At that moment the appetizers arrived, followed by more drinks, and the meal began in earnest. As it turned out, Connor had been right, the food was delicious, and Molly soon found herself tucking into the fresh tomatoes and mozzarella with gusto. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Connor smiling at her, but he didn’t say anything out loud. There was no need. Molly already knew what he was thinking as she put her small fork down against the plate; that she shouldn’t get used to the privilege of cutlery. The thought made moisture pool between her thighs.
After the pasta course, Morrison excused himself. Apparently, there was some urgent business that required his attention, and with a broad smile, he slipped suavely from the table and weaved his way back out of the restaurant.
“I’m going to use the bathroom,” Connor purred into Molly’s ear. “Behave yourself while I’m away.”
Molly met his eyes, swallowing a little at his words. She was well into her second glass of wine by this point, and somehow the alcohol made everything seem all the more illicit.
“Don’t worry,” Dalton laughed from the other side of the table. “I’ll look after her, Connor.”
Connor’s gaze shifted across the space to meet his brother’s. “That’s why I’m nervous,” he chuckled with a wink.
He offered Molly one more lingering glance, before he put down his napkin and headed to the other side of the room.
“So, how are you really?” asked Dalton abruptly. “I mean, I know you’ve fallen for his schoolboy charm and all, but in all seriousness, Molly, are you happy?”
Molly blinked into the large blue eyes which penetrated her face from across the table. She hadn’t expected such a direct line of questioning from Connor’s brother, but somehow, the red wine made the situation much easier to bear.
“Yes,” she admitted in a quieter tone than she’d intended. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s not been perfect, but yes, I’m happy. I love him, and I think he loves me, too.”
Dalton leaned back into his seat. “Oh, he loves you, alright,” he agreed as he returned Molly’s smile. “I’ve known Connor his whole life, and I’ve never seen him like this about anyone, but that’s not the point. I know what he can be like—I think we both do—and if either of us needs a reminder, then our little trip tomorrow morning will serve that purpose.”
Molly nodded her head slowly. Of course. Lydia. How could she forget? “Yes,” she sighed. “I know all about it.”
“Well, that’s something,” Dalton muttered. “It wouldn’t bode well if he was trying to keep it from you.”
“All things considered, he’s always been quite honest actually,” she chuckled, and something about her words made Dalton laugh, too.
“Great,” he chuckled. “An honest murderer.”
“Right,” giggled Molly, shaking her head at how perverse the whole thing sounded out loud. “Oh, actually, I wanted to bring some flowers along to this ritual tomorrow. Is there somewhere local I can grab some?”
Dalton smiled at her question. “You don’t need anywhere local,” he told her. “This is The Syndicate. We can pretty much get anything from anywhere. What do you want, lilies?”
Molly drained her glass, placing it gently back on the table. “No, not lilies,” she replied. “Actually, I was thinking of something a little more specific…”
Chapter Forty-One
By the time he neared the table, Connor could see that Molly and Dalton were well entrenched in a conversation. He pushed away the stab of jealousy that rose in him as he surveyed the pair of them, well aware that his brother would never do anything to abuse his trust, but still, there was just something about seeing Molly laughing with another man which made him uneasy.
“You’re getting on well?” he commented wryly, and both sets of blue eyes rose to meet his arrival.
“Of course,” relied Dalton with a smile. “Molly is a lovely woman, little brother. You shouldn’t always keep her locked away.”
Connor snorted. Coming from anyone else that would have been amusing, but Dalton had a good idea what Connor liked to do for kicks. Even more ironically, Dalton enjoyed many of those things, too. “I’ll bear that in mind,” he relied dryly. “It’s gone ten, and we’ll need to leave by one at the latest. So I suggest we get a couple of hours rest.”
Molly nodded, pursing her perfect little lips as she slid out of the booth toward him.
“What, no dessert?” quipped Dalton as he drained the remainder of his glass.
“Not for you, brother,” Connor chuckled. “I’ll be having dessert back at the room.”
Molly blushed a shade of red which almost perfectly matched her dress. “Master,” she hissed quietly as she stumbled toward his body. “Not in front of Dalton!”
Connor chuckled at Molly’s performance. She’d only had two glasses of wine, but then, he supposed it could have been a long time since she’d drunk any alcohol at all. “He doesn’t mind,” Connor assured her as his arm snaked to her waist. “Do you, brother?”
“Absolutely not,” responded Dalton as he rose and gestured for them to go ahead of him. “Actually, I’d think less of you if you didn’t want to indulge. Molly looks ravishing tonight.”
Connor shot him a warning look for that comment, but Dalton just laughed.
“Plus anyhow,” his older brother continued. “I have transport to arrange.”
“True,” agreed Connor as he led the giggly Molly from the full restaurant.
“Do you want your own car?” called Dalton as they wandered back into the corridor outside.
Connor turned, allowing him to catch up before he replied. “Please,” he confirmed. “We’ll meet you there. And thanks for agreeing to come along.”
Dalton nodded. “Anything for you, little brother.”
