When starving artist Saskia Roth meets Lachlan Niche, a local art collector and tech tycoon, she has no idea how her life is about to change. One act of desperation, one con gone wrong, and she finds herself at the mercy of a powerful man she fears and despises-or so she thinks.
As her desire for him grows, life as his captive becomes something more... something that could both transform her and destroy her.
EXCLUSIVE first teaser scene from the upcoming: THE ESCAPE ARTIST at the back of the book!
Precise footsteps clicked across the floor. Quill. Marcus's stride was much different. Quill moved with a kind of smug entitlement that was hard to fake. She found herself both repulsed and pulled under by his demanding confidence.
"You've got thirty seconds to make a case for why I shouldn't whip the hell out of you for what happened with Marcus last night."
What happened with Marcus? She searched through the mental files in her brain trying to come up with what could have pissed him off so much. He'd obviously seen something from the video feed. Had he watched it before or after he'd sketched her? It had to have been after. There was an almost tender affection in that drawing. The man looming over her now didn't seem capable of tenderness.
Marcus rushed into the gallery, exhausted from the night shift. "You know that's not her fault."
Quill spun on the guard. "No. It's your fault. I said no fucking, and what did you do?"
"I didn't fuck her!"
"So I just imagined your cock in her mouth? My mistake. It must be my advancing age. Things are so confusing now."
"When you said fucking, it seemed clear to me you meant what normal people think fucking is!"
"I meant I didn't want your cock inside any of her orifices. Perhaps I should have spelled that out better."
"Perhaps you should have. I don't see what difference it makes when you plan to whore her out anyway."
Quill opened the cage and dragged Saskia out. She was still too disoriented to struggle or fight him.
"She was locked in a goddamned cage," Marcus said. "How could she have stopped me? What powers did you give her to protect herself from her bodyguard?"
It was a good question. It was bewildering what he was even guarding her from. Maybe it made sense for Marcus to be there if she needed something, since Quill insisted on this cage business and couldn't be bothered to keep her in his own room. But otherwise, it was doubtful someone would break in to steal her. She wasn't a Monet.
A light bulb seemed to appear all at once over Marcus's head. "Oh. I see what this is, what you're doing. You think I'll volunteer to take her place. And Saskia seeing the gory mess unfold will somehow be even worse for her. You just love fucking with people, don't you?"
"You think I'd whip you instead?" Quill asked, amusement threading his voice.
"Hell yes, I do. I think you've been setting me up from the beginning because you want me back in your chains."
Saskia's eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she looked from Quill to Marcus and then back to Quill again. She'd thought the two of them were friends. Surely there had to be something closer than just employer and employee for Quill to share her. It had never seemed like a logical employment perk. But the last thing she'd suspected was that Quill once had something kinky going on with Marcus. Or was she misreading this somehow?
His gaze flicked over the guard in that same proprietary way he so often looked at Saskia.
Nope. Not imagining that.
"I've asked, and you've said no. So you won't do it for me, but you'll do it for her?"
"I didn't say I'd do it for her," Marcus said.
Quill sighed, his gaze sliding to Saskia. "It's going to be a brutal day for you, sweetheart. You'll have Marcus to thank for that."
It felt like he had something to prove, and that scared her. She didn't know how bad he might get under those conditions. Quill grabbed her wrist and pushed her against the column. He was about to lock the first shackle when Marcus's voice stopped him.
"You know she didn't do anything wrong. All she has done since she got here is try to please both of us. She doesn't deserve this."
"I know. Life isn't fair. It's all very sad."
Quill finished locking Saskia into the chains and went for a whip. She jumped when he snapped it in the air for effect.
"Master, please." She'd always had a healthy fear of him, but things had escalated far beyond either healthy or fear. A quiet place inside her head kept whispering he might lose control.
She might not get out of these chains. The next box she might occupy might be made of pine rather than black metal bars. "Please," she whimpered.
Saskia couldn't stop the tears or the trembling. He'd whipped her before, but before he'd seemed in control of himself. Right or wrong, he'd had an end game in mind that probably didn't include her death. Now he didn't seem to be thinking beyond the next fifteen seconds or about any consequences which might unfold past that. A lot of permanent damage could occur in just a few seconds with a very strong person wielding a whip and little reason.
"Goddammit!" Marcus said. "Unchain her."
Quill smiled. "So you'll take her punishment?"
"It's intended for me. You just want me to ask for it."
"Good boy," he said, a slow smile spreading across his face. "You still can be taught."
Marcus angrily stripped off his clothes while Quill unchained her and put her back in the cage.
"You will watch, Saskia. You should see firsthand just how kind and patient I've been with you," Quill said.
She scooted back against the far end of the cage and wrapped herself in the sheets. Marcus seemed resigned to his fate. He wasn't afraid, just pissed off.
He didn't make a sound as the whip came down. Occasionally he flinched, but he wouldn't give Quill the satisfaction of breaking. Not like Saskia had. Quill could turn her into a bundle of trembling nerves and tears with only a few lashes—or even the threat of them. Like today.
Marcus's back muscles clenched. It appeared as if the black dragon would leap off his skin to seek vengeance against Quill. But the large ink reptile kept its fire safely in check.
That awful whip crack echoed off the walls in the gallery without another sound in the world to dampen its thunder. And still, Marcus didn't beg or scream. The only sign he was being hurt at all were a few silent tears that trailed down his cheek and the bright red anger Quill painted across his back.
Saskia counted twenty excruciating lashes. It was obvious Quill held back far less with Marcus than he had with her. He laid the whip down and ran his hands down Marcus's sides, groped his ass, then pressed a possessive kiss against his throat as if he were branding him.
