Desire for Love (The Club #13)

by S. E. GILCHRIST

  “About that bet—”

  “Forget it,” she cut in sharply. I don’t want to hear his stupid excuses. Let it go. Let him go. Blindly, she turned for the door.

  His hand clutched her upper arm. “I want to explain, but I don’t know if you’ll believe me.”

  Her heart just about strangling her throat, Madeline managed, “Try me.”

  “When I heard about the bet, I paid off the bloke who they’d voted on to have sex with you.”

  She squeezed her eyes shut. I don’t know if I want to hear anymore. Her hand fumbled for the door handle.

  “I did it to protect you.”

  Her eyes snapped open. She flung off his restraining hand and whirled around to glare at him. “So paying a guy in order for you to have sex with me, was your way of protecting me?”

  “It wasn’t like that.” His eyes pleaded with her to understand. His rigid posture screamed extreme tension. “I saw you weeks ago, at a baseball game. You were watching your brother play and I was there with Aaron and his family.”

  He wet his lips.

  Madeline fingers curled into the palms of her hands. “And?”

  “Geez. You’re not going to believe me.” He shook his head. His eyes were shadowed, their brilliant color dimmed. “Can’t you trust me when I tell you, I only have your best interests at heart?”

  A little of her rage and disappointment dissipated in the face of his obvious distress. He’s acting so genuine, but is it real? Oh Lordy, I so want it to be real. “I admit you’ve been…I guess…supportive since my life went down the sewer.”

  “That’s a start.” He dropped the bags in his hands and they landed with thumps on the floorboards. Reaching out, he cupped her face, tilting her chin upwards while his thumb ran lightly across her lower lip. When his mouth came down to meet hers, she didn’t turn away.

  His kiss was tender, protective. To Madeline, his caress felt like he was promising her forever. But then it was over before it had really started and already he was moving away, stepping off her porch, walking down the path. Out of my life.

  Then about to open his pick-up’s door, he yelled, “I’ll be back, babe. And soon.”

  He threw her a broad grin.

  Then he was gone, leaving her standing at her front door staring down the street, wanting desperately to run after him. Is this what love feels like? This gutted, agonizing roil of pain clashing with my hope and longing to trust him?

  “Hey, sis,” hollered Matty from the living room. “Your mobile’s ringing. Aren’t you going to answer it?”

  Chapter Seven

  “I don’t think you should go. I think you should wait until Harrison comes back.” Matty stuck his lower lip out in the way he used to do when he was a toddler and about to throw one of his, thankfully, few tantrums.

  If he really is coming back. The words clung to the tip of her tongue but she caught herself before she could utter them. Her brother spoke as if he had no doubts of Harrison’s return. If only I could be that positive.

  “Uh huh,” muttered Madeline, taking one last look at Matty’s mutinous face before turning away and grabbing her car keys off the kitchen counter. “I won’t be long. Sasha said it was urgent and to do with the missing money. I need to do something to help myself. If what she says is true, then I’ll have physical proof that Roberta was the instigator behind the bet and a thief, not just the one throwing about accusations.”

  “There’s another storm front heading for Karim.”

  “I’ll be careful. Anyway, I won’t be gone that long.” She crossed the room and kissed his cheek. “You could unpack for us or even better, do some school work. Do something for me first, though. Call Harrison and tell him where I’ve gone.”

  “Will do, sis.” The relief in his voice made her smile.

  “Thanks, Matty. I’ll see you later.” Lifting a hand in an airy wave, she walked out the door, ensuring it locked securely behind her and sloshed her way to the Chevy.

  The drive to the Club took longer than she expected as the slush on the roads had frozen to ice. She kept her car to a bit above a crawl, ignoring the horn of an irate driver behind her and who eventually swung out and overtook her before speeding off with a spurt of mud and ice spinning up into the air. What a jerk. Without her wheels chained, it would only take for her tires to lose traction for a split second and her car could spin out of control.

  By the time she arrived, her hands felt like they were locked into position on the steering wheel so tightly had she clung during the journey through the city. She parked nearby and approached the building where she scanned herself in, barely acknowledging Harding’s surprised greeting. Sasha had said that she’d meet her in the honeymoon suite on the second floor of all places.

  It was warm inside the Club and as she climbed the stairs, Madeline peeled off her overcoat, slinging it across her arm. She reached the next landing and walked through the open door and into the Deuzieme Bar. The room was empty. No one manned the bar.

  Frowning, she peered along the passageway that led further down the building to private rooms, the Shibari Room, the Group Rooms, and the Training room and VIP Lounge at the very end. Where was everyone?