They said their goodbyes, and Connor directed his inebriated kitten into the nearby elevator. There were a number of other people already in there talking, but he ignored them all, and after Connor had selected the floor they wanted, he pulled Molly against his body protectively. She came without resistance, her face flushed as she gazed up into his eyes.
“Are you upset with me, Master?” she whispered, her gaze suddenly portraying just a flicker of trepidation on the subject.
Connor towered over her. “Of course, not,” he purred. “Why would I be upset?”
“I don’t know,” she murmured. “You just seemed cross since you came back from the bathroom.”
He smiled. His little kitten was so intuitive. “Not with you,” he assured her, leaning down to plant a gentle kiss on her forehead. “My little kitten wouldn’t do anything to upset me now, would she?”
Molly bit her lip in that adorable way that made him want to rip the dress from her body right there in the elevator. “No, Master,” she assured him with wide eyes. “I wouldn’t.”
Connor had never realized how cute she was when she’d been drinking, and as he looked down at Molly, he couldn’t help but chuckle. “Well, that’s good then,” he replied, maintaining an almost hypnotic control over her gaze the entire time.
The elevator stopped, and as the doors opened, the remaining people filed out.
“Is this us, Master?” Molly asked.
Connor’s eyes flitted briefly to the control panel, before returning directly to her dilated pupils. “No, kitten,” he informed her. “We have a couple more floors yet.”
He waited for the doors to close again, grateful that no one else had felt the need to join them, and then as the elevator lurched into life, he pounced, guiding Molly’s body back against the mirrored wall and hitting the alarm button on the control panel. The elevator lurched to a halt immediately, and Molly gasped from beside him.
“Master?” she panted.
Connor could tell by the look in her eyes that his kitten had a good idea what was on his mind, but still, he was more than happy to make things clearer.
“Dalton was right.” He was practically growling into her ear as he leant down over her. “Y
ou do look fucking ravishing in that dress, but I know something else, kitten. I know you look even better out of it.”
Molly’s eyes widened like saucers, and she gulped at the timbre of his voice. “Master?” she repeated, her own voice sounding tiny in the bright glare of the elevator’s lights.
“Get that dress off,” he commanded her sensually. “I want you on all fours between here and the room, do you understand?”
The way Molly held her breath at the instruction told him that she did understand, but for the moment, it seemed she just couldn’t find the words to reply.
“I said, do you understand?” he repeated. “And bear in mind, the longer we take to clarify this, the more people are likely to be waiting for us when we arrive on the thirty-sixth floor.”
That seemed to do it, and Molly exhaled sharply, panting as she gazed up at him.
“But what if someone sees me, Master?” she gasped.
Connor smiled, feeling his cock hardening at the idea. “You can stay in your underwear,” he told her as though being found crawling in your underwear was the most normal thing in the world. “But if they see you, then I guess I get even harder and I daresay, you’ll get even wetter, kitten?”
Molly’s hand rose to his chest, grabbing at his shirt for support.
“I’m going to release the alarm now,” he told her slowly. “And when I do, you have approximately thirty seconds to remove that dress. Am I clear?”
Her head was nodding in response, although Molly looked bloody shell-shocked.
“Kitten?” he prompted in a gravelly tone.
“Y-yes, Master,” she agreed at last, and by the time he released the mechanism, Molly’s fingers were already releasing the zipper at the side of her dress.
Connor watched in mesmerized admiration as she obeyed in a panic, sliding the fabric down over her curves until it pooled at her heels. As always, the look of her virtually naked took his breath away, but there was something about seeing her undressed in such an unusual environment that made the whole thing even more taboo. Even hotter.
By the time the elevator chimed to indicate they’d reached their desired floor, Molly stood only in her small thong panties and matching bra, the red dress slung over one arm, and her red heels clasped in the other hand.
“Give those to me,” ordered Connor, stepping forward to take the items just as the doors slid open.
His kitten’s gaze widened as it followed the metal doors, but she scurried to comply, passing him the items as she panted by his side. Connor took the lead, stepping out of the elevator to see who was around. His heart fell a little as he realized they were in fact alone. There had been a definite part of him that wanted her to be humiliated by the presence of some other people, but Connor knew there was nothing he could do about that now.
“Come,” he commanded, pointing to the carpeted floor just outside the elevator. “You know your place, kitten.”
Molly’s chest was rising and falling in rapid succession as she moved toward him, and as she passed his body, Connor could see her nipples already beaded into tight little buds. Crossing the boundary to the hallway, she sucked that lower lip between her teeth and fell to her knees on trembling legs.
Just the look of her obedience was heady, and Connor inhaled deeply as she presented herself on all fours; just the way he had taught her.
“Good pet,” he purred in his own, excited tone. “Now come to heel.”
She glanced up briefly, but Molly’s gaze never met his. In fact, her eyes barely made it past his knees, and from what he could see, her pupils were large and dilated. As he moved to walk away from the elevator, he glanced down, ensuring she was following on her hands and knees as expected. She was, or at least, she was trying to, but even at a slower pace than usual, Connor’s strides seemed almost impossible for Molly to keep up with.
“Beautiful,” he told her encouragingly. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”
Molly drew in a deep breath, but didn’t reply. Instead, her head remained low, as her limbs moved, working hard to remain by his side.
