Read Story: SEASON 2 EPISODE 75

***

Flashback to earlier in the morning

After leaving the helicopter, we were examined by Astrid’s doctor, who promptly declared that I was in good health and left me alone to give her attention to the other two patients. It turned out that Chloe was the biggest concern. Her multiple lacerations—one of which had been received during that last fight—had caused her to lose a lot of blood, so she spent several hours getting stitched up and undergoing tests. Then she was ordered to bedrest for the rest of the night with an IV in her veins and some antibiotics.

Whatever the medic gave Astrid before cutting her out of the wreckage must have been strong—she was unconscious for the rest of the night. After a few hours, the doctor declared that she would be fine and fully recover. All she needed was rest and plenty of water.

So, I left her alone for the night—even after receiving a voicemail that made me change my mind on when we were leaving. I had originally intended to stay a few more days and get some rest while deciding what to do next, but one of the voicemails I’d missed while away changed that.

“Marcus!” My old neighbor, Phoebe’s, recording said. I could barely hear her through her sobs. “He’s taken my baby! I don’t know—” She couldn’t continue thanks to all the crying she was doing. “Marcus! He’s all I have and I don’t know what else to do!”

That had been a day ago.

I tried to call Phoebe back to get some details, but she never answered, so I texted her. Phoebe, I’m sorry I missed this. I’m not ignoring you. I just ran into some trouble. I’m in Europe, but I’m on a plane home and will get there as soon as possible. Call me.

Fortunately, Erin had recalled my plane in case I wanted it when I returned, so we didn’t have to charter one.

I wasn’t leaving without exchanging a few words with Astrid, so the next morning, before leaving for my flight, I made my way to her room and found her already awake.

I stood in front of the open door and knocked on the jamb. “The doctor says you're going to make a full recovery.”

Astrid looked up from the newspaper she was reading. Even bedridden and waking up after being unconscious for half a day, she looked ready to mingle at a high society function. I swear… it was like she had a touch of old Norse god blood in her veins or something.

Her fine features glowed as she smiled at me. “So I hear. I also hear that Chloe and Shea returned safely, as did my cabin staff and security.”

“Most of them,” I said. “One of your guys didn’t make it. Ryo Tanaka killed him. Matthew?”

“Falk,” Astrid said. She picked up a piece of apple and crunched on it. She gazed at me with an expression that was hard to read. “I heard.”

“Does he have any family?” I asked.

“He does,” Astrid said. “I’ll make sure they’re well compensated for their loss.”

I studied her for a long moment, unable to tell if she was hiding the pain of losing someone who worked for her behind a wall of stoicism or if she even cared. I could examine Astrid for years and not get an answer.

“Okay,” I said.

“Does it bother you that I’m not crying over him?” Astrid said, insightful as always. She popped the other half of the sliced apple in her mouth.

I shrugged. “It just seems a little heartless. That’s all.”

“I said I would take care of his family,” Astrid said. “Crying won’t bring him back or help his loved ones move on.”

“You’re right,” I said, not in the mood to argue.

“And you’re still mad.”

Shaking my head, I took a few steps into the room and shut the door behind me, locking it so we wouldn’t be disturbed for the next few minutes. “Not about that.”

Her gaze slid from the closed door and then back to me. The challenging, sort-of arrogant cant to her features shifted slightly into uncertainty. I wouldn’t have noticed it without spending the last several days with her.

“I’m leaving,” I said, approaching the bed and leaning against its footboard. “This morning.”

“So soon?” Astrid’s concern was taken over by curiosity. “Why?”

“I got a phone call. There’s something I need to take care of.

“Mysterious,” she said, one corner of her mouth quirking in amusement.

“But I wanted to see you before I left.” I walked along the edge of the footboard until reaching the corner, my hand sliding along the smooth, varnished wood.

“Are you going to miss me?”

I stood there, looking at her. I couldn’t deny that a part of me found Astrid to be fun and exciting. I would never have described her as such on our first meeting, but she certainly knew how to let her hair loose and have a good time. She had this way of applying practical nihilism to her life, which made her seem so carefree. It was attractive.

Not to mention, she was a real beauty.

“I might have, but after that stunt you pulled back at the helicopter… I don’t think so.”

***

Present

“I took it.”

Bobbi’s words were a proud declaration.

“I know,” I said.

I hadn’t gotten a lot of details from Astrid, but I’d been able to put enough together from the pieces. Astrid dealt more damage than I would have ever approved, and Bobbi followed my orders to the letter. I’d commanded her to be Astrid’s for the night, and she had endured. What more could I ask for from a submissive?

“She tried to break me,” Bobbi said, her voice laced with venom. “She fucking tried.”

