Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 76370 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76370 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
That doesn’t mean I like this.
“Put me down.”
“You’re speaking out of turn again.” She doesn’t glance down, just eats up the distance between the car and the elevator with that stride of hers, completely unchanged despite the fact that I’m in her arms. She waits for Sara to push the button to call the elevator. “At this rate, I won’t let you come the entire two weeks you’re with me.”
I want to pretend she’s bluffing, but I’m not that naive. Malone is more than capable of following through on that mildly delivered threat. For the first time in a very long time, I have to fight to lower my eyes and inject some submission into my tone. “I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re not.” She steps into the elevator.
Sara follows and presses the button for the highest floor and the one below it. We rise in silence. I expect Malone to set me down, but she shows no interest in doing so. The doors open on the second-highest floor, and Sara steps out. They turn back and level a severe look at me. “Don’t try anything. If you do, once she’s done fucking you up, I’ll fuck you up.”
This isn’t an idle threat, either. I press my lips together and nod. As if I’m not planning to do exactly that the first chance I get. As if the very reason I took this assignation wasn’t to get close enough to slip a knife between Malone’s ribs.
It’s not going to be easy. I knew that even before Allecto made her doubts known. Malone is a fucking Amazon from Sabine Valley. The name isn’t the only thing they share with their ancient Greek counterparts. They’re a matriarchal warrior society built of clans, and Malone was part of the ruling family. She’s a formidable enemy in every sense of the word.
She is a warrior by both the literal and corporate definition. It’s going to take everything I have in order to succeed in taking her out. And patience. Lots and lots of patience.
And then we’re rising again. This time when the doors open, we’re not looking at a corporate-type hallway. There’s a nondescript white room with a single door in it. Malone walks into the room and looks up at the camera positioned against the ceiling. A few seconds later, the lock clicks open, and she pushes through the door.
The apartment is decorated exactly like I imagined it would be. Clean lines. Minimalist decorating. Elegant furniture. Color scheme that leans white and gray with a few pops of silver and crimson to keep things from being soulless.
She sets me on my feet. “Get rid of that hideous thing.”
I look down at my teddy. “I like it.”
“You look like a sorority girl playing dress-up. Take it off.”
I almost argue, but the memory of the car has me reaching for the hem of the teddy and pulling it over my head without complaint. Malone takes it from my hand and strides deeper into the house. “Follow.”
I grit my teeth and obey. I round the corner in time to see her stuff the nightgown in the trash can in the kitchen. She keeps going before I can take a moment to study the room, stalking down the hallway and opening a door.
It leads to a room outfitted in high-end kink gear. There’s a spanking bench, a contraption meant to suspend someone on, and a hook attached to the ceiling in the middle of the room. From the hook dangles a spreader bar with cuffs on either end.
Malone positions me below it and then moves to a ring on the wall where it’s tied off, lowering it until it’s just within reach. Without a word, she walks back and fastens my hands on either side of the bar. It spreads me wide, leaving me unable to cover myself.
Malone steps back. “Now. Let’s see what I’ve claimed.”
5
Malone
There are certain expectations that come with being the leader of a territory. Carver City is nothing like Sabine Valley—too carefully refined, too polite, too kind—but that truth remains the same. I am a law unto myself within my territory, and as long as I don’t push too hard at my neighbors’ borders, they’re unlikely to start something. The factions here don’t need feasts and curated times a year to keep blood from shedding, aren’t always on the brink of a new war.
It’s made me soft.
There was a time when I wouldn’t hesitate to take what I wanted. It’s how I got this territory to begin with. When I arrived in the city, I took a month to analyze every territory’s strengths and weaknesses before choosing one for myself. The southern chunk of the city was ruled by a woman who really was soft. Too lax. Too lazy. Too willing to let her people do whatever they pleased. A few weeks of undermining her and one brutal fight, and the territory became mine.