It was time to talk like adults.
Chapter Seven
Violet
The soft purring noise she made as she stretched felt decadent.
The blackout blinds on the windows rendered time useless and the wonderfully soft sheets beneath her demanded she stay right where she was, warm and safe, cocooned from the stress and chaos of reality.
It wasn’t the biggest room on the club roster, tucked away at the far end of the upper hallway. She wasn’t even sure itwason the roster for play or housekeeping, considering the amount of dust on the stocks in the corner and the wall-mounted Saint Andrew’s cross.
A little dust never hurt anyone.
This was her new sanctuary, her safe place, her hideout.
As long as no one spotted her coming or going, she could ride out the remainder of the contract period in here. Reaux would stew in his own frustrated juices, get bored, and go home while she bore the brunt of the bosses’ tempers, but she didn’t care anymore.
Until she knew for sure what was happening with her body, keeping distance from her friends was imperative. There were no obvious signs she was carrying a baby on board, and there wouldn’t be for a few weeks yet, but she swore some of the men around here were part-bloodhound, able to sniff out weakness and rampaging hormones.
Perfectly content to roll over and catch another couple hours’ sleep before she snuck downstairs for food, Violet stretched again and wiggled deeper into the bed. Just another few hours of peace and solitude before she stepped back into the minefield waiting for her outside… it didn’t seem too much to ask.
“If your aim was to cause chaos, Violet, mission accomplished.”
God, was she destined to be hounded by dominant assholes her entire life? “I’m trying to sleep, Evander, without being hassled by the opinionated men littering my existence.”
“Mmm-hmmm, and while you’re catching forty winks in here, that damn Dom of yours is single-handedly tearing apart my club trying to find you.”
With a heavy sigh, Violet rolled onto her back and pushed herself reluctantly into a sitting position, glaring at themountainous example of man dwarfing the room’s lone chair. “He wouldn’t even beinyour damn club if you hadn’t given him a reason to stay. Playing along with his scheme, implementing that godforsaken contract… you betrayed me, Van.”
The big, blond, beautiful bastard had the grace to at least look apologetic. “I’m a sucker for love, Vi; a side benefit of beinginlove, I guess. Reaux came to us, made his case, and we were willing to accommodate him.” Dark brown eyes, far too similar to a cocker spaniel puppy’s right now, met hers in the dimness. “We know you came here to get away from Louisiana. Can’t tell you how pleased we were when you agreed to be part of the family. But you have to admit, while you’ve been an exemplary employee, your heart isn’t here. It never has been. Are you really going to deny it stayed with him?”
“It stayed nowhere; it died.”
“Bullshit. The heart is emotion—positive and negative. If it died, you’d feel nothing, and you’re anything but dead inside, Vi. I think the problem is, you feel too much with no way to release it.” Evander cocked his head. “Hate is a form of passion. I know you’re pissed about him being here, but loving him and hating him is tearing you up. You need to decide which is best for you.”
She sneered at him. “I was leaving until you smacked me with that fucking contract.”
Evander glared balefully at her. “Cut the shit. Yes, your bags were packed, but you didn’t pack and go. We introduced the contract to keep you here long enough for Reaux to get back into your good graces, which I’ll admit was unfair. However,” he continued when she prepared to blister his ears, “you could have walked away at any time in the last week. Would it have been unprofessional? Absolutely. Would we have pursued the contract through the legal system? No.”
Her mouth dropped open. “I beg your pardon?”
“Now you sound like my husband.” Sighing, he held his hands up, his huge palms flat. “What would be the purpose of forcing you to remain here against your will, Violet? The friendship becomes tenuous, the working relationship untenable. When you start to resent us, the quality of your work deteriorates, which affects the club—not a sensible business etiquette. Tempers fray, things are said that can’t be taken back. We love you; we don’t want the end of your time here to be stained with that shit.”
She ran her hand over her face tiredly. “I don’t even know where I’d go.”
He reached over and laid his hand on her knee. “Home, Vi.”
“I don’t have one anymore. Nowhere but here.”
“When Reaux first approached us about you, my first instinct was to tell him to go to hell. I believe he’s been truthful from the beginning—he explained what happened two years ago and, while it was foolish of him to let you go, I think he was acting on good intentions. He was explicitly clear about his goal here.” A hint of sorrow skated along with his words. “Both Elias and I knew that Reaux’s arrival would cause trouble, and that we faced losing you. He loves you, wants to marry you, spend the rest of his life withyou. Everything we want for you ifyouwant it, Violet. You have a home with him, where your heart belongs, where you belong.”
Tears began to prick her eyes. “I slept with him.”
Evander cocked his head, frowning at her. “Am I supposed to judge you for that? Two healthy, mature adults doing what comes naturally shouldn’t be a cause for shame.”
“Why do you have to be so levelheaded?”
His mouth quirked into a wry grin. “Why do you think I was volunteered to venture in here? Who cares as long as it was consensual? Now if you tell me he forced you, I’ll headdownstairs and bring you his crown jewels on a platter, no questions asked, but…”
