Lilly seemed reluctant to leave Sir’s room, but made her way out.
Brie shut the door behind her and headed into the tiny bathroom. Realizing she had little time, she quickly undressed and sponged herself, reapplying her makeup and fixing her hair. Before she dressed in new clothes, she spritzed herself with perfume and felt adequately refreshed.
Brie knelt at the door waiting for him. It was only a few minutes later when she heard him slipping the key into the door. She looked down, smiling to herself as it swung open, anticipating their reunion.
Sir entered the room and shut the door, stating only, “You came.”
She looked up and her heart skipped a beat. “I…I did, Sir.” He had a haunted, cruel look in his eyes that was unsettling to her soul.
What’s happened to him?
Rather than the normal protocol of releasing Brie to serve him, Sir stayed where he was. “I met with Lilly in the lobby. She let me know you were here.”
Brie wondered why Lilly had felt the need to tell him and spoil her surprise. She looked at his troubled face and asked, “Aren’t you happy to see me, Sir?”
There was a light knock on the door.
“Excuse me,” he said curtly. Sir answered it, telling Lilly, “Give me a minute. I’ll come get you when I’m ready to head out.”
He shut the door again and stared at Brie. The cold look in his eyes reminded of her of the song “Demons” that he’d sung to her back in Tokyo, and his warning: “When I shared that I have my demons, it was not simply idle talk, Brie. I am my mother’s son.”
Brie could feel his hostility increasing. She was afraid she was about to meet his demons head on, but she held her kneeling pose as he approached, even though she felt like cowering.
In one solid motion, he lifted her from the ground and threw her over his shoulder, carrying her into the bathroom. There he stripped out of his jogging sweats and ripped her out of her clothes, pushing her against the shower wall. He turned on the hot water and let it cascade over them both.
Sir grabbed her hips so violently that she cried out. Instead of taking her, he wrapped his arms around her, holding Brie tightly against him—so tightly that she struggled to breathe. But she did not resist his restrictive embrace—she clung to him.
After several minutes, he began to shake as silent sobs wracked his body. Her own tears fell, her heart breaking for him.
Sir did not let go until the water became ice cold and Brie was shivering in his arms.
He shut off the shower and grabbed a towel, drying her in silence before taking care of himself. His expression remained just as tormented, but there were no telltale signs that he had been crying.
“We will leave when you’re ready,” he stated gruffly, exiting the bathroom.
Brie looked in the mirror, frightened by the change in him. With shaking hands, she wiped away her running mascara and applied her makeup for a second time. Brie slipped into her clothes and styled her hair simply.
She rejoined Sir, her hair still wet, hoping he would talk to her before they met up with Lilly again. It disturbed her that he would not look her in the eye.
“Sir…” she said, moving towards him.
He stopped her in her tracks with his accusatory tone. “What was the reason for the delay?” When she opened her mouth to answer, he snapped, “Never mind. Hand me your journal.”
Brie immediately dug through her luggage and handed it to him. She wanted to explain, but stood silently, feeling guilty of a crime she was unaware she’d committed.
Sir sat down, not inviting her to join him as he starting flipping through her journal. Brie watched his expression carefully, hoping to see compassion. To her dismay, his face remained impassive, even though Brie had poured out her heart to him on every page.
It pained her to see him so cold and uncaring.
After he’d finished, Sir closed the book. “I have many questions for you, but not now. I have an appointment with the Beast. You are to remain here until I get back.”
“But Si—”
He put up his hand to stop her protest. “Go to sleep. You’ve had a long day of travel. That’s an order, téa.”
Brie dutifully took off her clothes as he watched, and laid them in a pile on the nightstand before slipping under the covers of his bed.
She watched in disbelief as he walked out the door, leaving her alone in the hotel room while he joined Lilly.
What the hell is going on?
Brie felt certain Lilly was the cause of the disconnect with Sir. But the question she couldn’t answer was why. What possible motive could Lilly have to do such a terrible thing?
