Beyond Shame

by Kit Rocha

Rachel relented with a shake of her head. "He wouldn't. I'm sorry. I'm just being an asshole."

  "No, you're not." Noelle caught Rachel's hands. "There are men who would. Jasper... He's not one of them. Right?"

  "No, it's Dallas," she muttered. "He pisses me off sometimes."

  Because he looked at Noelle and only saw her tits? Or because he looked at Rachel and didn't seem to see hers at all? Noelle would guess the latter—there was a decidedly asexual affection in the way Dallas treated Rachel, although asexual wasn't a word she'd ever thought to associate with Dallas O'Kane.

  Smoothing her thumbs over Rachel's hands, she lowered her voice to a whisper. "He's a powerful man. Powerful men can be incredibly blind, and incredibly stupid. Even the smart ones."

  "Yeah." Rachel squared her shoulders and smiled ruefully. "They can also be incredibly not worth the drama. Lex can have him."

  Lex would have him—of that, Noelle was certain. Whether the two would survive the experience was another question. "I don't envy her that challenge."

  "Neither do I." Rachel paused. "Not anymore."

  But she had, and Noelle couldn't blame her. Dallas could be hypnotic. There had been times the previous night where she'd felt guilty over how strongly she responded to his laughing commands, shamed that she could find him so arousing. He was a force of nature, overpowering and irresistible.

  And distant. Noelle's attraction to Jasper was already melting into a delicious blend of craving and affection, a need that couldn't be filled by sex alone, no matter how obscene. She was starting to want his company as much as his touch, the quiet moments where he smiled and teased her, where he held her.

  Noelle squeezed Rachel's hands in understanding. "It's different here, isn't it? Different than it is in Eden, yes...but different from how it was before the Flares, too. The way people come together. What you give and what you're supposed to hold back."

  "I don't know." Rachel pulled free and lifted another rack of glasses onto the bar. "I try not to overthink it. Like...if I just sit back and let whatever happens happen, then it'll make sense."

  "Does it work?"

  She met Noelle's gaze with another almost sheepish smile. "If you have to ask, I think you already know the answer."

  No. No, it couldn't possibly work. Not in a place like this, where intimacy between lovers could be withheld as surely as it was in Eden. The O'Kanes gave their bodies freely enough, their affection. You could be family or fucking or both, but wasn't that what Lex had tried to explain to her? That thing she wanted too fast, the thing she offered along with her body.

  She didn't have a word for it, but she knew what it was. Too much trust. A yearning for possession that went both ways. Hope that what you had would never change.

  Maybe it was love.

  The unsettled feeling from that afternoon hadn't gone away.

  Noelle stared unseeing at her own reflection, only vaguely aware of the rote movements as she dragged a brush through her hair. Lex's vanity was another oddity in a room filled with oddities, beautifully restored and covered with silver-backed hairbrushes and expensive glass bottles that wouldn't have been out of place in Eden. Some had undoubtedly been gifts from Dallas, but Noelle had yet to see Lex touch any of it. She kept her makeup, lotions, and perfumes in utilitarian containers cluttering up her bathroom sink, out of sight behind the closed door.

  The vanity was a stage. A scene as carefully set as the vast bed and its lush pillows—the romanticized version of a woman's private domain, with the messy reality tucked away.

  The fact that Noelle felt more at home in the polished, empty fantasy than she did anywhere else wasn't flattering or reassuring. If she unfocused her eyes a little and let her mind drift, she could be back in her own bedroom, a room filled with empty tokens and an empty girl being groomed as Eden's flawless, unrealistic version of a woman.

  Decorative and hollow.

  What a horrible, hateful ideal.

  Lex lay with her head pillowed on her arms, watching. Finally, she made a sleepy noise of amusement. "One hundred strokes before bedtime. Do they teach you that in Eden too?"

  "Yes." Blinking, Noelle shifted her gaze to Lex's reflection in the mirror. "Do they teach you that in the sectors?"

  "Mmm, Sector Two. That's where I'm from." She closed her eyes. "‘It's all in the presentation, Alexa. A woman must never be herself.'"

  The words could have come from her mother's lips. "So it's not so different from Eden, there."

