Lone Survivor (Crescent City Kings Book 1)

by Anya Summers

  “I’m Sadie Montgomery. I’m scheduled for a half spa day.”

  “Ah, Ms. Montgomery, I’ll get you checked in here and let your technician, Cindy, know that you’ve arrived. If you could follow me, I will show you where the locker room is located.”

  Sadie followed her and did as asked, stripping out of her clothes—except for her panties—and adorning herself with the fluffy ivory spa robe. She took a seat in the waiting area but had barely gotten herself situated before her technician arrived.

  “Sadie, I’m Cindy. I will be handling all your treatments today. Why don’t you follow me back to the treatment room and we will get started with your body wrap?”

  Cindy had arrived looking like a supermodel with her auburn hair and knockout body. Because Sadie’s day wouldn’t be complete without feeling like she was roadkill by comparison. At least her face was no longer blotchy and red. Hopefully the facial would de-puff her eyes a bit. She hated crying, and tried to avoid it whenever she could. Yet wasn’t that one of her problems; her inability to deal with her feelings? That was why the tidal wave had slammed into her as hard as it had.

  “You can hang your robe on the hook there and then come stand here on the mat,” Cindy said in a soft voice.

  Sadie did as the woman asked and stood in position. If there was one thing she was, it was unconcerned with nudity. As a nurse, she had seen it all, and didn’t gasp at the idea of being in just her panties in front of the woman. The tech painted her body with a clay mud mask and then wrapped her in strips of warm, wet gauze that were infused with aloe.

  Once she resembled a mummy, Cindy had Sadie lie on the treatment table, where she proceeded to wrap Sadie’s body with towels and a space age blanket to keep in all the heated moisture. Basically, Sadie was turned into a human burrito.

  “Close your eyes because I’m going to add cotton balls with this awesome firming serum to soak in, while you relax and allow the clay wrap to work its magic on your skin.” When the technician added the cotton balls over her eyes, Sadie almost panicked. She was trapped, and now she was blind, to boot. She wondered if anyone had ever run screaming from a room in a blind panic, gauze trailing in their wake.

  “Now, you just relax. I will be back in a bit to check on you,” Cindy murmured and left the room.

  At first, her heart tried to beat itself out of its ribcage. Sadie shifted a bit and discovered just how trapped she was, like there was no getting out of this wrap even if her life depended upon it.

  Relax, relax, relax.

  She inhaled deeply. That was what Ram wanted her to do: relax. With every deep inhalation, her body began to settle, the aromatherapy and gentle flute music allowing her to drift.

  Ram would be proud of her. Thoughts of him sparked in her brain. Sadie recalled the information she’d researched regarding the lifestyle and Club Underworld. It was safe to assume that Ram was what they called a Dominant. It wasn’t a far stretch to believe, given how he’d taken charge during her session today. Every time she had been near him, he had exuded this potent magnetism that left her achy and out of sorts, like she couldn’t seem to get her balance around him.

  She shouldn’t be attracted to him, shouldn’t allow herself to be. And yet she couldn’t deny the way her body had melted into his as he’d cradled her against his rock-hard body, his spicy male scent wrapping itself around her. And when she had finally drawn up enough courage—after her crying jag had ended—to look up at him, and stared into his dove gray gaze, she had been dazed at the desire she’d found.

  The livewire need had zapped through her body. The sudden onslaught had surprised her, making her slow to respond to her craving to feel his mouth on hers. Over the last two years, Sadie had not felt much of anything but guilt, and a bone-weary sorrow.

  But what Ram made her feel jolted her from her malaise. Desire and need had set up camp, made her yearn to feel his firm lips upon hers.

  What would it be like? To have Ram tie her up like she was a submissive and screw her brains out? She’d be helpless, much like she was now. The thought of giving up all her control, of not needing to try and figure out the next steps to take, of no longer having to be in charge of everything, of letting him have free rein with her body made her belly quiver—and not in fear. Liquid heat poured in rivulets through her veins and her sex clenched in sweet anticipation.

