Hunting Truth (Orion the Hunter Part Four)

by J. D. Chase

  “Yes, Lucas,” I repeated, but louder, and with conviction. “Fuck me; invade every inch of my body. My body exists for your pleasure alone. Do with it what you wish. Use me. Own me. Love me.”

  At my words, he gripped my hips more firmly and pushed his cock deeper inside me, slowly. “Oh my fucking God. Oh my fucking God,” I cried as my body felt stretched and filled beyond anything I’d ever believed possible. His answering growl preceded his first thrust. Every muscle and nerve in my body was alert and alive as he began to repeatedly thrust in and out of me. Our joint groans filled the room, increasing in pace in time with his thrusts. Soon he was slamming balls deep into me and I found myself wishing I could push my ass out to meet him. I’d never felt pleasure like that before. It was so deep. So divine. So demanding.

  I felt my climax building and my groans gave way to cries of pure lustful need. I barely heard Lucas growl that he was about to come but I felt his cock begin to pulse inside me before I was off, soaring high on the wings of my orgasm of oblivion. It literally was. When I regained my senses, I was lying in Lucas’ arms on the bed. He was looking down on me, smiling and stroking my hair tenderly. “You’re a wonderful, gorgeous, sexy vixen, Issy Prince,” he whispered. “And mine. All mine.”

  I smiled and stretched lazily until I felt a strange sensation in my ass and winced. It wasn’t painful exactly, but I knew he’d been there. His eyes widened in concern before he gathered me into his arms. “I haven’t hurt you, have I?” he whispered, his voice heavy with emotion that could have been regret. The last thing I wanted him to do was regret his actions. “No!” I cried. “I’m just a little tender, that’s all. I guess it’s to be expected when you defile a virgin. Well, a virgin asshole.”

  His answering snicker reassured me that he was okay. “I’ll run you a bath. Wait there.” He got up and walked to what I’d believed to be one of many cupboards. I watched with wide eyes as he opened the door to reveal an en-suite bath—I could see a shower cubicle and his and hers basins. I watched him disappear and couldn’t help giving in to my curiosity. I slid off the bed to follow him, wincing slightly as my ass skimmed across the bed. I stood and noticed that the console table I’d noticed in the hallway outside was standing in the room with lengths of silky, red rope carelessly coiled on top. So that’s what I’d heard being dragged into the room and that’s what I must have been tied to when Lucas . . . I felt my cheeks flush in shame but I pushed the thoughts from my mind. I couldn’t think of it as being wrong. It was society’s determination that it was wrong, and what two consenting adults did in private should be up to them. There was no shame in enjoying it. The only shame would be if I allowed society’s hang ups to spoil what was an incredibly pleasurable experience. The sound of running water distracted me and I sauntered over to the door. I’d seen it was a bathroom but I wasn’t prepared for the size of the roll-top, claw-footed bath that stood in the center of the room. It was huge. Several people could bathe together quite comfortably.

  Lucas ran a bath that didn’t contain any bubble bath. He held my hand and helped me in. I winced slightly as I lowered myself into the water, although it was only comfortably warm. I saw Lucas’ eyes darken and his face cloud over immediately. I recognized concern but there was something else too. Fearful that it was regret for causing me pain, I smiled and blew him a kiss to head off any dark thoughts that he may be having. The last thing I wanted him to do was regret what he’d done. I felt like telling him it was fine and that it was my first time so it was bound to make my ass tender, that it would be much better next time, but I didn’t want to make a big deal of it. He seemed reassured by my smile and his whole frame relaxed, his eyes regaining their brilliant blue hue.

  I bathed leisurely and allowed Lucas to dry me, which took quite some time because he insisted on kissing every part of me as he did so. Then he lay me on the bed and walked over to one of the cupboards. The next moment Paul Weller’s soulful voice filled the room. Lucas lay next to me and held me to his chest as he sang the lyrics of You Do Something To Me softly as he stroked my hair. He had a beautiful voice and the way he sang the words made me realize he was singing them from his heart. Tears leaked from my eyes as I absorbed the sentiment and realized just how close I’d come to screwing it all up, once again. I resolved then and there not to let anyone or anything come between us. What we had was magical and so rare. When the track ended, I looked up into his eyes and whispered “We’ll get there.” I didn’t want that moment to end. But, of course, it had to . . .

