“I just encouraged him to tell the truth,” Chase said, an innocent expression on his face. Ethan laughed, and Martin arched a brow. “I didn’t touch him. Well, except his shirt. But I didn’t hit him!” he exclaimed quickly. “He got weird at the end. I need to talk to Richard.”
Martin nodded. “I’m glad you didn’t have to hit him.”
Chase frowned. “I’d have liked to have an excuse to do it, but I suppose it is better. Do you have any ideas for a replacement?”
“Yes. I left a couple messages while you were . . . talking with Aiden.”
“Good.” Chase stood. “I’ve got to get going. I’m sorry this happened, but I’m glad it’ll work out okay.”
Martin stood to shake hands with Chase and Ethan. “Me, too. I’m so relieved Sabrina will be okay. I’ll keep a closer eye on her from now on.”
“I will, too.” Chase said solemnly.
Martin nodded. “I’m sure you will.”
Chase saw guilt in the older man’s eyes. “Sabrina will be safe from now on. I’ll make sure of that.”
*****
Chase returned to Jayson’s apartment. Ethan took a cab back to the condo since the “fun was over.” When Chase walked in, Liz ran up and hugged him hard.
“I’m so glad you got through to Sabrina!” she exclaimed.
He patted her back in a brotherly fashion. “I am, too. Aiden’s gone and won’t bother anyone anymore.”
She released him and smiled. “Thank you.”
Chase grinned. “Anytime. You know that.”
Liz nodded. “I’m still thankful.”
He glanced at the closed door to Sabrina’s room. “She still asleep?”
“Yeah. I checked in on her a few minutes ago and she’s out cold.”
“Good.” Chase would have loved to talk to her again, but he knew she needed rest.
“What’s up with Aiden?” Jayson asked as Chase settled down on the couch in the living room.
“I told him to leave Boston tonight and never return.”
“Was Martin okay with that?”
Chase nodded. “He’s got a couple calls out for a replacement. I know he doesn’t want Sabrina, or anyone else, getting hurt.”
A few minutes later, Liz left to go to Jon’s. After the door closed, Chase told Jayson about what Aiden said at the end.
“He claimed he had to do it?” Jayson asked, doubt apparent in his expression. “Was someone holding a gun to his head to make him?”
“It looked like he didn’t even realize what he was saying. Like it just slipped out.”
“Do you think he was sincere?”
“I think he was sincerely confused,” Chase said, shaking his head. “I have no idea what’s going on, but I will do everything in my power to figure it out.”
Jayson nodded. “I believe you.”
Both men were quiet for a while. Chase was exhausted, so he lay his head back on the couch and closed his eyes. It had been a long day, and he honestly just wanted to go home and crawl into bed. But he had more work to do before he could do that.
“You wanna hang tonight?” Jayson asked, making him jump slightly.
“I’d love to, but it’s Friday,” he said in a flat voice, not moving.
“You’ve been gone for over a month doing shit for them, yet you still have to go tonight?”
Chase nodded without lifting his head. “Never-ending duties.” He sighed. “I’m hoping Richard will understand if I don’t stay late, though. But I need to talk to him and he’ll be more receptive if I come.”
“I guess.”
Chase could tell, even without looking, that Jayson was rolling his eyes.
Friday nights were when the Brotherhood had their Gatherings. More often than not, they were informal occasions where business was done while enjoying the company of beautiful women. Occasionally, they were formal, filled with rituals and expectations. Sex was always present, whether in ritual form or hedonistic indulgence. Sex slaves were kept by all Elders, the leaders of the Brotherhood, but it wasn’t what most people thought of as sexual slavery. The girls were well-cared-for, generations of them having been brought up and trained in the Manors of the worldwide Elders. These girls were unknown to the rest of the world, going back to the beginning of the Brotherhood. Chase knew the girls in Richard’s Manor were healthy and happy, and he had no qualms about using them when he needed to. Richard didn’t allow them to be hurt, unless they liked it.
