Chapter Seven
Violet
The soft purring noise she made as she stretched felt decadent.
The blackout blinds on the windows rendered time useless and the wonderfully soft sheets beneath her demanded she stay right where she was, warm and safe, cocooned from the stress and chaos of reality.
It wasn’t the biggest room on the club roster, tucked away at the far end of the upper hallway. She wasn’t even sure it was on the roster for play or housekeeping, considering the amount of dust on the stocks in the corner and the wall-mounted Saint Andrew’s cross.
A little dust never hurt anyone.
This was her new sanctuary, her safe place, her hideout.
As long as no one spotted her coming or going, she could ride out the remainder of the contract period in here. Reaux would stew in his own frustrated juices, get bored, and go home while she bore the brunt of the bosses’ tempers, but she didn’t care anymore.
Until she knew for sure what was happening with her body, keeping distance from her friends was imperative.
There were no obvious signs she was carrying a baby on board, and there wouldn’t be for a few weeks yet, but she swore some of the men around here were part-bloodhound, able to sniff out weakness and rampaging hormones.
Perfectly content to roll over and catch another couple hours’ sleep before she snuck downstairs for food, Violet stretched again and wiggled deeper into the bed.
Just another few hours of peace and solitude before she stepped back into the minefield waiting for her outside… it didn’t seem too much to ask.
“If your aim was to cause chaos, Violet, mission accomplished.”
God, was she destined to be hounded by dominant assholes her entire life? “I’m trying to sleep, Evander, without being hassled by the opinionated men littering my existence.”
“Mmm-hmmm, and while you’re catching forty winks in here, that damn Dom of yours is single-handedly tearing apart my club trying to find you.”
With a heavy sigh, Violet rolled onto her back and pushed herself reluctantly into a sitting position, glaring at the mountainous example of man dwarfing the room’s lone chair.
“He wouldn’t even be in your damn club if you hadn’t given him a reason to stay.
Playing along with his scheme, implementing that godforsaken contract… you betrayed me, Van.”
The big, blond, beautiful bastard had the grace to at least look apologetic.
“I’m a sucker for love, Vi; a side benefit of being in love, I guess.
Reaux came to us, made his case, and we were willing to accommodate him.
” Dark brown eyes, far too similar to a cocker spaniel puppy’s right now, met hers in the dimness.
“We know you came here to get away from Louisiana. Can’t tell you how pleased we were when you agreed to be part of the family.
But you have to admit, while you’ve been an exemplary employee, your heart isn’t here.
It never has been. Are you really going to deny it stayed with him? ”
“It stayed nowhere; it died.”
“Bullshit. The heart is emotion—positive and negative. If it died, you’d feel nothing, and you’re anything but dead inside, Vi.
I think the problem is, you feel too much with no way to release it.
” Evander cocked his head. “Hate is a form of passion. I know you’re pissed about him being here, but loving him and hating him is tearing you up.
You need to decide which is best for you. ”
She sneered at him. “I was leaving until you smacked me with that fucking contract.”
Evander glared balefully at her. “Cut the shit. Yes, your bags were packed, but you didn’t pack and go.
We introduced the contract to keep you here long enough for Reaux to get back into your good graces, which I’ll admit was unfair.
However,” he continued when she prepared to blister his ears, “you could have walked away at any time in the last week. Would it have been unprofessional? Absolutely. Would we have pursued the contract through the legal system? No.”
Her mouth dropped open. “I beg your pardon?”
“Now you sound like my husband.” Sighing, he held his hands up, his huge palms flat.
“What would be the purpose of forcing you to remain here against your will, Violet? The friendship becomes tenuous, the working relationship untenable. When you start to resent us, the quality of your work deteriorates, which affects the club—not a sensible business etiquette. Tempers fray, things are said that can’t be taken back.
We love you; we don’t want the end of your time here to be stained with that shit. ”
She ran her hand over her face tiredly. “I don’t even know where I’d go.”
He reached over and laid his hand on her knee. “Home, Vi.”
“I don’t have one anymore. Nowhere but here.”
“When Reaux first approached us about you, my first instinct was to tell him to go to hell. I believe he’s been truthful from the beginning—he explained what happened two years ago and, while it was foolish of him to let you go, I think he was acting on good intentions.
He was explicitly clear about his goal here.
