month of it as an adult, but I just shake my head instead of saying so. “Awful.”
There’s a pause, and I get the feeling he wants to say something else but is wrestling with himself as to whether or not he should. Apparently he decides against it, because instead of speaking, he removes the now empty coffee mug from my hands, sets it down on the nightstand, and presses his lips against mine. “If we hurry,” he growls once we’ve come up for air, “we can go for another round before bedtime.” His hand trails down my belly and cups my pussy. I shudder at the sparks of lust which shoot through my core, and my thighs part automatically.
“I’d be down for that, Sir,” I whisper.
“I wasn’t asking.”
19
Maximus
I slept like shit today. I don’t usually dream while I spend the daylight hours holed up in my vault, but this time I was plagued by nightmares—visions of Caroline being beaten, raped…
Even after all this time, the pain is almost visceral.
Sabina and I are at the club now. It being Saturday night, I’m on duty, but my thoughts are elsewhere. Before we left, she finally showed me the last two text messages that dirty shifter scumbag sent her. The first was essentially more of the same—a warning to stay away from Club Toxic, and reminding her that she’s being watched, that she can’t hide. The second, though…
If I see you with that leech again, you’ll regret it.
Sabina had no idea Zeke was referring to me. How could she? And how could I explain it to her without telling her that her ex-boyfriend is a shifter? I asked her what she thought he meant and she shrugged, saying he liked to get high sometimes. Figures. A shifter and a druggie. I’m surprised he managed to hold on to her for as long as he did. Then again, she did say they only saw each other a couple of times a week.
I wish she’d take the threat more seriously but every time I mention it, she spouts the same irritating line: that she can take care of herself.
Caroline used to say the same thing whenever I lamented that I couldn’t be with her during the day.
Right now, Sabina is over by the public play areas, watching an intense scene unfold with shining eyes. I’m perched on my usual stool beside the booths but I keep glancing over in her direction, partly to keep an eye on her, partly because the dim red light is making her golden hair glow sunset orange. She’s wearing a short, ruffled skirt and a cropped top which leaves her midriff bare. Knee-high boots make her legs appear endless and I close my eyes against the sudden image of them wrapped around my waist as I fuck her up against the wall, right here, claiming her as mine for all to see.
When I open them again, my gaze is still directed at the scene Sabina is watching with such fascination. As Mistress Elvira slides another needle into her slave’s flesh, Sabina licks her pink lips and my cock twitches. I mentally add needles to the list of things I want to do to my little pet.
“Maximus!” Leann is standing in front of me, disheveled, wringing her hands, tears streaking down her cheeks. “Didn’t you hear me?”
I’m off my stool in an instant. “What happened?”
“I was screaming for you!” She lets out a half-hiccup, half-sob. “We were playing but he ignored my safeword. Soon after we started, I felt uncomfortable and changed my mind. I asked him to stop but he—”
“Who?” I interrupt her.
“He’s leaving. That one over there!” She points, and I realize her whole arm is trembling.
Fuck.
“Tiberius is at the bar,” I tell her urgently, gesturing to where my friend is standing. “Go and tell him what happened. Say I sent you, and that he’s to look after you until I get back. I’m going to deal with that asshole.”
The moment I’ve finished speaking, I’m off, blurring between the club attendees, my entire focus narrowed on the back of the guy Leann pointed out. He’s walking swiftly toward the stairs, a touch too fast for someone who’s innocent but not fast enough to appear immediately guilty. He seems familiar, but it isn’t until I reach him and halt his progress with a hand on his shoulder that I realize who he is.
“Hello Ethan,” I snarl. “Didn’t I warn you never to set foot in here again?”
He spins to face