Chapter 6
DANE
Whitney kneels beside my desk. It’s been almost an hour.
I haven’t let her change out of her dress or put panties on.
I reach down and run my fingers through her hair. She leans into the touch as if she desperately needs affection from me.
“That’s a much better girl.”
Whitney moans. She needs praise almost as much as she needs punishment. But what exactly does my wife need to be punished for?
I return my attention to the laptop screen while I stroke the top of her head. I sent Thorne a text to get me access to the cameras at the restaurant as soon as I saw Harrison leave. They are now up on my screen.
Whitney and her friends are in view, and for a while nothing is out of the ordinary. Then Harrison Lockwood approaches their table.
My fingers tighten in her hair as I watch her get up from the table and follow him into an alcove.
I notice the way her body moves. She’s tense and holding her arms across her body. Whitney is scared of him.
I tug at her hair. She gasps but doesn’t pull away. Instead, she rubs her cheek along my thigh.
Whitney’s afraid of something, but she won’t tell me what. That isn’t her choice to make. My wife doesn’t get to keep things from me.
It pisses me off even more that Harrison Lockwood knows information that I don’t.
My phone buzzes. I pick it up off my desk to read the message.
Security: Fox has arrived at the front gate.
I close my laptop and set my phone face down on the desk. “Stand up, kitten.”
Whitney rises, and I take her arm to help steady her.
“Fox is here.” I brush her hair away from her face. “You're about to meet my oldest son with that plug in your ass.”
She frowns but doesn’t argue. She adjusts her dress and checks over her appearance.
There’s a knock on the door, and then Fox appears in the doorway. He’s carrying a file folder and has a wide grin on his face. My son is far too proud of himself.
His eyes flick to Whitney. Then to me. One eyebrow raises slightly, but to his credit, he keeps his fucking mouth shut about whatever smart thing he might want to say.
“Dad.” He turns to Whitney with a slight nod. “Mrs. Sinclair. Congratulations on the marriage.”
Whitney extends her hand, and Fox shakes it. She’s playing the part of the proper wife, and I can’t wait to get her back on her knees.
“Thank you, Fox. It’s nice to meet you.” She looks to me, then back to Fox. “We should have a family dinner soon. I would love to get to know you and your brothers better. And you all still have to meet Sloane.”
“That sounds good.” Fox releases her hand. “Just have Dad summon us when you have made the arrangements.”
I step forward and place my hand on the small of Whitney’s back. Then I let it slide lower to cup her ass. I press against where the plug stretches her, and she stiffens but doesn’t make a sound.
“Go wait for me in our bedroom, kitten.” I lean down to her ear. “You already know how I expect to find you when I arrive.”
Her breath catches. “Yes. Good to see you, Fox.”
I give her ass a swat. She jumps, then hurries out of the room without looking back.
As soon as she’s gone, Fox laughs. “I see why you have been far less demanding of us lately.”
“Shut the fuck up.”
“I’m just saying, Dad. You actually seem . . . happy. It’s weird as hell.” He drops the file on my desk. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you as a pussy-whipped husband.”
“I’m not fucking pussy-whipped. Keep pushing me, and I’ll select a wife for you before the week is out.”
Fox flippantly waves his hand. “I’ll marry when I’m good and ready. I can get my needs met without a fucking wedding.”
“If you don’t sort it out for yourself, you’ll marry when I fucking tell you to. You’re twenty-four. I was a widower with three children by your age.”
“And you walked uphill in five feet of snow—”
“Goddamn smartass. Thankfully, I have two other sons who can carry the line forward after I murder your ass. Will you tell me what you came here for?”
Fox taps the folder on my desk. “Harrison Lockwood is broke.”
I open it and see the financial records and property information that Fox has collected.
“He has mortgaged every property he owns,” Fox continues. “He took out loans against them all. It seems he recently sold his estate in Connecticut for fifteen million. But last week he had to pay most of those funds to various creditors.”
“How much does he actually have?”
“Maybe fifteen million in assets if he liquidates everything. But he owes at least twelve million to people who want their money now. And it would leave him homeless.”
I flip through the documents. Harrison’s financial situation is a disaster. The man is drowning in debt.
“The man’s desperate.” I’m still working out what all of this means for my wife.
“Very. And desperate men make stupid decisions.” Fox leans against the desk. “It’s odd he bid on Whitney at the auction.”
I look up from the file. “I was thinking the very thing.”