"Tell me how much you miss this," Quill growled against his ear.
Marcus shook his head. "I'm just doing my job. Protecting her."
"You've got thirty seconds to make a case for why I shouldn't whip the hell out of you for what happened with Marcus last night."
What happened with Marcus? She searched through the mental files in her brain trying to come up with what could have pissed him off so much. He'd obviously seen something from the video feed. Had he watched it before or after he'd sketched her? It had to have been after. There was an almost tender affection in that drawing. The man looming over her now didn't seem capable of tenderness.
Marcus rushed into the gallery, exhausted from the night shift. "You know that's not her fault."
Quill spun on the guard. "No. It's your fault. I said no fucking, and what did you do?"
"I didn't fuck her!"
"So I just imagined your cock in her mouth? My mistake. It must be my advancing age. Things are so confusing now."
"When you said fucking, it seemed clear to me you meant what normal people think fucking is!"
"I meant I didn't want your cock inside any of her orifices. Perhaps I should have spelled that out better."
"Perhaps you should have. I don't see what difference it makes when you plan to whore her out anyway."
Quill opened the cage and dragged Saskia out. She was still too disoriented to struggle or fight him.
"She was locked in a goddamned cage," Marcus said. "How could she have stopped me? What powers did you give her to protect herself from her bodyguard?"
It was a good question. It was bewildering what he was even guarding her from. Maybe it made sense for Marcus to be there if she needed something, since Quill insisted on this cage business and couldn't be bothered to keep her in his own room. But otherwise, it was doubtful someone would break in to steal her. She wasn't a Monet.
A light bulb seemed to appear all at once over Marcus's head. "Oh. I see what this is, what you're doing. You think I'll volunteer to take her place. And Saskia seeing the gory mess unfold will somehow be even worse for her. You just love fucking with people, don't you?"
"You think I'd whip you instead?" Quill asked, amusement threading his voice.
"Hell yes, I do. I think you've been setting me up from the beginning because you want me back in your chains."
Saskia's eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she looked from Quill to Marcus and then back to Quill again. She'd thought the two of them were friends. Surely there had to be something closer than just employer and employee for Quill to share her. It had never seemed like a logical employment perk. But the last thing she'd suspected was that Quill once had something kinky going on with Marcus. Or was she misreading this somehow?
His gaze flicked over the guard in that same proprietary way he so often looked at Saskia.
Nope. Not imagining that.
"I've asked, and you've said no. So you won't do it for me, but you'll do it for her?"
"I didn't say I'd do it for her," Marcus said.
Quill sighed, his gaze sliding to Saskia. "It's going to be a brutal day for you, sweetheart. You'll have Marcus to thank for that."
It felt like he had something to prove, and that scared her. She didn't know how bad he might get under those conditions. Quill grabbed her wrist and pushed her against the column. He was about to lock the first shackle when Marcus's voice stopped him.
"You know she didn't do anything wrong. All she has done since she got here is try to please both of us. She doesn't deserve this."
"I know. Life isn't fair. It's all very sad."
Quill finished locking Saskia into the chains and went for a whip. She jumped when he snapped it in the air for effect.
"Master, please." She'd always had a healthy fear of him, but things had escalated far beyond either healthy or fear. A quiet place inside her head kept whispering he might lose control.
She might not get out of these chains. The next box she might occupy might be made of pine rather than black metal bars. "Please," she whimpered.
Saskia couldn't stop the tears or the trembling. He'd whipped her before, but before he'd seemed in control of himself. Right or wrong, he'd had an end game in mind that probably didn't include her death. Now he didn't seem to be thinking beyond the next fifteen seconds or about any consequences which might unfold past that. A lot of permanent damage could occur in just a few seconds with a very strong person wielding a whip and little reason.
"Goddammit!" Marcus said. "Unchain her."
Quill smiled. "So you'll take her punishment?"
"It's intended for me. You just want me to ask for it."
"Good boy," he said, a slow smile spreading across his face. "You still can be taught."
Marcus angrily stripped off his clothes while Quill unchained her and put her back in the cage.
"You will watch, Saskia. You should see firsthand just how kind and patient I've been with you," Quill said.
She scooted back against the far end of the cage and wrapped herself in the sheets. Marcus seemed resigned to his fate. He wasn't afraid, just pissed off.
He didn't make a sound as the whip came down. Occasionally he flinched, but he wouldn't give Quill the satisfaction of breaking. Not like Saskia had. Quill could turn her into a bundle of trembling nerves and tears with only a few lashes—or even the threat of them. Like today.
Marcus's back muscles clenched. It appeared as if the black dragon would leap off his skin to seek vengeance against Quill. But the large ink reptile kept its fire safely in check.
That awful whip crack echoed off the walls in the gallery without another sound in the world to dampen its thunder. And still, Marcus didn't beg or scream. The only sign he was being hurt at all were a few silent tears that trailed down his cheek and the bright red anger Quill painted across his back.
Saskia counted twenty excruciating lashes. It was obvious Quill held back far less with Marcus than he had with her. He laid the whip down and ran his hands down Marcus's sides, groped his ass, then pressed a possessive kiss against his throat as if he were branding him.
"Tell me how much you miss this," Quill growled against his ear.
Marcus shook his head. "I'm just doing my job. Protecting her."
KITTY THOMAS writes dark stories that play with power and have unconventional HEAs. She began publishing in early 2010 with her bestselling COMFORT FOOD and is considered one of the original authors of the dark romance subgenre.
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