Vicious Carousel (Suncoast Society #25)(17)

“No, and that’s exactly it! I asked him to play after we’d met a few times and talked. He didn’t ask me. I knew that was a warning sign, if someone pressured you to play.”

Nolan shrugged. “Predators improve their hunting skills, unfortunately.”

“The sad thing is, I thought I sucked at vanilla relationships. I mean, they were nice guys, right? But it was…boring. Like there was always something missing. I just lost interest. When I discovered BDSM it all clicked home what I’d been needing. But even when I dated vanilla guys, I didn’t hesitate to break up with a guy if he got too controlling or wanted too much, too fast. How ironic is that?”

“Again, predators are cunning,” Kenny said. “It’s their raison d’être. It’s kind of what they get off on doing.”

“Anything from Ed yet on bail?”

“He hasn’t been arraigned yet,” Nolan said. “In about an hour or so.”

“So, here’s another thing,” Kenny said. “Tilly and her guys are coming over for dinner.”

“Okay.”

“And my mom.”

“Oh.” She let out a sigh. “I’ll stay in my room then.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. We want you to eat with us. You’re why Tilly and her guys are coming over. My mom’s husband might be with her, but doubtful.” Kenny and Nolan exchanged a glance. “We’re going to tell my mom the full truth about us, and about who you are, tonight. We’d been talking about maybe getting married, and all this stuff made us realize how short life is and not to waste it.”

“I’m happy for you,” she said, feeling a little wistful. “That’s great.”

“Thanks,” Nolan said. “We’ve already decided we’re not going to tell anyone where you’re staying, except the people who were there last night. If you decide later to tell anyone, that’s up to you. For now, it’s probably safer if we keep your location secret.”

“Agreed.” She winced as she tried to sit up by herself. These guys were so nice, so sweet.

So safe.

It would be tempting to let herself stay here too long, and she knew that.

Right now, she’d settle for being able to go to the bathroom by herself. “I hate to ask for help, but I need to get up.”

The men rose as one. They were a lot alike despite their differences in appearance. Nolan, with his blond hair and blue eyes, a couple of inches taller than Kenny, who had short brown hair and brown eyes. Together, they got her on her feet and down the hall to the bathroom.

This time, at least, she was able to go by herself. And she avoided looking in the mirror when she washed her hands. When she turned, she spotted a bunch of new stuff on the shelf over the toilet, things that hadn’t been there before.

Girlie stuff.

She turned to stare at them, where they stood in the doorway with guilty looks. “When did you go shopping?” she asked.

“After you zonked out,” Kenny said. “If I didn’t get the right stuff, let me know. I picked you up some pajamas and things, too.”

Her one good eye watered. “It’s perfect. Thanks. I appreciate it.” She reached over, ripped open the box holding the deodorant, and reached under her shirt to apply some. “I had to use his. He wouldn’t buy me any of my own.” She replaced the cap and set it on the shelf. “I took stuff like this for granted before. I can’t remember the last time I went shopping. I had to give him a list of stuff I needed, and he would buy it, if he felt like it. It was like I had to earn it.”

When she turned, the dark expressions on the men’s faces startled her. “What?”

“Sorry,” Nolan quietly said. “Just that if we’d known he was being this shitty to you, we would have stepped in a lot sooner to try to help you out. A lot of us would have.”

“It’s my own fault for not saying anything and not leaving sooner. Well, it’s my fault for letting him do this to me in the first place.” She managed a glance in the mirror. “The worst part? I was raised not to tolerate this kind of abuse. I think that’s why it took me so long to find BDSM and accept it. Then I threw myself into it wholeheartedly and got my heart ripped out in the process.”

They got her situated back on the couch, this time sitting up. Nolan brought her more ibuprofen.

“When do I have to go back to get my stitches out?” she asked.

“You don’t,” Kenny said. “You were probably too out of it last night to understand all of that. They’d already given you a pain shot by then. They’re dissolvable stitches. If you have swelling or infection, you have to go back. Otherwise, you’re good. Well, other than the head injury.”

At least the nausea had faded. Likely due to being able to eat. “I promise, when I’m feeling better, I’ll start helping with chores.”

“Stop,” Nolan said. “Seriously, we mean it. We get it, you’re not a mooch. Message received.” He smiled. “Think of this as a very hard-earned vacation for a few days, okay?”

She nodded.

“Any ideas what to do about a job?” Kenny asked.

“No. I’ll need to get a job so I can get a car. I doubt the place I worked will hire me back.”