“It’s okay, darlin’. I get it. Don’t worry, I’ll always be there.” He leaned in and kissed her lightly. “That was the easy part. Now we have to convince James.”
“You think that will be hard?”
Sloan snorted. “One thing hasn’t changed and it’s that that man is as stubborn as hell.”
“Hmm, sounds like someone else I know.”
Kinley walked into the storage room. Gary had called a few minutes ago asking her to search for some supplies for him. Asshole was as lazy as ever.
She rubbed her temples. A migraine was brewing, and she knew she should probably head home before it got any worse, but she felt bad about leaving early when she’d already missed so much work.
The only proper night’s sleep she’d had in weeks had been on Saturday night, after Sloan had taken her to the club. She’d slept like a baby. Too bad they couldn’t play every night.
If James was around, he could help with that. If James was around, she’d probably sleep anyway. Because he the main reason she felt so stressed. They hadn’t seen or heard from him in two weeks, and it was killing her.
She bent over, her head throbbing.
“That’s right, bend right over, flower.”
What?
She jumped up, swaying a little as her head protested. She blinked to clear her blurry vision. Crap, this migraine was coming on faster than she’d hoped.
“Mike? What did you say?”
“I said, bend right over so I can get a good view of that delectable ass.”
Um . . . what? That was something she’d expect from Gary, but not his dad.
“Mike, are you feeling okay?”
“Oh, I’m feeling just fine, little flower.”
Her blood ran cold. “Wait. It was you? You left the flowers?” Her heart raced, nausea making her stomach roll. It had been Mike? She didn’t understand. What about Alan?
“Beautiful, sweet Kinley. I’ve wanted you from the moment you turned up here. Looking so desperate and lost. I knew you’d be perfect.”
“Perfect for what?” She took a step back.
“To replace my own sweet Catherine, of course. God rest her soul.”
She wanted to make a run for it, but he stood between her and the door, and while he might be short, Mike kept himself fit.
Oh, God, why didn’t I see it?
“Mike, I have a boyfriend. I live with him now.”
“Did you like the flowers I sent. I got that boy to deliver them. The one who looks like a man but is just a child.”
Oh, God, poor Alan. He’d probably had no idea.
“I thought you ran from me when you were ill for two weeks. I was worried you were gone for good. But you came back to me. You came back to me, little flower.”
Okay, so he was freaking deranged. How could you work with someone every day and not see they were mad?
“Mike, I have a boyfriend,” she said more firmly.
His face grew a purplish-red as he scowled. “Don’t worry. I’ve taken care of him.”
Taken care of him? What the hell did that mean? Panic filled her, making it harder for her to think.
“He won’t be a bother to us any more, little flower. You can be mine.”
What had he done to Sloan? The band around her head tightened painfully. Blackness gathered in the edges of her vision, and she swayed, reaching out for something to hold her up. Strong hands gripped her waist.
The scent of onions hit her, making her gag. Oh, God, she was going to vomit.
“Come here, little flower.”
“No!” she screamed, pushing at his hold. Shit he was strong. Too strong. She couldn’t fight him.
Then there was a sudden thumping noise, and his hold on her weakened. She slumped back against the shelving, barely managing to keep herself from following him to the floor. What the hell just happened?
She looked up and managed to make out the outline of someone standing there. Then the nausea bubbled up and she leaned over and vomited.
“Well, that’s just fucking marvellous. I rescue you from dear old dad, and you vomit all over my boots.”
Gary. Gary was her rescuer.
Wow, this was turning out to be a very strange day. And before she could say anything, the darkness pulled her under.
19
He was just going to check on her. It didn’t mean anything. He was just being a good friend. He hadn’t seen her in a while and he wanted to say hello.
And why haven’t you seen her lately? Because you’ve been hiding from her. From them. From your feelings for them.
He let out a deep sigh. He’d figured the best idea was to stay away from them both. Being around them when he wasn’t a part of their relationship was torture. Plus, the last thing he wanted was to come between them in any way. So, he’d left for a while to get his head together. And missed them horribly the whole time he’d been gone.
He pulled into the parking lot of Foley Plumbing. He couldn’t go to their house. Seeing them together was too hard. A man could only take so much.
He climbed out of his car and walked through the front door. He stilled for a moment as he saw Gary leaning over her where she sat slumped on the floor. What the fuck?
“Hey! Get away from her.” He strode over and grabbed the other man, dragging him away.
Gary stumbled back. “Hey, man, I was just trying to help her. She’s vomiting everywhere.”
James looked at Kinley’s pale face, taking note of her dilated pupils and the garbage can Gary gingerly held which was partly filled with vomit.
“Migraine,” he said grimly. “How long has she been like this?”
“Dunno, when I came across Dad trying to get it on with her, she was already acting a bit weird. Then after I knocked him out, she vomited all over my boots.” Gary grimaced. “Gonna have to get me a new pair. Dad can pay since he caused all this. She fainted so I pulled her out here. But then she woke up and started vomiting again.”
“What?” James just stared at him. “Your dad did what?”