” A hint of sorrow skated along with his words.
“Both Elias and I knew that Reaux’s arrival would cause trouble, and that we faced losing you.
He loves you, wants to marry you, spend the rest of his life with you.
Everything we want for you if you want it, Violet.
You have a home with him, where your heart belongs, where you belong. ”
Tears began to prick her eyes. “I slept with him.”
Evander cocked his head, frowning at her. “Am I supposed to judge you for that? Two healthy, mature adults doing what comes naturally shouldn’t be a cause for shame.”
“Why do you have to be so levelheaded?”
His mouth quirked into a wry grin. “Why do you think I was volunteered to venture in here? Who cares as long as it was consensual? Now if you tell me he forced you, I’ll head downstairs and bring you his crown jewels on a platter, no questions asked, but…”
“He didn’t force me.”
“Okay, so the jewels are safe for the time being. What aren’t you telling me, sweetheart?” His voice turned so soft and gentle, it was hypnotizing.
This was one of the reasons Callie adored him so much, Violet realized. He was safety incarnate, compassionate, firm without being overbearing. The lighter side of their trio, whereas Elias was the dark—compelling, strict, demanding. A different kind of security in dark angel form.
“I either made a huge mistake, or did something worthwhile with my life. I’m not entirely sure which yet.
” She supposed if anyone deserved to know the truth, it was Evander.
Despite his recent shortcomings, he’d always been there for her when she needed a shoulder, although she usually gravitated more toward Merrick for that.
Now, with Tamsyn in the picture, she tried to limit that friendship so that Merrick could concentrate on the love of his life, along with her complicated issues.
“Whatever I tell you, it can’t get back to Reaux. Not yet, not until I know things for certain and wrap my own head around it first.”
“Okay.” He settled back, patiently waiting, without a single mention of a pinky swear, thank God. “Lay it on me, Mistress. I’m not in a rush.”
Hesitantly, she vocally replayed the scene she and Reaux had done, then what happened after. She explained about the lack of a condom, and the disaster in the medical clinic, pausing when Evander laughed quietly. “That’s funny?”
“No, it just explains a hell of a lot. Mainly why Reaux is losing his mind trying to find you. He gave a damn good effort attempting to pry a secret out of Tabitha, but she held strong until she confessed in front of everyone that she was the one who took the Plan B.”
“Oh shit.” Violet’s heart ached for the woman—Grit was going to be incredibly upset about that revelation—and then she understood the deeper connection. “Fuck, he knows. The confession tipped him off.”
“Yeah. Honestly, he was pretty persuasive with Tabitha, but she was sticking to her guns. She never actually spilled your secret.”
“No, she just gave him the means to work it out himself.” More resigned than angry, she sagged back into the pillows. “How did Grit take it?”
“Well, after he, Eli, and I gave her a verbal lashing, Tabitha went into survival mode. She shuts herself down, closes herself off. An ingrained habit from...”
“I’m aware of her past.”
They exchanged a sympathetic look for a woman who didn’t want or need their sympathy. Tabitha was unlike any other person of Violet’s acquaintance; she was strong, vicious, insanely intelligent, a little bit cuckoo, and when she was with Grit, soft as butter on a hot day.
“They’ll be okay,” Evander assured her. “Grit will make sure of it. He lives and breathes for her and, yeah, this is gonna piss him off for a while, but he knows her better than anyone. He’ll understand her reasons, and give her a lesson in trusting him with shit like this instead of reverting back to Miss Independent again. ”
“Yeah, we seem to be big on giving lessons around here,” she muttered to herself.
“Seems to me, you have one to learn yourself.”
Her eyebrows rose quickly, her gaze turning cold. “Oh really.”
“A lesson in hope, Violet.” Not bothered by her withering stare, Evander shrugged his massive shoulders.
“Hope for the future, for the dreams you set aside and left behind. When hope dies, we don’t have much to live for.
All we need is a spark, a tiny ember, to keep us ticking along until it erupts into a flame and banishes the shadows.
That’s your lesson. Learn to believe in Reaux, to forgive him his sins, and hope for the outcome you truly desire. ”
His words were a knife, cold and sharp, sliding between her ribs to pierce her heart. The general consensus from her friends was all the same, pushing her toward the open wounds Reaux had left in her heart and soul, urging her to trust and love and open herself to the pain again.