by Force, Marie
In the lobby, I press the button for the elevator and take it up one floor to the main entrance to the Quantum office building. Most of the people who work here have no idea what’s in the basement. When the doors open, Rafe is facing away from me, looking out at the parking lot.
“Hey.”
“Why’d you want to meet here?” He turns to face me, his eyes widening when he sees me in the silky robe and heels. “Is this some sort of office fantasy or something?”
“Not quite.” I extend my hand to him. “Will you come with me and keep an open mind?” He’s absolutely beautiful, with thick wavy dark hair and brilliant blue eyes that crinkle at the corners when he smiles, which is often when we’re together.
He seems hesitant, but he takes my hand, links our fingers and kisses the back of my hand. “I shall happily follow wherever you lead, darling.”
Now imagine that said in a sexy French accent. I’m not one to swoon, but that accent does it for me.
He watches as I place my palm on the scanner that opens the elevator to the basement. “This all very cloak and dagger,” he says as we descend.
“Not really.”
We step out of the elevator, and the first thing we encounter is a reception desk. “This is where I have to ask you to sign a nondisclosure agreement that says you won’t disclose anything you see here.”
“Seriously?”
“Very seriously. If you need a minute to review it, I’m happy to wait.”
Giving me an odd look, he takes the pen I hand him, scans the NDA that spells out the lengths the Quantum partners will go to in order to defend the privacy of everyone who steps foot in our clubs and then scrawls his signature on the line provided. “What’s this all about, Marlowe?”
“Come with me, and I’ll show you.”
Taking him by the hand, I lead him through the double doors with our distinctive Q logo etched into the glass. To the casual observer, the big room we enter might be mistaken for a nightclub, especially now, when there’s no one else here. On a regular night, the place would be pulsing with people, energy and sexual tension. Scenes would be unfolding on the three stages, and potential partners would be negotiating hard and soft limits in the various seating areas and at the bar.
“What is this place?”
“Club Quantum.”
“How have I never heard of it?” Before we met, he’d been active in the LA club scene when he was in town.
“Because it’s private.”
“Still, with you and your illustrious partners involved, how does it stay a secret?”
“You read the NDA. That’s how.”
The face he makes indicates his skepticism that even an airtight NDA can keep the lid on anything in this day and age, and perhaps he’s right. Didn’t we learn that when Jasper was blackmailed?
On the far side of the big room, I place my hand on another scanner that opens the door to the dungeon. As we descend the stairs, I begin to feel seriously nervous. Am I doing the right thing? Will he understand? What if he doesn’t? Can I stay with him if he doesn’t get this or doesn’t even try to get it?
Don’t get ahead of yourself. One step at a time. You’ve done this before, and it’s been fine.
Rafe stops short at the entrance to the dungeon. “Holy shit. Are you fucking kidding me?”
“You promised to keep an open mind.” A trickle of unease travels down my backbone as I begin to wonder if I’ve seriously miscalculated.
He strides over to the table where I set out the implements of my craft and picks up the flogger, turning to me, his brow lifted and his mouth set in an expression I haven’t seen before. “What the hell is this, Marlowe?”
I normally love the melodic way he says my name, but there’s no melody to it now. There’s something that frightens me as I realize that no one except for him knows where I am or what I had planned for tonight. Not even my assistant, Leah, who always knows where I am. As he stalks toward me, his blue eyes blazing with anger, I take a step back, furious with myself for being so stupid. I’m thirty-five years old. I should know better by now than to ever put myself at the mercy of a man.
Ugh, they’re usually at my mercy, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Stop.” I hold up my hand to keep him from coming any closer to me. He doesn’t stop. “Rafe, I mean it. Take a pause.”
“Don’t tell me what to do when you’re springing this kinky bullshit on me months into our relationship.” A vein in his forehead bulges as he spews harsh words at me. “Why didn’t you tell me before now that you want to be tied up and flogged and whatever else?”
He’s spitting mad, and I’m trying to figure out why as I think about what I should say.
“Marlowe! What the fuck? You owe me an explanation!”
This is why Flynn and the others don’t like him. They could see he had this in him while I was too busy being besotted to see beyond the glossy surface, the French words of love and the romance of it all.
He’s played me for a fool, and the only thing I want now is to get as far away from him as I possibly can. Immediately.
“I’m sorry, Rafe. Obviously, I’ve made a mistake, and I’ll understand if you’d rather not see me again.”
“Not see you again? Is that what you think is going to happen here?”
“I’m not comfortable with the way you’re behaving.”
He doesn’t like that, and I quickly realize I’ve only made him angrier.
