Bondage Included (4 page)

He glared at her for a moment. “Well, I’m glad to know you weren’t ignoring me, but that means you opened your door without knowing who was out there. Do you have any idea how unsafe that was?”

She tossed him a ‘get a clue’ look. “How many bad guys are going to walk up three flights of stairs and politely knock on the door in the middle of the day?”

“It could happen.” He gave her a little shake. “An attitude like that is all it takes to become a victim. Not all criminals are lazy and rude.”

She pursed her lips to keep from arguing. The last thing she needed was another person treating her as if she needed a keeper. “If you’re through lecturing me, I need to get in the shower or I’m going to be seriously late for class.”

“You’re coming to the club tonight?” There was a mix of joy and surprise in his voice.

She nodded. “I wanted to stay away, but I can’t.”

“So it wasn’t your sore leg that kept you away last night.” He made it a statement.

“I’m Italian. I come by my temper honestly.” She met his gaze. No, she was going to continue to lay her cards on the table and he could just deal with it. “I don’t like being rejected. It hurts me, you butthead. Rather than cry all day, I sit up at night and plot your demise. You might want to think about that the next time you decide to turn me down as your trainee.”

His eyes closed quickly, but she was pretty sure she saw a glimpse of pain before he shut down.

When he looked at her again, he was wearing a sad smile. “You don’t want me dead, cher. Who would sit and discuss the social and political ramifications of pole dancing with you?” he teased.

“You have many other positive traits, you know.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Do me a favor and tell Jen I might be a few minutes late, but I am coming okay? I don’t want anyone to steal my pole.”

“They’re all the same, but okay.” He squeezed her tighter for a moment.

His long, hard cock pressed into her bruised hip, but she enjoyed every second of it. He continued to hold her long after the ‘friendly’ hug moment had passed.

“I care about you, Adriana. Very much. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you…r friendship.”

She rested her head on his shoulder and enjoyed the feel of his arms around her. It didn’t matter that time was ticking. She was exactly where she wanted to be. “Stop being such a stubborn, frustrating man and it won’t be an issue.”

He kissed her temple before letting go. “Lock the door behind me,” he ordered.

* * * *

He’d shown his hand, yet again. She wasn’t stupid. She had to suspect that if she kept after him, he’d eventually give in. God knows he wanted to.

André drove to DiscipliNation, his home away from home, on automatic pilot. The rush hour traffic was picking up. He didn’t like the idea of Adriana getting stuck in it. He should have waited around and drove her himself. Then again, taking her back home again would have been further temptation to ease his self-imposed celibacy and bury his cock deep inside her.

When she’d thrown her towel at him, his mouth had begun to water. He’d felt like a starving man at a gourmet feast. Before he’d even known what he was doing, he’d begun stalking her, like a predator with its next meal in its sights. Thank heavens she’d had the sense to back away from him. If she’d met him even halfway he would have taken her right then and there.

As he pulled into the parking lot, he noticed it was filling up. Scheduling weekday evening classes and demonstrations had increased club participation. He went in the back way, threw his keys on his desk and went in search of Jen.

Near the bar, he saw his subs talking quietly, probably planning their next coup. He should release them. Whatever passion he’d had for training them was long gone. He was simply going through the motions, but every time he brought it up, they begged him not to.

“Eva, where’s Jen?” He didn’t want to deal with the girls right now.

“She’s in the powder room, Boss.”

Boss
. He snorted. He hadn’t felt like the boss since Adriana had first shown up at the new member munch.

“Tell her Adriana’s coming this evening, but she may be a few minutes late.”

Eva clasped her hands together. “Please tell me you’re the reason why she’s late.”

He chuckled. “Down, girl.” Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed he’d gained the attention of his subs. Fuck. He turned and went into his office. He’d deal with them later.

* * * *

Dang it, she was ten minutes late. Adriana threw her purse and keys into her locker then walked as fast as she could across the dungeon.

“Hey, wait a minute, Adriana. I need to tell you something,” Eva called out to her.

“No time.” She didn’t even hesitate as she waved and headed down the hallway to class.