  "In some ways." Lex sat up and reached for a cigarette. "My mentor at the training house was stone cold. Makes Dallas look like a fucking saint."

  "Training house?" She wanted to snatch the words back the moment they left her mouth, because of course there was only one thing they could be training Lex to do in the sectors, and it didn't have anything to do with hosting dinner parties.

  "You haven't heard what they do out in Two?" Lex took a deep drag off her cigarette. "They buy up pretty little things, train 'em just right. Sell 'em to all the rich old men looking to corrupt some innocent darling who isn't too innocent to suck their balls on occasion."

  Noelle clenched the brush until she could feel each individual swirl of the handle's carvings digging into her skin. "I'm sorry. That's—" Horrifying. Degrading. And the fact that she could recognize that and understand it only made her craving for corruption and a little degradation at Jasper's hands that much more twisted. "I'm sorry."

  "For what? I didn't stick around for that shit. I ran away."

  "Good." Noelle said it forcefully, trying to hide her confusion from Lex. She set down the brush and dragged her hair over her shoulder to braid it, watching her fingers so she wouldn't have to meet Lex's eyes. "Is that what men really want? Someone they can corrupt?"

  "Depends on the guy." Lex crushed her cigarette, slipped from the bed, and walked into the bathroom. The water cut on a moment later, and she ducked back out, her toothbrush in her hand. "In Sector Two, the rich men buy girls as companions—gay or straight, whether they want one or not. They have to if they want to fit in."

  Noelle had almost grown accustomed to Lex's casual nudity, but it was different tonight. Different because she'd had her face between Lex's thighs, because she'd felt pleasure at her touch. It was impossible to figure out the boundaries now, which was why she was still seated at the vanity, fiddling with her hair. Would it be a rejection to climb onto the couch after she'd slept tangled between Jasper and Lex? Or an invitation she didn't understand to crawl into the vast comfort of Lex's own bed?

  She did the cowardly thing and stayed put, carefully smoothing each strand of hair into its place in her braid as she rested her gaze safely on her own hands. "I knew the sectors were all different, but I hadn't realized how different. Are they all like that? Each its own little world?"

  "Kind of. Three's not so different from us, and Six and Seven are a lot alike."

  "It's so much to learn." With the end of her hair tied off, Noelle had no choice but to look up. "I'm still trying to understand the rules here."

  One corner of Lex's mouth quirked up. "Is that why you've been sitting at my vanity for way too long, looking nervous as hell? You don't know if you're supposed to sleep with me?"

  Yes, trying to hide things from Lex was pointless. Noelle flushed but refused to look away. "Mostly, yes."

  Lex gestured to the bed. "Are you unsure about whether or not you're invited, or concerned that I might try to fuck you?"

  "Try?" Noelle wrinkled her nose. "You'd succeed. I just...don't know the rules. You know, with Jasper? With me? If he expects..." She was afraid to finish the sentence, afraid to see sympathy in Lex's eyes. For all Noelle knew, Jasper was in bed with another woman right now. It didn't feel like something he'd do...but he hadn't come to Lex's room, wondering where she was, either.

  "If he expects...?" Lex asked leadingly, then stuck the toothbrush in her mouth.

  She didn't know if Lex honestly didn't understand, or was forcing her to say it. "If he expec
ts me to be...faithful." That made her sound like a loyal pet, but she didn't know a better word. Surely monogamous couldn't apply, not when most of their sexual encounters had involved other people. "He's said some things, but not exactly about that."

  Lex rinsed her mouth and then the toothbrush. "What'd he do, tell you not to mess around with anyone else?"

  "Not exactly," she repeated, remembering the night of the fight. He'd come on her face and she'd been so wet she ached when he told her to keep her fingers out of her panties. She'd spent half the night pressing her thighs together and listening to Lex's breathing, as turned on by the command and denial as she had been by touching him.

  It wasn't explanation enough. Lex was still watching her, so Noelle clutched at the hem of her T-shirt. "The night before I got my cuffs, he told me not to touch myself."

  Lex's brows drew together in a stormy frown that slowly smoothed into an expression of understanding. "Oh—not without him." She wrinkled her nose again, this time with a laugh. "Damn, that's hot. I'm impressed."

