by Logan Fox
Eyes had always fascinated Pearl. She’d seen so many in her life — clear, dilated, focused, bloodshot, rheumy, vague — but never the same. Even Gia’s blue, although a similar shade to Caden’s, had none of his negativity. Not now, staring up at her. Her irises were the clearest blue — a cloudless, winter sky — and her pupils were large, her gaze steady and unmoving.
Pearl sank to her knees in front of the girl, laying her hands over Gia’s knees.
“The card, Gia.” Pearl kept her voice to a whisper. “I need it.”
Gia’s eyes were brimming with tears. The girl gave a quick nod, jarring free a tear from each sparkling eye, and lifted her left thigh from the mattress. She slid out the black keycard, holding it out for Pearl to take.
Pearl’s fingers closed over it, but the girl didn’t release it. Their eyes met. Gia leaned closer, until her face was less than an inch from Pearl’s.
“Ivy’s gone,” Gia whispered.
Pearl’s eyes darted left and right between Gia’s unrelenting gaze.
“Yes.” Pearl cleared her throat. “I heard.”
“He took her.” Gia’s lips barely moved.
Pearl’s entire body became rigid. “He? He who?”
Gia’s head lolled to the side, her expression dissolving into something blank and unreadable.
“Seth.” A hissing whisper. “He’s taken her away, Pearl.”
Pearl tightened her grip on the card, giving it a small tug. Gia wasn’t letting go. Why the hell wasn’t she letting go?
Her gaze flashed between Gia’s eyes as another set of tears coursed down her cheeks. Now her pupils looked abnormally — stoned as fuck — large. Or was it the low lighting in the room? The proximity of Pearl’s face to hers?
“She left,” Pearl managed in a strangled voice. “That’s all, Gia. I was in Caden’s office—”
“They’re covering it up.” Gia’s breath was sweet and hot against Pearl’s face. “They know. They all know what he does. But they don’t care. That’s what he was going to do with me.”
The girl’s face broke into a wide, trembling smile.
“You saved me, Pearl.” Her lips quivered violently, and a tear disappeared between them. “Thank you.”
She pressed her mouth to Pearl’s.
Her lips were satin-soft — a woman’s lips always were.
Pearl made a surprised sound, rearing back. Gia followed, crashing into Pearl’s chest as she dropped to the floor. The girl’s hands found their way to Pearl’s face, clasping her, holding her tight. Pearl lost her grip on the keycard. She fumbled between her and Gia, trying to track down the slippery piece of plastic.
Gia pulled away, lips parting, eyes wide.
“Gia,” Pearl began breathlessly, “I’m not—”
“I know.” The girl smiled again, her lips a touch more steady than before. “But it’s all I have to give.”
Before she could voice another protest, Gia had her lips pressed against Pearl’s again.
Pearl tried another indignant, “Gia!” but the word was muffled. Besides, the girl probably wouldn’t have heeded another protest from Pearl.
Her fingers found the keycard — it had dropped into her lap. She closed her hand over it, squeezing it tight, and then slid it behind her sweat’s waistband.
Gia broke off their kiss, flashing Pearl an impish grin as she leaned back and tore off her yellow Fox Pit issue dress. Pearl got her hand up just in time, her palm flush on the skin between Gia’s collarbones.
“Gia, stop.”
The girl’s smile faded. She sat back on her heels, giving her lips a quick, nervous lick.
“What is it?” Gia’s voice was rough, unsteady.
“You don’t have to thank me. Or, you did, already. This—” Pearl flicked a hand between them “—isn’t necessary. Really.”
“Oh.” The girl’s face dropped, and a blush crept her up her neck. “Oh… shit. I… I’m—”
Gia’s lips squeezed shut, another bout of tears springing into her eyes. She grabbed up her dress, bundling it against her chest as if trying to hide behind it.
“Fuck,” she whispered, wiping the back of her hand over her cheek. “I’m sorry—”
“Hey, it’s okay.” Pearl ran her hand down the girl’s blond head. “It’s okay, Gia. Really. Just a misunderstanding, okay? That’s all.”