As much as Sir wouldn’t want to hear it, she knew it was time to voice her concerns about his sister, but Brie also understood that she’d have to tread lightly. Lilly was family and, in the short time he’d known her, Sir had grown to care about the girl.
Even though it was about to get ugly, as his submissive and future wife, Brie understood it was her duty.
Condors, Sir.
She eventually gave in to her exhaustion, falling into a fitful slumber. She dreamed of snakes and kittens, a wedding dress and black pearls…
Brie woke with a start. It took a moment to realize she was in Sir’s hotel room. Just when her heart was slowing down, an unpleasant masculine scent assaulted her senses and then she heard movement.
Someone else was in the room.
Before she could scream, a strong hand wrapped around her throat pinning her to the bed. Brie struggled for her life, but her cries were muffled as her assailant squeezed her windpipe. His grip was hard and unforgiving as he strangled the breath out of her.
As she became lightheaded, her spirited thrashing quickly became feeble movements. Once she stopped fighting, recognition slowly dawned—Master’s touch.
Even though his scent did not match because he was wearing the shirt of another man, it was Sir who held her by the throat.
Sir released the pressure of his grip but his hand remained tight around her neck. He growled ominously, “Don’t make a sound.” Sir ripped the blankets away, exposing her naked body.
He was playing out the scene she had written in her journal, but there was another element to it—a dangerous one that frightened Brie. She instinctively cried out, “Please don’t hurt me.”
Still keeping in character, he leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I won’t unless you force me to.”
Was it a threat or an invitation to play?
Sir’s hands were unusually rough as he caressed her body, bruising and clawing at her in his raging lust. Brie whimpered under his touch, both turned on and frightened by his harsh treatment. He seemed like a man possessed.
Sir flipped her over and buried her face in the pillow as he rubbed his hard shaft between the valley of her ass-cheeks. He panted over her. “No lube this time.”
Brie’s frightened whimpers were muffled by the pillow as Sir positioned himself. She braced for his hard cock to thrust deep into her unprepared ass, knowing she had been the one to invite this scene.
She waited for his painful entry, but Sir loosened his grip and pulled away. His ragged breathing slowly returned to normal. “I thought I wanted this…but I don’t.”
Brie turned her head to look back at him. “Why?” she asked hesitantly, unsure if he was rejecting the scene—or her.
He stared at Brie, his expression unreadable. Then his eyes softened as he slid his hand over the curve of her ass. “I need to make love to you, Brie.”
His unexpected answer melted her heart.
Sir gently turned Brie over and lay on top of her, smothering her with his large frame. He propped himself on his elbows and held her face in his hands as he gazed into her eyes. He said nothing, but Brie became entranced by his silent language.
Eventually, tears ran down her cheeks as she whispered, “I love you.”
“I’m lost.”
“We’ll find the way back,” she assured him, lifting her head
and kissing him on the lips.
Sir nuzzled her neck. “This moment is the only thing that’s real to me…my anchor in the storm.”
“I will always be your safe haven, Sir,” Brie vowed, trailing feather-light kisses down his neck.
Sir’s impassioned groan reverberated deep in his chest. “Since I cannot make love to you with my cock…” She closed her eyes as Sir moved lower, tenderly kissing her thighs before concentrating on her pussy. In a world of kinky sex, with constant physical and mental challenges, she cherished such loving attention equally as much.
Brie ran her hands through his thick brown hair as his tongue and fingers made love to her for hours. It was his escape from the world, his stolen moment from the mounting pressure around him.
His lovemaking wasn’t about how many orgasms he could elicit or how high he could make her fly—it was about expressing his love using only his touch and tongue.
Betrayal
It was obvious to Brie that Lilly was unhappy Sir had left her to visit their mother alone, because he received a scribbled note as soon as she returned from the hospital.
Thane, must talk.
Meet me in my room.
Lilly
Sir invited Brie to join him, the tension returning to his face. “Mother’s situation has put a strain on our relationship, but I trust we can move beyond it after this is over.”