He let out a deep breath before rolling forward and standing. “Do you want to come tonight?” Chase asked.
Jayson shook his head. “I think I should stay here in case Sabrina wakes up. I know Liz planned on going out with the others tonight.”
Chase nodded, though his heart twinged in his chest. He should be the one there for Sabrina when she woke, not Jayson, but he had duties. “When she wakes, text me,” he said, his voice slightly gravelly as he walked toward the door.
“Chase, I know how you feel about her,” Jayson said, standing and following him. “I wouldn’t try and get in the way of you trying to date her.”
Chase paused and looked at his friend. “You like her, too.”
Jayson shrugged. “How can I not? She’s great. But you met her first, and I won’t break the ‘bro code,’ even for her. Besides . . .” He shrugged. “I think she needs someone strong to protect her. I can only do so much.” He paused, looking thoughtful. “Is she, you know, who you guys thought she was?”
A while ago, Chase had told Jayson he and Richard had suspected she wasn’t human. “Yeah, she is.”
Jayson nodded. “Well, maybe that’s why I’m crazy about her.”
Chase gave Jayson a tight smile. “Or maybe she really is just a great girl.” He didn’t know, but Jayson did. A little jealousy pulsed through his body, knowing that his friend had a month to get to know Sabrina while he was away. He paused at the door, hand on the knob. “Text me when she wakes up?”
“Of course.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chase hurried down the marble stairs to the lower level of the Manor where the enormous Gathering room was. He was late. He’d intended to be there on time, but after he got home, he lay down on his bed to rest for a few minutes and woke up several hours later.
Richard frowned at him from the dais on the far side of the room as Chase approached with long strides. He sat on a large, carved wooden chair, a blonde between his legs, his hand resting on the top of her head. Chase knew it wasn’t his wife because Kathy’s hair was very short and this girl’s hair flowed down her back all the way to her waist. Looking around, he spotted Kathy lying on a couch, legs spread and eyes closed as a man enthusiastically devoured her.
His steps faltered as he wondered what Sabrina would think of such a situation. Would she be willing to have such an open relationship required of his position in the Brotherhood? It wasn’t required that his wife attend the Gatherings, as Kathy so eagerly did, but whomever he married had to be prepared for him to be gone one night a week to participate in such revelry.
The effects of the organization on a marriage hadn’t occurred to him when Richard had brought him into the Brotherhood at the age of twenty. Why would they? He was young and had yet to meet a woman he wanted to pursue a relationship with.
Maybe he should encourage Jayson to go out with Sabrina. She didn’t deserve to be in this kind of situation. Not after everything she’d gone through.
Thoughtfully, Chase walked to the dais and took his seat in a smaller, similarly carved chair as Richard’s.
“You’re late,” Richard said, then closed his eyes as his body shuddered in orgasm. The blonde girl’s mouth worked faster as he came, clutching her hair in his fists. When she was finished, she looked up adoringly at Richard, who smiled warmly at her. “Thank you, Amanda,” he said in a soft voice. She stood, k
issed him briefly on the mouth, then hurried away. Richard frowned again as he turned his attention to Chase, an expectant look on his face.
“I’m sorry, Richard. I meant to be here on time, but I wanted to rest for a few minutes and fell asleep.”
Richard studied his face, then nodded. “Long day?”
Chase nodded and launched into his story about what Jayson had told him about Sabrina, then what had happened between her and Aiden. After he explained what had happened when he confronted Aiden, he sat quietly as the older man looked thoughtful.
“You believe his confusion was sincere?” Richard asked after a few minutes of contemplation.
“I do,” Chase replied earnestly. “But I don’t understand how he could do something and not know why.”
Richard tented his fingers and stared out across the room. Chase found himself studying the room, once again wondering what Sabrina would think of it. She’d been so innocent the night they’d met, but she was clearly not that person anymore. He’d seen it in her before he’d even learned about what had happened between her and Aiden. Chase knew she’d offered herself to Aiden, but he believed her when she said it was to protect the other girls. He remembered the desperation in her eyes when she told him and begged him to protect them since she couldn’t.
