by Nicola Jane
“Will you be okay if I shoot off?” he asks from the bathroom.
“Of course,” I say brightly. Too brightly.
“I have a shit load of jobs to catch up on for Riggs. You know how it is,” he says.
His lie hurts me that little bit more. He doesn’t owe me an explanation, but knowing he’s lying upsets me. “Do you live at the club, or do you have your own place?” I ask.
He steps into the bedroom and puts on his boots. “I live at the club.” He picks up his mobile and grins.
“Something funny?” I ask.
“Riggs is nagging is all. I gotta get going before he comes looking for me.”
“Okay. Thanks for sticking around these past few days and taking care of me.”
“No problem. I’ll come back later,” he says.
I shake my head. “No, it’s fine. I was gonna tell you that Jacob is staying with me tonight, so it’s worked out good.”
“You’ll need cream on your wounds. I’ll come back later.”
“Lake, I said no.” I say it so firmly that he looks at me confused. “Jacob can do it. I’m sure you have plans.”
“You checked my phone,” he says suspiciously. “You saw she’d texted me.”
I feel my cheeks redden, but I don’t bother to deny it. “You promised her a night, so spend it with her. I’ll be fine,” I say, adding a smile.
He seems to hang around, pondering my words, before nodding and kissing me on the head. “If you’re sure,” he says. I nod, ignoring my shattered heart.
“I told you bad shit would happen if you went to Six alone,” snaps Jacob. “What the hell were you thinking?”
I invited Jacob over after Lake left so he could keep me company and distract me from my heartbreak. “That I was safe,” I say.
“You idiot.”
“Lake’s been looking after me,” I say, and he glares at me. “He’s stayed here.”
“So, you’re together?” he asks.
I shake my head sadly. “The worst thing is, it hurts me way more than I want it to. Tonight, he’s with a woman, the same one from Six.”
“He’s her Dom?”
“I think so, although he told me he wasn’t looking for a sub right now.”
“Maybe he isn’t looking cos he has one already!”
I nod. “I never thought of that.” I tell him how he lied about seeing Maisy, and he takes my hands. “I know what you’re gonna say,” I add. “He’s no good.”
“Actually, I was gonna say I know you really like him, but he’s got heartbreak written all over him. The second he let you walk away with his kid was the second you should have forgotten about him.”
“But he’s been so lovely,” I mutter. “I got a glimpse of what it could be like and I want it . . . I want him.”
Jacob smiles sadly before pulling me into his arms. “Oh, Sara,” he whispers. “He took care of you, clearing up another Dom’s mess. If it was going anywhere, he wouldn’t be with another woman tonight.”
LAKE
I stare across the bar at the man who hurt Sara. He’s chatting confidently to a woman who’s fairly new to the scene. I wait for him to lead her to the stairs before following. Once he’s unlocked the door to his private room, I move fast. “Leave,” I say to the woman sternly, and she rushes off without questioning me.
“What the fuck?” he snaps as I shove him into the room.
“Apologies, Sir, but your membership has run out,” I say, closing the door and locking it.
“Look, son, I’m not into that kind of shit. I’m straight.”
“You’re not listening,” I say. “Your membership has been revoked. You can’t do your sick shit anymore.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
I pull a leather whip from his wall and examine it. It’s expensive. The beading at the end matches the marks on Sara’s back. “Cute redhead, this height,” I say, holding up my hand. “Pretty little thing with a tattoo here,” I say, pointing to my thigh.
His smile falters. “I told that little bitch she shouldn’t follow me into my room, but she wanted privacy. She all but begged.”
The whip sails through the air and cracks across his arm. He yells out, rubbing the mark. “Did you have this shit made specially?” I ask, seeing the blood drip from the slice in his wrist. “What the hell is this?” I examine the whip ends closely.
“Man, she asked me to use that on her. She loved it.”
“Which safe word did she choose?” I ask.
“She didn’t want a word. Said she didn’t have an off switch.”
I shake my head at his bare-faced lies. “You give Doms a bad name,” I mutter. “There are rules here for a reason, and you’ve broken them. Your membership is gone.”
“You can’t do that! I pay a lot into this place. Does Nyle know you’re in here?”
“He asked me specially to deliver the news. You can leave quietly or . . .” I shrug before adding, “The other way.”
He rushes towards me, his face full of anger. I take the whip and wrap it around his neck, pulling it tight. He chokes, coughing and gasping. He tries to loosen the thin leather, but each time he grips it, it cuts his fingers. “The other way it is,” I say, sighing and pulling tighter. His background check didn’t make for good reading. Rape saw him behind bars for a total of six years. He was released last year and now spends his time torturing women and convincing them they asked for it. Luckily for Sara, he didn’t fuck her. I’m thankful for that one small grace. When he finally falls to the floor, I smile. One less parasite breathing air.
I stare at Sara, who’s sleeping soundly in her bed. I’m relieved to see she’s alone. I strip down to my boxers and climb in. She stirs, turning away from me, so I move closer, throwing an arm over her waist and burying my face in her hair. Before her, I never shared my bed, not even with my sub. But something about this woman makes me wanna stay right here. Maisy was not impressed when I wouldn’t have sex with her earlier tonight. I left her satisfied, but for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to fuck her.