  I started when someone banged loudly and insistently on the door. Lucas sighed in irritation before he told me to stay put as he slid off the bed. As he pulled on his pants, I slid under the bed clothes before he unlocked the door and yanked it open. Carter was standing there, his face as expressionless as ever. I heard him apologize before he requested a private word. Lucas looked back at me and said he’d just be a moment. Then he stepped out and closed the door behind him. I came back to reality with a bump, cross that someone had burst our bubble. But I knew that Carter wouldn’t have disturbed Lucas without reason. Scott!

  I shot out of bed and dressed hastily. I recalled asking Lucas why he was so pissed with Scott but he’d only gotten as far as explaining about him and Ava and the club before I’d expressed a wish to be alone with him. I’d forgotten all about Scott. I desperately hoped that he was okay. What if Carter’s team has found him? What will they do to him? I paced around the room, growing more worried by the second. One moment, Lucas had said . . . that felt like an age ago.

  When the door opened, I opened my mouth to enquire about Scott but the look on Lucas’ face stopped me in my tracks. He looked wretched. “Lucas, what’s wrong?” I demanded as I flew to him and wrapped my arms around him. I could feel tension radiating from him but he didn’t reply. I stepped back and bored my eyes into his. “Lucas, for God’s sake, I know something’s going on and you’ve been keeping it from me. How can we truly be a couple if you won’t talk to me? I mightn’t be able to help but you can’t keep things from me. There should be no secrets between us. Don’t you trust me?”

  He screwed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. Then his shoulders slumped in defeat and he said, “Come on. Let’s go back to the bar and I’ll explain over a drink. God knows I need one. I think you will too.”

  He finished dressing quickly before switching on his cell. He frowned when he looked at the screen and I knew he must have missed calls from Carter. I hoped he didn’t regret spending time with me alone, isolated from whatever was going on. Then he turned and opened the door, holding it open for me to follow. I waited as he locked the door behind us, then followed him back up the stairs. He didn’t utter another word and I felt anxiety growing inside me. Something big was happening. Something massive. But what?

  Chapter Ten

  I sat on a sofa near the bar as Lucas poured us a drink. I noticed he’d been very generous—half filling our glasses—and my stomach began to churn just a little faster. It wasn’t helped by Lucas’ dark, brooding expression as he joined me on the sofa, handing me my drink. This was a dominant alpha-male who looked nervous. Really nervous. I had to fight the temptation to demand that he tell me but, when he tossed back over half of his whisky, I sat in silence and prepared myself for something quite drastic. I wasn’t wrong.

  “I’m being blackmailed, Issy,” he said, suddenly.

  My head jerked to face him in shock. “What? How the hell . . .?”

  “Someone knows about my ownership of this place. That’s why I’m here, to try to sort it out.”

  “But who would . . . oh my God, it’s Joel, isn’t it?”

  Lucas shrugged, his mouth twisting wryly. “I think it’s safe to assume that but I don’t know for sure. I can’t simply accept that it’s him. To get where I’ve got, and stay there, you make a lot of enemies—just by the process of being successful. I couldn’t understand how Joel had found out—except for his hacking into the Orion server but even then the data is enc
rypted so it would be almost impossible to access. If it’s Joel, I think it’s far more likely that he received the information first hand.”

  I frowned, not following his thinking at first. I gasped when I realized. “Scott,” I said, simply.

  Lucas exhaled deeply. “You saw him speaking with Joel and he’s a member here. I don’t know for sure that he knows about my ownership of the place but I suspect that he’s found out somehow. His reaction when I tried to confront him would appear to confirm my suspicion. Why else would he run like that?”

