“Good.” I finished cleaning his cheekbone and put one of the smaller icepacks against it, cleaning the rest of the blood from his knuckles while he held it there. “Anything else I can do?”
“Ibuprofen is in the cabinet above the refrigerator. Bring me that and a glass of water.”
I had to climb onto the counter next to the fridge to reach the bottle of pills then I jumped down and filled a glass with water. I stared down at it for a second. It hadn’t been that long since he hadn’t even trusted me with a glass, now I was waiting on him.
He took the pill bottle and sat the glass down on the end table while he dumped three capsules into his palm. He tossed them back and took a swig of water. Placing one of the cushions on the edge of the couch, he moved around to lie across it, and brought me down to sit between his outstretched legs.
“I should get to work,” he groaned.
“You just got beat up in an elevator.”
“And that doesn’t help me figure out who is responsible for the drugs.”
He kissed my neck and I scooted away so he could get up. “Can I help?”
“No.”
I opened my mouth, about to let everything spill that I had remembered while I was in Miles’ apartment, but I thought he had more important things to tend to at the moment.
Kirk brushed his thumb over my bottom lip then kissed me. “What were you going to say?”
“It’s not important right now. Go do your job.”
“Then why are you thinking about it?”
“I remembered something, right before you and Miles came back—about the night I was brought here.”
Kirk sat back, “Tell me.”
“I told you that I was supposed to meet some friends for dinner but that I didn’t remember going. I must’ve gone, because I remembered being there with one of my friends, we were having drinks and I felt strange—especially since we were only on our second drink. Then two men sat down at our table, and that’s all I have right now.”
“What restaurant?”
“The Pufferbelly. It’s always a quiet restaurant.”
He nodded, “I know the place. And your friend’s name?”
I bit my lip, debating on whether to give it to him.
“Silver, I’m trying to find out what happened and if your friend is okay.”
“Charlene Wilson.”
Brushing his hands through my hair, he kissed me again, slower this time. “I’ll find out what they did to you.”
“Thank you.”
He blew out a long breath then stood, holding his side as he moved to the desk. I picked up the ice packs and returned them to the freezer then I laid across the couch.
I heard something thud against the desk and sat up to look over the back of the couch.
“Ross is arranging a flight back to deal with everything,” Kirk explained.
And if Miles was right, I was in trouble. “He’s fond of Kat, isn’t he?”
Kirk shrugged, “Kat thinks everyone is fond of her.”
“Yeah, I got that.”
He frowned at me.
“She told me that she was the one… with you the other night.”
“Of course she did.” He rolled his chair over to the couch and put his hand around the back of my neck. “You don’t have anything to worry about. Not from her or Ross.”
“Then why is he coming back? And why can Gabe get away with everything?”
Kirk sat back in the chair and crossed his arms over his chest. I sucked my lower lip in and gnawed on it, realizing I’d probably overstepped my bounds again.
“Ross is suspicious of new people, especially when they don’t listen and cause a fuss. It can get bad for business fast. Kat throwing you under the bus won’t help your cause, but Gabe attacking me may help, since it adds credibility to you running because you were scared. Honestly, I knew it was coming, but I was hoping you wouldn’t be with me. He has a vengeful streak, but usually once he gets it out, everything goes back to normal.”
“Why put up with it in the first place? You said he’s always causing trouble.”
“He’s paid his dues. He’s been with Ross a long time, a lot longer than I have. He knows the right people, and he knows enough about them, that they know better than to cross him.”
“And you’re sure he’s not the weasel?”
“No, but if he is, he needs to screw up big enough for there to be no doubt about it.”
“You’ve been watching him,” I realized. “That’s how you found me.”
Kirk nodded. “And now you know too much.”
“That mean you’re going to kill me?”
He smirked and shook his head. “Keep it up, Silver. You almost went too far in front of Miles.”
“I was distraught.” I sat back on my heels, still facing the back of the couch. “I don’t want to piss you off or get in trouble, I just need an outlet, and you’re kinda the only person I talk to. When you don’t have your scary face on, you’re not horrible company.”
“I have a scary face?”
“At the moment, it’s more like pathetically bruised face.”
He raised an eyebrow into something that more closely resembled scary face and I backed down.
“I should be putting you in your place, but as long as you’re obeying and not causing trouble, I can deal with you talking. It’s far better than trying to figure out what you’re quietly plotting.” He cocked a finger at me. “Come here.”
I leaned over the back of the couch. He stood, and before I could duck back, he dragged me over the back of the couch to stand in front of him. Then he sat down and pulled me on top of his lap, straddling his thighs in the computer chair.
“The chair is going to break,” I said as it creaked under us.
“I doubt it, but even if it did, I’d take most of the impact. You’d probably have a good laugh.”
“You’re already half-broken.” I poked near one of the bruises and he grimaced, grabbing my finger and twisting both of my hands behind my back.
“I’m not half-broken.” He took both of my wrists into one hand, pulling them backward so my back arched and my breasts thrust outward into his face. Then, he pushed my shirt up and rolled my nipple between his fingers.