After hearing his confession, Brie was surprised when Lilly opened the door with an inviting smile. That all changed when her eyes drifted down and focused on Sir’s arm around Brie’s waist. The light seemed to leave Lilly’s face as her hands dropped to her sides, and she drifted over to the bed, not even bothering to invite them in.
It appeared that seeing Brie had triggered something dark in Lilly. The girl became silent and unresponsive even when Sir questioned her.
“Lilly, what’s happened? Is it Mother? Talk to me.”
The girl just sat on the bed with a blank stare on her face, as if she were a million miles away.
Sir shook his head, looking at Brie in confusion. “I can’t explain it. I’ve never seen her like this before.”
After a few minutes, Lilly seemed to come back to life. She nodded as if she’d made a decision, looking at Sir with deep sadness. In a hushed voice, she asked, “Are you going to tell Brie what happened that night?”
“What are you talking about?” he asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
“I’ve forgiven you, but will she?”
“I have no clue what you mean.”
Lilly slowly shook her head, tearing up as she spoke. “I know you didn’t intend to hurt me, Thane. I know it was the drink.”
“What exactly are you accusing me of?” Sir demanded.
“Don’t make me say it, Thane. Don’t make me relive that moment.” Brie could see that Lilly was visibly shaking, and wondered about the cause.
Brie looked questioningly at Sir.
Sir met her gaze. “I have no idea what she’s talking about, Brie.”
Lilly seemed genuinely distraught and looked on the verge of panic. “I forgave you, Thane. Please let it go…”
His nostrils flared in disgust. “You will not throw around veiled accusations, Lilly.”
“Brie,” Lilly cried piteously, “he must have been thinking of you when he grabbed me and forced himself…” She struggled to speak through her tears. “He…he…” She shook her head, breaking down in heart-wrenching sobs that pulled at Brie’s heartstrings.
Brie looked back at Sir, the icy realization of what Lilly was accusing him of wrapping itself around her heart.
Sir’s gaze remained fixed on Brie. “Even though I can’t remember what happened that night, I could never do what she’s insinuating. Never.”
The look of agony on Lilly’s face came from a place so deep it could not have been faked, but Sir…Sir could never hurt a woman that way, much less his own sister. The idea was too revolting to even contemplate.
“I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, Lilly, but you are most definitely a carbon copy of your mother,” Sir said with abhorrence, unmoved by Lilly’s copious tears.
“How can you say that, Thane?” she sobbed. “You’re the monster here, not me! Damn it, I forgave you. I forgave you that very night, when you broke down after realizing what you’d done.”
Sir shook his head, but he had the look of an animal finding itself trapped. “Do you have any proof?”
Lilly cried, “I don’t need proof! I remember what happened.”
“You had as much to drink as I did…sister,” he stated coldly.
“I know what happened, Thane.”
“Then it comes down to your word against mine. I know myself well, and without any evidence proving otherwise, I stand by my assertion that nothing happened between us.”
“But it did!” Lilly whimpered, covering her face with her hands as she sank to the floor.
Brie craved to comfort her, instinctively responding to her pain, but she didn’t make a move. To do so would be a betrayal of Sir if Lilly was lying.
So she stood anchored to her spot, unable to think.
“Brie, I wouldn’t do that to a woman, no matter how drunk I was. You know that.”
“Normally you wouldn’t…” Brie agreed, trailing off as her throat closed up, an image of him with Lilly coming into her mind.
“Don’t go there,” he warned. “Don’t allow what she’s said to filter through your thoughts. She’s lying, Brie. There’s no other explanation.”
Lilly looked up at him, her eyes red and swollen. “Even now, I forgive you. I know you didn’t mean it.”
The response struck Brie as odd. If Sir had really done the horrendous thing she was implying, there was no way Lilly could still forgive him after he’d just accused her of lying about it. No woman would let a man get away with that. It made Brie wonder if this was all an act to garner her sympathy so she would take Lilly’s side against Sir’s.