  I’d naively hoped that Joel’s malicious attempts to hurt Lucas had ceased. I knew his motivation for wanting to destroy Lucas, but Scott, why would he get involved? It didn’t make any sense. He was always the one who stayed away from trouble and kept himself to himself. “I know it looks bad for Scott, Lucas, but it’s just so unlike him. You don’t know him like I do and I find it difficult to understand why he’d do that.”

  His eyes narrowed before he shook his head. “Oh, come on, Issy. He hates me. He wants you and he’s jealous that I’m the one who’s with you. He resents my input with the band and has made it quite clear that he wishes I wasn’t involved with you or Denial. And believe me, Joel can be very persuasive.”

  I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. Yeah, I’d fallen foul of Joel’s persuasive lies. Who knew what he’d told Scott? And I hadn’t had a chance to fill Scott in on that fact. Oh hell. Had that had any bearing on his decision to help Joel and bring down Lucas? Had I unwittingly helped the blackmail attempt against Lucas? “How exactly are you being blackmailed? What is it that they want?”

  “My company . . . all of my assets . . . you . . . everything,” he said, his voice tailing off to a whisper.

  “Me?” I gasped. “And what if you refuse?”

  He laughed, scornfully. “Then they go public with the information and . . .” his voice trailed off completely.

  “And what, Lucas?”

  He closed his eyes and tossed back the remainder of his whisky, tensing as the liquid travelled down his throat. “And the photographs they have of me in here,” he said in a small voice, keeping his eyes closed.

  “Photographs? What photographs?” I cried.

  He didn’t answer. In fact, he didn’t move a muscle. And I knew. “Oh, those kind of photographs,” I whispered, trying not to imagine their content.

  We sat in silence for a few seconds. I began to imagine the torrid headlines . . . something along the lines of: MILLIONAIRE PERVERT!

  “You have to go to the police, Lucas. Let them investigate it. That might even frighten Joel off. After all, he’s not really a seasoned felon is he?”

  He looked at me in disbelief. “You’ve got to be kidding. I can’t involve the police! For God’s sake, the local district attorney’s a member here. It’s the first rule of the club that confidentiality is guaranteed. Once the cops start crawling over the place—and you can imagine the fun they’d have in a place like this, going through all the files and security footage—the anonymity of members is lost. Besides, as far as I know, the cops don’t even know of the existence of this place and Ava works hard to keep it that way. It’s the only way a high class BDSM club can operate. You make sure that every member has as much to lose as you do, if it were to become public knowledge, before you grant them membership.”

  I could see the logic and was impressed with the simplicity of the system. “It’ll blow over though won’t it? Who pays any attention to that crap these days? And what you did here is hardly illegal. Scott says that there are several members who are well-respected professionals—”

  His eyes flew open and he stared at me with such ferocity that I shrank back from him a little.

  “It would destroy my reputation and, remember, Joel may already have the information on some of my business deals that would incriminate me. Not to mention the potential backlash if he outs some of the members you refer to. It’s hardly going to help my case if our local district attorney gets swept up in this. Or either of the high-level politicians. Oh God, this really is a nightmare. I bought this place with my heart, not my head. I should’ve known better.”

  “But . . . the photographs they have, they must be from before you purchased the club . . . aren’t they?” I held my breath as I awaited his reply.

  He glared at me and I shrank back. “Of course they are. I told you. I haven’t set foot in here until the attack on my company’s server. Those photographs are years old and I wasn’t aware that they even existed. I certainly didn’t take any or give permission for any to be taken.”

  “Oh. So perhaps it’s a bluff. Maybe they don’t exist.”

  He shook his head. “They exist alright. I’ve received copies, sadly.”

  I thought for a second. “But Joel had the photograph of me and Scott faked, he must’ve done the same with you and . . . whoever it is you were with.”

  Lucas’ hesitation in replying told me the answer before he even spoke. When he did, he sounded very uncomfortable—apologetic even. “I don’t think they were faked. It was from my time with Ava and, as soon as I saw them, I remembered when we . . . well, let’s just say I have good reason to believe they’re genuine. I can have Carter check them out but I don’t think it’s worth it.”

