Violet took a deep breath, steadied her aim, and fired.
Chapter Sixteen
Living with the aftermath of Violet’s decision to take her life and Charlotte’s into her own hands had the town of Treasure Cove in a state. While most agreed with Violet’s method of ending the standoff, a very small few disagreed, mainly the federal agents, who were now up in arms on how to acquire Sergio Pavlov, who seemed to have disappeared.
While Tristan stuck to Violet like glue, Sasha stayed away. He found out after storming into his house with the rest of them men that James told Violet his dirty little secret. The truth was out and when he went to speak to Violet, everyone was shocked when she slapped him across the face. Since then, Sasha kept his distance. Gabriel knew there was nothing more he could do for his friend. His main concern was his sister’s health and wellbeing, and when Violet insisted on moving back into the Pleasure Cave he didn’t stop her, nor did he stop Tristan when he followed.
Life was starting to get back on track for all those involved, all except for Violet, who had retreated once again within herself. She became distant and quiet, barely speaking to anyone. Gabriel and Tristan asked Kelly to come talk to her, but when she did, all Kelly said was that Violet needed time to process everything and they should give her that.
That was a month ago, and still Violet hadn’t changed. The time for waiting was over, and Gabriel decided to go against his better judgment and interfere in his sister’s life. She may hate him for this, but if it got her talking again, then it would all be worth it.
“Do you think he’s going to be able to tell her everything?” Gabriel asked, standing at the doors to his dungeon. He had insisted that Sasha come clean and tell her everything about his life, the whole truth about his club, his childhood, his sister, and why he did what he did. Gabriel didn’t know if it would work, but he had to try something, and Tristan was on board, saying it was better than doing nothing. Both men agreed that Sasha should divulge the information at the Pleasure Cave. That way if things went downhill, they could protect her. Everyone was waiting for his word. He didn’t like leaving them alone, but he agreed that Sasha needed this. Sasha was already punishing himself enough. Telling the woman he loved that he was the cause of all of her nightmares weighed heavily on Sasha. Gabriel knew that, but the time for release had come. Neither was going to be able to move on until everything was out in the open.
“He’ll do it, even if it costs him her,” Tristan replied stoically, looking at his best friend, sitting alone in the dark dungeon.
“She’s going to be upset.”
“Yes, she will, but I’ve come to learn that Violet is stronger than we all give her credit for. She never ceases to amaze me. She just might surprise us all.”
“You have a lot of faith in her,” Gabriel stated, smiling.
“I love her, and if she will have me, I want to marry her.”
“She loves Sasha, too, but right now she’s hurting.”
“I know, but I also know there is a place in her heart for me.”
“I still can’t believe that she killed him,” Gabriel said, trying to wrap his mind around what happened. “I thought she was going to fall to pieces afterward. I can’t imagine Violet hurting a fly, and yet she didn’t blink an eye when she pulled that trigger.”
“He was going to kill Charlotte. Violet did what she had to do and in turn, she freed herself from his hold over her. Kelly said she’s dealing with it well. She said it’s going to take some time, but eventually Violet will come to grips with what she did. Until then, we all have to be supportive and give her the space she needs.”
“Garret said the state’s district attorney isn’t going to press charges. Garret testified that it was self-defense, and if Violet hadn’t done what she did, Charlotte would be dead. Braxton and Jordan are telling everyone that Violet is a hero, that their wife is alive because of her. They want to thank Violet, but I’ve asked them not to. I don’t want them to upset Violet any more than she already is.”
“I can’t say I’m happy that Violet was the one to do it, but I am glad that my brother is finally unable to hurt anyone else. I still can’t believe the man I grew up with could be so evil. We came from the same parents. We were raised in a loving home, yet he turned out to be the devil himself. What does that say about me? We have the same genes, Gabriel.”
“He made the choice to do what he did, Tristan. You are nothing like him. You have a soul. He didn’t,” Gabriel said then turned when he heard soft footsteps walking toward him. He turned and watched as Violet made her way toward him. This was it. The day of reckoning had arrived, and he prayed that when the truth came out, his best friend and his sister could finally put their demons to rest.
“Where is he?” Violet asked.
“He waiting for you,” Tristan said, giving her a hug. “We’re going to wait out here in case you need us, okay?”
Violet silently nodded as Gabriel and Tristan moved aside and watched Violet walk into the dungeon.
Sasha heard her enter the gloomy room. He thought it poignant that Gabriel insisted he tell her in here. With cameras in every corner and men watching and guarding every exit, he felt as if he was going to his own execution. The time had come to lay down his burdens, and the only one who could save him was now standing before him.
“Sasha?”
Her feet were so dainty. Looking at his, he couldn’t believe that feet could be so small. He wondered if this would be the last time he saw her feet. Slowly moving his eyes up, he memorized her legs, her hips, her waist. She was perfect in every way, dressed in a beautiful pink cotton dress. Her small, slender fingers laid against her thighs, relaxed, unmoving. They were so small, sometimes he feared he would break them. Her tiny wrist was so small. He remembered having the jeweler remove several of the links on her watch just so she could wear it. Moving further up, her breasts, firm and perfect, were hidden under a soft cashmere sweater. Her long, glossy, black hair shimmered in the lighting of the dungeon. He remembered spending many nights running his hands through her hair, playing with it, while she slept peacefully next to him. She was the woman of his dreams, the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. The woman who in a matter of minutes was going to crush his heart and condemn his soul to hell.
