Desired (Club Sin 3)

Before she had a chance to dig into the reason behind that smile, or understand his keen interest in her personal dare, a glass shattered to the ground next to their table. Ella’s heart leapt into her throat as the noise struck her right in the soul, like a knife cutting into her belly.

A sound that had been imprinted in her mind, one she’d never forget. A wave of fear raced through her, sending ice spilling into her veins. She pinched her eyes shut and froze in her chair, as she absentmindedly tumbled into a memory.

“Rory, this isn’t you. Don’t,” she managed to shout before firm hands shoved her forward.

The world spun around her before she went tumbling. A crashing sound came first. The shards of glass breaking as her face crashed into the table became the only noise in the air. When the rest of her body hit the table, her scream echoed in her ears as her forehead ached from the blow.

She blinked, groaning in agony from the fierce throb by her eye. A second later, she lay on the floor with warm liquid rushing down her face. She glanced to her hands covered in red from the tiny shards of glass broken beneath her. Raising her hand to her face, she cringed at the deep gash near her eye. Then she realized the warm liquid on her face was blood pooling from the wound.

So much blood …

Tension rippled through Kyler in alarm. His Dom and cop instincts set off warning bells. He stared at Ella, alert to her every move. As the waiter cleaned up the broken glass from the floor, Ella finally opened her eyes. She looked to him for only a second before her gaze cast down.

His jaw tightened, watching her harsh breathing. She grasped the table, knuckles white, mouth drawn in a straight line. Terror. Kyler managed to rein in the concern flickering through him, and he placed his arms on the table, reaching for her.

When she flinched away from him, a frown pulled the corners of his mouth. “Are you all right?”

Her gaze lifted to his, wide-eyed fear ragging in its depths. Keeping his hand close to hers, he hesitated. His stomach roiled under a reaction he’d seen before, too many damn times. The first hint of the reason behind the pain he’d seen in Ella was showing itself, and he wondered if Aidan had seen it, too. “Has someone hurt you, Ella?”

Her face became ashen. “P-p-pardon?”

Drawn in to protect her, he inhaled a slow breath to control his voice. “You behave like a woman who’s been abused. You can trust me. Is someone hurting you?”

“No, you’re wrong.” Her breathing returned to normal and clarity removed the tension around her eyes. “No one is hurting m

e.”

He didn’t feel like he had it wrong. His instincts told him he’d discovered exactly what had happened to her. “Why did you become so frightened at the sound of glass breaking and then just flinch away from me?”

She stared at him for a long moment. “I startle easily.”

Lie.

Kyler noticed the flush creep over her face. He wondered if she simply didn’t want to talk about it. While he wanted to dig a bit deeper and show her he dealt with abuse cases and would understand, he also thought it wasn’t his right to push her, just yet. He forced a smile to reassure her. “In my job, I take everything in the worst way sometimes. You seemed scared. I must have been mistaken.”

She laughed shakily. “No. No. It’s okay.” She waved him off with a dismissive hand. “I’m fine. It’s fine. Really.”

Kyler allowed her the escape, not wanting to ruin the night. That reaction was something he’d look into further. A person didn’t startle in fear and look absolutely terrified over a shattered glass. He wondered if maybe her family had a role in this. Perhaps a shattered glass in her home had been a call for punishment from her grandfather. “Tell me about your grandparents.”

She seemed relieved by the change in subject and leaned back into her seat, exhaling slowly. “They were my mother’s parents and were really lovely. Pops was a lawyer and worked for years longer than he should have. Nana was sweet, and did a lot of charity work in Savannah.”

Only warm affection touched her gaze, telling Kyler her grandparents were not the cause of her fear. More and more, he considered the darkness that lived inside her. He only wished Aidan was in Vegas so he could talk to him about it. If anyone had insight into Ella, it was Aidan. He’d normally call or text him, but since Aidan was honeymooning, that seemed inappropriate, at least at this point, anyway.

Kyler smiled, running his hand along the table, finally reaching her hand. This time she didn’t flinch away, though he noticed the slight tremors rattling her, which told him he wasn’t off in his assumption of abuse. “They sound like wonderful people.”

She gave a soft grin. “They were.”

“What of your parents?” he asked, digging deeper.

“It’s hard to remember them, because I was young when they died.” She took a very long sip of her wine. When she lowered the glass, her hand shook before she tightened it around the wineglass. “But my mother loved scrapbooking, so she did leave me with a lot of pictures. Those stir some great memories.”

Family is not the problem.

Kyler pondered this new development. His Dom instincts begged her to let him in. He wanted a deeper look, which could be developed between a Dom and a submissive. Ella didn’t trust Kyler with that dark part in her soul. He knew he had to earn the right to hear her troubles. His cop’s instincts wanted to find whoever had hurt her and damage them in return.

With the challenge she’d given herself exposed, perhaps Kyler had found a way to get her into Club Sin. He knew what he wanted, and that was Ella under his mastery. There was something special about her—something he couldn’t ignore. No Dom could see that pain and walk away. It was a Dom’s way to see her better and healthy, and see her scars bandaged back up again; that was what a Dom lived for.

What Kyler lived for.