Page 36 of Her Double Desire

“Didn't you realize by now that he's a broody type?”

Water runs in the bathroom.He's taking a shower.“No, something is wrong. It's like he's worried about something.”

He folds his arms behind his head, watching the ceiling. “Who knows.”

Biting my bottom lip, I work through the bundle of thoughts tumbling in my mind. I have so many of them.Is he worried about me not being good enough for his boss?“Joanna mentioned that Oliver released the last two slaves he'd bought. Why would he do that?”

Shawn crinkles his nose. “It's complicated.”

“Try me.”

He looks torn between spanking me or being amused. “You're lucky I'm too tired to reprimand you for your attitude.”

“Sorry, but please, will you explain? Does it have anything to do with... Luna?”

His smile fades; he looks back at the ceiling. “Jared told you about her.”

“This morning, yeah.”

“How much did he say?”

Unsure what he's alluding to, I study his face for a hint. He's too good at slipping his emotions behind a wall, though. “Stuff about her cheating on Oliver, that's about it.”

He holds my stare. Apparently satisfied, he drums his fingertips on his cheek. “The first girl Oliver bought, I think it was too close, time wise, to what had happened with Luna. He hadn't gotten over her yet. Tensions got pretty high, he pushed that slave harder than she was okay with.”

My pulse begins racing uneasily. “Did he hurt her?”

Shawn considers me from the corner of his eye. “Not exactly, but I've never seen him so eager to lash out at another person. Jared and I talked it over, and we suggested he pay off her contract fees, send her on her way, and purchase someone more fitting to his... new tastes. But the next one wasn't any better.”

I'm listening with rapt attention, but my mind keeps wandering back to the fact that the guy I'm supposed to be preparing myself to be enslaved to has “newly” violent urges.

He sighs, then says, “Oliver felt so guilty about how he behaved with the first girl, that he pulled way back with the second. He acted like her sugar daddy instead of a master. She even made him buy her a house in the Bay area. That time Jared stepped in, and unlike the first slave, Oliver had his lawyers dismantle this contract. The girl had to sell her house to pay back the debt.”

Now I understand why he and Jared had emphasized that Oliver could, and would, destroy my contract if I made any mistakes.

“I can tell you're worried,” Shawn says, “But don't be.” The lamp-light dances over his shoulder, highlighting the lines of his muscles. It's a lovely sight. “The way things are going, you...” He stops himself, like he just realized something serious.

“Sir?” I ask gently.

Shaking himself, he puts on a fresh smile, but it doesn't reach his eyes. It's plastic in every way. “You're perfect, Veronica. Oliver is going to be very happy.”

He isn't lying.

But I wish I knew why he sounded so miserable.

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