Page 85 of Sunrise

“How do you think, Mistress?” Knox pops a tater tot in his mouth. “By giving you control during a time when you feel like you have none.”

They smile at the same time, and my fork clanks when it falls from my grip. I’m keeping secrets from them. They know it. And they are still willing to give me the honor of being their Domme for my benefit instead of theirs.

I don’t deserve this. I should decline the offer. I should tell the truth. I should run.

I need to get a grip. I need to… “I would like that very much.”

Vault rolls his shoulders back. “Then let’s get started.”

Chapter 27

Vault

There are several pieces of the Sophie puzzle I’m able to infer with the little she’s shared. Her behavior makes a lot more sense now. Spending so much time at the club and work means she’s home very little. The way she keeps this place like a fortress and yet is so easily spooked speaks volumes about her not trusting her surroundings when she’s alone. Again, just another reason she’s at the club all the time. There’s no getting past security there. And if, by some wild chance, someone slips through our cracks—which has happened, because hello Daelyn—we take care of them swiftly.

It might be a far stretch, but I also find it interesting that Knox’s paranoia about that food critic could possibly be linked to Sophie, too. Max Born being one of her favorite scientists? The thumb tapping thing? The power play Knox mentioned. It might not be related, but until I know every fucking detail of every fucking thing, I’m not ruling it out.

“You’re staying with me,” I announce while everyone eats the breakfast Knox made. “When you’re done eating, pack your things.”

“I’m not doing that.” She pushes her empty plate away. “Absolutely not.”

Her rejection stings like a bitch. “Then you’re staying with Knox.”

“No, I’m not. I don’t stay at my sub’s houses.”

“Since when?” Knox tosses back defensively.

“Wow. Is that all we really are to you, Sophie?”

Her cheeks turn red. “What more did you want to be?”

Damn. In the five minutes it’s taken her to finish her breakfast, she’s gone from antsy and scared to cold and aloof. What the actual fuck?

I can sense Knox is about to out us and tell her we’re in love with her, so I stop him. Squeezing his arm, I’m holding granite. He’s already so fucking tense it’s crazy.

If she doesn’t want us to be more than just her subs, our original plan of romancing the hell out of her needs to be tossed. And if I’m reading this whole thing wrong, I’ll change course when the time comes. Right now, this woman needs safety and control. Not roses and candlelit dinners.

“We’ll stay at the club,” she states. “I think it’s safest and best that way.”

“Do you now?” Knox shifts on the balls of feet. “Did you feel safe when you slammed that panic button?”

Jesus, Knox. Way to go, kicking her when she’s down.

He’s got a point, though.

They glower at each other, forcing me to jump into damage control.

“We’ll go wherever you say, Mistress.” I slap Knox upside his head. “If you want to stay at the Monarch, so be it.”

It’s probably best that way. We have all the tools we need there, plus the bump in security. The onlyreal hurdle is Knox’s comfort level, which hopefully won’t be a problem now that he and I are on the same page with things. That closure he gave me was the key to moving us forward. I know I’m not healed completely, that will still take time, and I have a lot of hurdles to jump, but my rage over that fucker’s death has completely vanished. I won’t ask Knox for the details. I trust that if he says it was painful and slow, he wouldn’t disappoint me.

I think the key concept is what’s driving me to do what’s best for Sophie and ultimately, all three of us. I may have propositioned her to be my Domme so I could get comfortable with certain sexual acts enough to fight for Knox’s heart again, but she’s become a million times more important to me than just a woman with a strap-on and a whip. Knox feels the same. He wouldn’t be standing here if he didn’t love her, too.

“How is this going to work, then?” I cross my arms. “We just temporarily live at the Monarch?”

She shrugs.

“Ryker won’t like it.”

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