“I’m not saying that.”She pouted, hanging the shirt above the free-standing wardrobe before walking my way.“I’m just saying there are better ways I can serve you.”
“Oh, yeah?”I liked the way she was thinking.The stress and discomfort of the last couple of weeks had meant there hadn’t been as much carnality as we’d have liked, but I was still a red-blooded man, and she was still the temptress who’d lured me to salvation.“What did you have in mind, little girl?”
“Well.”She fell to her knees on the carpet by my feet, and I noticed the way she loosened the belt around her waist.“Maybe when you’re feeling up to a long, hot shower, Sir, I can finally make sure all of you is clean again.”
My lips tugged at her suggestive tone.“Allof me?”
“Yes, Sir.”She reached for my knee and trailed a fingertip along the seam of my trousers.
“Well...”I watched her digit edge an invisible line along my inner thigh, the gentle pressure goading my recently overlooked cock.“Good thinking, little girl.That sounds wonderful.”
“I’ve missed you, Sir.”Her finger paused, her gaze flitting to meet mine.“I know you’ve been recovering, and there’s all the fallout from Jackson’s arrest, but I’ve missed being able to hold you.”
“Hey.”I reached for her, sliding my fingers into her hair and steadying her face.“You can always hold me.We’ve just had to be a little careful thanks to Ian’s whip.”
“I know.”She leaned into my palm, her eyes falling closed.“And while I hate how hurt you are, I’m so thankful you came back to me.”
“I was always going to come back to you.”I laughed gently.“Laurent and his pals had assured us of that.”
“I still worried, though.”Her gaze was back on me again.“Watching you taking the whip that way was horrible.”
“It wasn’t so great for me either.”I chuckled, trying not to recollect how excruciating each strike of the implement had been.“It was you who got me through it, though.”
“What?”A crease appeared in her brow.“What do you mean?”
“Each time he whipped me.”I stroked her cheek with my thumb.“It was you I thought about.I got through it thanks to you, little girl.”
“Oh, Adam.”Wriggling free from my fingers, she turned to kiss my palm.“You did so well.I know how awful those whips can be.”
“It’s over now.”I released the air in my lungs, wishing I could relax on my chair without irritating my back.“And the good news is that today we get to see Ian in his new habitat.”
“In court.”
Her smile stretched wider at the prospect of seeing the man who’d instigated the downfall of her entire life finally being held to account for some of his decisions.
“That’s right.”Akari and the others had called him for a pretrial meeting, and Caroline and I had been invited to witness the proceedings.
“I’m nervous about giving my victim statement,” she admitted, her smile fading.“But I hope it’ll be worth it.”
“It will be.”I had no doubts about her ability to look Ian in the eyes and tell him how she felt about him.“This is a chance for you, and all the other women, to make him hear you and finally get a little taste of justice.”
Given everything the new order had stripped from them, seeing Ian squirm in the dock wasn’t much, but it was the first step toward him being forced to accept responsibility.If I knew Ian at all, he’d kick and scream and resist accountability at all costs, but compelling him to be there, and knowing he was returning to some type of incarceration, was something. It also helped that he’d been snatched from his privileged life at home, taken from the pomp and ceremony and made to live like any other prisoner.No doubt Lucy, the woman he’d made his wife, would be thanking me for her acquittal.Life with Ian must have been hell.
“And it’s all thanks to you, Sir.”Her digits paused inches from my groin.“I think I can speak for most of the other women when I say how grateful we are.”
“I’m not sure many of them would be so thankful.”My gaze lowered to watch her fingertips circling the seam.“But thank you.It was the least I could do.”
And it wasn’t much.
All I’d given was a few hours and a little blood.In reality, my pride had taken more of a beating than my back.I had known the French were coming to save me.I was far from a hero.
“You were outstanding, Sir,” she purred, edging between my knees.“Even though I was concerned, I was also so very proud of you.”
“How proud?”
I arched an eyebrow at her, suddenly less conscious of the ache between my shoulder blades and more interested in where the exchange was going.
Not so long ago, of course, she’d have fallen to her knees and worshipped me on command, but our love had bloomed since then.It had evolved.Kneeling in the hotel, she was making bedroom eyes at me, not because her life depended on it, but because she actually wanted me.Her love wasn’t inspired by fear or coercion, but by the greatest muse of all; freedom.
