Page 72 of Enthrall Ecstasy
I motioned for Rue to come toward us. She rose and scurried over to Cole, kneeling before him.
“Look at your master,” he ordered.
I went to correct him. “She’s not my—”
“We are assessing your suitability, Ms. Asher,” he said, ignoring me. “Under the watch of an elite master.”
“Sir, did you just say Enthrall is closed?” she said, glancing at me with uncertainty.
“To the public, yes,” Cameron replied. “For now.”
Rue’s frown deepened.
Silence lingered; long enough to cause her to fidget.
“I’m ready,” she said.
“You’re not ready for me, Rumer Katy Asher,” he said, his tone sinister.
She tried to read his meaning.
Cameron walked over to a chair and sat, leaning back and crossing one long leg over another. “Let’s go back to the beginning. All the way back to your childhood.”
“Wait.” Rue pushed to her feet. “What is this?” She looked from him to me and then back to him. “What’s happening?”
Cameron was unfazed. “Our first session.”
“Like therapy?”
“What were you expecting?” he said.
She blushed. “I don’t see why this is necessary.”
“It’s all relevant, Ms. Asher,” he said.
“I don’t need a psychiatrist,” she blurted out. “I need a place that respects me. Respects my desires…without judging.”
Cole uncrossed his legs and leaned forward. “Interesting.”
She looked uncertain.
His gaze narrowed. “You left Pendulum under questionable circumstances.”
Rue glanced at me for support.
“You broke the rules,” he said coldly. “Changed your mind? Let down your master.”
“Well, I…”
“Why should we trust you?” he added. “Here at Enthrall?”
She swallowed. “I did leave Pendulum under unusual circumstances.”
Cameron frowned. “So you’re banned from Pendulum?”
She shot a desperate glance my way, silently begging me to defend her.
Rue could reveal I’d visited Pendulum. That she’d met me there. That it had been me who’d removed her.