“Oh, yeah.” Gary ran his hand through his greasy hair, looking uncomfortable. “Turns out Dad’s been off his meds for a while now. Got it into his head that Kinley was the reincarnation of Mom. Don’t know why, Mom was small and dark-haired. Stupid idiot. I came in, found him trying to put the moves on her then knocked him out with a pipe. I’ve called an ambulance.”
“Jesus fucking Christ. Did anyone call Sloan?”
“Flower,” Kinley whispered. “He sent flowers.”
James crouched in front of her, taking her clammy hand in his. “It’s all right, baby. Don’t try to talk.”
“Sloan. Hurt Sloan.”
James stilled. “Who hurt Sloan?”
She just whimpered. Damn it, he needed to get her home to bed. But first . . .
He took out his phone and called Sloan.
“I tried calling him on her cell, man. He’s not answering.”
A siren sounded in the distance.
“You okay with her if I go check on Dad?” Gary asked.
James gave him a short nod. Frankly, he didn’t give a shit about Gary’s father. He was more worried about Kinley and Sloan. They were what was important.
Voicemail. He hung up and tried again.
Kinley whimpered, made a gagging noise, and he grabbed the garbage can, holding it up as she vomited again. She was a mess, her face pale, vomit down her front, her hair messy, sweat coating her forehead. All he wanted was to take her away somewhere safe and make certain nothing bad happened to her ever again.
“Yeah?” a gruff voice said into his ear.
For a moment, he was so shocked that Sloan answered he couldn’t say anything. Luckily, he recovered quickly.
“Sloan? You okay?”
“No, I’m not fucking okay. My brakes failed. Luckily, I wasn’t going fast and managed to pull off to the side of the road. It could have been so much worse.”
“But you’re all right,” James said urge
ntly.
“Yeah, just bruised and angry.”
“Where are you?”
“Waiting for a tow, why?”
“Kinley’s boss is the one who sent the flowers. He cornered her, but Gary knocked him out. However, she’s in the middle of a bad migraine. I think they’ll take her to the hospital.” He looked up as a paramedic strode inside.
“What? Fuck.”
“I’ll call you as soon as I know where we’re going. Got to go.”
“James, wait—”
“Yeah?”
“Just keep her safe for me.”
“Of course.”
“I can’t believe it was her boss,” Sloan said, stretching his legs out as he laid his head against the back of the sofa. They’d finally managed to make it back home. The paramedics had taken Kinley into the hospital. Sloan had met them there. But after a few hours of being hooked up to an IV she’d been discharged with orders to rest. “All this time, it was him. We thought it was Alan. Jesus, I sent the cops around to scare him. And her boss used him. He could have gotten to her at any time. Could have hurt her. If Gary hadn’t been there today…”
“I can’t believe he cut your brake line.” James shuddered as he imagined how badly today could have ended. “You could have died.” And Kinley might have been raped. Fuck, just the thought of the two of them being harmed made him feel ill.
“After my truck is checked we’ll know for sure if that’s what happened, but, yeah, I’m betting that’s what he meant when he said he took care of me.”
Kinley had managed to tell them along with a couple of detectives everything that had happened. Christ, he didn’t sleep he’d be able to sleep at all tonight. Each time he closed his eyes, he was sure to see her looking so pale and ill.
Sloan sat up and looked over at him.
“Thank God for Gary, huh?” James joked. “Never thought I’d say that.”
Sloan didn’t even crack a smile. In fact, the look on his face was intense. “And for you.”
“Me? I arrived too late to do anything.” By the time he’d gotten there, Mike Foley could have already raped her.
“No, you arrived in time to help Kinley. You took care of her. I knew she’d be okay because you were with her. Because you care about her.”
James’s pulse jumped. “She’s a friend.”
“Oh, I think you feel much more towards her than just friendship.”
Shit. Shit. Shit. “Sloan, I—” he sat forward.
“And I’m fucking grateful that you do.”
What?
“I’m glad you love her as much as I do. Because it means that this thing between the three of us has a chance of working. More of a chance than it ever did with Sarah. And it will work. I can promise you that. Because there is no way in hell I am losing either one of you.”
“What are you saying?” His heart raced, but he didn’t dare hope. Not yet.
Sloan sighed. “Should have known you’d make me spell it out. I’m saying that these past few weeks have been hell. Not having you with us. We’ve both felt the loss. You’re meant to be with us.”
He shook his head. Was he fucking with him? No. He wouldn’t be so cruel. “Kinley . . .”
“Kinley loves you as well. Although she’ll probably murder me for telling you without her. We’ve already discussed this. We both want you, James. With us. Be with us. There, not sure I can make it any fucking clearer.”
It was what he’d dreamed of hearing. And yet, he still held back. Because the last thing he wanted was to be a third wheel. To be on the outside again.
“James, look at me.” James looked into his brown eyes.
“Can you tell me that you’re happy? That you like going back to your apartment alone? Or with a different woman each week?”
“You know I’m not,” he growled.
“And do you know why? Why you left? Why you’ve stayed away from us? It’s because you love us, don’t you?”
“You know I do,” he spat out, feeling angry for some reason. Maybe because Sloan was pushing him into something he’d resigned himself to never having. “Doesn’t mean I’m going to risk what the two of you have.”
