Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 76370 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76370 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
“Yes, boss.” Sara sounds amused, but it’s hard to tell for sure because I can only see the back of their dark hair on the other side of the headrest.
Malone opens the car door and climbs out. I sit there in shock and watch her walk into the building we’re parking in front of. She…left me? I glance at Sara, but they don’t seem interested in counteracting the command to not talk to each other. It’s just as well. What would I even say? That doesn’t stop me from wanting to do it out of spite. “How long am I supposed to wait?”
No answer.
I huff out a breath and slump back against the seat. My pussy is throbbing in time with my heartbeat, and I have the imprint of Malone’s hand wrapped around my upper thigh. Lust and anger create a heady mix inside me, and I reach down to stroke myself. Fuck her if she thinks she can leave me on the edge like that.
“Wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
I glare at the back of Sara’s head. “Or what? She left me in here.”
They laugh lightly. “Do what you want, kid. Just saying it won’t work out like you’re hoping.”
I manage to wait another five minutes. My desire and fury increase with each second that ticks by. She left me in the car like a dog so she could go have a drink. Maybe I’ll appreciate the simplicity of this punishment later, but right now all I can do is clench my fists and glare out the window.
Punishments are not to be enjoyed, Aurora. Her cool voice filters through my flurry of thoughts, which only twines me tighter. Being bratty never results in something like this with other Dominants. Scenes follow a predictable pattern; they let me rile them up, and then they punish me, and we all enjoy ourselves immensely. I have never been set aside like a child in time out and left for… I check the clock in the dashboard I can see around Sara’s broad shoulders. Twenty fucking minutes.
I almost ignore Sara’s warning and masturbate out of spite. Almost. But just when my frayed patience has worn itself away completely, I catch sight of Malone walking out of the bar. She strides like she’s on a runway, and if I didn’t know better, I’d think she was putting on a show for me. But that’s not how this woman works. She strides everywhere she goes, a predator that send people scurrying out of her wake even in the Underworld, where power is the rule rather than the exception.
It only makes her more breathtakingly attractive, and that unwelcome feeling of awe reaches me even through my irritation. She opens the door and slides easily into the backseat. She doesn’t even look at me. “That was refreshing. Let’s go.”
“Mmhmm.” Sara sounds like they’re fighting down a laugh.
Malone ignores me the remaining fifteen minutes it takes to get to her building. I’m familiar with the location even if I’ve never been here before. Meg has files on every single power player in Carver City, and extra detailed information on the territory leaders in particular. I’ve spent more time studying Malone’s file than anyone else’s. I know she has a staff of fifty security people, though she keeps a smaller team in charge of her personal residence. She’s CEO of a company that employs hundreds of people. The company has great healthcare, and all full-time workers get paid vacation as well as paid parental leave for up to three months. The employee turnover rate is practically nonexistent, from the mail room to the COO. As irritating as it is to acknowledge, she seems like a good boss. And the same policies are enacted with her people for the less than legal parts of her business.
In my darkest moments, I wondered if my mother had anything similar set up for her people when she was in charge. I have next to no information about the years she ruled this territory. My grandmother refused to speak of it, and it wasn’t as if I could go in and ask people who had actually been there. I considered it, of course, but ultimately chose not to. Even Hades’s immaculate records are sparse when it comes to her.
The parking garage looks like every other one I’ve been in. Malone barely waits for the car to stop before she opens the door and motions me to follow with an imperial flick of her fingers. I start to climb out of the car, but Malone once against scoops me into her arms.
I’ve been carried a lot. Some Doms really like this sort of thing, but I didn’t think Malone was one of them. She’s only a few inches taller than me, but her strong arms band around me and I have absolutely no fear that she’s going to drop me.