  She tried to imagine it with anyone other than Ram; some other Dominant sporting sinful black leather pants and a flogger. Every time she tried to picture another man, even inserting her favorite male movie stars in his stead, the scene shifted. Ram kept muscling his way back into the fantasy with those sexy, soulful gray eyes, confident, steady assurance, and a badass smirk that told her in two seconds flat that he was in charge, and she was going to like whatever he did to her.

  Sadie finally gave up the pretense, envisioning the fantasy with Ram in the lead role. She imagined the feel of the flogger as he whacked it against her skin. He would be firm with the lashes, she decided. And the fantasy just unfolded from there because then she could imagine how he would feel against her after he laid the flogger aside and availed himself of her flesh.

  By the time the technician returned to the room, Sadie was so aroused, all she’d need were a few swipes against her clit to climax.

  “Let’s get you up and unwrapped, shall we?” Cindy chattered.

  Sadie made some noncommittal noises, assuring Cindy that she had liked the body wrap. Once she no longer looked like an extra for the Mummy and was back in the robe, Cindy escorted her to the ladies’ locker room.

  “You can take a shower in here to wash all the clay off.” She opened a shower curtain to indicate a stall. “When you’re done, put on a fresh robe, and wait in the ante room. I’m getting the treatment room prepped for your facial and will be back in a jiff.”

  “Thank you,” Sadie said, taking the clean robe and proffered towel from her hands.

  Cindy even started the shower for her. “I’ll be back in ten minutes for you, hon.” Then she left her alone.

  Sadie hung the clean robe and towel on one of the hooks at the opposite end of the stall from the showerhead to keep it away from the streaming water. Stepping in, she shut the curtain and removed the soiled robe, hanging that on a second hook, and removed her panties, since they were coated with clay. They had all the fixings in a shower caddy affixed to the wall: shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. Standing beneath the hot spray, the clay sloughing off as the water beat down on her body, Sadie couldn’t help it. Her need was dire.

  She slid her right hand down to the vee between her legs. Parting her folds, she whimpered, biting her bottom lip to keep from crying out as she touched her clitoris. Her swollen, over-sensitized nub almost hurt when she rubbed it, she was so aroused. Back and forth, she moved her fingers over the engorged bud, bracing herself with a palm on the tile wall as her movements grew faster. All the while, she couldn’t get rid of the image of Ram mastering her, telling her exactly what he planned to do to her, or deny just how eager she was to experience everything the man had to offer.

  She came. Hard.

  Waves of ecstasy caused her knees to give out on her and she slid bonelessly to the floor. Sadie knelt beneath the hot spray, attempting to regain her composure. It was the second orgasm she’d had in more than two years that had left her dazed.

  And she worried that it had nothing to do with needing a sexual outlet, and everything to do with the lifestyle—and a certain man in it.

  Chapter 7

  Sadie left the spa feeling like she was floating on a dreamy cloud. Considering she had experienced a body wrap, facial, massage, and pedicure, not to mention a bone-melting orgasm, that wasn’t a surprise. The only thing that did shock her was that she wished it had not been an orgasm of the solo variety.

  What would Ram think of her fixation with his club and lifestyle? Or that she had climaxed with a fantasy about him?

  Probably that she was nuts. Wasn’t that one of the real reas
ons why she had left Seattle? Because her co-workers and friends had all looked at her like she was seconds away from needing a straitjacket and a white padded cell?

  But Ram had never looked at her that way. All she had found with him were sympathy, concern, and desire. Sadie wasn’t sure which surprised her more.

  It was already late afternoon and she had skipped lunch. She tended to do that a lot when she was worried or in a hurry. Between her session with Ram and catching the bus to reach the spa in time, she’d nixed grabbing a bite to eat.

  Too bad that was beginning to happen all the time. It was beginning to show; her features were drawn and gaunt. Her clothes didn’t fit her properly anymore. That was why she decided to treat herself to some of the best gelato in the city. Granted, it was hard to find bad food in New Orleans. This city had a culinary pride when it came to the restaurants that one didn’t find in every city.

