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She leaned into his shoulder, the big brother vibe from Grant unfamiliar but welcome. “Too bad I have a submissive heart.”
He opened the door for her with a sympathetic smile. “That’s not a bad thing, Kelsey. It’s a beautiful gift. You just have to make sure you put it in the right hands.”
She looked away, unable to let her mind go there. “What room is he in?”
“Dungeon B. And be warned, he didn’t come alone.”
“What do you mean?”
“You should probably see for yourself.”
Uh-oh. Kelsey made her way up to the second floor, not even bothering to stop by the locker room to change and grab her gear. She usually never let her clients see her in street clothes, but the way Hawk had come here unannounced and with a guest needed to be discussed first. It wasn’t like him to push the rules like that. But when she looked through the viewing window of Dungeon B, she forgot all about discussing the rules.
Hawk sat on one of the benches aligned along the far wall, his head bowed. Next to him was a pretty dark-eyed girl with hair down to her waist. She was gripping Hawk’s hand so hard her knuckles were pale, but her expression was pure determination. Oh, shit. This can’t be good.
Kelsey turned the knob and walked in, drawing their attention her way. Some combination of relief and desperation crossed Hawk’s face, but the girl’s hard expression fell instantly. Her lips pressed together as if she were fighting tears. She turned to Hawk with a choked whisper. “You could’ve told me she was so pretty. Goddammit, Hawk.”
“Baby,” he said, shaking his head miserably. “It’s not about that.”
Kelsey took a deep breath. “Hawk, would you like to tell me what’s going on?”
He raked a hand through his already messy hair and stood. “I’m sorry”—he swallowed hard and glanced back at his girl—“Mistress.”
The girl winced like she’d been slapped.
“I know I shouldn’t have come like this, but Christina, she—”
“I demanded he show me.” Christina rose and brushed invisible lint off her khaki skirt before looking up, as if biding time and building courage to speak more. “He tried to break up with me, and I wanted to know why.”
“Oh, Hawk,” Kelsey said softly.
“He loves me. I know he does and he wanted to just . . . end it.” Christina’s voice caught on the last two words.
Hawk shook his head, his eyes bloodshot. “I wasn’t going to tell her, but she deserved to know why. I’m not good for her. I’m fucked up.”
Kelsey didn’t think, but instead reacted. Her hand came up and smacked Hawk right across the face, the sound reverberating in the small space. “Do not call yourself that.”
Christina gasped and Hawk blinked, his pupils going big, his submissiveness kicking in whether he wanted it to or not. Face slapping was one of his kink buttons. “I’m so sorry, Mistress.”
Christina stalked over, grabbing Hawk’s arm, and shooting Kelsey the coldest, most hateful look she’d ever seen on such a sweet-looking girl. “You crazy bitch! You hit him! I’m—”
Christina lunged forward like she was going to return the favor, but Hawk held her back. “Baby, don’t . . . This . . . That’s what this is. I—I need to be hurt sometimes.”
“The hell you do!”
He pressed his lips to Christina’s hair as he held her, the anguish on his face breaking Kelsey’s heart into little fragments. “That’s why I need to let you go, Chris. I’m . . .” Kelsey watched him as he searched for a word that wouldn’t get another correction. “I’m different. I crave this, and that’s not going to go away. You deserve better.”
The words hit Kelsey with the force of a kick to the sternum. She’d said the same thing to Wyatt just a few weeks ago. Had given the same “I’m fucked up” speech that had earned Hawk a slap. She was such a goddamned hypocrite.
Christina pulled back from Hawk, her dark eyes going shiny. “I have better. I have you. And I’m not going to give that up just because you’re . . . whatever this is.”
“Baby,” Hawk pleaded.
But Christina was already turning toward Kelsey, her shoulders squaring and chin lifting, shaky bravado but impressive nonetheless. “Let her show me.”
“What?” Hawk asked, looking horrified.
Christina put her hands on her hips and faced Hawk. She looked so damn prim—a proper Southern sorority girl—but Kelsey recognized steel will when she saw it. “You want to crawl on your knees for a woman, want to be beaten on, called names? Then you damn well better be doing it for me and not some blonde with bigger boobs than mine.”
