Chapter Twenty-Eight
Spiraling Events
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R UNNING HIS FINGERS through her glossy mane, Lawes groaned. Hannah’s mouth was so fucking good around his cock, and as she licked the remnants of his cum from the base of his dick, he struggled to remember how he’d survived so long without her reverence.
He needed it, needed her in a way he’d never have thought was possible. What had started as lust for vengeance against the woman who’d betrayed him was fast amplifying into something greater. Towering over her kneeling body, he couldn’t imagine a life without her in it.
“I certainly feel more thanked now.” He grinned down at her, enjoying the soft blush on her cheeks. “How about you? Feeling more grateful?”
“Much more grateful, Mr. Lawes, sir.” Her tongue collected the last of his seed from her top lip. “Thank you.”
The version of Hannah at his feet was far calmer than any he’d known.
In the time she’d been there, she seemed to have settled back into her submission.
Initially, she’d resisted—he’d expected nothing less—but as he’d loosened his grasp, she’d blossomed before his eyes, and he was giddy at the new reality.
Finally, he not only had the woman he craved, but he’d managed to bring her to heel with a smile on her face.
When she gazed into his eyes, he got the sense she was truly listening, as though her surrender had helped to ground her.
I’ve given that to her.
Buoyed by the thought, he realized he cared less about the things he’d lost—the years served behind bars and the career he’d worked so hard for—and more about the possibility of what was to come. For the first time in a long time, he was excited for the future.
He wasn’t sure exactly how he’d achieved the damn near impossible feat, but he knew he wanted more.
.. more passion, more intimacy— more of Hannah.
There was no sensation he’d ever found that compared to what was happening between them.
It wasn’t just the power dynamic he loved or the incredible sex they enjoyed.
It was something exponentially better, as if the two of them had been suspended in some kind of ethereal bliss he’d done nothing to deserve.
What’s happening to me?
Gripping the leather handle of her leash harder, he pulled in a breath. The room around him had hushed, as though the two of them had become the center of the entire universe and the world outside its four walls was swirling into a nameless abyss.
He stroked her hair, trying to recall what had occupied his time before that moment, and who had seemed important before her, but nothing came to mind.
There was nothing. No one.
There was only her.
I’m falling in love with her.
His lips twisted at the absurd idea.
In love?
He couldn’t have any feelings for Hannah except the unadulterated tug of revenge that had driven them both to that point, but even as the thought flitted through his mind, he knew it was bullshit.
He did have feelings for her, emotions that spiraled well beyond his raging lust. He’d punish her all right—as often as she merited the penances—but she also warranted much more. She deserved his time, his devotion, and his care—things he’d never wanted to bestow on any woman before her.
Bemused by his conclusion, one hand rose to rub at his temple. Whatever the hell was happening to him, one thing was for certain.
He never wanted it to end.
“On your feet.” He tugged loosely on the leash and offered her his palm. Climbing to her feet, she clung to his fingers, her breath labored as she met his eyes. “Are you hungry?”
“Yes, Mr. Lawes, sir.” She nodded, her cheeks a wonderful rosy color, but there was something in her eyes, something he hadn’t seen before. The glow there was celestial, her pupils dilating as she pressed her bound hands against his torso.
“It will be served in your bowl.” He cocked an eyebrow at her, knowing how well the gesture was usually received. Right on cue, her lips tugged into a shrewd smile.
“Yes, sir.”
That was all she said. No complaints. No obvious gestures of shame, shock, or disgust. Only an acceptance of her place and perhaps, if he was truly the luckiest bastard in the world, an acorn of something more—recognition that she might also have feelings for him.
Euphoria swelled in his chest, making it difficult to focus on anything but her face.
“Come on then.” He pulled her against him, relishing the feeling as their flesh collided. “Let’s head back down the stairs.”
“I can walk, sir.”
“And you can be carried.” Stepping around her, he pounced, lifting her into his arms before she could mount a defense. “Which is the way you’ll be traveling up and down stairs for the time being.”
“Okay.” She yelped, pushing her bound wrists higher against his chest as he carted her along the hallway.
“What can I prepare for our next meal?” he wondered aloud, reveling in her heat as she snuggled closer.
Time protracted as that reality stretched out around him. She actually nestled closer to him. It wasn’t only his imagination, then? The thing blooming between them was real. They were actually getting closer. She wanted to be more affectionate.
An excited thrill shot along his spine as they reached the bottom of the staircase and he turned back toward the lounge where he’d first held her.
So much had happened since she’d woken up there. Hours of pleasure and twisted torment, but more than that, the seeds of something stronger growing between them.
“What do you suggest, Mr. Lawes, sir?” Placing her gently back on her feet, her reply was word perfect. “I don’t know what you have.”
“Not much, I’m afraid.” He chuckled at his sad performance. “Losing my salary has meant needing to cut back on many of the finer things.”
She cast a nervous look his way, presumably aware of who was responsible for his fall from grace. He watched her lips move, wondering what she was going to say in response. Would she take ownership for what she’d done, and if she did, was he ready to admit his part in his own downfall?
He’d done it all, after all. He and Fuller were the architects, but day after day in a cell with the likes of his old prison buddy, Dylan, had eroded his culpability for being there.
Tension rose in his body, his pulse quickening. Something about whatever was said next seemed critical. Staring at her, he was sure time around them had paused altogether.
“Hello?”
A holler from outside splintered the visceral intensity, interrupting whatever his little girl was about to say and spiking his already rapid heart rate. The seconds protracted as he tried to make sense of what they were hearing. Had the guy he’d seen checking the place out earlier returned?
The query was met by several loud bangs to the front door—the abrupt noise shaking him from the paralysis that seemed to have taken hold—before the voice shouted again.
“This is the police. We need you to open up, please.”