“There’s no way he could have afforded to buy Whitney. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Harrison bid on my wife knowing he couldn’t pay for her, which means he either had a plan to get the money or he was driving up the bid. But neither makes sense.
“He wanted her for a reason. Something worth the risk of bidding money he didn’t have.”
“That’s what I thought too.” Fox taps the file. “The question is what. What could Whitney possibly give him? She didn’t get to keep Gerald’s money. It never goes to the wife. The money went to his brother from what I know. But I’m still digging into Gerald’s finances.”
I think about Whitney’s fear. And her lies.
I close the file. “Keep digging. I want to know everything about Harrison’s finances.
And Gerald’s, too. We already know from the information Cain gave us that Gerald was as despicable as they come with his involvement with underage girls.
I would have killed him myself if he hadn’t died in that car accident.
Go through the list of people Harrison owes money to.
See if we have anything on any of them.”
“I still can’t believe you let Cain leave with Briar, alive.” Fox tapped his foot, his tell that he’s irritated.
Fox would never have allowed that to happen. It was against a direct order and my sons are the only ones that know they are alive. But he should remember that I’m the one in fucking charge here.
“Everything I do is for a reason, son. You just don’t always need to know what it is.”
My son wisely chose not to argue. “You think one of Harrison's debtors might know something?”
“It’s possible. And we are going to figure out Harrison’s next move before he makes it.”
I’ll ruin the bastard for looking at my fucking wife. But I’ll torture him for days and then snap his neck if he thinks he’s going to harm her.
Fox nods. “I’ll see what I can find. Anything else?”
“Yes, find out if Harrison has had any recent meetings with other Council members. Anything that might explain why he’s suddenly so interested in my wife.”
“Did something happen? Has he threatened Whitney?”
“I’m not sure.”
Fox stares at me in disbelief. “What the fuck do you mean you’re not sure?”
“I mean. I’m not fucking sure. He spoke with her today, but I don’t know about what.”
“She hasn’t told you?” Fox rocks on his heels. “Who the fuck are you? You’re letting her get by without telling you?”
“Watch yourself, son.” I step closer so we are almost nose to nose. “I know how to handle my wife. So follow my orders and mind your goddamn business.”
Fox holds up his hands and smirks at me. “God, you must be in love with her.”
He knows better than that. I’ve taught my sons better than that. They know that love doesn’t exist for people like us. I grip my son’s shoulder. “Get the fuck out of my office before I make you regret being born.”
Fox laughs at me now. “You know what? I’m glad you married her. She’s good for you. Makes you almost human.”
“Out. Now.”
“Going, going.” Fox heads toward the door, then pauses. “But seriously, Dad. Whatever is going on with Harrison, be careful. None of this seems right.”
“Let him try to fuck with me and he’s dead. He wouldn’t be the first man we’ve killed, and he wouldn’t be the last.”
Fox shrugs. “Give Tate the word and he’ll take care of it, but it’ll be a pain in the ass to cover this one up.”
“We’ll deal with that once you get the information I need. And check in with your brothers on their assignments. Text me an update, but keep out of this house tonight. I have plans for my wife.”
Fox hurries to the door. “Thank fuck I have the penthouse.”
Then he’s gone without so much as looking back.
Harrison bid twelve million dollars he didn’t have for my wife. I’m going to find out why. And most likely, whatever the reason, he’s a dead man. But it’s much more delicate to put down someone close to the Council, even if he’s on the lower rungs.
I pull up the house cameras on my phone and see Whitney completely naked on her knees in the middle of our bedroom.
Harrison Lockwood is tomorrow’s problem. Right now, I want my wife. I don’t even care if she’s learned her lesson. That’s tomorrow's problem, too.
I enter our bedroom and close the door behind me. She keeps her eyes on the floor. My wife is a fast learner.
I lean back against the door and watch her. This gorgeous, complicated woman, who lies to me and submits to me, drives me absolutely insane.
And I still can’t get enough, though I can never tell her that.
“You’re perfect, Mrs. Sinclair.”
Her shoulders relax slightly at the praise. I cross the room and stand in front of her.
“Look at me.”
Her eyes meet mine. There’s desire there. And guilt. And fear. And need. I can read every emotion.
“Tell me what you want.”
“You.” Tears well in her eyes. “Please, Dane. I need you.”
Her voice is raw and broken, and fuck, I need her too.
She swallows hard. “Please fuck my ass. I don’t care if it hurts. I’ve been good for you. I just need you inside me. Please.”