Page 78 of Silk and Sirens

I’d been used roughly by plenty of men before, and I’d never once enjoyed it, more so because they’d never cared about my pleasure.

But this …

No.

I’d simply gotten caught in the moment. In the sheer fucking audacity of him using my mouth while casually setting up a date with Vivienne, the same date I’d practically dared him to take.

Oh God.

It wasn’t his face I pictured when I slid my hand between my legs and rubbed myself, gasping into sheets that weren’t even mine. I definitely didn’t come again from recalling the way those pale-blue eyes burned as I took him as deep as I could. Or the way I’d curled my tongue, swallowing around his ridiculous girth just so I could force a broken groan from his throat.

I refused to be just another one of his toys.

If he was going to use me like that, then I was going to play.

A sudden vibration pulled me from my tangled thoughts. I glanced towards the nightstand where my phone glowed amongst the darkness. Caden had let me stay in the same bedroom I’d chosen earlier, but only after making it crystal clear he’d locked down the private lift.

Which meant the only way out was through one of the windows.

Tempting.

My phone vibrated again, more insistently this time. With a heavy sigh, I reached for it, opening the string of increasingly unhinged messages Renley had been sending for the last few hours.

Renley:

Where are you?

You didn’t come home. Answer me.

If you make me come find you, you won’t like what happens.

You better not be with him. I don’t care what Selene says.

I’ll kill him if he touches you.

Answer your fucking phone, Aeris. Now.

Renley had grown increasingly possessive these past few months, trying to tighten a leash he had no right to hold. I’d fought tooth and nail for the independence Selene had finally granted me. A somewhat restricted life, yes, but one where I could at least breathe as long as I followed orders. Fuck when I was told to fuck. Kill when I was told to kill.

But Renley’s obsessive behaviour was escalating. He was pushing boundaries, testing how far he could go.

I’d kill him before he ever got to touch me again.

Renley:

The safehouse has been hit. Selene wants to meet.

Shit.

I glanced down the hall before slipping out of the bedroom, wary that Caden was still up. The music had stopped an hour or so ago, but I hadn’t been able to fall asleep. Not when I was trapped here with a man who was just as likely to force an orgasm as he was to kill me.

With my heels in my hand I snuck towards the lift, hoping there was a simple override or, even simpler, a normal button.

A gust of wind teased my dress, my ears straining for any sound as I snuck further into the living room. The lift was on the other side, and my bare feet were silent on the wood. I reached it without issue, the dim light forcing me to press my hand against the doors. But there was no button, not even a control panel that I could find.

Frustrated, I turned—only to find Langdon leaning against the railing on the balcony, his head cocked to the side as he studied me like I was a dirty secret. His dark-blond hair whipped around his head, the wind assaulting the strands as he smoked a suspicious-looking cigarette. The end burned white, highlighting his shadowed features.

“Don’t suppose you’ll give me the code to leave?” I asked, keeping my voice low.