“Why are you here?” Sara mumbles sleepily.
“Because you’re mine,” I whisper back. “I’m ready to commit,” I add, “to you and my baby.”
Chapter Five
Sara
I lie awake until the sun rises. Lake’s little confession has confused me, but he pretty much crashed once he’d said the words. It’s exactly what I want, him to love me and only me, but somewhere deep inside, a voice is telling me that he can’t love just me.
It’s easy for me. I went to Six for a laugh with my friend, and yes, it’s something I’ve explored, but since my encounter with Master Dom, I don’t feel as eager to go down that path. Lake, he’s different. This isn’t something he does for fun—he’s in deep and he fucks like a machine. Almost robotic. He always pins my hands or ties me up. He likes to have full control all the time. How does that work in a real relationship? Can it?
“Sara?” singsongs my mother’s voice, and I groan. If I ignore her, she’ll come looking for me, and lord knows, I can’t let her see Lake in my bed. She will not approve.
I carefully get out of bed, not wanting to disturb him, then I grab his shirt and pull it on as I rush downstairs. I find her in the kitchen putting some coffee on. “Mum,” I say, smiling stiffly.
“I tried calling,” she mutters.
“Everything okay?”
“We have a brunch date with your father,” she says.
“Today?” I ask, and she nods. “I have something on. Can we reschedule?”
“Sweetheart, this is your father. We’re lucky he could fit us in this week.”
I sigh. “Is there any special reason for it?”
“We need to discuss a few things.”
I hate the cloak and dagger type answers, but it’s always been this way. Nothing would ever be discussed in the living room while watching television, like normal families. Fuck, we didn’t watch television as a family because we
’ve never been normal. My dad was always working or fucking his secretary, and Mum was always lunching with her ladies or at the races. “Would these things be about me?”
“When are they not?” she asks, rolling her eyes. “Your father needs to speak to you about what happens now. You can’t avoid us, or your situation, forever.”
“My situation?” I repeat, scoffing. “A baby is not a situation, Mum.”
“The fact you aren’t married or with the father is,” she states coldly.
“You have to stop,” I say. “Women can cope without a man,” I add.
“Women like you?” she smirks.
“Yes, like me!” I snap angrily. “Just because you had to have Dad in your life no matter what, doesn’t mean we’re all like that. I don’t need a man to validate me.”
Mum laughs until tears leak from the corners of her eyes. She wipes them away, still smiling. “Listen to you sounding all for women’s rights. The preacher to the future generation.” She laughs again. “Who bought this place again?”
“I pay rent,” I point out.
“You think the rent your father charges you would even make a dent in the mortgage payments for this place? You think you can live in Knightsbridge for the measly amount of rent you pay? You’re in a dream world, my girl. You don’t even have a job right now.”
“That wasn’t my fault. The sweetshop closed. I have some shifts in Tillie’s new bar.”
“That’s pocket money. I know you’ve been dipping into savings to pay rent. Oh, let’s not forget, who saved the hefty amount in your savings account in the first place? And then, of course, there’s the platinum credit card you use.”
I press my lips into a thin line. “Dad bought this place without asking me. I didn’t expect him to.”
“But you happily moved in here. Do not stand in front of me and sneer because I depend on your father. You are just as dependent,” she hisses, “only, you’re in denial.”
Her eyes focus behind me, and Lake clears his throat. “Morning,” he mutters.
I close my eyes briefly, wishing I could disappear. “Dear lord, you’re still inviting men into your bed when you’re in that state,” she scoffs.
I feel my face redden. “Mum,” I hiss.
“Lake,” says Lake. “In case you were wondering,” he adds, smirking at me and completely playing up to my mum’s assumption that we don’t know each other.
I roll my eyes impatiently. “We’re friends, Mum. I haven’t just met him.”
“Friends?” repeats Lake, raising a brow. I wince at his pissed expression and try to convey my feelings through my eyes. “Ouch. And after I turned down Maisy so I could come back here and tend to your back.”
“Lake,” I mutter, he’s talking like my mum isn’t even in the room.
“I confess how I’m claiming you and the kid and that’s how you’re gonna play it? Standing there saying we’re just friends?”
“We haven’t spoken about it,” I explain. “I can hardly explain it to my parents when we haven’t talked it over. And claiming makes it sound like we’re lost baggage.”
“I take it you can provide for my daughter and her child, if you’re willing to lay a claim,” says my mum.
“Fuck me!” I suddenly cry, and they both stare at me. “I’m not a lost dog waiting to be rehomed. I don’t need claiming!” I stomp off back upstairs and head for the shower. It was so much simpler when it was just me and the baby and no one else knew, apart from Tillie.
I’m sitting in front of the mirror applying makeup when Lake returns upstairs. “I gotta go,” he mumbles as I continue to blend my foundation. “I have a job on.” He waits for a response and when it’s clear he isn’t getting one, he moves closer. “We’re together. There’s nothing to discuss.” I give him a pissed look, one that tells him I am not impressed by his macho bullshit. “I’m stepping up. Isn’t it what you wanted?”
