“Too tight.”
I shrug.
“How? Why did you let her do this to you?”
“Because the agency told me it was this or lose my fucking job.” I wince when she traces one of the welts. “Can’t afford it.”
“Why?”
I shake my head. Can’t tell her without spilling everything about my past, and if she freaks out and the agency finds out...That’s it.
Like I said: can’t afford it.
“Clients aren’t allowed to hurt you.” She breathes out. ?
??Are they? I mean, I know you said some bondage is okay, but this…”
It’s not. It’s against the regulations, but fucking Johnson is all too happy to see me punished for my “insolence” while telling the boss I’m being picky and difficult.
“She had a man with her,” I mutter, not even sure why I’m telling her. Didn’t I decide this isn’t something she should know about? “Like the other times. He ties me up, beats me up and she gets herself off.” I shiver. “Watching me.”
“Jesus.” She presses her lips to my spine, and a pleasurable shiver travels down my back, to my balls and to my half-hard dick. “This is awful. There has to be a way to get it to stop.”
“Can’t think of one.”
“Leave the agency.” Her mouth moves a little, leaves another hot kiss, and fuck, my dick is rising like a flagpole. “There have to be more jobs out there.”
“Not any that pay so well.” Except illegal fighting. But I promised myself I wasn’t going back, and besides, my club kicked me out. “I didn’t even finish school. What kind of job could I find?”
“Wait a minute…” She moves away, and I turn to face her. “Did you say there were other times like this?”
Oh shit. Me and my big mouth.
“This happened before?” she demands.
“Not like this.” I frown. They never left marks before. It’s as if they realized nothing would happen. No repercussions. Not as long as I’m tied to the agency.
“What happened the other times?”
I study the determined expression on her pretty face. She’s angry on my behalf and it makes me smile a little. What happened to the confused, frightened girl I met only a few weeks ago?
“It’s okay, Pax. Let it go.”
“I want to know.” She comes forward, puts her warm hands on my chest, and it would be so easy to grab her in my arms, bury my face in her fresh-smelling hair and confess it all. Tell her everything: about the club, about the night that changed my life.
But she’s still worrying at it. “It has to be illegal. Nobody should suffer like this. How could the agency allow it?”
“The agency doesn’t care, Pax. It’s a business. Kind of a shady business, in fact, and this client pays good money. So the boss lets Johnson do whatever he likes as long as the money flows in. Besides.” I sigh, exhausted. “They were careful, these two. Walked right on the edge between what is allowed and what isn’t. And they are the boss’s friends.”
“Christ.” She presses close to me, and hugs me, her hands settling higher up my back, avoiding the welts.
I hug her back, my throat closing.
“You have to tell the agency. You should never meet that woman again. This...Johnson. The one who answers the phones?”
I nod. “Yeah.”
“What an asshole.”