Chapter 32
NOVA
Ikicked at Roman’s shins and bit his hand. He hissed in pain, quickly followed by taunting laughter. The door shut behind him, and my eyes were slow to adjust to the low light of this different, more private room.
Most of the men in the space were masked, similar to the Midsummer party, a mix of golden and more natural animal masks. There were a few women sitting in laps or walking around nude.
They all turned to look at me.
“As you were,” Roman said with a lazy flourish of his hand. His royal court went back to their conversations and debauchery.
I glared at Roman. “What the hell is your problem?”
He stalked toward me until he had me boxed in against a wall. “I know you enjoyed our last show-and-tell, given the evidence you left behind on my chair.”
Embarrassment instantly flushed my skin as I fought to catch my breath.
“I don’t think Jayne’s billionaire rehabilitation program is working,” I muttered. I moved to duck under Roman’s arm and escape.
Roman laughed. “Yes, yes, eat the rich, billionaires shouldn’t exist, blah, blah, blah,” he mocked, scooping me back against his chest. “Such a pity that raw power makes your little cunt weep for me. Wouldn’t want your comrades to know about that, would we?”
He turned me around, toward a corner of the room not occupied by the masked men and their evening entertainment.
A nude brunette had a ball gag in her mouth, kneeling in wait, wrists bound by rope. Drool dribbled down the sides of her mouth onto her perky breasts. Once again, she shared similar features to me.
“I did not consent to any of this,” I hissed, struggling in Roman’s hold.
He let go of me, and I immediately turned away from the gagged woman.
“You’re looking for something, though, aren’t you?”
I slowly turned back to Roman. “What?”
“Come here,” Roman commanded, snapping at the bound girl.
With her wrists bound, she had to awkwardly crawl to him on her knees and forearms.
Roman removed her gag. He pulled out a piece of chocolate from his pocket, flicking the wrapper onto the floor beside him. “Open.”
The girl opened her mouth. Roman shoved two fingers inside, shoving deeper until she gagged.
“Good girl,” he praised, placing the chocolate on her tongue.
“Roman,” I snapped. I was back to feeling like I was in some strange dream, one I needed to escape. What did he know? Did he have something to do with all of this? Finding me and Wes, hiding Lorelei from sight…
“When was the last time you came?”
My eyes widened in shock, and my mouth clamped shut as I glowered.
He smiled. “When was the last time someone made you come?”
A year. It had been an entire year since a man had made me come. And it had only been because he was fantastic at giving head and I was fantastic at imagining what I truly wanted but couldn’t ask for.
Roman smirked, as if he was a mind-reader. “Poor, poor angel. You must be so deprived.” He stroked the woman’s hair as she looked up at him, waiting. “Say the word, and the rich will eat you.”
I tensed, taking another step back toward the door.
“Please,” the kneeling woman pleaded.
Roman’s hand closed around her throat. “No, not you.” His voice oozed with condescension, as if speaking to a child. “I only want to hurt you.”
Her breathing became shallow as Roman’s grip tightened. Her eyes bulged slightly, her face turning red.
“Roman,” I said in alarm.
After five more long seconds, he let go of her, and the woman sucked in air as she leaned against Roman’s thighs. He stroked her hair.
“How do you feel about pain, Nova?” he asked me.
I lost it, my fists balling at my sides as my voice rose. “What the fuck do you know about what I’m searching for, Roman?”
A man laughed from across the room. The girl stared at me as if she was the one scared for my life. Roman only smiled eerily, abandoning his human toy to stand directly in front of me.
I fought to stay strongly rooted in place.
“This is a rare instance when it is fortuitous for you that you are not mine. Because if you belonged to me…” He laughed, shaking his head. “You would already be regretting speaking to me that way.”
Flustered and surging with heat and confusion and the betrayal of my body’s automatic arousal, I gave up and strode back to the door.
“The next time you see me, I will end your search,” he said.
I stopped just before the door, but I didn’t turn to face him. He knew something. Was he saying he could take me to Lorelei? I could feel him close, but he didn’t touch me again. His voice was smooth, even, controlled.
“I know you joined The Circle for something more than your own repressed desires. I don’t want you to worry about anything ever again, Nova. Your life should be your own. It should be easy. I can make it easy.”
Roman reached around me to open the door. I didn’t respond as I slipped past and beelined for the other private room, where Wes was.
Wes had become the only thing in this web of sex, money, and power that made any sense.
The moment I burst back into the room, Wes’s eyes found mine, abandoning his low conversation with Archer. He assessed me quickly, and he immediately stood.
