Owned by Fate (Serve #1)(6)

Finally, he faced away again, and she continued her observation. The man didn’t walk. He prowled. Like a panther pacing in front of a cage waiting for his afternoon meal. She grew momentarily lightheaded as the implications of that became obvious. He’d made it abundantly clear that she was the desired meal.

Not if I have anything to say about it.

He stopped abruptly as they made it to the other side of the packed dance floor, and Caroline stopped just short of crashing into his broad back. To her right, there was an elevator with double doors, surrounded by a gigantic golden mouth. As if by stepping into the elevator, you were being swallowed. Or entering the mouth of Hell. Either way, it was further proof the man holding her arm possessed a wicked sense of humor. The reminder was…oddly comforting?

He inserted a key into the wall, drawing Caroline’s attention away from the golden mouth. They stood in front of a different, single-door elevator, stainless steel and simple compared to the other one. It slid open immediately, and he briskly led her inside. She barely had time to register the cramped size of the compartment before the door eased shut behind them.

Caroline’s back went up against the wall. He was suddenly so close. Too close. His body was flush with hers, head dipped down within inches of hers, eyes heavily lidded and sensual. Without removing his gaze from her, he reached over and turned another key in the panel of buttons. With a jolt she felt down to her toes, they started to move.

“You got into this elevator with me after the things I said to you?” He braced his hands above her head. “I don’t know whether to be grateful or pissed off.”

“Go with grateful,” she breathed.

A muscle in his jaw flexed. “I don’t understand you, Caroline. You seemed so cautious and level-headed, then you follow me in here, knowing I want to f*cking debauch you.” His mouth brushed over hers, and he groaned. “I have a weakness for inconsistencies.”

“Join the club.” She tried mightily to steady her voice. “It’s why I followed you.”

“Is that so? Curious girl.”

She nodded shakily. “Why don’t we start with your name?”

He dragged his tongue across his teeth. “The one I was given at birth or the one I’d prefer you to call me?”

Caroline swallowed hard, already regretting her answer. “Both.”

“Jonah.” He pressed his hips forward. “Master.”

Heat swamped her, making it impossible to think clearly or draw the fortifying breath she sorely needed. She fought against the image of her down on her knees looking up at him, hands bound behind her back, body bathed in sweat. Something that had seemingly turned her off today as she browsed websites and images. Now, though, with this man making her body feel things she didn’t want to feel, hated feeling, “turned off” couldn’t be used to describe her current state. Hot, needy, confused. Those were more adequate.

She was so far out of her depth here that she couldn’t see the shore.

The elevator door pinged open, and Caroline hurtled herself through the opening. She stumbled into the near-darkness, picked a direction, and started walking on unsteady legs. Her mouth had gone dry, and her heart hammered loudly in her ears. Even her vision had grayed a little around the edges. She’d grossly underestimated the effect he would have on her when they were alone. She couldn’t possibly want him more than common sense dictated, could she? This world, this place he’d created, was abhorrent to her. Once she made up her mind, wavering was unacceptable. It didn’t make sense that her body would overrule her mind.

A steady hand banded around her upper arm. “Slow down,” Jonah growled behind her. Needing another minute to get control of her conflicting emotions, she tried to keep walking but was brought up short by the scene playing out in front of her. A woman was blindfolded and handcuffed to some type of bench, while a bald, shirtless man brought a flogger down hard onto the backs of her thighs, her reddened buttocks. Several people were sprawled on couches, watching. Instinctively, Caroline began turning away but stopped when she caught sight of the woman’s face. Or her mouth, to be precise, since her eyes were covered. Her expression was one of pure, undiluted bliss. Every strike of the flogger only seemed to increase her enjoyment, not to mention her partner’s. Sweat beaded his head and face, and his muscles were rigid with tension.

Caroline recognized the echoing tension in herself then. It came on like an engine roaring to life. Spreading downward from her stomach, a God-awful squeeze twisted inside her. Only she wasn’t entirely certain it was awful, so much as exotic and overpowering. Her breath left her in a rush in tandem with the woman’s moan. Her mind railed at her to stop watching this act, one that should surely be private, and walk away. Her usually victorious mind, however, seemed to be momentarily ineffective.

Never in her life had she witnessed such unrestrained sexuality. She couldn’t put into words what she’d expected to see. Drunken revelry? People laughing maniacally while they whipped some sacrificial virgin as a gift to the gods? She’d expected to be disgusted.

Yes. This is gross. Demeaning. Caroline, get out of here. Move your ass.

Feeling unusually lethargic, she turned to leave. And came up against Jonah’s hard body. His hands circled her wrists to keep her close as he searched her face. Weighed her reaction to what she’d seen. Even now, she could hear the woman’s cries increasing in volume behind her. Somehow that sound, along with the leather slaps of the flogger, was provoking something to life inside her. It should be a negative feeling, but it felt thick and heady and good. The dizziness she’d been assailed with upon exiting the elevator came over her in a fresh wave, this time more intense, coupled with a not-so-subtle nuance of longing. Jonah’s body, unyielding against her softer curves, felt like an aphrodisiac. Having his barely harnessed lust living and breathing so close to her own toppled a few more of her defenses.