Page 42 of His to Keep
She snorts. “We all know who runs that office.”
I run a hand through my hair, sighing. I’m not in the mood to talk about Wesley. I want to know exactly what the fuck happened this morning. But I also don’t want to push her. The last thing I want is to make her feel even worse, especially now that she’s starting to get some of her color back.
She takes a sip of her tea, then looks up at me, blue eyes wide and worried. “I’m in trouble,” she whispers, then frowns. “Well, maybe we both are. I don’t really know. How powerful is he? Maybe people won’t listen to him. I just don’t—”
“Hey.” I reach out to cup her cheek, wanting to stop the stream of babble coming from her mouth. “Take a breath, baby. Tell me what happened. You know there’s no trouble I won’t fix for you, right?”
Her eyes look wet for a second, but she blinks it away.
“That man we met at the club on Friday,” she whispers. “He approached Aden for this deal on purpose.”
I snort. “I suppose rats like Roth have their uses to some people.”
She shakes her head quickly. “No, Luke. He approached Aden because of me.”
A burst of possessiveness shoots through me. “What do you have to do with Roth’s business?”
“Nothing.” She winces. “This man—Henry Scott—he’s been to the club before. Some other member did the same thing Aden tried to do a few months ago. He brought Scott to Wyld to try to impress him…and they saw me.”
The hot rage in me chills as my belly fills with ice. “They saw you…doing what?”
She sighs. “It was a scene. With Aden and two other female subs. We…” she closes her eyes. “I don’t want to describe it. Is that okay?”
It sounds like pure torture to hear her describe a scene with Roth. Particularly one that makes her look so ill. I’m already struggling not to tie her to my bed for safe keeping while I go back and smash Roth’s face.
“You don’t have to tell me.”
She gives me a tight, relieved smile, but it doesn’t last. “According to Aden, Scott saw this scene and took an interest in me. That’s why he approached Aden about this deal—he wanted an excuse to come back to the club.”
“With you,” I murmur, feeling sick. “He approached Roth for the deal to get to you.”
She looks as sick as I feel. “Apparently he knows enough about Aden to know he would have no problem lending me out if it benefited him.”
Did I say I wanted to kill Roth? Because slow and painful castration is sounding better and better.
“I’m sorry he told you that,” I murmur, brushing some hair out of her eyes. “You don’t deserve to be treated like—”
She grasps my hand, shaking her head with wide eyes. “No, Luke. That’s not all.” She swallows. “He told me if I didn’t agree to…” she winces again. I don’t need her to say it. “He said it will cost him the deal. And if that happens, he’s going to contact my father.”
I frown. “Roth knows your father?”
She sighs. “He knows of my father.” She looks up at me, so much fear in her eyes. “My father is Timothy Fields.”
I blink at her for a long moment. “Your father is Tim Fields. The United States senator?”
She nods, looking miserable. “Aden has pictures. Videos. He said—”
“I don’t give a shit what he said,” I explode. “You cannot be thinking of going along with this. It doesn’t matter who your father is or what Roth has. You’re not doing it. I forbid—”
A spark of anger flashes in her eyes. I’m not even upset to see her annoyance directed at me. I’ll take on every ounce of her rage if it keeps her from looking so scared and broken.
“You forbid it? You don’t get to forbid me from doing anything.”
“Really?” I raise an eyebrow. “Perhaps I didn’t fully explain the rules this weekend.” I lean toward her. “You’re mine, Rebecca.”
She rolls her eyes. She actually rolls her eyes at me. I’ve paddled subs for lesser offensives. So why do I have to fight the smile that wants to rise when Rebecca does it? I like her challenging me, I realize. That doesn’t mean I won’t spank her for this later, but I have to admit, her fire is a huge turn on.
But now her expression is shifting to hurt, and I definitely don’t like that. “You actually thought I would do it?” she whispers. “You thought I would allow Aden to lend me out for his business? That I would give myself over to a stranger just to protect my reputation?”
