Page 21 of Their Domme

“I will go back to the house, yes, but I’m not leaving with you,” I responded, holding my ground and fighting the arousal growing in my body. My already high sex drive had only gotten more voracious since becoming pregnant, and with no release besides my own hands, I desperately needed some sex. “This ismyshow, Ansel. Get with the program, or Blake’s men will.”

His hand wrapped around my throat, pinning me to the seat, before he got into my face. “Be very careful about how you talk to me, Nic.”

“I was.” I swallowed hard, giving in to his hold even as I glared up at him. “But I’m in charge right now, as I’ve said many times. My brother was taken and is being used by a crazy person who has stalked me foryears. There’s also the fact that you are in no position to try to dictate what I can and can’t do. We are friends, Ansel. You’re not one of my guys, so fuck off.”

“Rorik. Get out.”

Belatedly, I realized the SUV had stopped moving, and I looked over to the side to see we were outside of the station. Roderick commented that he would let Allen know it would be ten minutes, then the door slammed shut behind him, leaving me alone with Ansel.

“The only boss I have is Sacha, and you’re not him,” I told him, not the least bit intimidated by the man still holding my throat. “I get that this might bring up some stuff for you, but this ismylife andmyshit to sort out.”

“I think you are underestimating a lot of things right now,” Ansel warned me. His face tightened for a moment as if he were in pain before his empty gray eyes met my stare.

“Like what?” My brow furrowed, and my mind was racing to figure out what he could possibly mean when he claimed my mouth in a kiss. It was deceptively soft, a stark contrast to the hand pinning me to the seat.

He didn’t deepen the kiss, but it was jarring all the same. Ansel pulled back when I didn’t respond, his gray eyes studying mine, and whatever he saw there made him smile. “You had no idea?”

“You’ve never even tried to kiss me. Plus, givenwhenwe always meet up… I wasn’t… How the fuck would I have known?”Well, this is certainly not my best moment.

“What do you mean?” he asked huskily.

I licked my lips. “Nevermind.”

“Nicholette,” he warned, tightening his hold on my throat until I moaned.

“The anniversary of your wife’s death. That’s when you always called me for sex,” I rushed out, staying still when he stilled.Did he truly not realize?When he didn’t say anything in response, I chewed my bottom lip, studying his expression for any type of reaction, yet I found none. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

I pulled back from him, and Ansel’s hand loosened enough for me to slide away. Ignoring the way he practically whispered my name, I climbed out of the car. Roderick didn’t comment when I straightened my shirt, nor did he say a word when I rubbed a hand on my neck as if that would make the handprint go away.

People milled about on the sidewalk, everyone heading about their business. A few cops were sitting around, watching the station, and I knew the moment Ansel joined us because a few of them went completely still in the way prey freezes when it senses a predator in its midst. Ansel’s role in the Family wasn’t public knowledge, but the fact that he was a F?rstner was well known.

“Nicholette…”

“Not now, Ansel. We can talk later,” I told him firmly, discreetly indicating our surroundings. Plus, who knew where Alexei and Maksim were.At least Vas isn’t here. This is already going to be a shit show of epic proportions.

“Stop fucking dismissing me,” he snarled, grabbing my arm and forcing me to spin around to face him.

“I’m trying to fucking focus,” I hissed, instantly pissed off by his tone. “Plus, like you said, I'm with seven people. Why would—”

He grabbed the back of my neck, yanking me toward him to claim a kiss despite my protests. I moaned when he nipped my bottom lip, and I instinctively pushed my body against his when our tongues tangled together. I wrapped my arms around his neck. It felt like hours had passed before we pulled away from each other even though I knew it had barely been minutes.

“You’re an idiot,” I told him hoarsely. I hated that I had responded to him, and I couldn’t even blame it on pregnancy horniness. I had always felt safe with Ansel, something that he had called me an idiot for previously, but it had always been true. When we were together, he put me through hell—physically, mentally, and emotionally, and I loved that he challenged me that way. Mercy wasn’t something I wanted when he called me.

“Rhodes’ nephews look pissed.” Ansel sounded amused by that, which was definitely not a good omen for how the rest of my day was going to go. I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath, listening to the sound of approaching footsteps from the safety of Ansel’s arms. “Conrad. Robin.”

I opened my eyes to Blake’s men standing beside us, their serious gazes set on Ansel and me, especially how close we were, before looking toward the station where Alexei and Maksim must be standing.If I look at them now, I’ll never be able to walk away.

“Welcome to the party,” I told them with a grin. “It’s about to get really fucking interesting.”

* * *

Alexei

We had cometo the police station to try to get Oliver and Bodhi out of custody. Sacha and Vas had been here most of yesterday, and they’d reported back that the cops had largely ignored them. I was honestly surprised that they hadn’t gotten arrested since neither man was the type you could just ignore. When the detective had taken the two men from the compound, Sacha’s anger had been something to behold. Vas, somehow the surprising voice of reason, had managed to keep his brother outwardly calm enough to prevent him from being arrested, so Maksim and I had volunteered to take the second shot at figuring out what the hell was going on.

It had been an uneventful and frustrating day until I felt Maksim tense up beside me. I glanced over only to find him staring out the window beyond him and felt my heart jump into my throat.

Nicholette.

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