by Delta James
“That’s my good girl,” he purred. “No, Ms. Matthews will be fine with me, provided she drops the attitude and behaves herself.”
Just as Roark was closing the door, there was a light tap, and he admitted Felix into the room.
He looked around conspiratorially and lowered his voice, “Are we expecting trouble, sir?”
“I don’t mean to be rude, Felix, but Roark’s told me you and DSI Holmes are aware that until recently, you only existed in the pages of my books. Can I ask you something?”
“Of course you can, Sage, anything at all.”
“Do you know you don’t look at all like I described you in the book?”
He chuckled. “Yes, and I am grateful for that. Poor Holmes still got stuck with the name you gave him.”
“It was supposed to just be a joke for readers.”
“Yes, Pet, but unfortunately, the DSI is the butt of your joke.”
“I’ll apologize the next time I see him.” Suddenly curious, she asked, “Are all the characters in the books sentient?”
“Not all. The only one you haven’t met is Eddy…”
Sage brightened. “Edouard? The hacker? He exists? Is he here?”
“No, he’s still inside the book, but we can communicate with him,” Felix answered. “You captured his personality completely. He doesn’t want to come out.”
“As for trouble, I rather imagine it’s already here, despite Sage’s inability to do as she’s told to keep herself safe.”
Felix chuckled. “I rather suspect now that you’re here, that will change.” He dropped his voice back to a whisper, “You wouldn’t know anything about that killer they found, would you?”
“He was trying to kill Sage,” Roark said dismissively. “I’ve called Holmes and let him know.”
“Thus, why they found the body. I take it Sage will remain here with you?” Felix looked over at her. “You couldn’t be in safer hands, you know.”
“Yes, I know,” she said. It still fascinated her that she was actually talking to one of her characters. This must be a dream or a coma. Any minute she expected the theme from the Twilight Zone to start playing.
“Did you know Roark would be able to get out when you moved me to the suite I described as his?” she asked.
“I knew he was planning to try. It was curious to both Holmes and me that we found ourselves here, yet something was blocking Roark’s escape.”
“And yes, Felix, Sage will be here with me from now on.”
“Yes, Sir. I’ll see that the hotel extends her every courtesy,” Felix offered before leaving the room.
Roark removed the cloches. “Eggs benedict, bagels and lox, strawberry blintzes, broiled grapefruit, scalloped potatoes, and bacon… lots and lots of bacon.”
She grinned. “If I’m not careful, between you and Felix, I’m going to be the size of a blimp. I didn’t see a lot of that on any of the menus.”
“They only prepare this kind of specialized thing for special guests… just like in The Corpse Stalked the Dawn.”
“I need to wake up. Seriously, this is weird,” she said to herself.
“What you need, little girl, is to sit down and have something to eat.”
“I’m not really hungry… and I’d prefer to limit having to sit down this morning.”
Roark chuckled. “You may use a couple of pillows, but you will eat either sitting on the pillows or impaled on my cock.”
She felt the blood drain from her face, knowing that he wasn’t making a joke or an idle threat.
“So, you know something about the man who tried to kill me?” she asked, crossing the room and grabbing an extra pillow to sit on while at the dining table.
“Not much. He was an assassin for hire, but not a particularly good one. Think! Have you written something in a book I don’t know about? Have you crossed anyone? Any threatening mail?” he said, joining her at the table so they could share their first meal.
“No. Honestly, Roark, I have no idea why that guy tried to kill me.”
“What about the threatening letters? The shots fired at you? The hanging body? You don’t think that’s important to consider?” Roark said, annoyed.
“How do you know about those?”
“Anything that came across your computer before I got out, I’ve seen.”
“Couldn’t he just be a random sociopath looking to get his rocks off?” she asked hopefully.
“The man wasn’t a sociopath. He was a hired killer who wouldn’t go after you without being paid. So, we need to find out who wants you dead.”
“I hope that scowl isn’t directed at me,” she said quietly.
He chuckled. Sage was falling in love with the sound of his voice as well as his touch, his arrogance, and his protective nature. The fact was, she was fast losing her heart to her own creation. Was he right? Had she created him to fulfill her own fantasies?
“Not unless you played with yourself in the shower.”
She leaned across the table. “No, I was Daddy’s good girl.”
“The scowl is because when I was in the book, I could directly connect with other systems. I’m going to go back through your emails and financials. Now I have to either use your laptop or print them out.”
“What do you mean, back through?”
He stood up and kissed the top of her head. “Baby girl, there isn’t much about your life I don’t already know. If it’s ever been electronic, I’ve seen it. Besides, keeping secrets from me will get you spanked so fast, it’ll spin your head around.”
She laughed. “I have written so many scenes where you said that to heroines, and the mere words made butterflies go off in their bellies. I never thought it was true. I mean, I read the literature, and I’ve been to a couple of clubs, but…”
“You, my sweet girl, have always wanted to be submissive.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head, “I haven’t. I’ve always been a feminist, never wanted to answer to anyone.”
