From Sanctum with Love (Masters and Mercenaries #10)(121)

Her body didn’t seem to care about logic. Her body was already heating up, already loving the feel of rope wrapped around her.

“We’re not normal. We’re us and this is how we work it out. This is how we show each other how important the other one is. Because you are, baby. You’re the most important person in the world to me.” He tied off a knot and pulled something out of his pocket. Naturally Kai had more rope. He seemed to have an endless supply hidden on his body. Kai tied this rope around the loops holding her torso. He fashioned a little leash for her. “Come on. I want to show you something. Something I made for you.”

“Kai, this is ridiculous.”

Kai moved in, his gorgeous face all she could see for the moment. “Is it? This is how I show you I love you. I know it’s perverse and likely no one else would understand. The rest of the world can look at me and call me a freak. I only need you. You’re the only one who can hurt me with words, with judgment because you’re the only one whose judgment ever mattered. This is the language of our love. Can’t it simply be? Do we have to question it? Do we have to change it so it fits some mold we didn’t make?”

Her whole body softened because he was getting to her. Would it be rational to sit down and have a conversation? Yes. But that wouldn’t be intimate. He was asking her for intimacy and she couldn’t turn him down. No matter what he’d done. “No. This is our language.”

This was their love and no one else got to control it.

Yes. She was in control. She’d learned that here in Sanctum. What she gave or kept for herself was her choice, but sometimes it was all right to give it up. Kai wasn’t Morgan. Not even close and the Kori she’d become wasn’t going to turn back into that needy girl who’d given up so much of herself that she’d had to flee to find it again.

This Kori stayed and fought and this Kori was going to find her faith. Erin had told her that if she could easily leave then Kai wasn’t the one.

She couldn’t leave because Kai seemed intent on tying her up. He was definitely the one for her.

Kori let him lead her up the stairs.

Up ahead she saw that Kai had rigged a play space for what looked like some serious suspension play. They didn’t screw around at Sanctum. There were hard points in the ceiling along with suspension rings that could handle the full weight of even the biggest subs. Whatever Kai was about to do would likely be memorable.

Underneath the rig was a cushy mat, set there to ensure even if something went wrong, she wouldn’t be hurt. The mat covered a lot of space and there was a sheet over a portion of it. She could guess that was where Kai had placed his toys. Ah, the mind f*ck. She wouldn’t know what was happening, couldn’t tell how he would hurt her before it happened. Yes, that got her motor running.

Kai stopped in the center of the scene space, his eyes on her. “You ran this morning. You ran last night. I think you intended to quit today and not see me again. Come here. I’ll get you out of that. I was only trying to make a point, but it seems you would rather talk.”

She forced back the denial that sprang to her lips. She wanted his ropes around her, but she remained still as he quickly got her out of the bindings. “I wouldn’t have run away. I needed time last night. Do you want to explain what you were doing?”

“I was tagging Mia’s phone for Case,” he said, his voice short. He laid the rope down. “He needed to look into her background and it was what he and the crew decided to do. They wanted to be able to listen in on her conversations with her brother. Now we’ve discovered it wasn’t necessary at all and Big Tag is dealing with her brother directly.”

That didn’t run counter to anything she’d heard. “All right. Did you or did you not ask me to come out with you last night for the sole purpose of using me to get Mia’s phone.”

“I did. I would never have wanted to go to a nightclub with you. I would have greatly preferred going home and watching TV and spending time with you in bed.”

“Did you manipulate me into bringing Sarah out even knowing that she would likely get hurt?”

His jaw tightened. “Yes.”

“Did you sleep with me so I could be your cover?”

“Absolutely not. I slept with you because I finally got to. I finally had you in a place where you let me into your bed, where you allowed me to play with you. The two have nothing to do with one another except timing.”

“I have a hard time understanding why you wouldn’t come to me and ask me, Kai. I would have helped you. Even though she was my friend, I would have helped you do anything you needed.”

“I was asked not to talk about it.”

That simply didn’t make sense to her. “By Case?”

“By Big Tag.”

“So your loyalty to Big Tag is more important than our relationship?” She wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer to that question.

Kai groaned in obvious frustration. “I don’t understand why that’s your conclusion. He’s my friend. I didn’t think for a second you would get hurt. Why can’t I do a job for a friend and leave you out of it?”

“You didn’t leave me out of it, Kai. You dragged me into the middle of it. From what I can tell, you and the Taggarts dragged everyone into it. Tell me you didn’t know your brother was under investigation.”