always made sure to be there on the stairs when heâd arrived and when heâd left. Each time, sheâd hold her breath, waiting for that brief moment when theyâd make eye contact. Heâd never once disappointed her.
How innocent sheâd been. How silly. Who wouldâve guessed eight years later sheâd be living in that manâs sex club?
If sheâd known then that a few months later he would destroy her family and have her father sent to prison, she wouldâve run back upstairs the minute she saw him and never waited for him on those stairs again.
Shaking her head to clear her mind, Danielle admired the vaulted ceilings, crown moldings, and dramatic archways of the home, overwhelmed by its intricate design. They passed two sets of stairs as well as a vast library she wanted to explore if she got the opportunity. Nothing revealed more about a person than their books.
Without pausing for a breath, Gracie switched from the history of the home to complaining about the snowy weather and then back to how each room was used when Benediction opened to the members at night. Something about a dungeon in the basement and fantasy rooms upstairs. From her description, the mansion sounded more like a castle.
As Gracie led her into the kitchen, Danielleâs stomach cramped from nerves and hunger. Other than that chocolate, she hadnât eaten a bite since last nightâs dinner, too worried about Tasha and what to expect at a sex club. Guess now that sheâd experienced both pleasure and punishment, her appetite had returned.
She spotted a bowl of fruit, and while Gracie went over the open kitchen policy, Danielle nabbed a red apple to take up to her room. It wasnât much, but she didnât think she could manage anything more.
A silence befell the room.
Gracie stared at her expectantly. âYou donât talk much, do you?â she asked. She didnât pause before answering her own question. âNo, youâre shy. I can tell. Iâm a people person. An extrovert. I have a habit of talking too much and too fast, so I end up wearing a gag most of the time in the dungeon. Otherwise, the Masters will fill my mouth with their cocks. That works as well as a gag, and they seem to enjoy it more. Apparently, even in sub-space I can be quite chatty. Although I never shut up, Iâm a surprisingly great secret-keeper. You could tickle torture me, and I still wouldnât give up a secret. Youâre obviously an introvert. I bet you like to read.â She snatched a banana from the fruit bowl, peeled it, and took a bite. âWhat do you like to read?â
Danielle remained silent, unsure of whether Gracie actually wanted an answer. She did love to read, having spent most of her adolescence with her nose in a book and later, with her e-reader. Her novels took her away from the reality of being a painfully awkward, overweight child to the ballrooms of regency England, where the wallflowers married the handsome dukes, and to modern-day America, where tormented vampires fell in love with plain mortal women.
Sure enough, Gracie pursed her lips, then answered her own question. âRomance, right?â At Danielleâs nod in confirmation, she continued. âI like the kinky books myself, especially the ménage ones. You know what I say: The more, the merrier.â She giggled. âIâll let you in on a secret. Reality?â She grabbed Danielleâs hand and squeezed as if they were best friends. âSo much better than fiction.â
To hide her shock, Danielle bit into her apple and took her time chewing as Gracie led her up a staircase at the back of the kitchen. Then again, who was she to judge? Hadnât she just allowed Adrian between her legs as Cole held her? Maybe it hadnât been a true ménage, but it certainly fell into what most people would consider kinky.
Besides, unlike the snobby girls sheâd grown up with in Arizona, Gracie
Katie Salidas, K.A. Salidas