Xia’s fingers stilled.“You saw.”
“Everyone saw.”Cheri’s jaw tightened.“The way he had you...fuck, Xia.The way you let him.The way you begged for it.”She reached out, gripping Xia’s wrist.“And I don’t mean that as a judgment.I mean it as a question.Because I know you.And I know you wouldn’t have let him do that unless—”
“Unless what?”Xia’s voice cracked.“Unless I’m just as fucked up as he is?Unless I wanted it?Unless I loved it?”
“There is absolutely no shame in what happened in that cage.To the contrary, it was hot as fuck.Besides, you know as well as I do that in our lifestyle, there is no judgment, Xia.Ever.”Cheri watched her without blinking.“And no, not unless you loveditbut...unless you lovehim.”
The words hit like a physical blow.Xia’s breath left her in a rush, her vision blurring.She turned away, staring out the window.The city sprawled below her, indifferent to what was happening inside her.
“It doesn’t matter,” she whispered.“He made that clear.”
“What did he say?”
Xia’s laugh was bitter.“You mean when he thought I was passed out?When he tucked me in like some broken doll and whispered that we were never going to happen?That my life and his were too far apart?”She swallowed the lump in her throat.“He called me Angel.Whispering my sub name like I was something precious.And then...”
Cheri was quiet for a few moments.“What doyouwant, Xia?”
She closed her eyes.She could still feel him—the weight of his body, and the way his voice had rumbled against her skin when he’d called her a slut, a whore...his.The way her heart had soared even as he’d broken her.
“I want to stop hurting,” she admitted.“I want to go back to before I met him.Before I knew what it felt like to be his.”She turned back to Cheri.Her eyes burned.“I can’t do this anymore.The flights, the games, the wife whispering—watching him with those potentials...all so perfect, yet so completely inappropriate for him.I want none of it.I’m done.”
Cheri studied her, then nodded.“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yeah.Okay.”Cheri reached for her hand, squeezing tight.“But you’re not doing this alone.You hear me?No more hiding.No more pretending you’re fine when you’re not.”
Xia’s phone buzzed on the coffee table—Rex—and this time, Xia didn’t hesitate.The decision had been made.She was done.Snatching it up, she schooled her voice into a light, easy tone.
“Well, well, well,” she drawled, leaning back against the couch with a smirk Cheri couldn’t see.“If it isn’t the man of the hour.To what do I owe the pleasure, Master R?”
Cheri’s eyebrows shot up, but Xia ignored her, twirling a loose strand of hair around her finger like she didn’t have a care in the world.
Rex’s voice was smooth, darker than she remembered.“Xia.I was starting to think you were avoiding me.”
“Avoiding you?”She let out a breathy laugh.“Now, why would I do that?Unless you’re calling to apologize for the spectacular public display you put on last week.Because, lemme tell you, Master R, I still can’t sit right.”
Cheri choked on a laugh, covering her mouth.
Rex’s silence was heavy.“You left before I could speak to you after the flight.”
“Oh, did I?”Xia feigned surprise.“Must’ve been all that exercise wearing me out.You know how it is—when a man fucks you into next year, a girl needs her beauty sleep.”
Another pause.She could practically hear the gears turning in his head.What game is she playing?
Good.Let him wonder.
“Are you alright?”he finally asked in a carefully neutral tone.
Xia let out a dramatic sigh.“Oh, dear Master R.Always so concerned for your subs.”She stretched, arching her back like a cat.“I’m perfect.Just a little sore.But don’t worry—I’ll be ready for round two whenever you are.”
Cheri was staring at her like she’d grown a second head.Xia shot her a wink.
Rex exhaled, the sound crackling through the speaker.“Very well.If that’s all you have to say.”
“Oh, that’s not all I have to say.”Xia’s voice dropped into a purr.“But I do have a question for you.”
“And what’s that?”