Gia nodded, but her face was tight and her lips barely held their seal. She scrambled up, throwing her dress over her head as she stumbled for the bedroom door.
“Gia? Gia!”
The girl didn’t acknowledge Pearl’s frantic call.
The bedroom door let in a flash of light before slamming closed. Pearl jerked, her fingers sliding behind her waistband to touch the keycard.
What the hell had the girl been on about? She was such a poor, fucked up thing, wasn’t she? Pearl tugged out the card, staring at it for a few seconds before pressing it to her breast.
No one could find it now. She had to find a better hiding place. Somewhere close. Somewhere invisible.
Her fingers began toying with the laces on her shoes. She glanced down, sparing a fond smile at the familiar sight of those sneakers on her feet. The edge of the card tapped against her lips, still thrumming from Gia’s insistent, eager-to-please kiss.
The card slowed. Pearl’s hand paused, in the act of tugging free her lace. She glanced over her shoulder, took a deep breath, and tore her shoe off without bothering with undoing the laces.
Her finger disappeared inside, nail digging into the gap between the inner sole and the heel of the shoe.
Seth was right: these shoes had been expensive as fuck. But she’d worn them enough times to make up how much she spent on them. But, just like everything in this world, they weren’t made to last forever. At least a year ago, the inners had started coming loose.
She’d kept telling herself she had to get them fixed.
Thank God she’d always been too broke.
Her finger levered free the innersole. Pearl slipped the keycard into the bottom of the shoe, pushing it in until it jammed by the bridge of the shoe’s design, and then pressed the innersole down again.
She ran her finger along the seam, making sure nothing jutted out. Lifting the shoe, Pearl ducked her head and peered inside, tilting it left and right to make sure a casual glance wouldn’t reveal anything nefarious.
Satisfied, she bit down on her bottom lip and began untying the laces. She wasn’t going to take these off until she was safe at home, miles and miles away from this place.
Which meant she had to wear them the entire day… until tonight, anyway.
Fuck Caden: she was leaving today.
17
Kitsune
When Seth came for her a few hours later, Pearl thought it was for another scene. She had to force herself to relax, to try and keep her eyes away from her shoes, knowing she would have to take them off. Knowing she couldn’t argue herself out of anything — not now, so close to her escape.
It had to be almost nine in the evening; the television didn’t have a clock on it and there were no news channels to rely on for the time. She had only the girls’s movements in and out of the den to go by. Caden came to fetch Opal a few minutes before Seth arrived for her. The tall man ignored her, his eyes sliding past her without settling, and knocked on Opal’s door. The pair left minutes later, Opal casting Pearl a sidelong glance before hurrying up the stairs behind Caden.
“Dress? Underwear?” Pearl asked in a deadpan voice.
“What you’re wearing now is fine.”
Pearl peered down at herself. She still wore that morning’s slacks — creased now — and her sneakers.
“Sure?”
“Sure.” Seth cocked his head to the stairs. “Come on, kitten.”
She was frowning when he led her out to the swimming pool. The pool wasn’t illuminated tonight: its mirror-like surface reflected a diamond-dust swathe of stars against the purple-black of the night sky.
�
��What—” Pearl began, wrapping her arms around herself.
“I thought you could use some R and R.”
“R and R?”
Seth shrugged. “Time off. You do get a day.”
Pearl laughed, but the sound was more uneasy than flippant.
“According to Caden, I’ve had more than my fair share of time off.”
Seth waved a dismissive hand. “He’s just stressed. And when he’s stressed, he takes it out on other people.”
“Stressed about what?” Pearl asked.
She moved past Seth, standing on the edge of the pool, gazing into its dark depths. It looked like an endless void capable of devouring the entire world.
“With Ethan gone, he has to pick up the slack,” Seth said into her ear.
Pearl jerked, the motion stifled by Seth arm’s as he slid them around her and tugged her against him.