  I had to concentrate hard to hear his words. I felt nauseous at the thought of the existence of photographs of him and Ava engaged in kinky sex acts, never mind the thought of them being published by some low life magazine or newspaper. I wondered how there could even be such photographs. I realized with a start that it must’ve been Ava taking them. “Lucas, if you didn’t take photographs—and I assume there was nobody else involved in your sexual activities—then it must be Ava who took them.”

  He shook his head dismissively. “No. Ava’s not like that and I’d have seen her taking them. Besides, at the risk of giving too much information, she couldn’t. She was totally restrained and at my mercy. There’s no way she could’ve taken them.”

  I closed my eyes, trying in vain to stop images forming of Lucas restraining and dominating Ava. It hurt and I realized I’d never felt jealousy before and that it made no sense—it was in the past, years ago. Then I thought of Ava’s obvious longing for Lucas and I began to wonder whether that was why it stung so badly. All of this relationship stuff was so new to me.

  “Hey,” Lucas said, softly. “I know what you’re thinking. Stop it. She means nothing to me now. I’m yours. Totally yours. And you’re mine. You’re all I need. All I want. I just thought you should be prepared, in case the photographs do end up in the public domain. You don’t deserve that. In fact, you don’t deserve any of the crap that Joel has caused. I’m so sorry, Issy. You must rue the day you met me.”

  My eyes flew open instantly and I launched myself across the sofa at him. He caught me in his arms and held me tightly. “Don’t say that. Never say that. I’ll never regret meeting you. You’re my world, Lucas Hunter, and we’ll get through this. Together. I’ll be by your side whatever happens.”

  He squeezed me tighter still so that I could hardly breathe as he said, “Thank you, knowing you’ll be by my side, as well as in my heart, might just be what gets me though all this.”

  His earlier revelation ran through my mind and I wriggled in his arms to look at his face. “Lucas, you said earlier that the blackmailer wanted everything—including me. What did you mean?”

  He sighed heavily. “As well as agreeing to sell my business and all of my assets for a hundred dollars, I have to agree to end my relationship with you. Forever. If I renege on that at any time, even if I’ve sold the company, the photographs will go public—as will information on my ownership of this place.”

  I stared, open-mouthed, unable to comprehend why I’d be the pawn in Joel’s cruel game. “But why?” I whispered.

  He shrugged his shoulders. “Because Joel’s a psycho? Who knows. I think he just wants to ruin my life completely. Maybe he still wants me to suffer for taking our parents away from him.” />
  “But you didn’t,” I cried.

  “Yeah well, try telling that to Joel,” he said bitterly.

  “I would if I knew where he was. Actually, where is he?”

  “Don’t even think about it, Issy. Besides, we don’t know where he’s holing up. Carter has drafted in extra security staff to track him down but so far, no luck.”

  Something niggled in the back of my mind and then I remembered. “What about Scott? Are they still searching for him too?”

  “As far as I know. Carter would’ve called if there was any news.”

  I thought about Scott’s alleged involvement. I knew he didn’t like Lucas but I found it hard to believe that he’d deliberately help incriminate Lucas. “So you think Scott told Joel about your ownership of this place?”

  “I’m not so sure about that. Joel could potentially have found that out when he hacked into my office network. He could’ve approached him to get further information. He certainly wouldn’t have found out about anything about my private life—my former private life—from the information stored on the server. Nothing about Ava and certainly not any photographs.”

  “But how would Scott know any of that? Was he a member back then too?”

  “Oh no. But there are some members here who were. He might’ve heard from some of them. Joel might’ve asked him to do some digging and I’m sure he’d be only too pleased to oblige. He probably wanted to tell you anything he found out too but was probably wise enough to know that he’d incriminate himself if he did.”

  I shook my head in disbelief. That didn’t sound like Scott at all. But then he had been behaving oddly recently and I hadn’t had a chance to put him straight about Lucas after telling him about Joel’s revelations. Oh God, it was such a mess. “But Scott couldn’t have known about the existence of those photographs. How did Joel find out about those?”

  “That’s the billion-dollar question, Issy,” he said, wryly.