“If you hit him, security will escort you out,” Archer said as he wrestled with Wes. “I don’t think you want that.”
Wes and I locked eyes, and Wes stopped immediately. He stepped away from Archer and back toward me. Roman glowered at me, his jaw ticking, as if he wanted to punish me for how I’d spoken to him.
“Where is Lorelei?” I asked them all, searching each pair of eyes until I landed on Jayne’s.
She appeared more confused than I’d ever seen her. Unsteadiness was a rare emotion to grace her compelling, gorgeous features; it didn’t look like she was enjoying it either, as accustomed as she was to having the upper hand.
“Please just tell me where she is so we can leave,” I said, tears stinging my eyes before I could stop them.
Jayne slowly shook her head. Her mouth opened and closed. She looked to Archer, whose face was hardened, his dark hair slightly tousled as he smoothed his burgundy shirt and crossed his arms. He avoided Jayne’s eyes.
Just like I avoided Wes’s.
“Nova, what you said isn’t true,” Jayne said gently. “I care aboutyou.When I pushed you and encouraged you to come to events, I had nothing but pure intentions. I wanted to help you. Istillwant to help you. Your progress has been?—”
A tear spilled over the edge, and I quickly wiped it away. “I’m not a pet,” I said, cutting her off. “I’m not a charity project.”
I lifted a hand to my collar, which now felt far too tight and restraining. I reached for the back, struggling with the buckle as Wes watched me helplessly. His stormy eyes had the nerve to appear wounded.Hewas the one who had shattered us, not me.
I managed to get it off, blinking back more tears as I tossed it away from me and onto the table.
“What was it I overheard you say all those years ago?” Roman asked Wes. “Every sub falls in love with their first Dom?”
My stomach sank. My bottom lip felt shaky, my cheeks warm.
Roman’s eyes softened when they looked at me, as if mimicking the emotion of sadness.“Poor girl.”
A humiliating second tear fell. I couldn’t meet Wes’s eyes even as they scorched my face.
I’d had enough. I walked around the other side of the table to avoid walking past Wes on the way to the doorway. My legs were wobbly, my balance still off-kilter.
“Sit. Down. Nova,” Roman commanded.
Wes’s voice trembled with rage. “Don’t you fucking tell her what to do.”
“Why shouldn’t I, when I’ve seen firsthand how wet it makes her?” Roman asked.
Everyone halted, including me. I’d made it to the other side of the table, where Jayne and Roman stood between me and the exit.
“What is he talking about, Nova?” Wes asked.
I stammered. “That’s not?—”
“Don’t tell me you didn’t inform dear Wes about our exciting meeting with your dream publisher? Or the fun we had when I dressed you as my perfect angel?”
Wes watched me from across the room, eyes widened slightly, stunned.
“You kidnapped me!” I yelled.
“Okay, I’m going to need everyone to?—”
“Shut up, Archer,” Wes and Roman said at the same time.
When Wes stepped forward, so did Roman, and I took my opportunity to slip past Jayne and through the door.
Outside the tall, paneled windows, I saw a woman getting gangbanged by men in the backyard. She smiled, jerking off two men, riding another, as a fourth entered her mouth.
At least someone was having a good time.