As they rounded the corner, the sound of distant voices echoed past his ears.
“Master!” she exclaimed in a loud whisper. “Someone is coming.”
Connor paused, gazing down to find Molly’s eyes wide and close to tears. He reached down, stroking away the silky strands of hair from her face. “It’s okay, kitten,” he reassured her. “You’re safe.”
He swore she almost purred in response, pushing her face toward his shin, as though she wanted to bury herself in his warmth, and away from whoever was coming.
“Please,” she begged in that way that sent his arousal crescendoing to almost paralyzing levels. “Please don’t make me do this.”
Connor stared down at her, and for the first time, he actually listened to her plight. Sure, she had pleaded many times before, and usually just the gesture was enough to make him want to continue whatever deplorable deed he was making her carry out, but this time, the tone of her voice made him halt. It was obvious from her face that she was scared senseless of being found this way, and even though he knew instinctively those panties would be drenched with her excitement on the subject, for some reason, he didn’t want to subject her to the ordeal. Not this time. Not anymore.
Fuck.
“You really don’t want to crawl past them?” he asked, ensuring he arched the brow which he already knew drove her insane with lust.
Molly gulped at the gesture, or maybe it was the question. He wasn’t sure. “No, Master,” she replied. “Anything but that, please.”
He smiled, seeing her there in her underwear, at his feet in the middle of the hallway was so utterly tantalizing. The desperate expression on her face was really just the icing on the already tempting cake. “I’ll carry you then,” he decided aloud. “If you won’t crawl, then you’ll be carried back home where I can show you how fucking good you looked in this dress, and how much better you look without it.”
Her eyes were wild with questions at his answer, but the increasing volume of the voices told her there was no time for that now. “Yes, please, Master,” she gasped, nodding as she rose to her knees.
Connor swallowed instinctively, trying to compose himself as he thought his decision through. “Up then,” he commanded, gesturing for Molly to rise to her feet. “And you can take these back.”
He thrust the heels and dress back in her direction as she rose on shaky limbs, and in one fell swoop, he lurched for her, grabbing her gently at the hips, and throwing her up and over his left shoulder. Molly yelped in shock as she found herself flung over his body. Evidently, this was not what she’d had in mind when he’d suggested he’d carry her, but Molly should have known better. There was no better way to carry your pet back to bed than this. With her delectable arse on show for the whole world to see.
“Is that better?” he asked happily as he strode onwards, ensuring Molly was safely in place.
His left arm rose to secure her thighs against his chest, and at the same time, his other hand landed on her behind, swatting the pert cheeks it found there playfully.
“Oh! Yes, Master,” she gasped from behind him. “Thank you.”
Connor smiled at her response. She was such a good little pet now. “You’re welcome, kitten,” he told her just as the small group of people came into view down the corridor. “At least your blushes will be hidden back there.”
Molly didn’t query the point, and Connor had the feeling she was genuinely grateful for the deed, despite her rather ungainly new position.
He stalked onwards, walking with new purpose as he approached the group of strangers. Connor had been back at The Syndicate a while now, but there were still a large number of new faces he just didn’t know, which was absolutely fine with him. He’d grown fond of the privacy he’d found back at the house, and he intended to hang onto whatever he had left. Two women and a young-looking guy approached, their eyes wide with astonished questions as they took in the
bare, upturned woman over his shoulder.
“Evening,” Connor murmured as he strode past them, grinning at their dumbfounded expressions.
“Er, hi,” he heard one of them respond, but Connor didn’t know which one had spoken, and neither did he much care.
Whoever they were, they were irrelevant. They were only observers to the game he and Molly were playing. Connor was close to his rooms now, and close to getting his kitten collared and back where she belonged. At his feet.
Chapter Forty-Two
The ride over his shoulder was not what Molly had expected, but as she clasped the shoes and gown in her hands, she had to admit, it was definitely less embarrassing than having to actually crawl past the strangers. Yes, it was humiliating to be carried this way, but compared to Connor’s usual ignominies, it wasn’t so bad, and actually, feeling his large palm against her ass was strangely reassuring as he hurried down the hallway.
“Here we are, kitten,” he said after a few moments, and his pace finally slowed as they presumably approached his rooms.
From her position, it was impossible for Molly to know where they were, and anyway, she still couldn’t wrap her head around this freaking place. The long endless, plush corridors seemed relentless, and every one she’d seen looked pretty much identical, save for some differing decor.
Connor paused, the hand at her ass disappearing before she heard the sound of the key in the lock. A moment later they were back inside the sanctuary of the room, and she gasped as he kicked the door shut just beyond her head. Slowly, his body bent and Molly was lowered back to her feet, the sensation of the blood rushing from her head making her reach for him instinctively. Their gazes met for a long moment. Molly knew she was blushing, as she so often was around Connor.
“Down now.”
Only two words, but they held such sensual promise, and those intense, green eyes told her to obey in no uncertain terms. Using his hard body for support, Molly lowered back to her knees, lifting her chin to meet his eyes as she knelt before him.
Entwined: (A Dark Romance Kidnap Thriller) (The Dark Necessities Trilogy Book 3) Page 21