The Game (23 page)

Speechless, all he could do was blindly stare at the archway the woman passed through. Her insight had touched him like no other. He searched back, bringing the men’s faces to the forefront. Yes, tranquility would describe their expressions. Seth pivoted and looked at the sleeping woman before him. She was beauty and virtue incarnate. Why had he not seen it? Why had it taken another man—no, make that three—to open his eyes?

There was more, so much more, about Chastity that he wanted—needed—to know. If the detective he was to meet with tomorrow didn’t have the answers, then Seth would drag it out of Chastity, one revelation at a time. She wouldn’t escape him this time, not without revealing the truth.

“Master Seth.” When Seth turned, he saw Tatiana in the doorway. The woman appeared hesitant to enter. “I have been asked to sit with Chastity.”

Suspicion came alive within him. “Why?”

The petite woman bowed her head clasping her hands in front of her. “Chastity is my friend. And a call awaits you in the citadel.”

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Could it be the call he’d been waiting for? Reluctant to leave Chastity, but anxious to speak with Zac Lawrence, his detective, he waved the woman into the room. “You will allow no other to enter.”

Tatiana gazed down on Chastity. A smile slid across her face as she brushed a lock of hair behind Chastity’s ear. “If it is your wish.”

“No one,” he reiterated firmly.

Big brown eyes met his. “No one, Master Seth.”

“If she wakes, you will escort her to our bungalow.”

She nodded. “Yes, Master Seth.”

Even with the woman’s promise, Seth felt a sliver of unease crawl beneath his skin. As he exited the room he took care to look around for another presence. The room where the iridescent crystal glowed was empty. The hallway was empty. There were no signs of the Vikings lurking about.

Good.

If it was the last thing he ever did, he was going to find out Chastity’s secrets. And win her back, if she would have him.

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Mackenzie McKade

Chapter Twelve

The warmth of the afternoon flooded over Chastity as she sat by the pond. She hugged her knees and gazed at the tranquil scenery. The sky was a clear aquamarine. The smell of flowers and grass and water filled the air. She tilted her head back, in order to feel the light and heat on her face. For a moment she was at peace, refusing to let the previous night’s events dim the beauty of the day.

But try as she might, yesterday kept rolling through her head. Seth had threatened to send her home. He was mad, but for what reason, she had no idea. Then she had been fucked by three men while Seth looked on.

Talk about a full day.

It had been an erotic experience. Pain and pleasure blurring the lines where one ended and the other began.

Her body ached, but pleasantly. It was hard to explain and even harder to understand. She should’ve been repulsed when Terrance slipped his cock into her ass, instead, the intrusion had excited her. The arrogant asshole…

Chastity chuckled, thinking it ironic that she referred to him by the same location on her body he chose to enter. Surprisingly, he had been gentle, even tender. Almost as if he’d morphed into another man, one unlike the domineering beast that had spent the last couple of days making her life a living hell.

Still, the warmth in Shawn’s eyes, the sensuality in his voice flowing over her skin as she took him into her mouth was…

Well, there were no words, at least none she could come up with at the moment. When Chastity had risen from her slumber in the Temple of Worship, her first thoughts had been of Seth. Tatiana had informed her that business had called him away. He had left on a transport early this morning.

A niggling of apprehension tugged on her heart. What if he didn’t return?

What if she never got the chance to express how sorry she was? More importantly, how much she loved him.

And what would happen to the money, her mother? Would all be lost?

Emotion bubbled up, warring inside her. She placed a palm against her mouth holding back the despair that began to surface. Just then a couple entered the garden. Desperately, she blinked back unshed tears.

They were the same ardent pair she had seen on the first day she arrived. Their playful interaction, the love emanating off of them, their laughter as they reveled in each other, made Chastity burst into tears.

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What a fool. Seth would never love her like that again. She had sealed her fate two years ago. He might take her body, but he would never trust or love her again. She swiped at the rebellious tears. What did she expect? She had lied and betrayed him.