Oh… so this wasn’t R and R for her. Pearl suppressed the urge to shake her head — he might feel that, might wonder what it meant. She wasn’t making any waves, no matter how small; by three a.m., she would be gone.
The thought made her smile.
She leaned the back of her head against Seth’s chest and closed her eyes.
Why was Gia so convinced Seth was something he wasn’t? It was obvious he was a womanizer — a complete and utter manwhore — but most men were. Why did that surprise Gia, of all people? She should be used to that by now. It had been how she’d made her money back in the day, hadn’t it?
Pearl let out a soft laugh. The girl was obviously bat-shit crazy. Maybe she’d contracted a form of syphilis that couldn’t be tested for, her brain slowly melting, turning to mush.
“What’s so funny, kitten?”
She squirmed against Seth, and his arms contracted around her like a venus fly trap. He was so solid, so real.
“Gia. She’s not right in the head, is she?”
Seth let out a low rumble of a laugh. “A few sandwiches short of a picnic,” he agreed.
Pearl laughed, twisting so she could look up at Seth. “She’s convinced you took Ivy.”
The smile touching Seth’s mouth slid away. “Took her? Took her where?”
Pearl snorted. “God knows. Your secret warehouse, probably. I mean, you are keeping a bunch of girls locked up there, right? To use as sex slaves?”
Seth remained silent.
She stiffened, turning her head to look up at him again. His eyes were fixed straight ahead, but he wasn’t looking at anything in the distance. Or even in his current reality.
“Seth, I’m kidding. I don’t know why she thinks you took Ivy. I was making up the warehouse bit, Gia didn’t say that.” Pearl shrugged against him, but even this didn’t make him look down at her. “Hey, it’s just a crazy chick’s crazy opinion of you. What does it matter?”
“I didn’t take Ivy,” Seth said. His arms tightened around Pearl. “Why would I take her?”
“Seth, relax.” Pearl wrapped her hands around the man’s bulging biceps, squeezing him. “Gia thinks you had a thing for her. That you weren’t going to let her leave. So now, with Ivy gone, her fucked up little brain just put two and two together. Unfortunately, she gets three and a half from that equation.”
“Three and a half,” Seth repeated, mouth barely moving.
Then he looked down at her, his pupils merging seamlessly with his irises.
“Do you think I’d take Ivy?”
Pearl shook her head, letting out a small laugh. “I think you have enough women to willingly warm your bed. Abducting girls? That’s a bit of a stretch.”
Seth nodded slowly, and dipped his head.
Pearl closed her eyes, expecting a kiss. But instead, Seth put his lips to her ear.
“If there’s anyone I would kidnap, it would be you, kitten.”
Her stomach coiled violently around itself. Pearl tugged her head away, peering up at Seth through a severe frown. He looked down at her, gave her a small squeeze, and shook his head.
“And here I thought I was the one who didn’t have a sense of humor.” He laughed quietly. “It was a joke, kitten. You know: ha ha.”
“Ha ha,” Pearl murmured. She gave him a weak smile.
Taking her shoulders in his hands, Seth turned her to face him.
“I would never hurt you. You or any other woman.” He shrugged. “My old lady used to tell me that a woman was as soft and delicate as a rose.”
He drew away a hand, closing it slowly into a fist and resting it on her shoulder.
“I wouldn’t even think about raising my hand to a woman. It would be too easy for me to crush her. I just couldn’t.”
A brief flicker of memory: Seth pounding his fist into Henry’s face until the man hung like a limp, bloodied rag from his hand.
“Unless she wants you to,” Pearl said. She ran her hands absently down Seth’s pecs, fingertips describing the clearly defined lines that cut between his muscles.
Another shake of his head. “No. Not even then.”
He stared at the fist on her shoulder. “Too easy to get carried away. I couldn’t let that happen.”
So that was why the thought of shibari intrigued him so much: tying up a girl and having her at his mercy. Except he couldn’t trust himself not to hurt her. Even unintentionally.
And this was the same guy Gia thought capable of abducting her and Ivy?
