Page 34 of Sinful Lies
Chapter 21
Dia
My stomach rumblesand I open my eyes. I scan the room I’m in trying to get my bearings. When I roll over, I find Reed fully dressed in a pair of tight jeans, a black tee-shirt and his vest, sitting in the corner chair watching me. A smile crosses my face. He’s spectacular. The muscles on his body are amazing and the way he owned me last night was something out of a fantasy. Dominating. Greedy. So, fucking fantastic, I’m wet just thinking about it. I drag the sheet up over my naked body and blush. “You’re staring.”
He shrugs his shoulders, “So?”
I swallow hard and toss the pillow at him. “It’s creepy. Stop.”
He catches the pillow with one hand and smirks. “Never, Angel. You 're mine now and I’ll stare at your fine ass whenever I want.”
Something resembling a snort exits my nose when I laugh. Secretly pleased that he doesn’t regret bringing me here. “I should get dressed.”
“Please do.” He raises his eyebrows and the pink on my cheeks deepens.
I draw back the sheets and pad across the room to my bag, bending forward so my ass is high in the air as I pick out my clothes. I roll myself back up and spread the clothes out on the bed. I can feel his eyes burning into me. The way his hooded eyes watch me makes me wet. I swallow nervously and slip my legs into a black thong, inching it up slowly. Relishing in the way he’s watching my every move. His eyes don’t flinch when I slip on my bra and slide into a pair of jeans and a tank top. When I’m fully dressed, he stands, adjusting his hard cock in his pants. “This shit’s gonna be hard until I get those off of you.”
I cock my eyes at him. “Did you make me get dressed just to take them off me?”
“No time. How long has it been since you ate?”
My stomach rumbles again, reminding me just how famished I am. “Awhile.” I admit.
“Then let’s eat.” Reed takes my hand in his and leads me down the stairs to the common area where everyone is gathered. Some of the club members are sitting quietly, talking in hushed tones, and others are on laptops and cell phones. I spot Celina, Andrea, and Maddie sitting together at a table. They’ve showered and changed into sweatpants and plain tee-shirts that must belong to some of the guys here. Their clothing is so big on their starved frames, but they don’t seem to care. Genuine smiles light up their faces as they eat and sip mugs of steaming hot coffee. It’s nice to see them smiling and relaxed. “Go sit with them, have something to eat. I gotta talk to Chainz.”
“Ok.” It’s crazy how something as routine as sitting down for a meal can feel so monumental after a life-changing ordeal. I pull up a chair at the table and one woman I met last night sets a plate of pancakes down in front of me and pours a fresh mug of coffee for me.
“Thank you. Cat, right?” I ask her, hoping I remembered her name correctly. They all seemed so nice that I would hate to offend her and get it wrong.
“That’s me, house mouse. Mercy is our nurse,” she smiles and motions toward the woman who gave us all check-ups when we arrived, “Raven is the club’s first lady and that’s Elle behind the bar.”
“Nice to meet you.” Her bright smile is contagious. I smile back at her. “Thank you for being so welcoming.”
“I’m just glad you’re all safe. Now eat.” She orders and turns on her heels, leaving us to eat.
“Did you hear?” Celina asks me. “We’re going home.”
“That’s great news.” I say, shoving a heaping bite of pancake into my mouth.
“We leave soon.” Celina tells me as I take another mouthful. “I wanted to... We all wanted to thank you for all that you did for us.”
I lower my fork to my plate and wipe my mouth clean. “Me? I didn’t do anything.”
“That’s what makes you so special. You don’t even know how much you helped us. They tricked and betrayed you, just like the rest of us. Thrown in that cage to be sold off to those filthy bastards. You assumed the role of our protector even though you were experiencing the same fears we all had.”
“I’m not special. I didn’t save you. They did. If it wasn’t for me, there’d be five of us at this table, not four.” My chest squeezes thinking of Jules. I can’t help but blame myself. Ben wanted to hurt me, and he did it by taking her. Now no one knows where she is or if she’s even alive. I’m going to have to live with this guilt for the rest of my life.
Silence falls over us as we sit quietly, paying our respects for her and all the others who weren’t as lucky. The moment is broken when Reed lays his hand on my shoulder. I jerk in my seat and his hand pulls away. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
I reach out, caressing his thick biceps. “You don’t scare me. You just surprised me.” I reassure him.
“I need to talk to you.” He pulls the back of my chair away from the table so I can stand. He sounds so serious that my heart sinks in my stomach. Does he know something? Did they find Jules? Is she dead? A million questions swim in my head. I swallow the lump in my throat and push out of my seat.
“What is it?” I ask, when he stops walking just out of earshot of everyone else in the room. The long look on his face is making me nervous. “Just tell me!”
His hands brush my arms, sending goosebumps up and down my body. “Those women have been away from their families long enough. The club is taking them home. Now.”
I cut my eyes at him. Time hasn’t changed the fact that I can read him like a book and there’s something he’s not saying. “I heard. That’s great, but something’s wrong, isn’t it?”