  The sweet shop Voodoo Treats was right around the corner from the spa. Their gelato was the crème de la crème of gelato. Sadie thought she might even get a to go order of macarons to take home. Their pastry chef had been trained in France and knew how to make macarons that melted in your mouth. She was under doctor’s orders to have fun, after all. Gelato and sumptuous baked goods were considered fun. Sadie walked inside and got in line. The sugary sweet scents of chocolate, caramel, and cakes filled her with delight. Anyone who said that food did not make a person happy must have the taste buds and palate of a turnip.

  The restaurant had a New Orleans flair, with the fleur-de-lis included on everything from the coffee mugs, to the napkins, to the wallpaper. The historic building sported turn of the century gaslight fixtures along the wall, which had been modified to use electric bulbs. The tables were dainty and feminine, with a Parisian flair, making one feel like they’d been transported to a Paris bistro.

  The eatery was crowded with both tourists, whom you could pick out by the maps and bags of souvenirs in their hands, and locals, who sported tees with Who Dat? scrawled over the material. When Sadie made it to the register, she ordered a caramel delight cup with caramel gelato, dark chocolate beads, and salted caramel syrup, and a dozen of the dulce de leche macarons to take home. Yes, the gelato was like three thousand calories, with enough sugar to put her in a diabetic coma, but who was counting? And the fact that she was already contemplating a dinner with wine, cheese, and macarons on the menu was of little consequence.

  She turned with her order in one hand, clutching her macarons in their paper to-go bag, thinking this was going to go a long way toward satisfying her oral fixation that was downright pissed it wasn’t getting a chance to latch itself onto a certain individual, when she was pulled up short. Ram, the man who starred in her recent fantasies, was sitting at one of the tables, his enigmatic gaze staring directly at her. There was no chance for her to even consider acting like he had not seen her when their gazes clashed. The connection zapped through Sadie’s system, beading her nipples into hard points she prayed weren’t visible through her sundress.

  And he wasn’t alone. He had two kids with him, a boy and a girl. The dark-haired girl looked like she was a teenager going on thirty, and the boy was on the cusp of becoming pubescent, but still had a baby face that had yet to grow lean—a baby face that was eerily reminiscent of Ram’s, in a much younger, smaller version.

  Ram had kids.

  Oh jiminy, Sadie had just fantasized about a married man with kids. How messed up did that make her? He’d not worn a wedding ring, so she had just assumed he was single. Rather foolhardy on her part, to think a guy like that would be single.

  Frozen to the spot like a UFO had just landed and little green men had appeared, she wasn’t altogether certain what she should do. Should she approach him? He was with his kids, for heaven’s sake. She quickly scanned the rest of the restaurant, searching for an empty place to sit and enjoy her treat. Maybe she should just leave and pretend like she hadn’t seen him; find a spot outside to sit. Although, in the French Quarter, you had to be careful where you sat because you never knew how many people had peed on that spot.

  Fate—the higher power, whoever was running the show—surely hated her, because the only seat available in the whole damn place was at Ram’s table.

  When her gaze connected with Ram’s once more, a jolt of energy washed over her. He gestured with a small wave that she should join them. But what about his wife? If he had kids, it stood to reason that he was married, or at least involved with a woman. Ram was too potently masculine to be single. And Sadie was an idiot for placing feelings of any kind, be they sexual or otherwise, on her therapist. With a grudging sigh, she made her way through the crowded tables to Ram and the empty seat.

  “Hi, I didn’t expect to see you here,” she said rather breathily. Well, score one point for Captain Obvious.

  “Why don’t you have a seat and join us? Sadie, these are my kids, Angela and Rocky. Kids, this is Sadie, she’s… a friend.”

  The girl, with exotic eyes that same gray as her father’s and double ear piercings, rolled her eyes. But the boy, Rocky, grinned around a bite of his chocolate treat.

  “Hi, it’s nice to meet you,” Sadie said. “I wouldn’t want to impose, I’m sure your wife will need a place to sit.”