The same one Ross had tried to twist off, but his erotic movements overrode the pain, and even though I still wanted to wrestle myself away, I was afraid of the chair giving out, so I held my statue-like pose.
Faster than I could think, Kirk lifted me up and sat me on my feet. I grabbed the couch to keep my balance and stared at him wide eyed.
He looked away dismissively. “How about being a good pet and making dinner. Alley and Miles are coming up in an hour.”
At least pet was better than slave, I thought, but— “You’re doing it again.”
Someone knocked on the door, and I balled my hands at my sides. It was probably a good thing I couldn’t say my peace, but it didn’t make it any less frustrating. The office chair spun around, knocking into the desk as Kirk went to answer the door. I crossed my arms over my chest and sat against the back of the couch.
Hot, cold, fucked, ignored, friendly, distant. I wanted away from the mood swings.
And half of them were my own.
A scrawny black-haired man stood in the doorway, I thought I’d noticed him in passing, but I had no idea who he was or what his role might be.
“Don’t punch the messenger, but I was sent down to let you know that Ross threw down the order to release Gabe and Darian. Ross will be back tonight, and he wants everyone in his office—including your slave—when he arrives. You may want to stay here until—”
“Unless that’s an order from Ross, I’ll damn well do as I please,” Kirk said.
The other man nodded and made a clicking sound with his mouth. “Okay, I was just—”
“Anything else?”
Black hair looked past Kirk to me, and I turned my gaze away, dropping my hands to the back of the couch. I probabl
y shouldn’t have been standing there, let alone listening, but too little too late.
I heard the door click and the deadbolt slide into place. Kirk had started leaving the key in the inner lock while he was here. Apparently he really did trust me not to run, not that I’d make it to the front door without him noticing.
“Dinner,” he reminded me, waving toward the kitchen.
That was the last thing I wanted to think about, but since everyone knew about Gabe, I figured they’d all be watching for another attack. “What am I supposed to make?”
“It’s a full kitchen. Make something good.”
“I didn’t notice any frozen pizzas or fish sticks.”
“Now’s not the time to be a smart ass.”
“I’m being fucking serious. I was never a—” I waved toward the kitchen, “whatever they call people who are good in the kitchen. You want me to build a table or cabinet and I’m good, around glass and cooking things I’m a disaster. I have burned Ramen.”
Kirk covered his face with both hands. “I don’t even know what to say to that.”
“I always wanted to be at the shop with Dad, not in the kitchen…” I almost fell to my knees at the thought of never seeing them again. “Can we forget I said that?”
Kirk tucked me against his chest. I avoided looking at him as I swallowed the tears and emotions.
“I can’t believe you all even cook anyway.” I shrugged him off. “Can’t we just order food?”
“That won’t be half as amusing.”
“Right, watching me set fire to your kitchen is going to be fabulous. Maybe we should ask Miles and Alley to come up now and enjoy the show.”
Kirk stepped toward me and I dodged his grasp, darting into the kitchen. He caught my wrist and pinned me to the counter, so I took the opportunity to rub against him.
“You’re tempting fate,” he warned. “I put some pork chops in the fridge last night, get them out and put them on a cutting board. I’ll be right back.”
Cutting board? That was dangerously close to giving me a knife. I laid them out and threw away the packaging. Then, I saw what Kirk returned with.
“I’m sorry,” I squeaked.
“Wash your hands, pull down your pants, and lean over the counter.”
I watched him lube up the plug as I slowly ran my hands under the hot water. I couldn’t tell if it was the vibrating one or not, and I shuddered at the thought of trying to cook with that thing having a fiesta in my ass.
“I’m the boss,” he said as I pulled down my pants and got into position. “Even if you’re trying to be cute, no trying to passive-aggressively top me.”
There was no foreplay with this one, but I had been worked up all day, so it didn’t much matter. He pressed the cold tip to my hole and slid it in slowly. It was one of the larger ones, so by the time he had it nearly in, I wanted to climb up the wall. It fell into place with one more push then he rubbed against it with the palm of his hand. “Put your pants back on.”
He was going to kill me.
I pulled the pants up and buttoned them, the tight material pressing firmly against the base of the plug. You took control by giving up your control, I reminded myself, dragging my hair away from my face.
Kirk heated up a pan and poured in some olive oil, and sprinkled seasonings over the two pieces of meat. I wasn’t sure if it was the pressure in my ass and the combination of everything else, but watching him stand over the stove shirtless and cooking wasn’t doing a damn thing to help me reign in my gung-ho sex drive.
“Grab a baking sheet,” he pointed to a tall cupboard next to the fridge, “and make some fries. You can handle that, right?”
We’ll see. I nodded. Walking with the plug in made me want to drop to my knees. Crawling might have even been easier.
Hold it together.
The fries pinged against the metal of the pan as I poured out a layer and spread them out.
“What has gotten into you anyway?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I prefer the pleasure to the pain, and—”
“And for some reason the pleasure’s the only thing on your mind today?”
I nodded, pushing the baking sheet across the counter to the stove. “Tomorrow is my birthday,” I whispered. “The more I hold on, the more miserable I feel. I just want to let go and feel something else for a while.”
