The Exposure (The Submissive 9)

“Not really, Sir.”

He didn’t acknowledge her answer. “You’re so vulnerable in this position. Every inch of you exposed and offered to me.” He stood by her side and ran a finger down her arm to her palm, where he gently swirled his forefinger at the base of her thumb. “You’ve been a naughty girl, Ms. Bishop. Tell me what you’ve done. Confess and I will go easy on you. Deny anything and I will punish you thoroughly.”

Her heart started to pound. Did Luke know? If so, how much? Was he aware of the blackmail? Maybe he wasn’t sleeping when she got out of his bed after all. Had he set up this elaborate scene to get her to confess?

No. There was no way he could know. No possible way.

But Fritz stood there with a knowing expression on his face. Fuck. He knew something.

“Come now, Ms. Bishop.” His voice was softer, but somehow that made him seem only more dangerous. “Let us be reasonable. There’s no need to make this hard on yourself.”

“I, uh, I’m, shit.”

He picked up a black pair of gloves from the top of the desk and ever so slowly put them on. All the while watching her. He shrugged and wiggled his now gloved fingers. “Of course, it doesn’t matter one way or the other to me, you see. In fact, I often find I enjoy a stubborn suspect.”

Suspect. He knew. They both did.

“How much do you know?” she asked.

“I believe I already gave you a warning about asking me questions, Ms. Bishop. You will atone for that mistake in a few minutes.”

“If you already know, why are you doing this?”

“Another question? My, my, my, you are a naughty

one, aren’t you?”

She clamped her mouth shut to keep from saying anything else. He sat perfectly still, never taking his eyes off her. Finally, he stood.

“I didn’t hear a safe word or a confession.” He stood and crossed the floor to stand before her again. He leaned down and his breath was hot against her ear. But when he spoke, he spoke in German and it sounded scary as fuck.

“I don’t understand, Sir.”

“You weren’t supposed to.” He took a knife from his pocket. She stopped breathing, her eyes never leaving the blade as it sliced the ropes around her ankles and wrists. “Go bend over the desk.”

She wondered what he would do next. Was he still trying to get information out of her? Or was he just going to punish her? She reached the desk, and as her hands slid across the top, she noticed how they trembled.

Behind her came the sounds of opening and closing doors, a large thump, the trickling of water, and something electronic being turned on that filled the silence with a low whirling sound. Her breathing increased and she felt as if she was going to throw up. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t be in this room. Not with that man and not like this.

She jumped when his gloved hand touched the back of her neck. The cool leather sent her over the edge. “Red.”

His hands dropped and immediately Luke entered the room. She glared at him. “Was this really necessary?”

He folded his arms across his chest. “Yes, I want to hear it from you.”

She took a deep breath. “I’m being blackmailed. I was told you have some pictures they wanted. If I provide the pictures, they won’t hurt me or do anything with the information they have on me.”

Luke’s dropped mouth and wide eyes suggested he didn’t know as much as she thought he did. “You’re with me because you are being blackmailed?”

“You set up this elaborate scene and you didn’t know what was going on?”

“Damn it, Meagan, answer my question first.” There was something more than shock in his voice. There was anger, yes, but there was also sadness.

“Only in the beginning.”

He flinched at her words, but she was the one who felt as if she had been punched in the gut. His expression . . . She couldn’t bear to look at him.

“Get out of my studio.”

She held out her hand, as if to touch him. “Luke?”

He took a step back. “Don’t touch me. Get the fuck out.”

“Just let me explain.” If she could only make him see that even though she was with him in the beginning because of the blackmail, that was no longer the case. She wanted to be with him. And only him.

“I don’t need or want your explanation.” Now when he looked at her, there was no surprise, no shock, and no sadness. Only anger. “I get that you wanted to get back at me for what I did years ago. I can understand you being angry about that. But for you to invade my privacy, to sneak into my office, and to take my pictures.” He shook his head. “I need you to leave so I can think.”

Hot tears filled her eyes, but she knew now was not the time to reason with Luke. She would call him later, when he’d calmed down. She nodded. “I’ll just get my things.”

He didn’t reply.

Chapter Twelve

Two days later, Abby invited Meagan over to their New York penthouse. She said she and Nathaniel were staying in the city, doing a bit of shopping, and just hanging out, but he had a meeting in the afternoon and would she like to come over? Nathaniel’s aunt had their two children. Apparently, Lynne was taking a short vacation.

Meagan had been to the penthouse only once. That was several months ago, when she had to apologize to Abby for the nightclub incident. The club that was now Luke’s.

Damn, it hurt just thinking his name.

During the last two days, he had not attempted to contact her. Nor had she been in touch with him. She tried to tell herself it was okay, but the truth was she missed him. She missed his lazy smile, his easygoing attitude, and even his voice when he’d issue a command. Now that he wasn’t in her life, she realized how lonely she was.

Thank goodness for friends like Abby, who invited her over to hang out. She hadn’t told Abby about the breakup yet, but maybe she’d tell her today. Maybe her friend would have some advice on what she should do. She knew what she wanted to do: tell The Taskmaster to fuck off and leave her alone. Every time she thought about it, it sounded better and better. The only thing keeping her from doing it was her brother. She didn’t want to mess up his life any more than he’d already messed it up by himself.

And then she’d think, why should she worry? He was a grown man; he could take care of himself.

Because she’d promised her dad. She cursed herself for making that promise.

Round and round her mind went, and since she couldn’t decide what to do, she did nothing. Which made her only more restless. Something had to give. And soon.

Abby was all smiles opening the penthouse door. “Hey, come on in.”

When she stepped inside, she heard male voices and raised an eyebrow at her friend.

Abby waved her hand as if shooing a fly. “Nathaniel decided to have his meeting in the living room. Said the office here wasn’t large enough for everyone.”

“I thought he had an office in the city?” Not that she minded. It was Nathaniel’s house; he could do anything he wanted.

“He does, but this is private, personal business. About the new club. Luke’s here.”

They’d been walking down the hall while they talked and the exact minute Abby said “here” was the exact moment they made it to the living room and Meagan came face-to-face with Luke. To be fair, Fritz and Cole were also sitting with Luke and Nathaniel, but she couldn’t look anywhere except at Luke. He was just as surprised to see her as she was to see him.

Other than Fritz, she didn’t think anyone else knew what had happened between them. She could only hope he wouldn’t say anything now.

“Excuse us, gentlemen,” Abby said, totally oblivious to the shock their entrance had caused. She nodded at Luke. “We’re just passing through.”

Damn it. She should have told Abby about the breakup.

But of course, Nathaniel, being Nathaniel, reached out and grabbed Abby as she passed and pulled her into his lap. “Glad you could stop by,” he said with a grin.

Abby made a noncommittal noise.

“I’m glad Nathaniel waylaid you,” Cole said and looked over to Meagan. “You, too. We have a few questions and since none of us are women or submissives, we need your help.”

Meagan risked a quick peek at Luke. His lips were pressed together tightly, and from the looks of it, it was taking all his strength not to speak what was really on his mind.

“We’d love to help,” Abby said from her spot on Nathaniel’s lap. “Wouldn’t we, Meagan? Look, there’s a seat beside Luke—you can sit there for a few minutes.”

And there was nothing she could do in response to that other than sit beside the man who now hated her. She schooled her