Chapter 17 #2
Roman erased the distance between them, each step deliberate, until he was close enough that Parker had nowhere to look but at him. “You’re done here. You will never touch another submissive in my house again. Anywhere in Miami, if I have my say.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“That you think this is up for debate tells me how serious I should be.”
Another dominant moved to Roman’s side. Then another. And a third. They weren’t threatening. They were closing ranks and standing united, which was worse.
Parker looked around the room and finally seemed to realize no one was on his side. He swore under his breath and stormed toward the hallway, the other doms following close behind to make sure he didn’t break this newest rule.
Only when he disappeared did the tension in the room lessen.
Julia pushed herself upright, still fighting to steady herself. She tried to speak but swallowed, the tenderness in her throat making her wince.
Rachel dropped to her knees beside her. “Are you okay? Do you need a doctor?”
She shook her head, fingers gingerly touching her throat. “I think I’m okay,” she said, sounding raspy. “Thanks to you.”
Someone draped a blanket around her shoulders. Roman crouched in front of her, expression grim and deeply unsettled.
“That was completely out of line. Please accept my apology.”
Before she could reply, Rachel cut in angrily. “I can’t believe that happened. It was wrong on so many levels. Who invited that asshole?”
Roman scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “I did, I’m afraid.” Disgust crossed his face. “I’ve never seen him act that way before.”
Julia suddenly wanted out of there more than she wanted her next even breath. She rose unsteadily with Rachel’s help and looked around for her clothes. “I’m leaving.” Her voice sounded so raw, she barely recognized it.
“I’ll drive you home,” Roman offered immediately.
“I have my car.”
His frown deepened. “You probably shouldn’t drive right now.”
“I’m okay.” She drew the blanket closer around herself. “I just want to get home and forget this.”
“I’m so sorry,” Rachel whispered, looking miserable. “I feel like this is my fault.”
“If you didn’t know him, how could it be?” Julia essentially croaked.
Roman studied her for another long moment before conceding, “I’ll walk you out.”
“We both will,” Rachel corrected him, grabbing Julia’s hand like she’d fight anyone who objected.
No one did. Including Roman, who looked less angry than appalled that such a thing had happened under his nose.
Oddly enough, that made her feel the tiniest bit better.
Because after everything tonight, and at the clubs, and with a serial killer on the loose hunting submissive women, she’d begun wondering if good doms still existed.
They walked her all the way to her car. Julia didn’t remember the drive. One minute, she was leaving the lot. The next, she had parked in her apartment space, engine humming, headlights piercing the empty spots before her.
Twenty minutes gone. Just… gone.
Her hands remained locked on the steering wheel. Her breath was coming too fast and too shallow. She forced herself to relax. Inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly. Eventually, her grip loosened, and her head fell back against the seat.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
So desperate to move on, to not feel alone anymore, she went looking for something to fill the void. But she already knew she wouldn’t find it at a sub-par club or a party among strangers.
After a moment, she pushed the door open and walked inside on rubbery legs.
***
He watched them walk her out, giving it enough time not to draw attention before following. Her car wasn’t remarkable. A charcoal-gray Honda like half the city drove, but the Love is a Verb bumper sticker made it easy to spot once he knew it was hers.
He’d lost sight of her for weeks. Then she turned up tonight. Right under his nose.
The scene hadn’t gone well for her. For him, it had been something else entirely.
She had beautiful skin. It flushed easily under the lash. Not as vocal as he preferred, but that could be corrected.
Tears had clung to her lashes, not quite falling. He would take those too. In time.
The dom hadn’t lacked confidence. He’d lacked finesse—missed the cues, pushed without understanding what he had in front of him. Still, he’d enjoyed watching his fingers close around her throat. He’d seen her fear, her struggle, and wished it was his hand instead.
The host had stepped in, concerned with rules and safewords. As if that mattered.
Her brake lights flared as she turned into the apartment complex. He eased back, allowing another car to slip between them before rolling into the lot. She parked but didn’t get out right away.
He watched, waiting, weighing the opportunity.
The lot itself was a mess, the cracked asphalt, the holes and faded lines, but the lighting was annoyingly solid. Bright bulbs. New. The entryway was practically glowing.
Not ideal.
He tracked her path from car to door. The angles were all wrong. Too many windows faced the lot. A couple on a balcony. A dog walker cutting across the sidewalk.
It was too exposed. There were too many variables. Too much chance of being seen.
Her interior light came on. She climbed out, head down, wiping at tears she couldn’t hide as she hurried to the entrance. In less than a minute, she disappeared inside. The door shut firmly behind her.
He let the engine idle, settling back in his seat as the tension in him coiled into something sharper. The timing hadn’t been right tonight, but that was fine. Now he knew where his little bird nested.
His fingers tapped the steering wheel, slow and measured. The hunt mattered. The slow tightening of the net. The moment she finally understood she’d been chosen.
Patience had always served him well. He could wait for a while. But not forever.
It had already been too long, and the pressure was building. Not yet but soon.
He started the engine and pulled out of the lot. A car honked when he cut them off. He barely noticed, his attention fixed on the dark apartment building in his rearview mirror.
When she was his, he’d tell her exactly how close she’d come tonight.