Chapter 16 #2
Isabella speaks up. "We're also working with legal counsel to explore options for pursuing charges against whoever leaked the footage. Not just for Simone's privacy violation, but for exposing club members without consent."
"Good." Simone's voice is hard. "Make them pay for this."
"We will. But in the meantime, we need to manage the immediate crisis." Margot looks at me. "You upgraded our security systems last year. Can you review protocols and recommend additional measures to prevent media from identifying members coming and going?"
"Already working on it." I pull up notes on my phone. "My team is coordinating counter-surveillance measures. Increased screening in the garage, alternate entry points, detection systems for anyone trying to photograph scene partners in the vicinity."
Remy nods from across the table. "Dominion security synced. Protocols go up tonight."
Margot's shoulders relax slightly.
"Thank you." She closes her eyes briefly. "This isn't just about protecting privacy anymore. It's about preventing witch hunts."
We spend the next couple hours working through crisis management protocols. Margot's team has done solid work, but the media pressure is unprecedented. Dominion has always operated on discretion and privacy. Now it's under a spotlight.
When we leave, the media presence outside has doubled. The reporters recognize the SUV pulling out of the garage. They surge forward, cameras rolling, microphones extended. My security team blocks the worst of it with the follow vehicle, but they're aggressive.
Simone stares straight ahead, not reacting. Professional mask firmly in place.
"How long until the board meeting?" I ask once we're clear.
"Several days." The words come out strained. "Another emergency session."
The timing is too perfect. "They're going to keep the pressure up until then."
"Can you handle a few more days?"
"I don't have a choice."
We head back to the estate. Simone spends the afternoon working with Henry on strategy for the board confrontation. I coordinate with Remy on the leak investigation and the security upgrades for Dominion.
By evening, exhaustion is starting to show on Simone's face. She's been running on adrenaline and anger since the footage dropped. The media siege, the constant pressure from the board, all of it compounding.
I find her in the guest house living room, staring at her laptop screen. News coverage still playing. Social media commentary scrolling past. She's torturing herself with it.
"Enough," I say, shutting her laptop.
"I need to know what they're saying."
"You know what they're saying. The same thing they've been saying for hours." I pull her to her feet. "You need to stop reading it."
"I can't just ignore it."
"You can't control it either. So reading every comment, every article, every post is just letting them in your head." I turn her to face me. "That's what they want. They want you spiraling, doubting yourself, breaking down."
"Not breaking down."
"Close enough." I see the cracks forming. "When'd you eat last?"
She doesn't answer.
I pull her to the kitchen, make her sit. I put together grilled gulf shrimp, red beans and rice, with cornbread. It's nothing elaborate but it's enough to keep her functional.
She picks at it, barely eating.
"Simone."
"I'm not hungry."
"I don't care. Eat."
She takes a few bites, then sets the fork down. "Luc, I can't do this right now."
"Can't do what?"
"Pretend everything's fine. Pretend I'm handling this. Pretend I'm not furious and violated and exhausted." Her voice cracks slightly. "I need a minute where I don't have to be strong."
There it is.
"Come here." I pull her out of the chair, lead her to the couch. She sinks against me, tremors running through her body. She's not crying, just shaking with the effort of holding everything together.
I let her stay there. Let her lean. Let her not be the CEO, not be the fighter. Let her just be exhausted.
She eases back, the shaking finally stopped. She looks at me.
"I hate this," she says quietly.
"I know."
"I hate that Armand did this. I hate that someone on my board leaked it.
I hate that strangers are judging me for choices that were mine to make.
" Her fists clench. "And I hate that I can't make it stop.
I can't make my mind stop running through every possible outcome, every way this could go wrong, every person who's going to use this against me. "
"You need to stop thinking."
"I can't."
"Yes, you can." I frame her face, hold her gaze. "But you need help shutting your mind off. And I can give you that."
Understanding flickers in her eyes. Hesitation. Then a nod.
"Strip. Everything off."
She stands, pulls off her clothes with shaking hands. When she's naked, I gesture to the floor in front of me.
"On your knees."
The command comes out flat. There's no room for negotiation. She hesitates for just a second, then sinks to her knees in front of me.
"Good girl." I unbuckle my belt slowly, the leather sliding through the loops with a soft hiss. "You're going to take me in your mouth. You're going to focus on nothing but pleasing me. And you're going to stop thinking about anything else."
