Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 146417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
She didn’t look at him but kept her voice low in deference to the scene in front of them. “Ezra recommended a TENS unit. I use it a couple of times a week. I probably need to buy another one, but I’m fine. I can handle it.”
He moved behind the crowd, gently taking her hand and urging her to come with him. When they were far enough away, he stopped. “I don’t want you to be in pain.”
“I told you. It’s fine.”
“I can get a TENS.” He was actually pretty sure there were several right here in the building.
A blank smile came over her. “Sure. That would be great.”
God, she was so fucking far from him. And all because he’d fucked up this afternoon.
No. It went so much deeper, but they couldn’t get through it if she wouldn’t talk about it. And it was obvious that she didn’t want to talk.
“Let’s go up to a privacy room.”
She simply nodded and followed when he started for the stairs.
She was so fucking gorgeous in the sapphire-colored corset and boy shorts he’d picked for her. Her legs looked a mile long in the stilettos he’d chosen. She loved shoes, and he hated that she’d had to leave them all behind. She walked gracefully in them, like she’d been born wearing the damn things though he knew it was likely something she’d had to learn.
Kim had to learn lots of things. She’d had to learn that she couldn’t depend on anyone but herself. He’d had a hand in teaching her that lesson, and it was up to him to teach her something else.
That he would never leave her. That he would always love her.
Tag nodded his way as they made it to the stairs that would lead them up to the privacy rooms. It was a gesture that let him know Tag understood how hard this was going to be on both of them.
Did he have any right to push her the way he was going to? Should he simply follow her around until she figured out he wasn’t going anywhere and let him back in her heart?
The trouble was he wasn’t sure she would. He wasn’t sure she wouldn’t run the first chance she got, and then he would be out. He knew she wouldn’t keep Roman from him, and her moving back to Europe wouldn’t be about making things hard on him. All those moves would be about protecting herself.
He needed her to understand that she needed no protection from him. Not anymore.
He led her upstairs. The dungeon monitor let them onto the floor where the privacy rooms were located. He was a big guy who manned the floor that held five privacy rooms. Beck hadn’t been up here to play. This afternoon had been his first visit since he’d taken the original tour. He’d been struck by the sign on the monitor’s desk.
Carpe Noctem.
Seize the Night.
That was what he was planning on doing. Seize the night so he and Kim could have all their days together.
It was quieter on the third floor, the thud of the music now a distant thing. The minute the door closed on the room he’d selected, he felt the heavy weight of being alone with her.
This would either work or she would hate him more than she did now.
He didn’t want to live in a world where she hated him.
“Did you like the scenes we watched?” Beck checked the tray he’d prepped earlier, making sure he hadn’t missed anything.
“I did. The rope was pretty. I don’t know that my arms could be in that position for long though.” She walked around the room, running her hand over the wood of the St. Andrew’s Cross. This particular room was decorated for heavier scenes. “Are all the rooms the same?”
“No,” he replied. “They’re all different. They serve different functions. There’s one room that’s nothing more than a big bedroom.”
“Is that the one Ezra’s staying in?”
He’d almost managed to forget his brother was hanging around somewhere. “Maybe. I hope Tag hid the butt plugs or the good father is going to be shocked.”
She sent him a look that let him know he was on thin ice. “He’s not a prude.”
Unfortunately, she was just going to have to get used to how he and his brother communicated. “I thought that was part of his job now.”
“And I thought you were getting along.”
He had to grin at that. “You forget how we were before he died. We’re brothers. We give each other shit. We are better. I promise. But I hope he’s not right next door to us. It would be weird to walk out in my leathers and see my brother trying to get ice or something.”
He got his first smile out of her. “It’s not a motel.”
“No, it’s way kinkier than any motel. But there is an ice machine on this floor. There’s a tiny pantry because a couple of members are into food play. Also, as we’ve seen with Ezra, Tag often stashes people he wants to hide here.”