Anger bubbled up in him at the thought of her feeling that she had to give herself to such an asshole. He could understand why she did it, and it was hard evidence of how she’d been treated the last few years. It broke his heart.
Why hadn’t he been able to find her and rescue her? How was it possible that no one had been able to find her? Richard and the other Elders could find anyone, yet they couldn’t find Sabrina. That knowledge did little to assuage him of the guilt in his heart at not being able to get her out of such a horrendous situation. And he only knew a little bit of it. What other horrors had she been through while held captive?
“It seems as if someone was using Aiden as a pawn. I’m afraid this may speak of some deeper magic. Demi-Immortals such as Sabrina are very valuable, but why would someone use Aiden when she would likely do it for anyone who asked?” Richard sighed. “I’ll have to think about it some more and discuss it with Tom. She’s safe now, yes?”
Chase nodded. “Aiden’s gone. Ethan kept an eye on him and saw him get into a taxi with several suitcases.”
Ricard nodded approvingly. “Good. We’ll need to keep an eye on Sabrina to see if the other person shows up. Playing puppeteer would indicate he doesn’t want to be discovered, but with Aiden now gone, he may have to try something else.” His face brightened. “I’m glad you were able to get her to open up to you. That shows promise. Did you ask her out yet?”
Chase shook his head. “No. I didn’t want to press her after such an emotional conversation. I told her to take a shower and get some sleep. She looked exhausted.”
Richard tilted his head and raised his eyebrows. “She listened?”
“Yeah. I mean, I saw her go into the bathroom, and when I got back to Jayson’s, she was sound asleep.”
Richard smiled. “Interesting.”
“What?”
The older man shook his head and raised his eyebrows. “Nothing.”
Chase frowned, but before he could argue, Kathy appeared and sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. “Hello, Chase darling. I’m so glad you’re home.” She kissed his cheek and beamed at him.
“Hi, Kathy. I am, too.”
“Did Russell treat you well?” Richard asked, reaching for her hand and kissing the back of it.
Kathy beamed. “Always.” She squirmed a little in Chase’s lap. “His tongue is divine.”
Richard chuckled. “So I’ve seen.”
The couple exchanged knowing looks, then Kathy smiled at Chase, reaching to stroke between his legs. “I see you just got here, love. May I have the honor of first taste?”
Chase closed his eyes as Kathy’s skilled hand stroked his cock until it was rock hard. Sex was an integral part of the Brotherhood and things that occurred there would be frowned upon outside the confines of the organization. Hell, the process of becoming an Elder-Son involved a father fucking his son, albeit in a ritualistic, not sensual, way. Wives fucked other women’s husbands. Husbands fucked other men’s wives. Men fucked men and women fucked women. Sex was a recreational indulgence, and those uncomfortable with that fact never came a second time.
He groaned as Kathy slid to her knees, freed his cock from his pants, and began to suck him gently. It had been over a month since he had any sort of sexual contact, and her skilled mouth pushed aside the turmoil of the day and sent him flying into a stressless oblivion.
*****
The blackness gives way to a soft, golden light in the distance, unmoving, steady, unchanging . . . cold. I walk toward the light, not knowing why, but I must go to it. It draws me in, like the tempting warmth of a blanket after standing outside in the cold forever. Even though I feel no heat radiating from it, I keep a steady pace forward as I move my feet over and over again, drawing ever closer, expecting some sort of change, but never seeing or feeling anything different.
Then it begins to change.
What looked like a solid orb slowly reveals itself to be a million tiny golden sparkles. Sparkles I’ve seen before. Sparkles I’ve felt before.
The orb pulsates . . . breathes . . . lives.
It senses me.
I feel it.