“It’s been… a time,” Wes said to the room, grabbing my gift bag and purse. “Goodbye.”
The corners of Archer’s lips tugged down. Jayne still hadn’t returned. He watched Wes and me abandon our appetizers with a deepening frown before homing in on me.
What the fuck was going on here? I couldn’t wrap my head around any of it. I didn’t know how to win the game if I had no idea who the players were and what rules they were playing by. If there were any rules.
Maisy cocked her head in confusion and intrigue. Wes’s hand found my waist, and I nodded at him, confirming I was okay.
“Have a great night,” I said to the room, unable to stop it from sounding sarcastic.
“You as well,” Archer said. His tone was as forced as his tight smile.
Wes led me out of the restaurant, and the summer evening greeted us with darkness and sticky humidity.
“I’m so sorry,” I said. “I feel like I ruined our first date.”
“You didn’t—”
“I did, though,” I said, cutting him off.
“You were right. I’m addicted to trying to save Lorelei, and The Circle makes me feel like I’m trapped in a maze.
They’re fucking with me intentionally, but I don’t know why, and maybe I’m addicted to trying to figure that out too.
Why me?” I took a breath. “I’m sorry, Wes. ”
He nodded. His forehead creased slightly, his eyes conflicted. “I don’t want you near them. Ever again.”
My next breath came out shaky. He tilted my chin up.
“But I will not demand that of you.” He kissed my forehead. “I can’t demand that of you. Even if I really fucking want to.”
My stomach growled, breaking the tension.
Wes dropped his hand. “I’m feeding you and then taking you home.”
Disappointment sank low in my gut. Despite my anger and confusion, I was still so fucking aroused, it hurt. I needed him. I couldn’t stand another week of this, even another day.
“My home, I mean,” Wes amended.
My whiny internal monologue ceased instantaneously. Wes grinned, as if he could read the entire psychodrama from merely my facial expressions.
We started walking again. I needed to tell Wes about Roman, but I couldn’t bring myself to ruin the night for a second time. If I was honest about his disgusting advances, I knew Wes would worry. I suspected he would do far more than worry.
It was wrong of me, but I decided to keep it to myself, at least for tonight. I just wanted to resume the date we’d started—the one The Circle had hijacked.
So, I kept quiet about Roman and his masked golden circle, and I got my wish.
The moment I was alone with Wes again inside his home, the first thing I did was drop down to take off my shoes.
“Stay down there,” Wes said as I untied my second sneaker. “Untie my boots.”
My breath caught, my entire body buzzing from Wes’s tone shift. I reached for his right boot. Once both of our shoes were placed neatly by the front door, I was left before Wes on my knees.
Waiting.
When he looked down at me with a hand cradling my face, my breathing slowed and my heart steadied.
“So fucking beautiful,” he murmured. “Are you nervous about reading me your notes? Do not lie.”
“Yes.”
“Stand up.”
I stood, and Wes immediately lifted me into his arms and grabbed my purse from the wall hook. I wanted him to kiss me so badly, I was ready to beg him for it shamelessly.
He carried me to the couch and sat down with me on his lap. His thumb brushed against my bottom lip.
“I know something that might help.” With a hand on the back of my head, he tugged me down to hover an inch from his lips. His other hand was on my hip, his fingers almost to the curve of my ass.
His lips finally met mine, and all of me melted against him. He wasn’t gentle. His kiss was demanding, his teeth rough with my sensitive flesh when they captured my bottom lip. His tongue traced where he’d bitten, as if to soothe.
“Are you going to tell me immediately if I do or suggest something you do not like or don’t want to do?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yes. I promise.”
“Even if you think it’s what I want and you want to please me?” He gripped my face between his tattooed fingers.
“Yes.”
“Good girl.” His hand finally grabbed my ass, his hips shifting slightly. He looked down at where my center met his lap, the slit in my dress exposing the side of my lacy black panties. “We’re going to begin.” He handed me my notebook out of my bag he’d placed next to him.
I stared down at it, already cursing Past Nova for being so explicit and honest when I knew this day of reckoning would come.
“May I touch you, Nova?” Wes asked, breaking me out of my nervousness. “Here?” his fingers reached for the apex of my thighs, stopping just before making contact.
My clit pulsed, and I fought the urge not to audibly moan in anticipation. “Yes.”
When the word came out rushed and breathy, Wes’s lips slowly curved. “Is there anywhere you do not want me to touch?”