“I know,” I said, kissing her bare shoulder.

“And you know why I didn’t?”

Another kiss, a little further up. “Why?

“Because she was fucking bad at it,” Bobbi said. Her voice was low… quavering, and I could see her eyes shine extra bright in withheld emotion. “Helen could give her some fucking lessons.”

“No, she couldn’t,” I said. “We aren’t going to see her again.”

“Good,” she spat.

“Bobbi.”

She didn’t respond at first, and I suspected it had less to do with how upset she was or how defiant she felt and more with how little I used her actual name.

“Bobbi,” I said again, resting my hand on her shoulder. She looked back at me.

I gave her shoulder a nudge and said, “Turn around.”

As she slowly spun, I took a moment to drink in each curve of her body. My hand trailed over her slender waist in a way that was all-too familiar… intimate.

She settled back down between my legs, eyes downcast. Her hair looked even more golden than usual in this light. Her skin was translucent.

I hadn’t had sex since that last time with Chloe.

There hadn’t been time since I got back.

And I had been so damn tired. Erin had fallen asleep next to me, and I’d awoken to find Shea cuddled up on my other side, but sex hadn’t happened then either. We were too busy preparing to leave as soon as possible.

I had hoped that the conversation with Chloe could have ended differently. I wanted to roll around under some actual sheets with her… to see her comfortable and smiling. I’d wanted our sex to actually be enjoyable, and not laced with a need to stave off the cold and remind ourselves that we lived!

Instead, I’d gotten a negotiation.

Erin would have come in an instant.

But Bobbi was here… now.

What happened to her had been incredibly unfair, and despite our rough relationship, I felt I owed her some of my attention.

We both needed some attention.

My hand traveled up the slender valley of her waist, feeling the ripple of her ribs before drifting over her breast. Her fair skin did a good job contrasting with the pale pink lines running across it. Several of them intersected at her nipples, as if they had been a favored target of the heiress. Her breasts had clearly seen the lion’s share of Astrid’s abuse.

I softly cupped her breast and gave it a gentle squeeze, running my thumb over an aroused nipple.

Bobbi sucked in a breath and flinched.

That’s when I realized she was trembling ever so slightly. Her chest rose and fell in short breaths.

Placing my free hand under her chin, I gently lifted it until she looked into my eyes.

“What were you doing here?”

Bobbi swallowed visibly, her eyes flickering to the side as if searching for an answer. Her arousal was at war with her fear that she might still be in trouble.

“I was waiting for you,” Bobbi said as her eyes settled on mine. Her tone sounded resolved and ready to answer for her crimes. “I was hoping… I mean… you know… in case you wanted me.”

Her gaze brimmed with resignation, pleading, and defiance, and I tried to work through what that meant while figuring out what I wanted and what she needed.

I tightened my grasp on her breast just a little, eliciting another gasp from her parted lips.

“When was the last time someone had you?”

“Since Astrid.”

Fuck. If that was true, that was the longest Bobbi had gone without sex since she came to live in my house. Between Helen and me, she’d seen regular use and had replaced her horrible narcotic habit with sex. Not having access to either, especially after having a night like she had with Astrid, meant that she had lived in abject misery since I left to meet Tanaka.

Yeah. I didn’t care who she was; she didn’t deserve that.

“That first night,” Bobbi continued, “I slept in Emily and Natashya’s bed. It was…”

Her chin slipped free from my fingers as she lowered her eyes again. “It was nice. After that, everyone just got busy. Then you went missing.”

“And you just slipped between the cracks,” I said. “You could have asked Erin—”

“No.” Bobbi’s gaze whipped back up at me, her face hardened. “Not her.”

“What’s your problem with Erin?” I asked.

Instead of answering my question, she looked away.

“Hey,” I said, and I could hear steel creep into my voice.

I reached for her chin and directed her gaze back to me. “I asked you a question.”

“I don’t like her.”

And the ‘stating-the-obvious award’ goes to…

“I guessed that. Why?”

Bobbi’s lip curled into a sneer. “She’s too happy.”

“She’s too… happy?”

“It’s annoying.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s not enough?”

“No,” I said. “You’ll have to learn how to coexist with her, kitten. She’s not going anywhere.”

Bobbi started to roll her eyes, but I reinforced my hold on her chin, making sure she didn’t look away from me. “And neither are you.”

She stared up at me like a petulant child without saying anything, and I let it slide. The last few days had been hard on her, after all.

Finally, I decided to change the subject. “So, it’s been a while, huh?”

“Since I’ve had sex or since I’ve gotten myself off?”

“Both?”

“I’ve been getting myself off several times a day,” Bobbi said. The look in her eyes suggested that it was hardly the same thing, and barely sufficient.