As soon as she opened the door, she smiled. Her pole was free. André must have done as she’d asked. She unrolled a matt and started her warm up exercises. Damn, her leg hurt and sitting with just a thin pad under her had her ass hurting too. She was in fine shape. Oh well, maybe what she needed most was a strong workout to stretch and loosen up her sore muscles.

If it hurt too much, she could always ask André to try the TENS unit again. After she showered, though. She didn’t want him thinking of her as the stinky girl.

Long before she was ready, the prep music started. She put the matt away and ran her hands along the length of her pole. No matter how hard she tried to ignore the pranks André’s subs played on her, they were beginning to make her paranoid.

She began with a few spins and practiced a few transition moves. Once the song began in earnest, she pushed everything away but the beat and allowed her passion to take over. It wasn’t just the exercise she loved. The music seemed to speak directly to her. The moves she expressed with her body were nothing more than her interpretation of the music.

With each pounding beat, she shimmied higher. Near the top, swung her legs out away from the pole. She used her stomach muscles to draw her legs over her head. Had the pole swayed more than usual? The thought was flittering, meaningless compared to the music demanding her attention.

The tempo shifted and she power inverted. Before she knew what had happened the pole pulled away from the ceiling. In the split second she had to recognize the inevitable, she prayed no one was in its path because she was going down with the pole right behind her.

Agony like she’d never felt before shot through her leg then blissful darkness took over.

From somewhere far away, she heard André calling to her. A red haze of pain danced ever closer as she tried to answer André. But he was so far away and the darkness promised a way to escape the hurt.

The next time she surfaced, the excruciating pain was all she could discern. She was being bounced and jostled, that much she knew. She tried to get away, but she couldn’t move. Something was holding her down, even keeping her head from turning.

“Adriana, I’m here, bebe. Stop struggling.”

“Hurts,” she answered.

“I know, bebe. You need to stay as still as possible. We’re taking you to the hospital. You’re going to be okay, Adriana, but you have to let the paramedics do their jobs.”

“No.” She tried to shake her head, but she was strapped down. Frustrated and hurting worse than she imagined possible she started to cry. “Hate doctors. Let me go.” She thrashed, trying to get free.

“Adriana!” he admonished. “Do. Not. Move.”

His forceful tone had her obeying though she didn’t want to.

“I’m with you. You’re not alone, Adriana. I’ll be with you every step of the way. Just stay still, bebe.”

She focused on his voice and allowed him to serve as her lifeline. “What happened?”

“You fell, bebe. There was an accident with the pole you were using.”

“No.” God, everything hurt, so badly. “No accident. Trolls. They did it.”

“Don’t talk, bebe. Save your strength.”

She felt his hand on her shoulder. He smelled good.
Always so good
. She tried to focus. She had to warn him. “They’ve done it all, André.”

“Who, bebe? Who did it all?” He sounded worried.

He needed to know. He needed to stop them before someone else got hurt. “Trolls.”

“Sir, she’s slipping in and out of consciousness. She doesn’t know what she’s saying,” one of the paramedics told André.

“No, André, she knows what she’s talking about. That’s what we call them.”

Eva? What is Eva doing here? Shouldn’t she be at the bar?

Suddenly everyone was talking at once and she couldn’t listen to it all. The darkness called to her again and she willingly followed. André was so upset. His yelling drew her back to the surface again.

“Get out of my club, get out of my house and get out of my sight. Eva, call the police. I will see your sorry asses behind bars for this!”

“I’m sorry.” She didn’t know what she’d done to make him upset, but he never yelled. She must have done something really bad. “So sorry.”

“Let him go with her. We need her calm, and until her injuries are assessed we can’t give her anything further,” another paramedic told the first one.

She whimpered as they jostled her again.

As soon as they stopped moving her, André was back with his hand on her shoulder.

“Slip away, bebe. Find your happy place. I’ll be here standing guard. You’re safe, bebe.” He spoke softly and looked at her with such love.

Hell, he didn’t even know if she understood him. If he hadn’t been so fucking stubborn, she’d be his sub right now. Then she’d damn well know what he was talking about. Considering how tight their bond was by now, he’d probably be able to send her there through his command alone.