  She slipped her hand into her coat pocket and pressed the video recording on her smart phone. Right. Let’s do this. The thick carpeting swished underfoot as she walked to the first door on her right. The handle turned under her hand and the door opened.

  She took one step forward.

  Something crashed onto her head. Pain shot straight down her spine. Her knees buckled and the world turned to black.

  ***

  It was pain that greeted her first when she regained consciousness. She inhaled a shaky breath. With her eyes still closed, she raised a trembling hand and gingerly felt over her scalp. Her fingers came away wet. A sickly stench caught at the back of her throat and she gagged.

  “You broke our trust.”

  The voice was familiar but it took Madeline several seconds to place it while she fought free of the nausea. She forced her eyes open.

  “You.” Her voice shook. She tried to rise but found her ankles had been cuffed together. When she looked down, a violent tremor shook her body. While she’d been out for the count, her pullover had been removed along with her jeans. She laid on the soft carpet clad only in her underwear. Her overcoat remained where she’d dropped it, next to the door. “What have you done?”

  “I’ve done nothing.” There was a heavy emphasis on the word…I... “Look at what you forced me to do.”

  Madeline followed the pointing finger. Her gaze fell on the lifeless figure splayed out on the spanking bench. Blood dripped in slow drops to sink into the carpet. She screamed, “Oh, my God Roberta, please God, what have you done to Roberta?”

  Sasha sank to her knees beside Madeline and gave a gusty sigh. “It was you, honey. All you,” she said mournfully and trailed the back of her hand over Madeline’s breasts.

  “Get away from me.” Madeline slapped at the other woman’s arm but there was little strength in the movement. Sickness rose. This time, Madeline rolled to the side and emptied her stomach.

  “I can’t believe I ever found you attractive,” Sasha said in a wondering tone. “Look at you now. Puking over a woman who made your life hell.” She sniggered.

  After wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, Madeline sat up. “You set me up and framed Roberta for it.”

  “I can’t believe how easy it was, Roberta was sooooo furious with you because you cost her that payout. She was more than willing to believe anything I told her.”

  “You talked her into contacting the police.”

  “I surely did.” Her voice rang with pride. “It all went beautifully. You had to be punished, honey. But then you disappeared. I went over to your house but you’d gone. I intended to plant the thousand dollars inside but I didn’t want to break the lock.”

  Thank you, Harrison. Heaven only knows what Sasha might have done once she was insid
e my home. She could have attacked Matty.

  Sasha pointed to where her handbag dangled from the back of her chair. “As soon as I’m finished with you, I’ll place the cash inside your coat.” She laughed. “I can’t believe how easy it all was.”

  Madeline shifted her legs, bending her knees a little.

  “Don’t move.” Sasha picked the knife up off the floor and waved it in the air. “I offered you friendship. I offered you love. We were going to be together forever. And then you betrayed me. You fucked that man. You enjoyed it! I saw it all.”

  “There was never anything between us, Sasha. There never could be and I’m sorry for that.”

  “No, you’re not. But you will be. Sorry, that is.” Sasha giggled. “It’s a pity. We could have been good for each other.”

  Madeline flung her head back and screamed.

  “You’re wasting your time,” Sasha said in a sing-song voice. “After I took care of Roberta, I changed the rosters around and told the staff the bars here were off-limits. There is no one on this floor. Only you.” Sasha pricked Madeline’s stomach through the layers of her clothes with the knife.

  Madeline froze and tried not to flinch at the sharp sting of pain.

  “And me.”

  The other woman raised the knife above her head. Her eyes blazed with baffled fury.

  She’s going to kill me. Madeline had seconds to act. I can’t run but I can fight. She flung herself to the side just as Sasha slashed the knife down.

  Madeline kicked out with her bound feet, connecting with Sasha’s groin, and the woman shrieked.

  From somewhere in the building, the fire alarm exploded into raucous life.

  Footsteps pounded on the stairs.

  Sasha came at her again.

  Light glinted off the wickedly sharp blade.

  Madeline twisted at the waist. The knife slashed along her forearm. Tears of pain spilled from her eyes. Grunting, she reached out, her groping fingers found and closed over her overcoat. She flung it with all her strength toward the other woman who yelped as it hit her face, throwing her aim off.

  Madeline screamed again and crawled as fast as she could to the props table.

  Harrison bellowed her name.

  Help was close.

  But Sasha was closer.

  The woman rose to her feet and rushed toward Madeline.

  Madeline swiped up the whip and with a snap that cracked the air, lashed the throngs at the hand holding the knife. The leather wrapped around Sasha’s wrist and Madeline tugged.

