Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 79940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
“You were taking too long,” she said, running a hand up his tattooed biceps.
King glanced at me, and for a moment, I saw what I thought was regret in his gaze before it dropped to meet hers. “I didn’t tell you that you could get up, did I?” he asked in a hard tone that startled me.
She shook her head and stepped back from him, then dropped her gaze to the floor. “No, sir. I’m sorry,” she replied softly.
He reached up and ran his hand over her head, as if to reassure her. “Go back to where I left you and wait.”
She nodded. “Yes, sir,” she replied before turning and leaving the room quickly, without another word or glance in our direction.
“All right, Rumor, let’s you and I go on that tour, shall we?” Sebastian said a little too brightly.
I lifted my gaze to his. A sick knot formed in my stomach as a slow understanding of what I had just witnessed began to connect. The screaming had been her. King had been in there with her. That was why he was shirtless, barefoot, and sweaty. He’d been…beating her?
The smile on Sebastian’s face didn’t mask the apology in his eyes. He hadn’t wanted me to know who had been in that room. I trusted King. He’d saved me. Brought me here. They all knew that.
Did Maeme know he did that to women? And why would he do it? What was the purpose? Was he like Hill? Did he like hitting women?
I was unable to stand up.
The sound of a door slamming made me jump, and I spilled water over the rim of my glass as my eyes swung back to the door. King was gone. He had left.
“I’m sorry about that. With what you went through, that shit has to strike a chord. He’s not mad at you. He’s upset that you heard it,” Sebastian told me, stepping in front of me. “Come on. There’s a lot more to see.”
I shook my head and sucked in a deep breath. “No. I…I think I want to walk back to the cottage. If you don’t mind,” I told him, standing up and holding my glass out for him to take.
As he took it, he sighed heavily. “I understand. I’ll walk you back.”
“No,” I blurted. “I want to go alone. I’ll be fine. I remember the way.”
“Rumor, I’m not going to hurt you. No one is. I swear it.”
I nodded. “I know. I just…I just want to go back alone.”
He looked at me as if he wanted to argue, but finally stepped back. “I get it.”
Good, because I didn’t. None of what I had just learned made sense. Sure, the girl hadn’t been bruised, nor did she walk as if she were in pain, but I had heard her screaming. He’d talked to her like a child. Sebastian had said she was being tied up and whipped. That was all something that made no sense to me. I had assumed people who did that were role-playing. Not actually causing someone real pain. It was a kink thing that I would never get. But the whole control thing I’d seen was unhealthy. Wrong.
I started toward the door and paused to glance back at Sebastian. “Thank you for bringing me,” I told him, feeling rude about the way I was running off.
He set our glasses down and smiled at me. “He only does it to women who want it. He doesn’t force anyone.”
He was defending King. Okay, fine.
“Women want that? She was screaming,” I pointed out.
Sebastian shrugged. “I don’t get it either. I’d be lying if I said I did. But trust me, King has never had an issue with finding women to do his bidding. Sometimes, he has a couple doing it at the same time. They like it. He chooses them carefully.” He stopped and shook his head. “Look, I shouldn’t be talking to you about this. It’s his business. Not mine. I just don’t want you to be terrified of him. He would never touch you that way or any way. He knows what you’ve been through and that you aren’t the kind of woman who would be on board with that shit. He will always treat you respectfully.”
So many different things were racing through my head. I wasn’t sure which one to be most concerned about. Was it that King did those things to women during sex, or that he liked doing it with more than one at a time…or that I was someone he’d never touch? I had thought for a moment the other night that he was going to kiss me. I’d wanted it too. It had shocked me and excited me. But he was never going to kiss me.
I masked the disappointment and managed a tight smile.
“I understand,” I told him, although I really didn’t. Not at all.