Page 198 of Damaged Mogul
I frown.
“I’m not much of a turn the other cheek kinda guy. You hurt me or anyone I care for, you’ll live to regret it.”
“What did you do?” My question is cautious.
A storm whirls in his eyes. “Between my contacts, the contacts of my inner circle, and the long list of high rollers Larkin knows, I made sure Judson couldn’t get a job in the entertainment industry in LA, New York, and Miami. For goodmeasure, I extended my reach to London, Ireland, Australia, and North Hollywood––Vancouver and Toronto. Unless he was gifted with the ability to learn a new language at light speed, I had destroyed his career.”
“He could’ve ended up being a news anchor in a small market.”
“The stations in small markets from coast to coast are owned by bigger fish. I had that covered.”
Don’t ever get on Gage Hollingsworth’s bad side.
“Did you do the same for Hartley?”
“I didn’t have to. Her show got cancelled not long after Mom’s death. The last I heard, she moved to Wisconsin to be with Judson. That’s where he’s from. As long as they were nowhere near LA, I didn’t care.”
A long beat passes between us.
Gage’s gaze meets mine. His expression is like granite. “I regret not hiring a PI when Mom––”
“You didn’t know.”
“I should’ve listened to my gut. My instincts never failed me in business. Yet, when I needed them most, they did. There was something that irked me about the way he was so friendly with Hartley when they first met. And it had nothing to do with jealousy—I wasn’t in love with Hartley and never felt territorial about her. The bachelor party was another episode that had my hackles rising. Again, I ignored my intuition. I promised Dad I’d keep Mom safe, and I failed.” He furrows his brow and presses his lips into a tight line. “The warning signs were there, as bright as neon signs, but I ignored them. For years, I blamed myself for my mother’s death.”
An ache blooms in my chest.
I love his strength, his commitment to the oath he took with his father, and his protective nature. But he has to stop with the self-flagellation.
I bring his hands to my lips and kiss them.
The sadness in his eyes is overwhelming.
It shatters me.
I inhale a deep breath for courage. “Judson and Hartley are the guilty ones. Not you, Gage.”
“My punishment for sleeping at the wheel was to cut out pleasure from my life.” He keeps talking as if I didn’t say anything. “So, back to your question––”
“Which one?”
“I went on for so long, you forgot the question that initiated all this rambling.”
“I’m so sorry,” I say. “I was so taken by your heartbreaking story.”
“You asked me about the comment Larkin made at the club.”
I slap my forehead with the palm of my hand. “Sorry. Yes.”
“When I’ve visited Dark Compulsion in the past, it was either as a voyeur in one of the Peek-a-boo rooms, watching more risqué couples get down and dirty in the main party room, or hookup with an orally obsessed member.”
I scrunch up my nose. “What’s that entail?”
“Some female members get off giving blowjobs while taking matters into their own hands when it comes to their own pleasure.”
My eyes widen. “They’re nothing more than a willing mouth? Giving without receiving?”
“I was riddled with survivor guilt. I couldn’t offer much more than that. I never led them on. I was always forthcoming. Since I went out of my way to avoid intimacy, I never undressed. I only pulled out my cock. And the hookups took place on the main floor.”