Acknowledging the tone that time, he realized it was a woman shouting. Not the guy he’d seen before, but worse—the police. The asshole must have called the authorities and somehow brought the police to the door.
Hannah glanced in the direction of the door, her eyes as wide as saucers, and for one dreadful moment, he thought she was going to make a run for it.
“Police!” The banging was heavier that time. “Open up!”
“Sir?” Her gaze whipped back to him. “It’s the police!”
He couldn’t tell if it was relief or panic in her voice, the sound of his own hammering heart making it hard to distinguish her reaction.
“Shhh.” In the end, his default need to take charge of the situation settled him. “Be quiet.”
Pressing his fingertip to her mouth, he watched her responses carefully. If she called out then, the cop at the door might hear her. He needed to keep her calm.
“But...” She whispered the word around his digit. “They must know about me.”
“They don’t.” He kept his voice low. “It’s not that.”
“What then?” She hadn’t made any move to leave his side, but there was little time to celebrate the win. Time was ticking away, and he only had moments to decide how to react.
“It’s this place.” He had no way of knowing that for sure, but his gut told him it was true.
The man he’d seen sniffing around the back of the house was probably the owner who’d called for assistance to evict him.
There was no reason to believe they were there for Hannah. “I’m kind of borrowing it.”
She dissolved into stifled laughter. “You’re borrowing it, sir?” Her eyebrow arched that time. “You mean, you’re squatting?”
He couldn’t say he liked her tone, but there was little time to debate the point. “Yes.”
Peering around the room, his mind whirled with potential outcomes from the police’s arrival.
If he and his little girl remained silent, the police might assume there was no answer and leave.
That was the result he hoped for. But if they heard something from inside the house, or worse, showed initiative, he might have uniformed officers in there in a matter of moments.
“This is going to go one of two ways, little girl.” He had little choice but to be straight with her. The affection swirling between them demanded he did.
“Either they leave or they barge the door down?” She glanced anxiously in the direction of the door.
“Right.” He shook his head at her perceptive response. She had always been intelligent. “And we don’t have long to decide how to respond?”
“We?” Her breathing had sped up as she looked back his way.
“If that’s what you want.” He couldn’t believe the words that had left his lips.
All those months he’d spent scheming her downfall and relishing every damn moment of the fantasy, and standing there, he was prepared to conceive the idea that she might not want to live the sequel with him.
There was definitely something wrong with him. Maybe Hannah had bewitched him since she’d woken up, but his approach had done something of a one-eighty in the hours they’d spent together in the house on Ocean Gardens.
Because I’m falling in love with her. He swallowed at the disconcerting possibility. I have to give her the choice.
“What I want?” Her fingers grazed over his chest hair. “You mean, it’s up to me, sir?”
“Apparently.”
He blinked bewilderedly at the woman who, even in chains, somehow managed to rule him.
He’d been in charge of her once, but whatever had transpired in the dilapidated house had altered that.
Standing naked in the lounge while the seconds ticked past, he realized for the first fucking time in his life he was prepared to cede.
He’d lose if it meant the woman he loved being happy.
Pulling in a breath, she closed the limited distance between them. “What about you, Mr. Lawes?”
“Why do you care?” His gaze flitted from her flawless face to the door. They didn’t have long enough for a tête-à-tête, but God, how he wanted to know how she was feeling. “I’m the fucker who did this to you. You should go to them and get away. Forget about me.”
“What?” Her brow crumpled. “After everything we’ve just been through, why would you say that?”
“Because it’s true.” He fought to hide his rising emotion. “You should hate me, Hannah.”
“I do.” The tears had returned to her eyes instead. “Or, at least, I did .”
“Did?” He reached for her then, apprehension thrumming within him about the impending police presence, yet knowing he needed to hear whatever came next. “And now?”
“I don’t know, sir.” She leaned against the palm he offered. “I should fucking hate you, but I don’t think I do anymore.”
He scowled at her profanity. “Language.”
Her lips curled at the admonishment.
“So, how do you feel?” he prompted.
“Confused.” She grasped his arm with her bound wrists. “I need more time to think...”
“But we don’t have any.”
Shit, how have I let this happen?
“Apparently not.” She clung to him. “I dreamed about the police coming to save me when you had me before, but now...” She hesitated. “Things seem different.”
“They are different,” he insisted. “I feel it, too.”
I think I’m falling in love with you.
He held back the final line, unable to declare such personal affection for a woman who held his future in the palm of her hands.
“We need more time.” She sighed, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but I think I want that.”
“You want more time with me?” Reaching for her hair, his fingers tightened in her tresses. “I need you to be clear on this, little girl, because it looks as though the police are planning on making an abrupt entry.”
From over her shoulder, he could see the muffled outline of the officers through the net curtains, and whatever equipment one was carrying didn’t bode well for his liberty. She peered behind her, trepidation etched into her features when she glanced his way.
“Then you need to go.” Her gaze darted around the room. “Find some clothes and get out of here.”
“I asked if you wanted more time.” He fisted her hair more roughly. Not enough to hurt, but just so her scalp lit up with sensation. “Answer me, Hannah.”
“God help me, but yes.” Despite her obvious panic, her lips twitched as the authority returned to his tone, “I’d like more time, Mr. Lawes, sir. I don’t want it to end like this.”
Joy exploded at the admission. She hadn’t told him she loved him, but he understood her puzzlement.
It was hard enough falling for the woman he’d captured.
He couldn’t imagine how she might be feeling, but her reluctance to run for the door and beg for the police’s attention conveyed her confusion.
Hannah was clearly torn, and that offered him the one thing he needed to snap back into action.
It gave him hope.
“Okay.” His fingers relaxed as he stepped forward and kissed her forehead. “Listen closely, Hannah. This is how things are going to go.”