“You won’t be. You’ll be making it even better.”
He shook his head then stood. “I have to go.”
Sloan stood slowly. “All right, you think about it. When you’re willing to risk getting hurt to take hold of what you want, what we all want, you know where we are.”
20
“We scared him off,” Kinley worried as they pulled up outside Club Decadence.
“He was already scared. Once he works through it, he’ll be back.”
Kinley turned to him. “How can you be so sure?”
He reached over and pulled her lip from between her teeth. “Because he can’t live without us. How could he? We’re wonderful.”
She laughed. “You’re so modest.”
“Shucks, thanks ma’am.” He tipped an imaginary hat. Then he leaned over and kissed her. “James knows a good thing when he sees it. He’ll come around. You’ll see. Come on, let’s go play.”
Her heart a little lighter, she let him help her down from the truck then followed him inside. She wore jean shorts and a tight T-shirt under her coat. Not her usual fetish wear, but Sloan had a special scene planned out for tonight. Excitement made her pulse race. Her clit throbbed in anticipation. Her breasts bobbed, free of a bra. Normally, she wore a corset to the club, which kept her breasts contained.
Sloan helped her off with her coat at the entrance and handed it over to the attendant before leading her into the dungeon. Once they were inside, he paused for a moment looking around. Then he strode towards a group of people off to one side of the bar. She didn’t take much notice of the group until they drew closer, then she stilled, her heart racing.
Was it? Could it be?
Sloan reached over and tapped a shorter, dark-haired male dressed in a black T-shirt and tight, leather pants. As the man turned, her heart stopped.
“James,” she whispered.
Then realizing Sloan had known he was here all along, she smacked him on the arm. “Damn it, Sloan! You could have told me.”
“Is that any way to speak to your Dom?”
Her eyes widened as James stepped forward, his voice stern as he spoke. “Sloan told me you were trained, is that not true?”
“No. I mean, I’m trained. Sort of.”
Sloan snorted.
“Then you know better to smack your Dom or to question him. He knows what’s best for you, does he not?”
“Yes,” she whispered, a little shocked by how commanding James was. He was in full Dom mode, and she realized now that she hadn’t really seen his Dom side at all.
“Kneel,” he ordered.
She dropped to her knees as gracefully as she could.
“Present.”
She spread her legs, placing her hands palm up against her thighs, straightened her spine, and bent her head. Their audience faded into the background as she focussed on James. Pleasing him. Submitting to him. Suddenly she worried that he might not think she was obedient enough or submissive enough or beautiful enough.
“Very nice,” he told her, his voice filled with admiration. “Kinley, look at me.” She reluctantly raised her gaze up to his.
“Hmm, what’s going through that head of yours?” She really didn’t want to tell him, and since it hadn’t been an order she didn’t have to answer, right?
“Kinley? What has you worried?”
She sighed. “It’s really hard to get anything by you.”
He reached down and cupped her chin. “That’s good. Because I don’t even want you to try. Tell me.”
“I can do better,” she blurted out. “Really. I can be the submissive you want. I can try—”
He placed a finger over her lips. She figured he wanted her to shut up.
“Baby, you are perfect for me.” In a move that surprised her, he crouched in front of her. “Any mor
e perfect, and I’d think you weren’t real. I like you just the way you are. No, that’s wrong.”
It was? She sucked in a breath.
“I love you just the way you are. Do you accept me as I am? Do you still want me? Us?”
She looked up, but Sloan had left.
“He’s gone to get our scene ready. He’s rather excited.”
“The two of you have been talking,” she said.
“Yes, don’t be angry with him for keeping it from you. I wanted to be certain you were really ready for this. For all of me.”
“You mean your Dominant side?” she asked. Was tonight a test, then?
He nodded. “Having two men has its benefits, it also has its challenges. Especially when both men are dominant. I’m controlling. And arrogant. Demanding.”
She grinned. “I can deal arrogant and demanding.” Her smiled dropped. “I just can’t deal with you leaving. I love you, James. Please don’t leave again.”
“I won’t,” he told her fiercely. “I’ll have to go away on business sometimes but I’ll always come home. I promise.”
“Home, I like that.” She grasped hold of his wrists. “Because your home is with us, James. It’s the three of us, understand? If you’re in, you’re all in.”
He kissed her fiercely. “I’m all in, baby.”
She smiled at him. “You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, do you?”
He huffed out a laugh. “Maybe not. But I’ll learn.” He stood. “Now, your Dom should have the scene ready, he’s waiting for you.”
“You’re playing with us too, though, right?”
He gave her an almost shy look. But then he nodded arrogantly. “Of course.”
Oh, God, she loved him. She let him lead her over to where she could see a few people had gathered around the medical play area. A boxed area had been built with plywood walls that didn’t quite reach the ceiling. One wall had a large piece cut out, so people could watch the scene playing out. There was even a door. James led her to the door and knocked.
“Come in,” Sloan called out.
“Doctor,” James said as he walked in, pulling her behind him. “Thank you for seeing us on such short notice.”
Sir's Redemption (Doms of Decadence Book 8) Page 21