The oven beeped and Kirk slid the fries onto the bottom rack. Then, he took my hand and pulled me closer. I felt the heat of the stove against my side as he pinned me between himself and the counter. “Let’s get through tonight, and I promise, I’ll give you a good day.”
“You sure you can promise that? What if Ross—”
He silenced me with a finger. “I’ve been dealing with Ross and Gabe, and everything else in this building long enough to know it’ll blow over.”
Kirk placed the pork chops in the hot oil and seared each side, then turned down the heat, pulling me back against his chest.
A criminal with a soft side—a very thorny soft side, but it was there.
“Even if this blows over, Alley said,” I swallowed, my mouth felt like it was flooding from trying to hold down my emotions. “She mentioned initiation.”
Kirk grunted and tilted his head back.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I didn’t think you were ready to know yet.”
I struggled out of his grasp, knowing that it was a mistake, but Kirk let me go. “When would I have been ready to know?”
“When you can listen; when I tell you to calm down and come back over here.”
My gut tightened, hands fisted at my sides. I wanted to disobey just to show that I could. Choices. I took a deep breath and took the two steps to close the distance between us.
Kirk wiped away the tear that escaped.
“What’s he going to do to me?”
“Hard to tell. I think he just comes up with it on the spot. It’s not worth worrying about tonight.”
I bit my cheek, and as if he knew, Kirk lifted my chin. I released the pinched skin and nodded. Even though I was still worrying.
“What if it is tonight?”
“He likes to do it during the weekend, when there’s a big crowd, so you have at least a few days. Worry about it when I tell you to worry about it.”
I scoffed. “You won’t tell me to.”
“Then, give me that.” He flipped over the meat and checked the fries. “I just got into an elevator brawl over you. Don’t question everything that I do or tell you to do.” He kissed my neck then patted me on the ass, intentionally hitting the plug.
“Keep an eye on the food while I grab a shirt.”
I pulled the fries out of the oven when the timer went off and put the sheet on top of the stove. Then I peeked through the cupboards until I found the plates. I sat out two and divided the fries between them.
Kirk popped some pills into his mouth as he rounded the corner and took a swig of water, leaving his glass on the corner of the counter. “The pork chops should be done,” he said, removing the lid. He poked one with a knife then turned off the burner, leaving me to plate them.
“They’re on their way down. Set the table and put out a beer for Miles.” He disappeared into the living room again. Since he didn’t give me a drink preference, I filled up his glass with water and sat out the food and silverware, finishing just as I heard voices in the next room.
Miles stepped around the corner and smirked at the table. “What the hell’d you do to the girl?”
Kirk rubbed the base of the plug and a breathy moaned slipped through my throat. “Simmering misery looks good on you.”
I had to bite my lip as I knelt as his feet when we sat down to eat. The position pulled my jeans even tighter against the butt plug. The only comforting thing was that Miles could no longer see me from where he sat. I leaned my forehead against Kirk’s leg. He pressed his hand against my neck and traced my jawline with his thumb, winking when I looked up at him
.
He really was enjoying every moment of my discomfort.
Who’s Your Master
After dinner, I finally got my reprieve from the butt plug. Even though being sprawled over the kitchen table in full view of Miles and Alley wasn’t my preferred method, at least it was done. And with little time to spare, since he and Miles got a message from Ross to be in his office ten minutes later.
Alley gave me a quick hug and half smile before following Miles out of the room, so he could get her back to his apartment before the meeting.
I wished she was going up with us. I was fairly certain I wouldn’t have much to worry about with Kirk and Miles in the room, but around here, being the only girl in a room of men never seemed like a good scenario.
Kirk skipped the leash, probably to show Ross that he trusted me, although we’d been over half of the building today without it. Before he opened the door to the apartment, he lifted my chin.
“Keep your eyes down and do exactly as you’re told. No pauses, no second guessing. Walk behind me. In his office, stand just behind me. Ignore Gabe.”
“Yes, Master.” I tried to lock my fear in some quiet place in my mind, but I could feel my entire body quivering with adrenaline.
Kirk pushed me into the wall, capturing my mouth. Wrestling to control my emotions, knowing I couldn’t, I opened my lips and his tongue plunged inside, leaving me with the taste of him.
He led me to the elevator, not even taking my arm to keep me behind him. It was up to me to prove my worth.
To prove that he owned me.
I wanted to grab his hand when the elevator opened on the tenth floor.
“Breathe,” he whispered without looking back. We stood in the hallway, and he glanced at his phone. A few seconds later, the elevator dinged again.
Oh, god, what are we waiting on, my brain screamed. I imagined Gabe stepping off the elevator and beginning the entire confrontation again, but Kirk was calm, and as the elevator doors opened, I saw Miles.
He walked past me, and he and Kirk walked side by side in front of me until we reached Ross’ office door. They stayed close, flanking me slightly as we joined the group already in the room—Ross, Gabe, Darian, the one who’d aided in the elevator attack, and Alan, the blond from the security room.
Irrevocable: A Sins of Ashville Abduction Dark Romance (Irrevocable Duet Book 1) Page 15