He wasn’t going to blame her. He wasn’t going to argue or pleaded with her. She had every right to be angry at him. He was angry with himself. He had many opportunities to tell her the truth and he squandered each and every one of them.
“Sasha, look at me,” her soft angelic voice ordered, but he couldn’t do it, he slowly shook his head. He couldn’t look at her beautiful, light gray eyes and see the hurt and pain he caused. This was a bad idea. He should have told Gabriel and Tristan no. It was best if he’d left when he had the chance. He only stayed around to make sure she received no repercussions for what she did. Of course, he didn’t blame her one bit for it. As far as he was concerned, that bastard got what he deserved and more. His only regret where that was concerned was that Violet was going to have to live with what she’d done forever. His beautiful flower shouldn’t have to deal with that. No…she wasn’t his beautiful flower anymore. She belonged to Tristan. The quicker he started believing that the better.
The thought of her just belonging to Tristan hurt him like no other, but he refused to be the cause of her anguish a moment longer. Now, all he needed was the courage to see this through. When her hand moved toward him, he flinched. He didn’t mean to, but that didn’t stop her from touching his face. Her small fragile hand lightly pulled his face up to hers.
The second his eyes locked with hers, Sasha shattered. He unleashed all the pain and disgust he felt over the last year and released it. Tears he’d never known were there pooled and overflowed down his face. His heart broke into a million pieces and his soul cried. He wasn’t a man, he was a monster, a vile, heartless monster. There was no way he could ever redeem himself and he didn’t want to. His judge and jury stood
before him, not saying anything, but saying so much. He couldn’t bear to hear her words of condemnation, yet knowing he deserved it all.
“Sasha.”
“I’m the real monster.”
“You are no monster. You are the man I love and the one I want to share the rest of my life with. You made a mistake. You’re only human, Sasha. Forgive yourself.”
“I can’t.”
“You have to.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ve already forgiven you.”
Sasha shook his head violently. She couldn’t forgive him. He sold her. His name was on the procurement document. He caused her so much pain. What he did to her was unforgivable and he should be punished.
Violet knelt before him, took his face in her hands, and gently said, “Sasha, we all make mistakes. That’s what we do. Most of us go through life never knowing what our actions have caused. You know, and you’ve punished yourself enough already. You had the courage to change your past, now accept that change and move on, because if you don’t, they only person you’re going to hurt is yourself.”
“I hurt so many people,” Sasha replied.
“I know, but you can change that. You can find those people and make right what you wronged.”
“I did that a long time ago. When my sister was attacked, I found out that she was a procurement. She volunteered to be a submissive and when it went badly, she almost lost her life. I knew then, that what I was doing was wrong. I contacted all the women I procured to make sure they were okay.”
“And were they?” she asked.
“Yes, all but one.”
“Me?”
“I couldn’t find you. I looked everywhere. After a while, I thought you might have moved on. I prayed that you did. If I had known, Violet, I would have kept looking, I swear it. All the documents I had, every name, all of it was a dead end. It was like you didn’t exist. I didn’t understand it, until I got that phone call a year and a half ago. It was then I knew that the woman I was looking for was in my bed. But what hurt the most was knowing what life you had, because of me. Of what I did. I couldn’t face you knowing all of that. I tried to help, to find the man who procured you, but even that was a fake. James wasn’t the one who bought you, but it was his name on the document. I couldn’t help. Every time I did, I only made things worse and I alienated you in the meantime.”
“You didn’t alienate me.”
“Yes, I did. I wasn’t honest with you, when I should have been. You’d been through so much already, I didn’t want you to have to deal with my past, too.”
“Sasha, your past is my past. I know it better than anyone. Out of all of us, I was the one who could have helped you the most. I remember everything. Just like I remember signing that document. Nobody made me sign it. I did so of my own free will. Now, I will admit, I thought it was a legal document regarding my mother’s estate, or at least that’s what my stepfather told me, but I signed it. So you see, I am as at much fault for my own past. I could have taken those documents to a lawyer, but I didn’t. I trusted my stepfather.”
“You signed them?”
“Yes, I did.” She smiled slightly at him.
“But the document clearly stated a dominant submissive relationship. It was in bold type at the top of the document.”
“What I signed was a legal document with a bunch of words on it. I saw nothing about dominant or submissive on it.”
“They tricked you,” Sasha stated clearly.
“Yes, they tricked me. You may have been the one to procure me, but they were the ones who placed the document before me. They were the ones who lied and said it was about my mother. They were the ones who knew the truth and said nothing. So you see, your part was miniscule compared to what my stepfather and James did.”
“You forgive me?”
“Yes.” Sasha knew he shouldn’t touch her, but he couldn’t stop himself. When his hand caressed her soft face, and she sighed, a small piece of brick fell from the wall he erected around his heart. She was so loving, so tender, so forgiving, everything he wasn’t, and when she leaned forward and kissed him, the wall crumbled.