“Depends on your reasons,” I eventually say.
“I don’t need to give a fucking reason to claim my ol’ lady and her kid.”
I glare at him, my eyes bugging out my head. “Her kid,” I repeat. “You said ‘her kid’ and downstairs just now, you said, the kid, like it isn’t yours too.” He shrugs and breaks eye contact. “You know this baby is yours, right?”
“I’m sure it is,” he says. “If that’s what you think.”
“What I think?” I screech. “It’s what I know!”
“Let’s be honest, it’s not like we were exclusive. You had other partners.”
I shake my head. “No, I didn’t. It was just you, Lake. For a long time, it’s been just you.”
“Even your mum made a comment on one-night stands. What am I supposed to think when she says shit like that?”
“Yes, because my mum knows me extremely well. If you’d stuck around for any type of real conversation, you’d know that we aren’t very close at all, and she just assumes she knows about me and my life.”
I pull on a conservative dress. It’s tight-fitting and short, and Lake’s eyes roam over my body. “Where are you going?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m meeting my parents for brunch.”
“Do you want me to come?” he asks, and I laugh.
“No. That’s definitely not what I want or need right now. In fact, why are you still here? I thought you had somewhere to be.”
“I don’t know how to do this,” he mutters. “Relationships and shit.”
“Me either. I’m a whore, remember? I have to go . . . so do you. Let’s not do this right now.”
“When then?” he asks.
“Don’t call me, I’ll call you,” I spit out coldly.
My dad kisses me on each cheek when I enter his office. My mum is already sitting patiently on the faux grey couches his secretary hand-picked from Malaysia. “You look radiant,” he says. He’s always been good at compliments—it’s how he sucked in my mum and the many other women after her.
I take a seat. The brunch of fresh fruit and delicate sandwiches looks amazing, and my stomach growls. All I want to do lately is just eat. “Your mother tells me she met your boyfriend today?” he asks.
“Not my boyfriend,” I mutter.
He glances at my mum, and she shrugs. “Sara, we have to get a lid on this situation before anything else gets leaked to the press. I have a very important contract coming up and I don’t need any bad press.” He ignores my eye roll. “If the father isn’t stepping up, I can resolve the issue.”
“Rent-a-dad?” I suggest, sniggering.
“You’d be surprised what money can buy,” he replies.
“There are plenty of rich, eligible bachelors who would do anything for a place in the circle,” Mum says.
She’s referring to my father’s place as an elite member in some rich bastards circle. It’s all one big show of who has the most money, the best family, the biggest dick, and who’s shagging the prettiest nanny. “I’m all good, thank you,” I respond.
“Okay. If you want to portray yourself as a single mother, so be it,” says Dad. “I’ll back you whatever.” I glance up. His face is sincere, but I don’t buy it. “Of course, you’ll need to pay your way,” he adds. There it is.
“Like rent?” I ask.
“Like everything, my darling girl,” he clarifies, smiling.
“You’re cutting me off? I thought you wanted the press to see that we’re one big, happy family?”
“You’ll start by working here,” he continues as if I hadn’t just spoken. “Monday morning, seven sharp. I’ll have someone find you a position, and you’ll work your way up.”
“I’m pregnant. I’ll be leaving in a few months,” I say.
“Yes, for maternity leave. Think yourself lucky, most companies wouldn’t hire a pregnant woman and they certainly wouldn’t pay maternity leave.” He smiles. “I suppose you could call them perks of being the CEO’s daughter.” My mum is smirking into her tea, and it enrages me. I’ll show them both, I can
totally work for a living. I went to university and got my degree in marketing.
“I’ll look for a smaller place to live,” I say, gathering my bag. “It’s pointless me paying rent on the house when I don’t need that much room.”
“Whatever you want,” he says. “I’ll send you the press statement later today. It’ll only go to print if they begin asking questions again.”
LAKE
Charlotte is a whirlwind. I often find myself wondering if she took after Mum or Dad, but I guess we’ll never know. She throws herself at me the second I walk into the club. “I hardly see you these days,” she complains. We’re making up for lost time, not growing up together or even knowing about each other until recently. “Can we have a film night?” she asks.
I move past her and head for the office. She keeps trying to pin me down so we can talk about childhoods and compare. The thing is, I had a rough ride, so it’s not something I wanna talk about. “Lake,” she shouts after me.
Cree looks up from behind Riggs’ desk. “He’s resting. Anna is worried he’s overdoing stuff,” he explains without me asking.
I take a seat anyway, and he eyes me warily. Cree hates to talk, but I need to offload. “I tried to claim Sara,” I begin.
He drops his pen on the desk and sighs. “Come in, have a chat,” he says sarcastically.
“I’m not totally sold on the idea of a kid, and if I’m being honest, I don’t think she is either. But I can’t stay away from her. So, I tried not to think about the kid and make a decision based on how I feel about her. It didn’t go down too well. For a start, her parents are rich, they don’t wanna see their only daughter with me,” I ramble on, and Cree stares at me impatiently.
“Kill ‘em both, problem solved,” he mutters.
“Nah, I reckon her dad would be missed. I think he’s important.”