I sank back feeling defeated. All my hard work; erased by this man and worse. There would be no way to escape punishment for that S-O-S. The cook who’d taken my food order brought my tuna melt. He sat something resembling macaroni with meat in it down in front of my stranger.
“Thanks, Jasper,” the man sitting across from me said, “it looks perfect.” He took a scoop of the macaroni and swallowed it down. “Tastes even better.”
“Thank you, Mr. Summers.” The cook looked pleased and left with a smile.
“I’m sorry, but who are you?” I leaned back and scanned the kitchen. Where were my guards? Where was X? Why was I still free?
“A business associate of Xavier’s, and you have me intrigued. I want to offer you a job.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“I don’t kid.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m sorry, but you obviously don’t understand my position here.”
“I understand it very well.”
“If you’re offering me a job, then you don’t.”
“You’re Xavier’s slave.” He shoveled a massive bite into his mouth and wiped his chin. “Trust me, I know exactly what your position here is.”
“Then you know it’s ridiculous offering me any kind of job.”
“Not really. I’ve had my eye on you for quite some time.”
“Is that so?”
“I’m the one who intervened when your father put you up for sale to the highest bidder. You can thank me for Xavier stepping in to prevent an unscrupulous buyer from getting hold of you.”
“Excuse me?” I blinked, hard, because the things coming from this man’s mouth made no sense to me. “What do you mean you intervened and X stepped in?”
“Oh, it gets better.” He said with a smirk. “You actually have a lot to be thankful for.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“You said I have no idea who you are. I’m merely explaining that I know exactly who you are.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know you from Adam. And if you’re with Xavier—”
“Your Master,” the man corrected, bringing a huff from my lips. “I believe Xavier is a stickler for titles. He doesn’t just believe in the lifestyle, he’s embraced it to its fullest, but then you should know this.”
“Okay…if you’re with my Master, I have no reason to believe anything you say.” I was to use the honorific in X’s presence, but when he wasn’t around? I shook my head.
“Why is that?” X’s sudden arrival surprised me. He’d come from somewhere behind me. I jerked in my seat and spun around, only to find myself facing the indomitable presence of the man I called Master. X picked up a chair from the adjacent table and placed it between me and my stranger. “I see you’ve met Forest.”
Technically, Forest and I hadn’t officially met, but at least now I had a name. This was the man X had spoken to over the phone last night after I told X about the malicious programming I’d left behind for insurance. Forest wasn’t a code word, it was this man’s name. Forest Summers. His name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t figure out why that might be.
Too many questions flooded my mind.
“Have your guests left?” Forest asked, turning his attention away from me and speaking to X. His face twisted with distaste.
“Yes, and good riddance.” A look of relief passed over X’s features. “I’m fumigating their rooms.”
Forest burst out in laughter. “Good one.” He sobered almost immediately, an odd shift in mood, then leaned toward X. “And the product?”
“They’re being debriefed as we speak, and given their options.”
The product? Forest meant men and women who’d been enslaved. My gut churned with the casual way these men spoke about stripping humans of their most basic rights.
I hooked my hands beneath my legs, my hunger forgotten in the presence of X. Forest said he’d found my S-O-S and had told X about it. Why didn’t X have me over his knee? Or worse, strung up for another whipping?
“Good,” Forest said, shoveling a bit of what looked like a concoction of macaroni and hamburger into his mouth. “I wonder how many will decide to stay?”
“One of the men at least. It’s harder with the women, but I have a feeling one or two might choose to join the organization. Mel is handling their transition.”
I tried to glean clues from their conversation about what was going on. X told me he was disappointed I hadn’t figured certain things out, but what was I missing?
“Raven,” X said, “aren’t you going to eat?”
I stared at my food, but with the churning in my stomach that wasn’t going to happen.
“I’m not as hungry as I thought, Master.” I refused to forget the honorific and wind up over X’s knee in front of this stranger. My core ignited with an achy flare of arousal and I pressed my knees together. Since when did I get excited about the prospect of X spanking me?
X lifted his finger and the cook came running. “I’ll have what Raven is having.”
“Yes, Master Xavier.” The cook took the order and rushed off.
“You missed breakfast, Raven.” X patted my knee. “You must be starving. Go ahead and eat.” He propped his elbows on the bistro table and glanced at the plate sitting in front of Forest. “What the hell is that slop?”
Forest gave a grin. “Chili Mac! It’s delicious. You should try it.”
X pulled a face. “I think I’ll pass.”
I kept my gaze bouncing between the two men, unable to figure out how they might be connected. Finally, I couldn’t stand it any longer. “I’m sorry, but how do you two know each other?” And what else did Forest know about me?
Forest jerked his thumb toward X. “I’m his boss.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Your boss?” My mouth gaped and I shook my head. I thought X was the boss? When I realized I’d forgotten the honorific, I gave a tiny gasp, then rushed to correct myself. “I’m sorry, Master.”
X gave a soft laugh and gripped my hand. “It’s okay, I’ll give you a pass, this one time.” He turned to Forest. “I think it’s time we come clean.”
Jasper returned with X’s sandwich. “Master Xavier, is there anything else I can get for you?”