“Maybe we should leave them alone,” Tristan whispered, watching the scene before him. He felt like he was intruding on something special, a moment just between Violet and Sasha. In a way he was. They had a connection to each other, unlike any he’d ever known. He should feel jealous about it, but he wasn’t. He got it, he understood. They shared a past, a horrible past that only they survived. He may not know what they were going through, but he would always be there to help them in any way he could. That didn’t mean Violet loved him any less, it just meant that what Sasha had with Violet meant more. He may have had his own demons, but they paled to Sasha’s. Tristan would never understand the pain and torment Sasha went through, or the depravity Violet endured. His main goal was to love them as they were. To accept them as they were, to show them that he wasn’t going anywhere, ever. Sasha and Violet may share a past, but Tristan was their future and he was going to make damn sure it was a beautiful one.
“I can’t imagine what they both had to overcome and are going through now,” Gabriel commented. “They’ve both been through so much, each on different ends of the spectrum. Yet, they still managed to find each other through the darkness.”
“They love each other.”
“I see that now,” Gabriel said, turning to him. “I wasn’t sure about either of you. You both are so domineering, argumentative, and let’s face it, you both can be real pains in the ass when the mood suits you, but I see how much you love my sister and how much she loves you. When I first found Violet, all I wanted to do was to wrap her up and protect her, but that wasn’t what she needed, and I made things worse. I see that now. I was scared to death when I heard she was with the both of you. I wanted to rescue her and make sure neither one of you ever found her. I was wrong about the both of you and I am sorry.”
“Don’t apologize for loving her. She wouldn’t like that. Just be her brother and let us be the ones who love her forever,” Tristan said, then added, “And I promise you that your sister will be happy for the rest of her life.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Walk with me?” Sasha asked, his eyes pleading with her. Violet nodded and took his hand, letting him lead her deeper into the dungeon. She knew about all the men around, watching, waiting for something to happen. She appreciated her brother’s protective streak, but it was no longer needed. She wanted to be alone with Sasha, so they could finish their conversation. She missed him a lot in the last month, and cried for him nightly. So when Tristan told her that Sasha wanted to speak with her, Violet didn’t waste any time.
Now, she was with him, and the past was revealed. In a way, she was happy everything was all out in the open. It was like a big weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
She felt free.
Sasha was still quiet, almost afraid to say anything in fear he might make things worse. She didn’t know how to alleviate that feeling. All she could do was be with him, show him she meant what she said and help him move on. She had over five years to come to grips with what happened to her, Sasha didn’t. She wanted to help him, to show him that she meant every word she said, and the only way she knew how to do that was the one way she was sure he wasn’t ready for.
She kept quiet as Sasha silently led her away from the main gathering room. When Violet spotted tunnel four, she pulled gently on his arm. “This way.”
She knew about tunnel four from Macie, and figured it would be the perfect place for them to talk alone. When they reached the wall, Violet looked over her shoulder to find Gabriel not far behind. “Please.”
Her brother nodded and opened the door.
Violet squeezed Sasha’s hand and led him down the dark tunnel. Neither said a single word until they came to a single room, so plush and beautiful, it looked like something out of a fashion magazine. The walls and floor were covered in a soft white fur, accentuated by
the ceiling, completely done in reflective mirrors, which made the room glow. Two large, soft chaise loungers sat along the wall, but it was the bed in the room that mesmerized. The large bed looked out of place amongst all the fluff and frilly things. The black satin sheets looked inviting enough, but the four eyehooks, sticking up on poles at the corners of the bed, delighted her. Violet couldn’t remember what Macie said the room was used for, but she knew what she planned on doing in here.
Sasha knew what kind of room this was. He had two of them in his club back in Seattle. He knew they were beneficial and therapeutic, but never had the need to use one himself. It was odd, that she would bring him to this room, when he knew Gabriel had many others, less invasive. However when Violet smiled up at him, he knew he could deny her nothing.
“This room is kind of stressing me out,” Violet whispered then smiled again, a smile that seemed to brighten the room more, in spite of the mirrors everywhere.
“We can leave,” he replied in a hushed tone. “I know about stress. It isn’t fun.”
“I’d like to stay if you don’t mind,” she added in a husky tone. “It would help if you could you massage my neck.”
Violet asked this last question meekly. The question, combined with her shy, demure look, left him feeling he couldn’t do anything but say yes. Just sitting idle was going to be a waste of time, so what better way to pass the time than to do as she asked. A massage could lead to all sorts of opportunities, he knew that, but after everything, he wasn’t going anywhere near that train of thought. Just being with her was enough for him.
Sasha kicked off his shoes. He breathed deeply as the full impact of her gorgeous perfume filled her nostrils. He gently placed the fingertips of his left hand on her shoulder and her free hand rose to softly caress them as a sign of thanks. Violet turned slightly and smiled, a simmering glint in her eye. She was up to something. Sasha may be unsure of their relationship and where it was headed, but he was no fool. His little flower was trying to seduce him. Now, the only question was why?
The Reluctant Submissive: Accepting the Change [The Men of Treasure Cove 15] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 18