew if she wasn’t careful, his dark orbs would pull her back in again.
She glanced at the clock and a knot formed in the pit of her stomach. Frederick would be home soon and he’d expect her to be in her full submissive pose, waiting for him at the door. She couldn’t slip up or he’d punish her, and she didn’t think she could take another one of his whippings so soon. Absently, she rubbed her bruised wrists where he’d tied the rope too tightly. The longer she’d stayed with him, the less she wanted to be part of his lifestyle. For the first few years, she’d actually enjoyed the pain mixed with the pleasure, but in the past year, his obsession with her had increased as well as his punishments. Just the week before, she’d used her safe word when he used the crop on her aroused sex, but he hadn’t stopped. He’d beaten her badly until she’d almost passed out from the pain. Later that night, he’d apologized to her and held her close, gently stroking her cheek. He’d told her that he was so consumed with passion for her he’d lost his head. He’d sworn it would never happen again—her safe word would be honored.
She’d forgiven him, but her trust in him had disappeared. Clotille no longer wanted the life he provided for her, and since she’d seen Roche, she wanted to break away from Frederick more than ever. But she knew she couldn’t; she was obligated to him. Besides, he’d never let her go; she was too entrenched in his life, and his love and passion for her went far beyond the regular Dominant and submissive relationship they’d shared in the beginning. She shivered imagining what he’d do if she ever tried to leave him.
The loud buzz of her timer startled her. She looked at the clock again, panic weaving through her.I should’ve been in the shower twenty minutes ago!She leapt up and scurried to the bathroom. When she’d finished, she slapped on her makeup in the way Frederick liked, fastened her black collar, and rushed down the stairs. When she was home alone with Frederick, he forbade her to wear clothes, but if guests were over, she’d wear what he picked out for her. He loved tight, revealing clothes that made her blush when she wore them. The more men ogled her in the outfits, the prouder he was of her. It made her happy that he was pleased and proud of her. When he was disappointed, shame would spread through her, making her feel so sorry for displeasing him. After all, hedidtake care of her, and he’d helped her so much in her life.
Damn! He’s going to be here in less than a minute. I can’t let him see my face red from rushing. He’ll know I was dawdling too much.Frederick was compulsively prompt and she knew if he told her he’d be home at five o’clock, he’d be home right at five—not a second before or after. She dropped to her knees on the marble floor and faced the front door. She sat upright on her heels and clasped her hands behind her back, her knees spread as wide apart as they would go. She’d stay in this position until he told her to move.
As the grandfather clock in the grand foyer struck five, she heard Frederick put the key in the lock and turn it. He walked in and his gaze locked with hers, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.He’s pleased with me.Her nerves relaxed a bit.
He bent down and patted her head. “I love seeing my sweet pet waiting for me at the door when I come home. Now go and get me my drink.”
She jumped up and rushed to the bar. His chuckling told her he was enjoying the way her beaten ass jiggled as she ran. She made him a scotch and soda, then scurried to the family room where he sat on a chair, his leg crossed over his thigh. She handed him his drink and dropped to her knees next to his feet.
He smiled. “How was your day, pet?”
She smiled back but didn’t answer. She’d learned early on that speaking without his permission resulted in being punished.
Frederick gently stroked her cheek with the back of his finger. “You have my permission to speak, pet.”
