Page 85 of The Devil’s Lair

My wife.

He presses his palm to my lower back, and every inch of me suddenly gets warm. It’s as though I’ve wrapped myself in an electric blanket and turned the heat up to maximum. This isn’t real. We’re not real. Yet the way he says those words in that smooth, aristocratic tone makes me wish it was, that I was his wife in every way, emotionally and physically. Especially physically.

My ovaries are screaming at me to fucking do something, but the agreement we made and the fear of him recoiling stops me. I couldn’t bear to see horror stream across his face at the idea of my hands on his body, my mouth on his mouth. The idea of ruining the friendship that’s become everything to me is abhorrent. Not to mention potentially ruining Isla’s relationship with him, too. I can’t do it, no matter how much I yearn to.

“Hi. It’s nice to meet you.” I try to put out of my mind that the last time this man saw me, I was buck naked, terrified, my scars on show, and my hands trembling as I pointed a gun at my husband. To Frank’s credit, he smiles warmly.

“It’s great to see you, too, Mrs. De Vil.”

“Everything okay here?” Tobias asks.

“We’ve got it all under control.”

“Sorry I’ve not been around much.”

Frank levels a look at him. Something passes between the two men. An understanding, maybe. “Like I said, it’s all under control. You’ve been missed, though.”

Tobias releases a small smile, then hooks a thumb over his shoulder. “We’ll leave you to it.” He pivots and leads me next door into his office, which is smaller than I imagined. There’s a desk and a high-backed leather chair, a small couch, and along one wall is a bank of TVs.

“Are they for…?”

“Watching, yes.” He gestures to the couch. I sit, and so does he. “It’s how I saw you that night. How I knew something was wrong long before you drew the gun.”

“So, you saw…” I take a breath. “You saw what Marcus did to me?”

“Yes.”

My hands curl around my middle. “I see.”

“Does that bother you?”

I think about it before answering. “No, not really. I guess when you’ve been stripped of your self-esteem, your dignity, there’s nothing left.” I pluck at the skin at the base of my neck. “I’m so grateful to you for everything you’ve done, for showing me I’m not broken, just bent. That I haven’t lost the person I was before I met Marcus.”

“We’re all a little bent.” He grins. “Perfection is overrated.”

I twist my lips to the side. “Do you think I could go to the room where it happened?”

“If that’s what you want, absolutely. Let me check if it’s free.” He shoots behind his desk and types on his computer. “Yep. It is.”

I draw in a deep breath and blow it out through pursed lips. “I’m ready.”

I keep my gaze fixed forward as Tobias leads me through the public part of the club. He nods at a few people without stopping to chat. No one stares or pays any undue attention to me at all. Funny, but I have no memory of making this same journey with Marcus. I must have blocked it out. I don’t know what I expected, but people sitting around on comfy chairs, sipping their drinks and chatting wasn’t it. Maybe Tobias is keeping me away from the more salacious areas on purpose.

There’s a part of me that’s curious about watching strangers make out. I’m not sure I could do the full-on viewing of them having sex. There is a certain intrigue to it, though. Especially when you know it’s consensual and they’ve agreed to be watched.

“We’re here.”

He’s stopped outside an innocuous door without any windows. I stare at the handle for a few minutes, then push down and enter. Tobias follows, closing the door behind me. I look around. There isn’t much to it: a comfortable chair tucked into one corner, a table, a set of drawers.

“It’s… sparse.”

“We have a variety of rooms to suit different tastes. The VIP suites on the next floor are far plusher than this.”

“I see.”

I wander over to the drawers and open the first one. Inside is a variety of toys. I shudder and shut the drawer. Toys for me are synonymous with punishment. Logically, I know that’s not true, but I can’t help the sharp reaction to seeing gigantic dildos and anal beads.

“How do you feel?”