  Angela snorted. “He’s not married to our mom.”

  “Angela, attitude,” Ram said with a firm glance.

  It was clear Sadie would create an issue for him if she joined them. The best course of action at this point would be to bow out gracefully and enjoy her treat while she walked back to the bus stop. “I really should—”

  “Sit, Sadie. You should sit down,” he murmured, a hint of steel behind his words. A shiver ran through her and her nipples perked up even more, like they were straining for his touch.

  Oh, shit. She was in deep. It was that voice—the one he’d used right there—that she had fantasized about today. And her body couldn’t seem to ascertain that now was not the time to turn into a melted marshmallow of humming need.

  But at the command, her body took on a mind of its own and sat. “Thank you for letting me join you.”

  “What did you get?” Rocky asked, his voice at that pitch between boy and man, nodding at her dessert.

  “It’s the caramel delight. What about you? Like chocolate, do you?” she asked him.

  “Yes. Chocolate is awesome. This is the Mississippi mud. It has marshmallows and everything in it,” Rocky said, taking a huge bite with relish.

  “And what about you, Angela?” Sadie asked her, avoiding Ram’s intense gaze as she attempted to squelch the unwelcome desire pulsating through her body.

  “The cherry cheesecake,” Angela responded, glancing up from her cell phone for a moment before her gaze returned to the screen.

  “A solid choice. I’ve had it before,” Sadie offered, extending an olive branch of friendship.

  “Rocky, give yourself a breath between bites or you’re going to get sick to your stomach.” Ram eyed his son. There was a hint of warmth in his gaze that spoke volumes.

  Rocky, unperturbed by the order, holding another heaping spoonful by his mouth, grinned and replied, “But Dad, it will all melt by then and I’m super hungry after all the walking we did.”

  “And where did you do all this walking?” Sadie asked, attempting to fill the space so she no longer felt awkward.

  It was Rocky who answered. “The Aquarium. It’s so cool. They have this walkway that is a tunnel and the fish are swimming over your head.”

  “I’ve not been there yet. I will have to add it on my places to visit.”

  “But you live here, how could you not be familiar with something like the Aquarium?” Angela asked, setting her phone down and staring at Sadie like she’d grown antlers in the short space of time she’d been there.

  “I’ve only lived in New Orleans for about six months. Before that, I lived in Seattle,” Sadie said. “But if you live here, have you not been there before? Why did you go?”

  Rocky la
ughed and gave his sister what could only be described as a shit-eating grin. “She got you there. We don’t live here. We just visit Dad in the summer.”

  Angela huffed and rolled her eyes. Sadie wondered if Angela’s eyes were going to roll right out of her head. She definitely had to be a teenager judging by all the angst.

  Sadie avoided making eye contact with Ram as much as possible. These were his kids, and she felt like she was intruding on a private outing. Especially if they didn’t live with him. Why didn’t his children live here? More importantly, why was she so curious about a man she couldn’t get involved with? She was sure there were codes of conduct between patients and therapists. And her incendiary, naughty thoughts most likely violated every single one.

  “Eat, or your treat will melt,” Ram murmured. At the firm command in his voice, her insides quivered with delight.

  Sadie glanced across the table, taking in his half-eaten dessert and an unreadable expression on his face as he licked chocolate gelato from a spoon. Lust flayed her open as she imaged that same tongue licking various parts of her body.

  With a nod, she scooped up some of her treat and lifted it to her mouth, only to realize her hand was shaking, causing the gelato to vibrate like it was jello. She tightened her grip on the spoon, hoping Ram had not noticed how much he was affecting her.

  But apparently fate had yet more plans to screw around with her life. Sadie met Ram’s stare again and nearly dropped the spoon. The sinful man was observing her like she was dessert.

  If only that were true.

  Chapter 8

  The next night, Ram dropped his kids off with his sister Gina in time for the barbecue. Ram ate his dinner quickly. He had tonight and tonight only to spend at the club. He wanted every minute that he could spare, because it would be another month before he could get back there.