“That’s what you tell the world, but when you pleasure yourself, you long for a dominant man to take charge, to watch over you, to care for you, to demand the best of you, to enforce his will over yours…”
“No,” she whispered, frightened it might be true.
“Then why, oh why, little girl, did you write me to fulfill every fantasy you’ve ever had? It’s all right, Sage. I’m here now.”
“But what happens if you disappear just as quickly?” she asked, acknowledging her true fear.
“That won’t happen,” he said with confidence backed by a will of iron. “And if it did, I would move heaven and earth to return to you in the flesh. I’ve been with you many times. I’ve spent more than one night between your legs, having you to my heart’s content.”
“No… you mean those dreams…”
“Were the mere remnants of the time we spent together. I was as much a captive of my fate as you. I had planned to try to come through last night when I knew the veils between the two worlds would be at its thinnest. So, when your life was in peril, the need to protect and save you from your own foolishness gave me the strength to break free. Now that I have had a taste of the reality that is you, can you not imagine what I would do to remain with you? To revel in the exquisite carnal and other pleasures I find in your arms and between your thighs? As I was able to do so before, believe me when I tell you… nothing will keep me from your side.”
“Promise?” she said in a small voice filled with longing and need.
He smiled. “I do indeed, and neither the badass Roark nor Daddies ever break their promises. While I’m reviewing things, why don’t you start your next novel?”
“What do I write? I mean, you, at least as Roark, don’t exist anymore, and I don’t know if I’m going to like the guy who replaced you. Even if I could write you, I don’t think I could write you with other women,” she said, knowing she was babbling.
“That makes me happy to hear that. I like your idea about the wolf shifters who have
packs with vineyards all along the Pacific Coast of the States. Why don’t you write that?”
He made himself comfortable at the desk, spreading out a great many papers to study while Sage set herself up with her laptop.
Roark poured over all the financial data available. He looked over to see Sage frantically pounding the keyboard in a way she hadn’t in years.
“Having fun, Pet?”
She looked up, grinning. “Yes. My readers are going to love this.”
“I’m going down to chat with Felix. I’d like to get Eddy working on this and see if he knows a more efficient way to go over all this financial data.”
“Do you think there’s something wrong with it?”
“Yes, but I can’t tell you why. It just seems off. I’m not a finance man for the most part, but I keep thinking I should be able to make the numbers add up… and they don’t. I’m hoping Eddy or The Yard’s forensic accounting unit can get a better handle on them. I’d also like a word with Gabriel Waverly.”
Sage smiled. “Jealous?”
“Not really. I know how you feel about me, but I also know you were very attracted to Waverly. I just want to thank him for his help and ensure he knows you are most definitely not available.” He started toward the door and then stopped and turned back. “Sage?”
“Yes?”
“How acrimonious was your split from Gail Vincent?”
“She wasn’t happy, but she wouldn’t let me write anything but you.”
“Was that the only reason you left?”
“Mostly. Why do you ask?” she said, closing the laptop and swiveling in the chair.
“It comes back to the financials. As I say, I can’t really put my finger on it, but it doesn’t seem to add up the way I think it should.”
“You know, I asked her about that once and she told me the formulas were too complicated.”
“Nothing about financials should be complicated unless it’s set up that way to deliberately confuse and deceive someone looking at them. Go back to work, take a nap, or watch television. I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Ok,” she said absently and turned back to her laptop. “I might pop downstairs to the third floor for a swim.”
“Really? And how would you expect to do that without opening the door to our suite or leaving the room?”
“Seriously? Come on, Roark, it’s the Savoy, for heaven’s sake. What could happen?”
Roark walked back to her and leaned against the table.
“I knew that when I made the rule. Break the rule, little girl, and I can assure you won’t like the consequences.” He chuckled. “That’s not completely true. You won’t like part of your punishment, and you really won’t like that you like the rest. Keep in mind what I said about my taking your ass for the first time with you sporting a set of welts when I’m pissed. Don’t do it.”
Kissing the top of her head and leaving her in their room, Roark walked briskly down the hall and took the lift down to the main floor. He asked the front desk to find Felix since he wasn’t at his usual post. He was still a bit surprised when the staff seemed to know people who, until last night, had only existed on the pages of Sage’s books. Before Felix could be located, Gabriel Waverly approached him.
“Roark, I’m glad you’re back.”
“As am I. I wanted to personally thank you for your assistance in keeping Sage safe.”
The tall blond chuckled. “Not as well as I would have liked. She’s not very good at following directions, is she?”
Roark smiled. “She has her moments. For the most part, she minds me, but then I provide her with the structure and support she needs.”
“I understand. I must say when I first met her, I was unaware you had given up your womanizing ways or that Sage was attached to you.”
“I have, and she is,” Roark said in a steely tone. “When a man finds a rare woman of Sage’s fire and passion, he would be a fool not to do everything in his power to make her his.”
“Yes, Holmes said something very similar. But should she ever seek shelter elsewhere…”
“She won’t.”
