“Do you need more salve?” he asked, reaching for the ointment on his bedside table.
“Mmm, that would be nice,” I hummed, rolling on my stomach in invitation.
I felt the soothing sensation of the salve as it was rubbed on my cheeks. Alistair’s nimble fingers massaged some of it on my swollen labia, sore from our rough lovemaking. I glanced at the leather whip and the silk scarf on the floor, then rubbed my wrists and smiled.
“Shall I make coffee for you, sweetheart?” His green eyes radiated tender passion.
“Yes. Before you get up, I’d like a kiss.”
“Of course,” he said, nuzzling into me. His tantalizing kisses teased my mouth, neck, shoulders, and back.
About an hour later, after finishing my second cup of coffee with a dash of Irish cream, I swam naked in our private pool while he was on a call with a business associate. There was no need to hide my skin from my lover. With him, there was no need to hide. He gave me the same—his body, his soul laid bare.
All except one thing.
The secret etched into the scar on his back.
After my morning swim, I towel-dried and let my gaze linger on the skyline glittering above the Arabian Gulf. For a fleeting moment, life looked picture-perfect. Then came the twist—sharp, cruel—another knife to the heart, the kind of blade that left a wound no beauty could disguise.
A touch on my shoulder pulled me around. Alistair stood there, lips pressed thin, brows furrowed with concern. He held out my phone.
“It’s Sapphire,” he said. “We spoke briefly. You need to take this call. It’s about Julian.”
“Saph, slow down,” I said, trying to make sense of her words in between her sobs.
“Vee, something ha-happened to Ju-Julian.”
“Hold on, what? Weren’t you celebrating his birthday tonight?” I placed one hand on my stomach, which twisted with anxiety. Feeling my knees bend and lose their strength, I sat down.
“He went to his ex-girlfriend Jessie’s apartment earlier because she pulled out the suicide card. He said his visitwouldn’t take long, and he’d be at the restaurant in time for dinner. He never turned up.”
“Shit.” I shut my eyes and sighed. Julian’s ex-girlfriend was a nutcase, and he was an empathetic guy who didn’t ignore cries for help. I wondered if Jessie was crying wolf.
“A video was sent to me later on,” Saph said.
“What video?” My breathing tightened.
“I just sent it. I’ve got my boss’s senior advisor, Raphael Thomas, here with me. Remember, I dated him before Julian and I got back together? Well, Raph admitted Saira planned the whole damn thing. She’s out to hurt Julian.”
“How the fuck does he know?”I shouted. My pulse spiked. Of all people, I never trusted Raphael. We studied law in the same class, and he was slippery as an oil spill. He somehow wormed his way into Senator McGrath’s circle, handling most of the senator’s political affairs.
“Raphael admitted he was part of the charade. Saira bought him off with her money, cleared his college debts, and turned him into one of her whores. He turned up at the restaurant because she sent him to seduce me.”
“No.” I gasped for air. “I’ve got the video. I’ll watch it and call you back. Stay strong. We’ll find Julian and get him home.
“Okay. I think he’s still at Jessie’s. Raphael knows her place. He’s the one taking me.”
“Sure, but don’t go alone with him. I’ll talk to Alistair, and we’ll make sure you’ve got someone to protect you, okay? I’ll call you back.”
My hands trembled as I opened the video file. Alistair’s arm closed around me when I squeezed my eyes shut against the images on the screen of filth I couldn’t unsee. Julian’s face wasn’t visible, but his hands were. Too still. Too loose. Almost lifeless. My chest tightened. I knew those hands—the faint scar on his left knuckle from a brutal fight we’d had as kids.
Another man loomed behind Jessie while she used her hands and mouth on my brother’s genitals. The sight twisted my stomach. This wasn’t desire. This wasn’t choice.
Julian would never betray Sapphire. This was forced.
“Did you see that? The man in the background?”
“Sure did. This damage has to be Saira’s work,” Alistair said.