Her breath catches. We've done a lot together, but oral's different. More vulnerable than anything we've done so far.
"Luc—"
"No talking. Just do what I tell you." I unzip my jeans, free my cock. I'm already hard, have been since I pulled her to the couch. "Hands behind your back."
She complies immediately, linking her fingers at the small of her back.
The position makes her breasts push forward, her posture straighten.
She's nervous. Her hands tremble slightly as she kneels there, staring at my cock.
But she doesn't refuse. She's submitting because I ordered it, and that submission is exactly what she needs right now.
I thread my fingers through her hair and grip firmly. It's not painful, but it is controlling. "Look at me."
Her eyes meet mine. Dark with arousal and uncertainty and need.
"You're safe," I tell her. "I've got you. All you have to do is what I tell you. Understand?"
"Yes."
"Yes, what?"
A pause. Then: "Yes, Sir."
Fuck. Hearing that from her mouth does things to me.
I position myself at her lips. "Open."
She does. I slide in slowly, just the head at first. Her mouth is wet and hot and perfect. Her tongue touches me tentatively. She's uncertain how much to take, her jaw stretching to accommodate my thickness. I control it for her. I keep one hand in her hair, guiding her, setting the pace.
"Relax your jaw. Breathe through your nose."
She adjusts, and I push in deeper. Not all the way. Not yet. She needs to work up to it. Her lips seal around me, creating suction that makes my balls tighten.
"Tongue flat. Just like that." Her lips stretch around my cock, struggling to take more of me. "You're doing so well, Simone. Taking me so beautifully."
She makes a small sound around my cock. Not quite a moan, but close. The vibration runs straight through me. Her eyes flutter closed and I tighten my grip in her hair.
"Eyes on me. I want to see you while you suck my cock."
They open again. She looks up at me, lips wrapped around me, and something primal sparks in my chest. She's gorgeous like this. Surrendered. Trusting me to take control.
I start to move her head, pulling her forward onto me, then back. The thrusts are shallow at first, letting her get used to the rhythm. Saliva starts to gather at the corners of her mouth, running down her chin. Her breathing is harsh through her nose. The wet sounds she makes fill the room.
"Deeper now. You can take more."
I push in further. She gags slightly, throat convulsing around me, and I ease back, give her a second to adjust. "Breathe. Relax your throat."
She nods slightly, then I push in again. This time she takes it better. Her throat relaxes and I slide deeper, feeling the tight heat of her.
"That's my good girl. Look at you, taking my cock so well. You love this, don't you? Being on your knees for me."
Her thighs press together. She's getting wet from this. From kneeling for me, from being used, from having no choice but to please me. Her nipples are hard, visible even from here.
I let her work for a few minutes, bobbing her head at the pace I set.
Saliva runs down her chin, drips onto her chest. Her eyes are starting to water from taking me deep.
She's making soft, wet, obscene sounds that go straight to my balls.
Precum leaks onto her tongue and she swallows reflexively, throat working around me.
"Touch yourself," I order. "I want to know how wet you are from sucking my cock."
One of her hands moves from behind her back, slides down her body, between her legs. Her fingers disappear and her eyes go hazy. She moans around my cock, the vibration making me curse.
"How wet?"
She moans again, louder this time.
"Show me."
She pulls her hand out, holds it up. Her fingers glisten, slick and wet.
"Fuck. You're soaked." I draw her off my cock slowly, a string of saliva connecting her lips to me. "On the couch. Bend over the arm."
She scrambles to obey, positioning herself over the arm of the couch.
"Spread your legs. Wider."
She does. I run my hand over her ass, down between her thighs. She's dripping. I slide two fingers inside her easily, and she gasps, pushing back against my hand.
"Fuck, you're soaked. All from sucking my cock?"
"Yes, Sir."
I work my fingers inside her, curling them to find the spot that makes her shake. She whimpers, trying to stay quiet, but I don't want quiet.
"I want to hear you. Don't hold back."
She moans, then gasps as I add a third finger, stretching her. I fuck her with my hand while my other hand finds her clit, working it in firm circles.
"That's it. Come on my fingers first. Then you're going to come on my cock."
"Please—"
"Please what?"
"Please, Sir, I'm close—"
"Then come."