“Isn’t that rich, darling? You’re not comfortable with the way I’m behaving. After spending months together, you decide to show me you’re a kinky whore and you don’t like the way I’m behaving?” He lowers his voice. “You want me to beat you before I fuck you, is that it?”
“No,” I whisper. “That’s not it at all.”
“Then please illuminate me, because I don’t get it.”
The rebellious part of me, the part that fought and clawed her way to success in one of the toughest businesses in the world, rears up inside me. Fuck this shit. “I’m a Dominatrix. I wanted to beat you before I let you fuck me, but that’s not what I want anymore. What I really want now is for you to get the fuck out of here and never contact me again.”
His shock is apparent in the way his face loses all color and his lips go tight before he speaks again in a much lower tone. “That’s it? After everything we’ve shared, you’re going to dismiss me like I’m some kind of servant?”
“I’m asking you to leave.”
“Fuck you if you think you’re going to treat me like I’m nothing.” He moves so quickly, I don’t see it coming until my head snaps back and hits the wall behind me and my face explodes in pain that rattles my teeth. Then he grabs my hair and drags me across the room. I fight him with everything I’ve got, but I’m no match against him physically. He outweighs me by seventy pounds.
Before things go from bad to worse, I have the presence of mind to realize I’m in big, big trouble.
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Other Books By Marie Force
Love Always Boxed Set, First Books in Four of Marie’s Bestselling Series
The Quantum Series
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Book 1: Virtuous
(Flynn & Natalie)
Book 2: Valorous
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Book 3: Victorious
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Book 4: Rapturous
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Book 5: Ravenous
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Book 6: Delirious
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Book 7: Outrageous
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Book 8: Famous
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Box Set 2, Books 4-6
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Gansett Island Boxed Set, Books 10-12
Gansett Island Boxed Set, Books 13-16
Gansett Island Boxed Set, Books 1-10.5
Gansett Island Boxed Set, Books 1-16
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Book 2: Fool for Love
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Book 3: Ready for Love
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Book 4: Falling for Love
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Book 5: Hoping for Love
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Book 6: Season for Love
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Book 7: Longing for Love
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Book 8: Waiting for Love
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Book 9: Time for Love
(David & Daisy)
Book 10: Meant for Love
(Jenny & Alex)
Book 10.5: Chance for Love, A Gansett Island Novella (Jared & Lizzie)
Book 11: Gansett After Dark
(Owen & Laura)
Book 12: Kisses After Dark
(Shane & Katie)
Book 13: Love After Dark
(Paul & Hope)
Book 14: Celebration After Dark
(Big Mac & Linda)
Book 15: Desire After Dark
(Slim & Erin)
Book 16: Light After Dark
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Book 17: Victoria & Shannon (Episode 1)
Book 18: Kevin & Chelsea (Episode 2)
A Gansett Island Christmas Novella
Book 19: Mine After Dark
(Riley & Nikki)
Book 20: Yours After Dark
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Book 21: Trouble After Dark
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The Green Mountain Series
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Book 1: All You Need Is Love
(Will & Cameron)
Book 2: I Want to Hold Your Hand
(Nolan & Hannah)
Book 3: I Saw Her Standing There
(Colton & Lucy)
Book 4: And I Love Her
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Novella: You'll Be Mine
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Book 5: It's Only Love
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Book 6: Ain’t She Sweet
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The Butler, Vermont Series
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Book 1: Every Little Thing
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Book 3: Here Comes the Sun
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Book 4: Till There Was You
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Book 2: Marking Time
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One Year Home
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The Fatal Series
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One Night With You, A Fatal Series Prequel Novella
Book 1: Fatal Affair
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About the Author
Marie Force is the New York Times bestselling author of contemporary romance, including the indie-published Gansett Island Series and the Fatal Series from Harlequin Books. In addition, she is the author of the Butler, Vermont Series, the Green Mountain Series and the erotic romance Quantum Series. Duchess By Deception is the first in her new historical romance Gilded Series, that will continue with Deceived By Desire in September 2019.
Her books have sold more than 8.5 million copies worldwide, have been translated into more than a dozen languages and have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list 30 times. She is also a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller, a Speigel bestseller in Germany, a frequent speaker and publishing workshop presenter as well as a publisher through her Jack’s House Publishing romance imprint. She is a three-time nominee for the Romance Writers of America’s RITA® award for romance fiction.
Her goals in life are simple—to finish raising two happy, healthy, productive young adults, to keep writing books for as long as she possibly can and to never be on a flight that makes the news.
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