Page 116 of Sunrise

Her mouth parts a little while she stares at me. “What if…” She bristles and blows out a sigh, then attaches my leash. “What if you’re not in love with me, though?”

What the fuck?

She reads the look on my face and before I can utter a word she says, “I mean, what if this is all just a big chemical dump? Euphoria and flogging go hand-in-hand. It’s like love and eating copious amounts of chocolate.”

“I would die for you.”

She steps back. “Vault.”

“It’s true.” I erase the distance she’s put between us. “I would die for you, without hesitation. That’s not a chemical dump, Sophie. That’s love.”

“That’s dramatic.” She tries to brush my confession off like I couldn’t possibly mean it. “Knox is rubbing off on you.”

“He’d kill for you,” I say, knowing it’s true. She’s about to dismiss that too, but I hold her face and lock eyes with her. “There is nothing we will not do for you, Sunrise.Nothing. I just wish we’d known you sooner so we could have saved you.”

She pulls my hands off her face. “I saved myself.”

“Yeah, you did. And I’m so fucking proud of you for that.” Does she not understand how incredible that is?

“It doesn’t feel like I saved myself at all, though. I just… prolonged the inevitable.”

Her words land hard on my chest, making it hard to breathe. “He’s not going to hurt you again. He’s not coming back for you.”

“We don’t know that for sure.”

“That’s why I’ve already ordered new cameras I’ll be installing at your house, with a feed directly to me. And I’m putting more up at Knox’s and his club and restaurant. If anyone so much as sneezes in a way I don’t like, I’ll be able to catch and deal with them accordingly.”

Sophie’s smile is sad. “You can’t be everywhere, all the time, Vault.”

She’s right. But I’m not about to let her live in fear and always looking over her shoulder. At least Knox took care of that for me back in the day. This is the best I can do for Sophie until we find this fucker and end him for good.

“Besides…” she says. “You’re already working yourself to the ground at the club. There are only so many hours in the day.”

“And every hour, every minute, every second is yours.” Gliding my hand down the leash, I place the end of it in Sophie’s hand. “I’mallyours.”

We table the discussion for now and head out of the room, ready to spend the evening as the hottest dominating couple on the planet. At least that’s how Sophie makes me feel. The instant we step out of room twelve, her personality hardens. Confidence radiates off her and covers me. I don’t show off my body like this often. When I do, it’s for a good reason.

Sophie is one hell of a good reason.

Within an hour, she’s relaxed and laughing at the bar. The woman never lets go of my leash. I’m basically arm candy for her, which is easy for me. No talking. No flirting. No performing. I’m her guard dog, which is exactly how I fucking like it.

Tuning out the music, conversation, and white noise, I focus solely on Sophie. Her voice, her body language, the level of liquid in her glass, the coverage of her lipstick, the absence of anxiousness in her laugh, the stray hairs that fall out of her tight ponytail and curl over her right ear. The fact that her painted nails are perfect, except for one slight chip on the corner of her left pointer finger. The way the corners of her eyes crease when she smiles at another woman. Her dainty wrists that can crack a whip with expert precision.

A sheen of sweat builds across her upper lip once the club becomes packed with writhing, hot, sexed up bodies. I keep her hydrated and calm. Steady on her feet. Free to move as she wishes, while staying close to me for comfort. The slowness of it is hypnotic for me. I do nothing but focus on my woman. It’sexponentially better than watching over her from a camera feed.

She’ll occasionally glance over and tug her earlobe. I love that she uses that secret way to communicate with me.

The night passes by, uneventful, and once the members have left for the night, we walk back to her dressing room together.

“I’m dying in this thing,” she fusses. “My feet are killing me.”

I scoop her up and carry her the rest of the way.

I’m mentally and physically exhausted. I know she is, too. “Do you still want to go to Knox’s tonight?”

She takes too long to answer.

“We don’t have to go. Don’t feel pressured. I’m sure he’s just as tired as we are and will understand if you’d rather…” Looking down, my heart nearly explodes when I see her curled against me, her mouth slightly open while she’s passed the fuck out.

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