“Mr. Samuels,” Felix hailed from across the lobby. “How may I be of assistance?”
Roark faced off with the Head of Security, the men taking the measure of the other as Felix joined them.
“Well, I’m sure Sage is safe with you. Should you need my assistance, please let me know,” Waverly said.
Roark inclined his head as Gabe turned back toward his office.
“Felix, what were you thinking, allowing that man to get close to Sage,” he snarled.
“I didn’t know if you’d be able to pierce the veil, and I wanted her safe.”
“Of course, forgive me. I find I’m a bit more overly protective of Sage than I had counted on. Let’s you and I go for a walk.”
“Do you think we can leave the hotel? I told them my flat was being painted, so I’ve been staying here. I’m a bit concerned about being away from whatever may be anchoring us to this place.”
“I don’t think it’s an issue. I was down by the Thames, and Holmes has been going between here, the yard, and his home.”
“Odd feeling, isn’t it?” Felix dropped his voice. “Knowing until just recently, we only existed on the pages of Sage’s books?”
“What I’m finding fascinating is everyone seems to know us.”
“I agree,” he said, smiling as they walked outside. “How can I help?”
“As you know, someone tried to have killed Sage last night. I need to figure out who. Trying to access the dark web from out here is a lot more difficult than when I was inside and connected.”
“Eddy should be able to help.”
“So, you can communicate with him as well and vice versa?”
“Yes. He managed to stay in the book, but I’ve been able to reach out. What is it you need, Roark?”
“Everything he can find on an American publisher, Gail Vincent, and the hired killer.”
“Do you think your need to protect her allowed all of us to leave her books?”
“Probably. It’s weird, though, isn’t it?”
Felix smiled. “Very. I’ll see what Eddy can find.”
Chapter 9
Roark headed back to their room, smiling at how quickly he had accepted not only his new reality, but sharing his life and everything in it with Sage. He wondered if she had any idea the depth of his feelings for her. Since she no longer wrote his dialogue, he hoped he would be able to find the words. Thinking of her waiting for him made his cock stiffen. If she wanted to go swimming, he’d take her down tonight after it was closed, and they’d go skinny dipping. She could be his personal mermaid. Between now and then, he meant to take her back to bed and have at her. God, he was like a randy schoolboy.
Stepping into the lift, he looked at the buttons. Their suite was on the sixth floor, but he feared if he went all the way up, he would find the room empty. Hoping against hope, he pushed the button for the third floor. He knew her sometimes better than she knew herself. He entered the atrium that housed the pool. It was empty save for a lone swimmer. He stealthily approached the end of the pool she was swimming toward.
When she reached the end of the pool, Roark grasped the top of her head so she couldn’t see who it was or break the surface. He pushed down, preventing her from coming up for air or swimming away. Sage’s hands flailed. He could almost feel her panic and desperation as she tried to break free. He held her under the water long enough to scare her, but not long enough to hurt her. When he released her head, he grabbed her by the ponytail she had used to pull her hair back and hauled her above the surface of the water.
Waiting until she saw it was him and she had placed her feet on the bottom of the pool, he silently dragged her toward the steps and helped her out of the pool. He handed her a towel and started back toward their room without releasing his hold or saying a word. The minute the door to their suite latched behind them, he let go and propelled her towa
rd the bed.
“I can explain,” she started.
“So can I. You thought you’d just do what you wanted with no thought to your safety or the rules. The first isn’t unexpected, but I’d thought I’d made more of an impression on you. I will correct that and ensure you understand the depth of my displeasure with your behavior. Strip.”
“Roark…”
“Strip, Sage. Now,” he commanded.
He watched the struggle play across her features. She was at war with herself. He knew part of her desperately wanted to submit, but it battled with the part of her that had convinced herself that it was wrong to do so.
He battled as well. He would have preferred for this early time together to be more about whispered words, promises, and assurances that everything would be fine and that he would keep her safe. Unfortunately, his pet was proving to be tenacious and unruly. She needed to learn to follow the rules, regardless of whether she wanted to or not.
“You broke the rules and put yourself in danger, didn’t you?”
“It’s a stupid rule. I’m perfectly safe here at the Savoy.”
“Are you forgetting someone hired a professional killer to end your life? Do you think he wouldn’t have killed you here at the Savoy if you’d brought him back to your bed?”
“No, I didn’t forget, and I didn’t bring him back here to fuck,” she said heatedly.
“No, you were quite prepared to let him fuck you under a bridge.”
That silenced her.
“That’s really not relevant to this discussion,” she said.
“You’re right. The only salient point to our discussion is you disobeyed me, knowing full well what the consequences would be, didn’t you?”
“Well, yes, but I just wanted to swim.”
“No, that isn’t it at all. What you wanted was to see if you could disobey me and not have me punish you. Guess what, Pet? I would never disappoint you. Avoiding a punishment when you have willfully disobeyed me is not going to happen. More to the point, you don’t want it to, do you?”
Tears began to well in her eyes, and she shook her head.