If so, what possible benefit would Lilly gain by this vile ruse? She’d just alienated Sir, her only sibling, and she’d never shown any interest in Brie until now.
None of it made sense.
“I don’t know what I think,” Brie muttered, looking down at Lilly crumpled on the floor. The girl looked emotionally shattered.
“You have to believe me, Brie,” Sir asserted. “I didn’t… I wouldn’t hurt her.”
Brie couldn’t leave Lilly lying there weeping, her pain too raw and real to be ignored. She lifted the girl to her feet and helped her into bed, covering her with a blanket. As they were leaving the room, Lilly called out to Sir with a look of regret. “I know you didn’t mean to.”
Sir snarled angrily. “Stop. Whatever game you’re playing, just stop.”
Brie was stunned. If Sir were guilty, his reaction to Lilly was unforgiveable. But if Lilly were lying—the betrayal to Sir was of horrific proportions.
Either possibility was unbelievably terrible.
They left Lilly’s room, but when Sir reached out for Brie, she unconsciously stepped away, an unwanted image of Sir violating Lilly crowding her mind. “I have to get out of here,” she cried. “I need time alone.”
The look of hurt in Sir’s eyes cut Brie to the quick, but it didn’t stop her from running out of the hotel.
Brie walked the crowded streets of Chengdu, oblivious to the people around her. It terrified her that in one fell swoop, everything she’d believed in had been shaken to its foundation. Sir was an honorable man. Brie knew he would never do such a thing…and yet he had admitted to her on the phone that he had no recollection of that night, after liberally ingesting a local brew.
Was it possible that it had made him momentarily insane—unstable enough to hurt his own sister?
Brie couldn’t get over the fact that Lilly had looked genuinely traumatized. Something terrible must have happened to her. Still, the girl kept insisting she’d forgiven Sir. Why? And why would she continue to stay with Sir if he’d hurt he
r like that?
There had to be something more—something Lilly was hiding.
Yet visions of what Lilly had accused Sir of flooded Brie’s mind, and once the tears started, they wouldn’t stop. People began to stare. Out of desperation, Brie sought escape, finding an isolated wooden bench. Once she sat down, she held her head in both hands and sobbed uncontrollably, oblivious to everything and everyone.
Breathe, Brie, breathe… she reminded herself.
Eventually a strange but welcome calm took hold, and her heartrate slowed as her breaths became deep and soul-satisfying. Once the panic fled, clarity took over.
Sir would never do such a thing.
With shaking hands, she pushed herself up and wiped away her tears. It wasn’t until then that she realized she was hopelessly lost. She hadn’t brought her phone and couldn’t remember the Chinese name for the hotel.
A fresh sense of panic took over as she glanced around, unsure from which direction she’d come. That was when her eyes landed on Sir. He stood a little more than a block away, ever her protector, even when she was questioning his integrity.
Without hesitation, she started running towards him, but before she reached Sir she stopped, suddenly feeling ashamed.
“Come to me, Brie.”
She melted into his forgiving embrace and immediately apologized. “It was wrong of me to leave.”
“No,” he insisted. “While it was foolish to walk the streets of an unfamiliar city alone, I respect your need to process. You and I are not that different.”
Brie looked up at him. “I know you never could…”
“No,” he assured her.
“But why would Lilly do such a thing? It doesn’t make any sense.”
Sir shook his head. He seemed gutted when he answered her. “I was an idiot to believe she was any different.”
Brie hugged him tighter. “I’m sorry I encouraged you to trust her.”
“I have only myself to blame,” Sir closed his eyes, a look of agony on his face. “… and now I understand what I must do.”
He did not explain as he took Brie’s hand and guided her through the streets, leading her back to the hotel. It felt to Brie as if he were facing a firing squad, but instead of losing his life he was going to lose the last living connection to his mother. Now Sir would never know closure or peace.