Page 123 of Their Ruthless Sadist

“I didn’t know you were a member of Dichotomy, Zeke. I honestly was just looking for a new place to play.”

“Funny,” the cowboy snarled. “You said you’d heard a rumor he was there.”

Matt glared at him, then shot a pleading look to me. “I didn’t believe it. And I don’t want you to think I’ve been stalking you or anything.”

“Never crossed my mind,” I answered truthfully. “You’re the one who left me, remember?”

He nodded, his eyes softening. “And I’ve regretted that every single second since that night, Zeke.”

“I didn’t get the feeling you gave a shit,” the pretty boy said. “Based on the bullshit coming out of your mouth at the club.”

Matt rolled his eyes at the pretty boy. “I was caught off guard. It was a knee-jerk reaction.”

“Not buyin’ it,” the cowboy stated.

Matt turned back to me and motioned around him, a small smile forming on his lips. “We were standing right here that night. Remember, Zeke? You made me dinner, told me you loved me, and I … I ruined it.”

“That you did,” I confirmed.

My chest constricted as those fucking feelings ghosted through me. I had long ago gotten over Matt, but the memories still hurt. I certainly didn’t feel an ounce of love for him now.

“I love you, Zeke,” Matt said, his tone so soft, so irritating. It was a lie. I knew because I could read him like a fucking book. “I should’ve told you that night, but I didn’t. You scared me, and I … I wanted to tell you I loved you back, but I panicked.”

I laughed, a sound I imagined the devil made. “You have a fucking strange way of showing it.”

“I’ve wanted to find you—”

“You knew where I lived,” I said, cutting him off.

“I know. But I knew you were mad. I thought maybe—”

“You thought that waiting four years and accidentally bumping into me was the perfect time for you to come over here and spout this bullshit?”

“It’s not bullshit, Zeke!” Matt’s temper flared. “I saw you tonight, and it all came back.”

I watched him, noticing the way his eyes continued to dart over to the cowboy and the pretty boy. It was as though he was enjoying the fact that they were here.

And then it hit me.

They were the reason he was here. Matt didn’t want me because I couldn’t live up to his standards, but he didn’t want anyone else to have me, either.

He confirmed my suspicion when he said, “They shouldn’t be wearing your collar, Zeke. I should. That’s my right, my privilege. Not theirs.”

I glanced down at his neck. “Looks to me like you discarded it long ago.”

Matt started to open his mouth, but quickly closed it.

I was beginning to think Matt had some psychological issues. I’d thought so the night he left. The way he had turned on me so quickly. It wasn’t normal. This wasn’t either. I hadn’t seen or heard from him in four years, and he just drove over here to confess his true feelings. Nope. Like the cowboy said, I wasn’t buying it.

“You need to go,” the pretty boy said, his tone far more rigid than it’d been before.

“This isn’t your house,” Matt countered.

The cowboy stepped forward, that same temper he’d lashed me with shining through. “No, but Zeke is our Dom and we have every right to protect him from those who want to hurt him.”

I swallowed hard, floored by how ballsy the cowboy was. He’d confronted me in the basement, and he was standing up for me here. Not that I needed him to, but I was so shocked by his words I couldn’t speak. I’d seen a couple of different sides to him over the past few weeks, but this was new.

Matt’s voice lowered. “I’m not here to hurt him. I’m here to get him back. I never should’ve left.”