  A little of the tension knotting Noelle faded, even as her cheeks burned. "It was hotter than I expected it to be. And then the next day..." She shivered. "That was the most I'd ever felt, until last night."

  "I didn't know he had it in him." Lex flipped off the bathroom light, climbed back into bed, and patted the mattress beside her. "No wonder you're spinning."

  Switching off the vanity light plunged the room into darkness, but just enough light snuck under the door to the hall for Noelle to navigate to the bed. Lex's features were a vague outline mostly in shadow, and knowing hers would be similarly shadowed made it easier to talk. "Sometimes he talks like he wants to own me. And that shouldn't be okay. I shouldn't like it, because that's what they wanted to do in Eden. Own me."

  "Does it feel the same?"

  "No. But does that matter? Isn't it still being trapped, in the end?"

  "Maybe." Lex traced a gentle fingertip over the ink encircling Noelle's wrist. "You're an O'Kane now, for good or bad. Does that make you feel sad and stifled?"

  "No. A little nervous, maybe." She told Lex what had happened with Dallas at the bar, and admitted what she hadn't told Rachel. "The more I thought about it, the more I realized how much I do know. Things my mother taught me so I'd be able to help my father and my future husband, things that could hurt the important men in Eden. Not just allergies, but secrets. Scandals. Dreams that they'll compromise for, and weaknesses in their families that a smart woman could exploit."

  "Or a smart man, like Dallas."

  "Or a smart man." Noelle caught Lex's hand and twined their fingers together. "They're not all corrupt. One or two of the councilmen try, and even the bad ones... Their wives and children are as helpless as I was. I don't want to hurt people unless it means protecting us."

  "Oh, honey. I know." Her fingers tightened around Noelle's. "At some point, he's going to ask, though. It's bound to happen."

  She swallowed and closed her eyes. "I'll have to tell him, won't I? I made a promise."

  "You wouldn't want to try to lie," Lex agreed quietly. "Especially if he came to you for information like that, because he wouldn't do it unless he had no other choice."

  "I don't want to lie. I want to trust him." And that was the crux of it, the part that felt foolish and hopelessly ingenuous. "I want to tell him everything and believe he wouldn't hurt anyone who didn't deserve it, not unless he had no other choice. Does that make me stupid?"

  "Not stupid. An optimist." Lex nestled closer, curling up behind Noelle. "You don't know yet. How hard Dallas has to work to keep life around here the way it is."

  As comforting as Lex's warm body was, Noelle missed the heavy press of Jasper's arm. Both nights she'd slept with him, he'd tossed it over her body, pinning her in place with an unconscious sort of possessiveness. She didn't have to be pressed tightly to his side to wallow in his warmth because he exuded heat.

  She hadn't seen him since that morning, and she missed him. "I guess the men work hard. The women too, I mean...but the guys seem to be gone a lot."

  "They're around more than you think." Lex laughed and nuzzled the back of Noelle's neck. "You don't have to wait for him to come to you, you know. If you want him, go get him."

  Noelle bit her lower lip. "What if there's someone else in his bed?"

  "Do you suspect there is, or do you want me to tell you if that's how Jasper operates?"

  "Is it?"

  "No."

  Noelle exhaled and clung to Lex's hand. "Go get him? Just like that?"

  "Just like that."

  It could work. Maybe it would even help. All the questions about her ability to say no might matter less to Jasper if she was busily, aggressively saying yes.

  First she had to figure out how. "Lex?"

  Lex rubbed Noelle's arm. "Yeah?"

  "Will you teach me to dance?"

  "Sure, if you want. You don't like hauling drinks?"

  Noelle laughed. "I don't mind it. And I don't know if I'll be any good at dancing, but I want to learn how to be like you. Sexy and strong and seductive. Proud of it."

  But Lex only snorted. "It's all in the presentation, remember?"

  "Then you can help me with that too." Lex wouldn't see her flushed cheeks and smile, but she could probably hear the amusement and embarrassment in Noelle's voice. "I apparently have a lot to learn about where jewelry goes."

  "Short answer? Wherever you want to put it."

  "Lex!"

  "What?" She laughed. "It's true."

