Total pages in book: 173
Estimated words: 174632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 873(@200wpm)___ 699(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 174632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 873(@200wpm)___ 699(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
She gasped. “Had he?”
“Yeah. However, it wasn’t until later that I learned it wasn’t as bad as she had made out. She asked me to come see him and I did. He didn’t look well. He asked me to attend his upcoming birthday party. I stupidly agreed.”
“You wanted to be a good son.”
“I was a knob. What were they doing throwing a party when he was ill and they had no money?” He shook his head. “But I didn’t know how many birthdays he’d have left. So I took the bait. And that’s where I met her.”
“Elizabeth?”
“Yeah. She seemed perfect for me. Strong and smart. She could talk to anyone about any topic. To the outside world we looked like a power couple. She was a lawyer. Her family had money. I didn’t jump into anything immediately, of course. But then she turned up at the BDSM club I was a member of. I saw her in the ropes, and I started talking to her again. We played a few times. Went on a few dates and I started falling for her.”
“What about Ian and Jack?” she asked.
“That’s the part I’m most ashamed of. I introduced them all. Initially, she acted like she was into the three of us. I was so blinded by her that it was hard to see what was really going on. Ian and Jack weren’t as into her as I thought. Jack smiled and said the right things, but barely touched her. While she and Ian clashed. She didn’t like the way he spoke or the things he did.”
“Did they not say anything to you?” she asked.
“They tried. But I thought they just needed more time to get to know her. I got angry at them for not giving her more of a chance. She even said she enjoyed regressing sometimes, which made my Daddy side happy. She let me Top her in the bedroom and out. Like I said . . . perfect for me.”
“Wait. Out of the bedroom?”
“I like control pretty much all of the time. When we were together, I would choose what she ate and wore, when she went to bed. Does that scare you?”
It should.
But it kind of intrigued her. Imagine not having to make all those decisions . . . how much space it would clear out of her head. She could focus on other things or she could simply live in the moment.
“What happened?”
“She showed her true colors when she learned the truth of my parents’ financial state. Seemed a doctor and two MI6 agents didn’t make enough for her. Her parents had mostly cut her off. Something my parents didn’t know. When I told her I couldn’t buy her the expensive car she wanted or take her on holiday for a month, she lost it. Everything came out. Turns out, she wasn’t a sub at all. Let alone a Little.”
“It was all an act?” What the hell? That bitch!
“And I fell for it. I should have listened to Jack and Ian rather than get angry at them.”
“Oh, Jameson, I’m so sorry. No wonder you find it hard to trust.”
“That isn’t everything.”
Lord. She wasn’t sure she could take much more.
“What else?”
“She had ‘evidence’ that she’d gathered. And she let it all out into the world.”
“Like what? What do you mean?”
“About my dark desires. How I was a Daddy Dom. The things I used to do to her. She spun it as though she was a victim and I was controlling her. The police interviewed me and I nearly lost my job. Thankfully, I had a number of people come forward and make statements that everything was consensual. That they’d seen her play with other people at the club. There was no evidence to say I forced her. But . . . I couldn’t stay there. Even though London is a big city, it felt like everyone knew. My parents disowned me and I moved here.”
Holy heck. Poor Jameson. Reaching out, she took hold of his hand. But he was looking over her shoulder, lost in the past.
“About three months after I arrived here, my father died of a heart attack. My mother never even bothered to tell me.”
“Oh no.” She got to her feet and threw her arms around his neck, needing to comfort him.
He lifted her into his lap. “Is this all right? I know it’s selfish of me, but can you hug me a bit longer?”
“I’ll hug you as long as you like.”
Eventually, he drew back so he could look down at her. He brushed some hair off her face. “Now you know the whole sordid, sad truth.”
“I’m so sorry, Jameson,” she whispered. “For how your parents treated you. For what she did to you. That must have felt awful.”
“Like everyone was judging me. All my life, I’ve felt that from my parents, but then it was from everywhere. I couldn’t even turn to Ian and Jack. I was just too horrified. I was lost.”