She shook her head, rising onto her tiptoes. Her intention had been a peck on Seth’s cheek, a way of telling him that she trusted him, but he turned his head to meet her.
Their lips brushed gently against each other. For someone who didn’t trust his own strength, Seth could give the most delicate kiss. Perhaps that’s why he did: he didn’t want to hurt her.
Except… that’s not what she wanted. Not now. Not here. Not with him. Those feather light caresses he planted on her mouth didn’t suit his brutish size.
Something inexplicable came over her.
Pearl sank her nails into Seth’s pecs. He made a soft sound, surprise or protest, and drew away from her. But his lips never left hers.
He hadn’t been this gentle with her in the shower. He’d manhandled her ass — knowing she was still bruised from Jarred’s spanking — without a care.
So why was he holding back now?
As if reading her mind — or perhaps remembering that same moment with her — Seth slid his hands down her waist, cupped her ass, and hoisted her up to his hips.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms over his expansive shoulders. The world spun around her as he turned, carrying her off. Abducting her. She smiled into their kiss, and his lips paused.
“We can’t go inside,” he said in a low rumble.
“Okay,” Pearl said, a little breathless. “Fine, whatever.”
She pressed her lips against his again, but he broke free, nudging her head aside with his.
“Mel is inside.”
Who on earth was Mel? And why the hell did he care—
Pearl dropped her head, resting her forehead against Seth’s shoulder.
His wife.
Dear God, she’d become someone’s mistress without a second thought. What did that say of her? How could she—
“She knows,” Seth murmured into Pearl’s ears. “About this. About the others.”
Pearl leaned back. He was still walking, heading for the changing room, the sauna perhaps. Pearl shook her head.
“That supposed to make me feel better?”
“She’s fine with it. It’s just that she doesn’t want to see me…” he trailed off, his black eyes flashing between hers.
“Carrying away another girl to go fuck?”
Seth’s mouth thinned, but he nodded.
Pearl nodded too, but whatever hedonistic urge had possessed her withered. Whether Mel cared or not, Pearl did. She’d already made this mistake once before. Plus, she needed her energy — who knew what would happen tonight when she tried to escape? She might have to outrun guards or their dogs or no
sy Fox Pit employees. Would she be able to do that if Seth had depleted her energy?
She should be in bed right now, sleeping. Waiting.
“Tomorrow,” Pearl said, untangling her legs and sliding to the floor.
Seth stumbled to a halt, his steps impeded by her body.
“I said it’s—” he began.
“I’m tired, Seth.” Pearl shrugged and gave what she considered a coy smile. Hopefully more coy than desperate. “It’s not like I’m going anywhere.”
Shit, why did she have to add that? It clanged so false in her ears, Seth would have to be in a coma not to have noticed.
But he just stared down at her, black eyes as mysterious as always, face deadpan. How did his wife manage to speak to him if he could just turn off every external signal of his emotions like a switch?
“All right.” Seth released her, ran a hand down his beard, and took a step back.
His eyes dragged over her. Pearl shifted, forcing away the tendril of arousal that his hungry gaze wormed out of her sex.
This was not the time. It would never be the time again, and she was perfectly fine with that. If giving up some sexy time with Seth meant she could get the hell out of here, then it was a tiny price to pay for her freedom.
“Let’s get back,” Seth said, voice gruff.
Was he angry with her? It was impossible to tell when he was in emotionless-Seth mode.
She hurried after him, casting a last glance behind her at the star-studded waters.
Why couldn’t this all just have worked out? Why did there have to be dead bodies and disappearing girls and psychotic men to deal with? If this had just been her and the wolves, a paycheck of a hundred kay, and another two weeks…
She could have done it. She really could have.
Pearl almost walked into Seth. He was just inside the Fox Pit, standing absolutely still in the dim entranceway.
“Seth?”
He turned his head as if hearing her voice, but loathe to look behind him.
Her skin began crawling. She gave herself a furious hug. She wanted to call out to him again, to ask him what was wrong, why he wasn’t moving.