He wiped a hand down his face, wishing he could erase the sight of her, a broken doll, crumbled on the floor. And the blood. God, so much blood. The paramedics had told him she was stable and safe to transport. What did that mean? She was so pale and cold to the touch. It scared the hell out of him.

She started to struggle again. Every time he fell silent, she began to thrash about. “No, bebe. Just rest. I’m here with you.”

André couldn’t believe his trainees had caused this. Oh, on some level he knew they had a mean streak. When they thought he wasn’t listening, he’d overheard them say some pretty vicious things about other subs at the club, but he’d thought it was all just talk.

“You’re such a brave girl, Adriana. Stay strong for me, bebe. Just a little bit longer.”

He’d had no idea Eva and Adriana called them Satan’s trolls. For their own good, they had better be out of his house tonight. The police could handle the rest. If he ever saw them again, it would be too soon.

The ambulance came to a stop and the paramedics opened the door. They rushed her into the hospital and behind the ‘medical personnel only’ doors.

“Sir, you’ll have to wait here.” A nurse with a clipboard met him as he went to follow Adriana through.

He started to push past her when two security men appeared between him and the door.

“Sir, only patients are allowed past this point. Please have a seat and fill out this paperwork. As soon as we have word on her condition, we’ll let you know.” The nurse was polite, but insistent.

Eva came running through the doors before he could respond to the nurse.

“Nick Branson is on the way. He’s dealing with the hospital admin and the paperwork.” She handed the clipboard back to the nurse and led André over to the waiting area.

He hadn’t even thought to call Nick, but he should have. Money simply didn’t mean anything when it came to Adriana.

Little by little, his rag-tag family filled the waiting room. Surrounded by friends, his adopted family, he still felt alone and empty without Adriana.

James put a supporting hand on his shoulder. “This hospital has a great trauma team, André. She’s in good hands.”

“He should know. He’s been here enough times,” Amanda chimed in.

André smiled at them both. The last time James had been here, he’d been injured saving Amanda from a stalker. Yet another club-related event. Maybe he should shut it down. Shut them all down. There were too many factors he couldn’t control. Once he had his head straight again, he’d speak to his partners, Nick and Ted, about it.

Hell, Nick’s own wife had been injured at the club. Most likely he’d be all for permanently closing the doors.

“This wasn’t your fault.”

He looked up. His cousin Amanda could be a force to reckon with when she was riled, but since marrying James, she seemed a different person. She was calm and happy. Those were two words he’d never have associated with her before. James had been a good influence.

“Apparently, this wasn’t the first time they’d pulled something. Two days ago, one of them caused her to slip in the shower.” He shook his head. All the signs had been there in front of him.

“Did she tell you that?” Amanda asked.

André looked up as a new face approached and offered his hand. “Joseph, thanks for coming.” Captain Bradley had been a good friend to André. Prejudices ran deep in society and it was helpful to have a high ranking police officer who understood the real score.

“I read the reports from the responding officers. Nasty business, André. I know Nick was speaking with the district attorney. Those girls are looking at jail time.”

André nodded. He felt nothing inside, just cold and drained. He should feel something…anger, hurt, betrayal. He dug a little deeper and still came up with nothing toward them. Worry for Adriana and guilt were all he had.

“You were saying this wasn’t the first attack?” Joseph’s gaze bore down on his.

“Adriana wouldn’t tell him.” Eva joined the fray. “She said it would be her word against theirs and she didn’t want to put André in that position. They poured baby oil outside her shower stall so as soon as she stepped out she slipped. They traded her shampoo for Nair. They stole her clothes and replaced them with a trash collector’s uniform. The list is long.”

“Why didn’t she come to me? I would have put a stop to it.” How had he missed all that?

“There aren’t security cameras in the locker rooms. There wasn’t any way to prove they’d done it. To be fair, you’d have had to suspect everyone with access and Adriana didn’t want to cause problems for any of the other girls,” Eva explained. “It’s my fault.” She started to cry. “I should have come to you. Especially tonight.” She shook her head and her voice dropped to a mere whisper. “I saw them go into the gym right after you said Adriana would be there. I suspected they’d done something.”