I resist the urge to move in on her and box her in with my body and capture her wrists. “No, one of the purposes of this club is sex, but more importantly this is a place where business and pleasure mix. Men come here for a good time, yes, but more importantly they come to meet other men who can assist them in their endeavors. They try to befriend me, so I might be in debt to them and owe them a favor.”
“And the women? What do they get other than being whored out?”
“Protection. Safety. Money. Everything they desire.”
“As long as they sell themselves.”
I shake my head. “The women don’t see it that way. They might be desperate when they come to work for me, but they live like queens. Worshiped and wanted. They are never forced to fuck or even touch a man. They don’t even have to dance. They can simply serve liquor and get paid a six-figure salary to work for me.”
She gasps.
I close the door to my office. I’ll deal with Zeke fucking in my office later.
“You can’t hide your secret lust from me. I see it as plain as I can see your tits in my mind. I’ve seen the look too many times not to notice.”
She glares.
“There is no shame in feeling lust. Just because your innocence was taken doesn’t mean you stop wanting to find the joy in a good lay. It’s not sick or twisted. I’m the sick one, not you,” I say.
“I agree; you’re sick.”
“I am, so stop looking at me like I could save you. I can’t. Not with protection. Not with my body. Not at all.”
“I know you can’t save me from the demons that haunt me; nobody can. And even if I get better, I’m still a prisoner in your home with no hope to work off my debt.”
My eyes darken. I can think of plenty of ways she could work off her debt to me.
“Langston will drive you home. The club was too much for you. From now on, you can stay a prisoner in my house,” I say, my jaw clenching as I say the word prisoner. But that’s what she is, until I release her. Or someone else figures out the truth.
“Why not you?”
“Because I have work to do. And Langston owes me.”
“Thank you for stopping Langston,” her words explode out of her in a whisper.
I huff. “You obviously haven’t learned anything if you are thanking me. I’m not your protector, Kai. You should know by now that I could set you free; I just never will.”
And then I walk away, despite my urges to stay. To drag her into a spare room and make her realize what it’s like to be fucked and enjoy it.
I feel her staring as I round the corner. I can’t save you, but you can save us both.
27
Kai
Enzo said I need to have sex in order to heal. I need a man to pleasure me. That’s the only way to truly get over my fears.
I’m sure he’s right, but I can barely tolerate clothes, I can’t sleep in a bed, I hate the sunlight. I’m not ready for sex. I don’t think I’ll ever be.
I stand frozen in my spot after Enzo leaves me at the closed door to his office. I can’t believe I thought the man in the room was Enzo. I can’t believe I cared, but I do. I’m not even sure I’m jealous because I want Enzo to be the one fucking me. I’m clearly not ready for sex. I just don’t want him fucking anyone.
If I’m his possession, then I want him to be mine. But it doesn’t work that way. Only one of us gets to be the object, the other a person with a life.
“Katherine,” Langston says cautiously from behind me.
I turn, and it’s clear from his stoic expression he’s been given orders from Enzo. I’m now Katherine instead of Kai. Why am I Katherine here? What does my name mean? If I spoke my name aloud to the men in this club, what would happen?
“Are you ready to go home?” he asks.