I stare for an eternity, until it explodes into a million tiny living pulses of light that fill the space around me. They pulse and swirl, caressing my skin, making me sway back and forth as ghostly butterflies move my body until I am floating in them. They make me fly . . . make me float . . . they bury themselves into my skin, each one a tiny pinprick of sensual touch. When one buries itself into my nipple, I gasp, leaning my head back and opening my mouth on a deep sigh. Another one flutters between my legs, softly caressing the sensitive skin, even as another one teases my other nipple. They nudge my legs apart, my arms apart, until I am open and vulnerable. They flutter and flit around my body, making me gasp and moan, entering and leaving my body in a rhythmic assault on every nerve. I fly with them, and my mind and body are consumed with sensation.
I cannot think.
I cannot do anything except feel and be present with them.
And then I am falling.
Falling. Falling. Falling.
Never stopping.
Until arms wrap around me.
Dark, strong, heavy arms.
They hold me down, not letting go.
Hands pinch and prod, forcing my body open to something known and unknown at the same time.
I struggle, but the hands are strong and force me open.
Pain! So much pain!
I scream, and he laughs.
I sob, and he laughs.
And then . . .
He roars in anger as I am pulled away from him by some unseen hand and I feel no more.
*****
Chase jumped in his sleep and was on his feet before he was completely awake. He looked around the dark room, but a tiny bit of moonlight helped him place where he was. Jayson’s apartment.
Why am I here?
Jayson had texted him, saying Sabrina had been struggling in her sleep for a few hours, but wasn’t waking up. He’d decided to come over after the Gathering and stay the rest of the night on the couch, just in case she woke up.
The clock on the wall said it was four in the morning. He’d been asleep for a couple hours but something had woken him. He looked around again. The apartment was quiet. He sat down on the couch and listened. Something wasn’t right, something felt off, but he couldn’t figure out what it was.
A scream had him sprinting into Sabrina’s room a second later. She sobbed and thrashed about in bed.
“Sabrina?” He reached for h
er hand. She grasped it tightly, making his heart leap. She was still sobbing, so he sat and gathered her small frame in his arms. “Sabrina? Wake up. It’s just a dream.”
She shook her head, but didn’t fight him.
“Open your eyes,” he urged quietly. “Open your eyes and see it was just a dream.”
She sobbed and squeezed her eyes shut for a moment before slowly opening them. She blinked, staring at his chest, then looked up at him, eyes full of terror. “He found me,” she choked out before burying her face in his chest.
“Chase? Is she okay?” Jayson stood in the doorway, Liz next to him.
“I don’t know,” he said, tightening his arms around her as she sobbed into his chest. He stroked her hair. “You’re okay. I’ve got you,” he whispered. “No one will hurt you.”
When she tightened her arms around him, he couldn’t stop the sigh from escaping his lips. How many years he’d longed to have her in his arms, though he never imagined it would be comforting her after a nightmare. Still, it was heaven. Or would be once she wasn’t afraid anymore.
He rocked her gently. After a few minutes, Chase felt her relax. He looked down to see that she’d fallen back to sleep. Bewildered, he glanced at Jayson still standing in the doorway. “She fell back to sleep.”
His eyebrows raised. “Really?” He walked in and looked down at Sabrina, sound asleep in Chase’s arms. “I hate her nightmares. She stopped letting me comfort her after the first couple nights. Started locking her door.”
“Why?”
Jayson shrugged. “Said it was to protect me.”
“Hmmm.” Chase wondered if it was the sex thing, but didn’t say anything. He was too tired to argue. He started to move to put place her back into bed, but she tightened her hold on him. He looked up at Jayson, not sure what to do.
“You might have to stay.” He grinned. “Just watch out for her wandering hands in the morning.”
Chase sighed and shook his head. “I don’t need the temptation.” He tried to lay her down again, but even in her sleep, she wouldn’t let him. “What do I do?”
“Stay with her for a while. Then go back to the couch.” Jayson leaned down and reached for her, but she tightened her grip on Chase again. “Sabrina, Chase isn’t going anywhere. Lie down, okay?”
Master of My Heart Page 25