  Hard.

  The knife fell to the floor just as Harrison burst through the doorway. Harding and two other suits followed hot on his heels. Harrison reached Madeline first, running his hands up and down her body, demanding to know where she was hurt, tying a clean handkerchief around her bleeding arm, then carefully examined the wound on her head. When she smiled at him, he crushed her to his chest.

  Over his shoulder, she watched as the security team overpowered Sasha who beat at them with her fists and attempted to rake their faces with her nails. The two suits man-handled her out the door while Harding went over and covered Roberta’s body with a sheet before snapping open his phone and calling the police.

  Shuddering, Madeline buried her face in Harrison’s jacket accepting, as his warmth enfolded her, that she’d finally found where she belonged.

  “Strewth. I didn’t think I’d get here in time.” Voice hoarse, he nuzzled her neck. His body shook.

  Or was she shaking? Did it really matter? She pulled away a little to gaze into his face. “You really do care, don’t you?”

  “Silly sausage,” Harrison said tenderly. “Would I go to all this trouble if I didn’t?”

  “Then it really was…love at first sight,” she whispered, staring wonderingly into his glowing eyes.

  He nodded.

  “And the bet?”

  He muttered, “Love does that to a bloke, makes him do all kinds of dumb things.”

  Laying a trembling hand to the side of his face, Madeline shook her head. “I think what you did was wonderful. You saved me from myself.”

  He took her lips in a searing kiss that just about curled her dead-straight hair. When they broke apart, both breathless and smiling idiotically at each other, Harrison said, “Mum is going to love you.”

  “Matty?” She searched his face, looking for any hint of evasion. Nothing but old-fashioned honesty and love shone like a lighthouse beacon from him.

  Harrison grinned. “Mum is going to love him, too. And so will Dad. And my brothers and sisters, not to mention my cousins.”

  “Wow, that’s a lot of family.”

  “You’ll handle it, babe. You have a lot of love to give.” He folded their linked hands over her heart and winked. “And I’m just the bloke to teach you everything you need to know.”

  ~The End~

  Thank you so much for taking the time to read my novella from The Club!

  All reviews are appreciated.

  If you would like to read more from The Club series, please click on the link below:

  The Club Website

  DESIRE FOR LOVE

  Copyright © 2016 S. E. Gilchrist

  All Rights Reserved

  Suzanne Hamilton

  The right of Suzanne Hamilton writing as S. E. Gilchrist to be identified as the author has been asserted by her under the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000.

  ISBN-13: 978-0992526665

  ISBN-10: 0992526665

  Cover Design by: Paradox Promotions, Covers & Formatting

  http://bit.ly/paradoxcovers

  Editor: Deadra Krieger of Krieger Editing

  http://kriegerkreations.weebly.com/

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  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Without limiting the rights under copyright above no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organisations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author.

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  FROM THE AUTHOR:

  Again, thank you so much for taking the time to read my story Desire for Love and how Harrison broke down the barriers to claim Madeline’s heart.

  Desire for Love is part of The Club series, a multi-author, contemporary, BDSM romance collaboration. If you haven’t tried more of the stories we invite you to visit our website and facebook page.

  All honest reviews are appreciated. Reviews can help readers find books and increase a writer’s visibility. Thank you to any who have the time to let others know what you’ve read and what you thought of the book.

  If you’d like to know more about me, my books or to connect online, please visit the following links:

  Website | Amazon Author Page | Facebook

  My twitter handle is: @segilchrist1

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  BIO

  S.E. Gilchrist can't remember a time when she didn't have a book in her hand. Now she dreams up stories where her favourite words are…'what if' and 'where'? SE lives in the Hunter Valley, Australia with her family (both of the two legged and four legged kind) and several of her books have finalled in writing contests. Her stories are set in the exciting worlds of science fiction, ancient worlds, apocalyptic settings and contemporary small towns. SE takes a keen intere
st in the environment and animal welfare and loves bushwalking and reading.

  SE is published by Escape Publishing and Momentum Books and is an indie author.

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  Acknowledgements

  I would never have realised my dreams of being a writer without the motivation and support of my family, friends and the wonderful writing community, Romance Writers of Australia.

  Thank you to my face-to-face writing group for their support and generous sharing of knowledge, Hunter Romance Writers – a wonderful bunch of ladies who are just fun to be around.

  A big thank you to Deadra Krieger for her wonderful editing skills and Patti Roberts from Paradox for my lovely cover.

  Thank you to the talented Scarlett Dawn for inviting me to be part of this exciting series, The Club.