  Tomorrow, Noelle would find some jewelry. Maybe she'd even let Lex show her how to wear each piece—or where. If Jasper had a problem with that, he'd have to do something about it.

  Like claim her for good.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jasper knew it was damn near the end of the world—again—when Dallas rounded up everyone for a meeting. He usually preferred to deal with his men in small groups, but right now time was of the essence, and they all needed to be informed.

  Dallas lit a cigarette before sliding the pack over to Bren. "Everyone's heard what went down with Wilson Trent. Our immediate problem is that we're short one supplier, and we need to fill the gap fast if we're not going to slow production. Big picture's even uglier. No way could Trent have gotten his hands on those explosives on his own. Someone's backing him—someone with money or power or both. And we need to find out who."

  "City black market would be the likeliest source," Bren said. "Military police. I have a friend on the inside I can contact. Have him look into things."

  "Do it," Dallas told him without hesitation. "What about Trent? Did he say anything interesting before he died?"

  "He mostly screamed."

  Even Dallas lifted his eyebrows at that. "Do I need to worry about who that girl's gonna want to kill next?"

  Bren matched his expression. "Probably not until her hands heal."

  At the other end of the table, Flash laughed. "What, that tiny piece of tail beat Trent to death bare-knuckled?"

  "I guess so." Dallas shook his head. "Don't get any ideas, Flash. No women in the cage fights. I don't want Lex twisting your dicks off if you win, and I sure as hell don't want to listen to you cry if you don't."

  Already, in Dallas's mind, Lex was the one who took care of the women, his own counterpart in leadership. It made Wilson Trent's taunts about her all the more chilling. "Couldn't hurt to consider why this happened," Jasper observed. "Whether Trent approached someone for help getting rid of you, or it started out the other way around."

  Dallas drummed his fingers on the table. "Trent was stupid, but he knew how to suck up to power. And if he wanted something we had badly enough..."

  "He'd start dumbass negotiations with someone who hated you in a heartbeat," Jasper finished.

  "Isn't hard to find people who hate me. Someone who would trust that bastard not to fuck it up? That's harder."

  Bren drained his drink and set the glass down with a thump. "Unless it didn't matter
because Trent was a very expendable test shot, and the real shit has yet to go down."

  "Pretty damn likely." Dallas let his gaze drift around the table, taking the time to meet every man's eyes, from Jasper and Bren on either side of him straight down to where Dom glowered at the far end of the table. "We've been top dogs in Four long enough to get a little lazy. That has to stop, because we're playing in the big leagues now, whether we want to or not. We're making too much damn money for everyone else to ignore. And that means we need to get better at information. Cultivate some more reliable contacts in all the sectors. We need to get smart."

  Jasper pulled out a chair, turned it around, and dropped onto it. "Flash and I are friendly with fighters in all the sectors. Ace has the women covered. A girl in damn near every brothel, right?"

  Ace flipped him off, but not without a grin. "They like tattoos, I like blowjobs. It's good math."

  Bren looked skeptical. "He's not going to start liking information as much as he likes his dick. No way."

  "He will if I tell him to," Dallas rumbled, smashing out his cigarette in the nearest ashtray. "Jasper, have you still got contacts in the countryside? We're going to need more grain, fast."

  One of his friends from the farm was managing his own now. "I can handle the corn, but I'll have to make inquiries about the barley."

  "Good. Bren, work with the girl. See if you can get anything else out of her about Trent's organization. Especially the people likely to take over now."

  "Maybe it should be us," Dom muttered.

  "Edge into another sector?" Dallas's fingers stilled. "We're spread thin enough as it is. I don't want more territory, I just want their contacts. However we have to get them."

  "And maybe the next guy won't be an idiot like Wilson Trent. Then you've got bigger troubles."

  "We've got bigger troubles either way, which is why we're going to dig in and protect what we have, not get greedy and sloppy." Dallas jabbed a finger at him. "If you're so hot to expand, work on finding new recruits—loyal ones who can earn their place the hard way. No shortcuts."

  Dom lowered his gaze, his beefy arms still crossed over his chest in a posture that screamed defensiveness. Dallas ignored him and scanned the table again. "Trent said a few other things I didn't like, particularly about the ladies. I don't want the women out unaccompanied until we know what we're dealing with."