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She didn’t know what to say.
“There’s an inscription right on the edge?” he went on.
“Yes, there is an inscription.”
“That’s what I thought. If I recall correctly, there are certain rules about that kind of bracelet that the woman who wears it is required to follow.”
He didn’t seem like a fisherman anymore. His voice had deepened, and his demeanor had altered, if ever so slightly. He’d climbed out from behind the ‘humble fisherman’ façade he’d worn all day. This was real, not her imagination. The terrible throbbing between her legs that began the moment she set foot on her guide’s boat, which had increased as she stepped on the island, swelled now, so that she was practically panting. Her sexual need rose up so strong that it practically slapped her in the face. Dammit! This was not the time to be horny!
“Yes,” she said quietly, “I’m aware of those rules, but it’s really not something …”
Before she could finish, he went on, “So, I’m guessing that you’re not here about a fashion photo shoot at all, are you?”
The color rose on her cheeks, “No, no, I’m not. You have me there.” She tried to smile. “I’m not a fashion photographer…anymore than it appears you are the ignorant fisherman.”
He sneered. “Ignorant, no, but I am a fisherman—it’s been my livelihood for some time. That doesn’t mean that I don’t know about what goes on in this house. I can guess what might have happened while you were here and why you have returned. And the bracelet? I know how dangerous it could be for you to be found wearing it in the presence of those who have knowledge of what it symbolizes.”
“You’ve known this since we started out today?”
“I knew yesterday when you hired me. I recognized it right off.” He grinned. “So, maybe you should tell me the real reason why you’re here.”
“Are you a member of the Marquis circle?” she asked.
“You answer my questions first. Why are you here?”
It made sense to drop the act and tell the truth, but she still felt reluctant, as if he had no right to know about her private life. But what did it matter now that he recognized the bracelet? Of course, the bracelet would give her away. She trembled nervously as she explained, “My husband and four of our friends were stranded here three years ago. While we were here, we became acquainted with Mr. Devane and the purpose of the island…as…as a sort of kinky sexual resort.” She blushed briefly and continued. “It felt a little strange at first, but after getting used to the idea, we found ourselves enjoying the freedom the island offered us to explore what we might not have had the opportunity to in our regular lives. When we returned home, my husband was in contact with the Marquis—how he found him, I have no idea. Then some time later, about a year ago, he was given the bracelet to present to me. I know very little about how all this took place; the mystery was intended to seduce me, which it obviously did. Unfortunately, a few months later, Erik died in a plane crash and we were unable to let the reality of what we’d done play out.”
“I’m so sorry about your husband.”
“Yes, well…thank you.”
“But you still wear the bracelet.”
“I do. I haven’t been able to remove it—oh, I suppose I could have it cut off, but I don?
??t want to, not yet.”
“Why’s that?”
“It means something to me…”
He shook his head questioningly. “I don’t get it. If it means something to you, what about the rules associated with wearing the bracelet…or have you forgotten them?”
“I know the rules,” she came right back defensively. “Erik outlined the demands that wearing this bracelet required of me, and I agreed to them. They changed my entire attitude. But there was so much I never had a chance to experience. Erik died before I could be properly initiated—I don’t even know what initiated means. Now I’m left with the bracelet weighing me down like an albatross, and I’m clueless where to turn for answers. That is why I came here. Answers.” By the time she finished, she was glad for every word she’d said. It cleared the air between them. If she’d been paying attention at all, she would have known that Alex had questioned her motives since the trek began. He had never believed her reason for chartering the boat, but she’d been spending so much time putting on the show that she hadn’t noticed.
“So, do you have the answers you want?” he asked.
“No. None,” she had to admit. “I expected to speak with Archibald Devane, but that’s obviously impossible with him dead. Short of you being as knowledgeable about this bracelet as he would have been, this has been a waste of my time.”
“I know a few things about that bracelet, Ms. Priestly. Certainly not as much as Devane could have shared with you. I know that the women who wear the bracelet are supposed to wear skirts, no panties, so they are easily accessible—available for sex whenever a master wants to use them.” He stared at her shorts almost accusingly. “So, what happened to the rules?”
Her lies had put the pair in different positions now. The man suddenly seemed as obscure and demanding as the sexual masters she’d known on the island. Something authoritative in his behavior, which hadn’t been obvious before, reminded her of Erik in his most dominant moments. Her arousal had hardly abated, her pussy throbbed with urgent longing, and the aroma of her arousal rose up as a fresh reminder of what this trip was really about. The island, the house, the bracelet and its demands—was about sex and sexual savagery, darkness and debauchery. And now, suddenly, she realized that Alex Greenwood wasn’t just a fisherman; a man for hire for an afternoon. He was a vitally sexual being. Is sex what he wanted, what he expected of her now, what he had planned all along? It was a chilling but not unwelcome thought.
Alex waited for Laney to respond. But he wouldn’t wait all day, and his face looked ruthlessly cold.
Laney remembered back to when Erik explained the bracelet, what it symbolized and the requirements it would force on her. She’d been shocked at first and reluctant. But at the same time dreadfully aroused, once she understood what the bracelet implied. Her relationship with Erik would be changed forever; she’d no longer be just the wife of a successful businessman, herself an accomplished attorney. Never again would she be the same forthright, independent woman she’d been for thirty-one years. She wouldn’t be independent at all when the rules of the bracelet were enforced. No longer would she own her own body, or have the right to determine her own fate. At any time, she could be ordered to sexually submit to men other than her husband. She couldn’t imagine what her life might look like if she accepted those terms, but her concerns seemed secondary to taking this daring plunge into an unknown but very seductive future. She remembered her hands shaking, every nerve engaged as she watched in awe with eyes glued to the bracelet when her husband slipped the small platinum band around her wrist. The invisible lock was set, sealing her fate by making the bracelet impossible to remove unless it was cut off. Her body trembled in fear, just as she was trembling now, standing accused by Alex Greenwood. The moment was of her own creation; straight from that inexplicable repository of erotic yearning she had yet to truly grasp. Ever since the vacation on Marquis Island, she’d been filled with crazed desires for submission and the need to express herself as a complying sexual being. Her need was no different now, and Alex Greenwood saw that. She felt stripped, naked before the man’s piercing eyes. It seemed silly to cloak herself further when it was obvious that she’d been found out.
Her fingers ran along the smooth surface of the band as they had so many times before. When she allowed herself to come under its influence, it had the power to subdue her; and it was subduing her now, driving her normally assertive spirit away, and leaving her in a state of acquiescence that was curiously instinctive to her nature. “You’re right. Those are the rules, and I have no good excuse for ignoring them now. Ultimately, I belong to the Marquis and wearing his bracelet signifies that fact. The rules were meant to instill a submissive and consenting attitude that puts the Marquis foremost in my thoughts. I’m obliged to be ready in body and spirit should I be called on to serve him. However, without him actually being present in my life, Erik took his place. But without the Marquis and without Erik …”