“No, Jasper. This is good, thank you.” X took a look at his plate, then glanced at me. “It’s been years since I’ve had this. I think I was twelve.”
Jasper gave a low bow, took two steps back, and retreated. I scanned the kitchen, watching the deference all these men gave, not to Forest—the man who claimed he was X’s boss—but to X himself.
“Yes, please Master,” I said, not at all concerned about begging for answers, “please, come clean.”
X rolled his wrist and glanced at his watch. “We have less than an hour,” he said to Forest.
With his mouth full of chili mac, Forest responded with a nod.
“Xavier!” I pushed my plate away. “What’s going on?”
X arched a brow, reached out and pushed my plate back in front of me. “Are you that eager to bend over my knee, Raven? Do not forget your place, or what happens when you disobey.”
I glared at him and curled my hands into fists. Instead of lashing out, a surreal feeling of calm came over me with the reprimand. Back and forth, back and forth, my emotions regarding X boomeranged inside of me, constantly flying about. Keeping hatred for him alive felt wrong, especially after the past few days. He’d exposed me, degraded me in front of my father, apologized for it, and sheltered me as he could. He’d been both tender and cruel. How did any of that make sense?
But, I felt a truth. My heart had already accepted it. At some point, I would have to trust my feelings about this man. What he’d done had been wrong. This couldn’t be denied, but I felt an overwhelming protectiveness and affection coming from him. He kept telling me things weren’t as they seemed. Instead of pushing back from the table and shouting something I would most definitely regret, I chose to trust. I took in a deep breath.
“I didn’t mean to raise my voice, Master, and I didn’t mean to disrespect you. I’m sorry, but I’m really confused. Please—” I stopped and changed the wording of what I was going to say. “Master, will you please tell me what’s going on?”
He took my hand in his and raised my knuckles to his lips where he gave the lightest of kisses. “I will, Raven, but first, finish your food. We don’t have much time.”
Time? Time for what? My entire body buzzed with the anticipation of finally getting answers, but a glance at my master told me he wouldn’t be explaining further. I had to trust him, and it killed me to sit in silence and take a bite of my sandwich. But I did. I cleared my plate, and then waited for my master and Forest to do the same. Hopefully, the answers I received were ones I could live with.
As if to torture me, X and Forest talked about inconsequential things.
“I hear you’re an uncle now,” X said. “Congratulations.” He took a bite of his sandwich.
Who cared about Forest’s personal life? I wanted to hurry up to this big revelation they had for me.
“Thanks.” Forest gave a lopsided grin. “You know, I thought Ash was going to have a cow when they rushed Skye to a c-section. He was practically pulling his hair out. Good thing Tia was there.”
“Tia? Why do I know that name?”
“Tia’s the certified nurse anesthetist leading Skye’s surgical team. Her husband, Ryker, is the respiratory therapist.”
“Ah, I thought that name sounded familiar.”
“Yeah, Tia’s a champ. She didn’t even bat an eye when she had to put Skye under. That woman is scary as shit when she’s working, super smart and gorgeous as hell.”
“Everything went okay, though? Mom and baby?”
X appeared genuinely concerned, not that I cared. He took another small bite of his sandwich. This conversation was killing me. These were men! Why weren’t they scarfing their food down?
Forest gave a nod. “Yeah, everything turned out perfect. The baby and my sis made it through just fine. Skye’s an amazing mother. I couldn’t be happier for her.”
“That’s wonderful news.”
“Yes, but don’t worry, the team will be ready.”
“We can delay if needed.” X put his sandwich down on his plate, and I groaned inwardly. “I don’t want to rush,” he said, taking a drink of his water, “but every day…it’s another—”
“No rush. Skye knows her limits and she pushes herself hard, besides we still don’t know where Snowden is, and Skye wants this as much as me. She’s smart enough to pace herself and not push.”
There was that name again, my father’s business partner, the one involved in the more heinous business practices. What interest did Forest have in Snowden? For that matter, what about X who did business with my father? But wait, if X worked for Forest, then Forest had his hands in the entire sex slave operation as well. Nothing made sense.
“Good,” X said, “And the rest of the team?”
“With the men you’ve recruited, and the team Skye’s put together, we’re good. Not ready by any means, but give a few months of prep and everything will be set.”
“That leaves only one thing.” X looked at my empty plate and then to me sitting on my hands. He took another bite. Over half his sandwich remained.
I couldn’t help it. I wanted to gouge both their eyes out and that was the only thing keeping me from acting on it.
“Can you find Snowden?” X turned the power of his gaze on Forest, who returned the intensity without flinching.
“With time and digging.” Forest pointed to me. “Of course, it’ll be a lot faster if we use her.”
“Me?” I pointed to my chest. “Use me for what?”
X leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, to take down your father’s operation of course, but more importantly, to put down a real monster for good.”
My focus shifted from X to Forest then back to my master. “I’m sorry?”
Forest huffed out a gruff laugh. “Honey, despite what you think, we’re the good guys.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Forest calling me honey didn’t sit well with me. He was a stranger, and not someone I trusted. I turned to X, remembering all the times he told me he wasn’t a monster. Could this be true? Was there good in my master?
“Good guys?” I looked at X with my stomach twisting in knots. “If you’re one of the good guys, then explain what you did to me.”
I pulled my hands out from under my legs and placed the dolphin bracelet, and all it represented, on the table. I no longer had the rights to it. X looked at it, then looked to me. Nothing else transpired between us, except an unspoken flow of power leaving me and filling him.
Forest leaned back while X returned his attention to the dolphin pendant. It granted me freedom, limited, but was no different from any other chain. The ties that bound us weren’t pretty, but they tightened around my heart and held me fast.
I flicked my fingers in the direction of the laptop, highly conscious of the fact X knew about the message I tried to send. Nothing had been said about that, and it still hung in the air between us. He knew, and I knew he knew. We were in a standoff.
Unable to hold my own against the severity of X’s gaze, I shifted my attention to Forest. He was no less fierce, but I felt more comfortable confronting Forest than my master.
“You don’t need me. You said so yourself. You broke my code and have full access to Z’s information. You can find this Snowden guy without me.”
“I could, and on the surface, it would seem it should be that easy.” Forest rubbed at his chin. “But it’s not. You understand your father. Don’t underestimate your value.”
I didn’t and turned to face X. “Is this true, Master?”
X gave a nod.
“Did it ever occur to you to ask? If you knew so much about me, then you would’ve known how much I despise my father. You could have come to me rather than abduct and enslave me.”
“We considered it,” X acknowledged, “but your father forced our hand.”
“How so?”
“How much do you know about your inheritance?”
“I don’t have an inheritance.” I’d always assumed some of my father’s assets would transfer to me, but my father was healthy and not yet fifty. He had decades left to live.
X exchanged a look with Forest. “Let’s take this conversation to the library.”
I didn’t want to take our conversation to the library. My questions finally had answers rushing to fill in the gaps. If we paused, and went to the library, I’d lose the momentum I’d gained. My mouth opened, I was ready to demand we stay put, but one look from X had me snapping my mouth shut. My master was back and fully in command. He’d released some of the restraints binding our roles, but his authority had returned.
I wanted to kick and scream. I wanted to shout at the top of my lungs about the injustice of it all. What I did instead was nothing. X stood. Forest followed suit. I numbly stared at my empty plate. X picked up the dolphin bracelet and tucked it into the breast pocket of his suit. My limited freedom had been rescinded. He came to stand behind me and put his hand on my chair to scoot it back. His attention to my needs made me want to scream, especially after he took something as precious as the bracelet from me.
“Forest, we’ll meet you in a moment,” X said.
I gulped at those words, because they didn’t bode well for me.
Forest gave a nod and left me alone with my master. We weren’t really alone, the entire kitchen was full of waitstaff and cooks, but I had no illusions they would ignore whatever came next.
“Follow me,” X said, his tone stern.
I said nothing and followed meekly behind as he led me out of the kitchen. We didn’t go far. Two turns through featureless white hallways and he stopped by a nondescript door. With a press of his palm to a keypad, the door swung inward. X ushered me inside with a wave of his hand. I stepped into darkness, confused, trembl
ing, and strangely aroused when X shut the door behind us.
“On your knees,” X said.
His clipped words had me dropping to my knees and bowing my head. A light flickered, revealing shadows around me. I faced the door, but sensed a vastness to the room.
“What we discuss in the library changes nothing between us. You are my slave. Given to me to pay off a debt, but enslaved to me by something much more profound.”
My head snapped up.
“Eyes. Down!”
The force of his command had me bowing my head. My palms slicked with sweat and my entire body shuddered. Tension coiled within me and sparks danced down my nerves. X had an undeniable effect on me, irresistible and intoxicating. Like a sponge, I soaked in his dominance and rose to meet it with…something else. Was this my submission? I didn’t know, because it felt like I needed to defy him, meet strength with strength, until he overpowered me. I hated the constant indecision warring within me. Why couldn’t I simply give in?
“You want to fight what’s inside you, rather than embrace it,” he began.
I swear the man could read minds. Did I give off some vibe that betrayed my innermost thoughts?
“I’ve been sensitive to the stress this places on you, but that stops now.”
How? How did I make it stop? How did I stop fighting not only him, but myself? Because, I wanted what he offered. I simply couldn’t take it.
I meant to look up at him, a display of my defiance. And I did. I glared at him then gave a startled gasp. Shadows cloaked him from the dim lighting, making him fiercer, stronger, and more potent than I remembered. Power radiated off him, mingled with his overwhelming confidence, and fell upon me in a flood of conviction. Nothing about X was soft and gentle. I both respected and feared that about him. He held no confusion about his place and stood above me with absolute assurance, knowing that was where he belonged. How did someone fight the strength of his will? The short answer was they didn’t. I didn’t.
I couldn’t.
“You gave me your consent,” he continued. “You said the answer was Yes. You’ll be tested. I don’t expect you to say yes for what comes next and you asked me not to make you beg. You have my word to honor that request, but the moment you say Stop, this ends.”
She’s Mine: A Captive Romance Page 19