Chastity saw Shawn enter the garden. Her shoulders drooped, her head shaking side to side. She just didn’t need this right now. A nervous twitch developed in one eye as she thought about last night’s encounter. She had no doubt that running into any of the Thorenson brothers, not to mention Seth, would be awkward at best. Determined steps headed in her direction. Her heart leaped into her throat. Unsure how to react, she began to rise.

Shawn held out a palm. “Please, don’t get up.” Like an imposing oak tree, he stood quiet for longer than was comfortable. He simply stared at her, as though trapped deep in thought.

When he spoke it was almost a whisper. “I only wish to thank you for last night.”

Confused, Chastity could do no more than gawk at the man. “Thank me?”

His feet shuffled. An almost boyish expression graced his masculine features.
Well, I’ll be damned! The man was nothing but a big teddy bear
. On the outside he was confidence personified. Yet Chastity could now see the air of shyness he hid behind the firm mask.

“You are a beautiful person. I desire only to thank you for sharing yourself with me.”

Well, Chastity guessed that was one way of putting it. She wanted to hate this man and his brothers. Still, it was hard to be angry after such an eloquent expression of gratitude. She felt the heat of a blush fan across her cheeks. He knelt and gently cupped her face in his palms. “You mustn’t be embarrassed or ashamed of what transpired. You must celebrate the sensual experience, the giving of one to another.” Abruptly, he released her.

It was amazing, the quiet giant that hadn’t spoken more than a handful of words all week was now talking to her as if they were friends. As if they shared…an intimacy.
Whoa
. After last night they did share a certain intimacy. Between him and his brothers, they had touched every place on her body, inside and out. She had tasted this man’s essence. How much closer could you get?

There was something pleasant about Shawn’s persona today that encouraged her to speak. “I don’t know what to feel. I don’t understand my feelings.”

Soft, knowing laughter spilled from Shawn’s full lips. “
Chastity
.”

A shockwave filtered through her. He’d called her by name, not
slave
, not
slave
Chastity
, but Chastity. And he was talking to her as if they were equals, not Master and slave.

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Shawn took a seat beside her. “If we don’t know the faces of good and evil, how are we to recognize them?”

Good…evil?
What the hell was the man talking about?
Bottom line, she just didn’t know whether to feel dirty after last night’s episode, or to stash it away into a closet as something out of her wildest dreams.

And what did Seth think? How would he feel about her now?

Shawn must’ve read the confusion she felt in her heart as he continued to explain,

“Moral…immoral. Each of us wants to believe that we are good, while in the dark recesses of our minds we hunger for a taste of the bad. The dark side gives us strength, allows us to recognize the difference.” He cocked his head, looking at her as if he sought confirmation that she understood, before he continued, “Fantasies are located in the dark side of our minds. Like day and night, one side is not whole without the other.”

He slithered onto his side, lying eye-to-eye with Chastity. She knew it was an intentional move to bring put them on an equal level.

“To venture into the shadows where the seat of your power resides can be a scary thing. With the right partner your dark side can blossom into a beautiful garden of erotic fantasies—” he paused, “—just waiting to be picked and cherished.”

Chastity laughed, truly laughed, for the first time since she arrived on Zygoman. His words were liberating. “Shawn.” She tried out the newfound friendship, voicing his name without placing Master before it. “You make it sound, well, wonderful.”

The wind blew an errant curl into her eyes. Gently, he brushed it away. “It is. You must find the beauty in everything and treasure it.” He reached over and squeezed her hand. “Tonight is the slave auction. I wish to bid for your favors, if you are not opposed. In my bed you will be treated as a queen, never a slave.”

Whoa
! This was not what Chastity had expected. One part of her refused to lead Shawn on, while the other part of her brain remembered Dawson’s threat. She shivered at the thought of the despicable man, or someone like him, touching her.

“Is it a given that I must participate?” The disappointment in his eyes was instantaneous.

“If you are to thwart Voyeur II, it is.”

She forced a smile, “Then I would be honored and pleased to share the evening with you.”

Shawn’s features softened. She had seen that dreamy expression on other men’s faces, including Josh, Seth’s cousin. But like the others, Shawn was a handsome man, but he wasn’t Seth.

As Shawn began to rise, she placed a hand over his. “You mustn’t bid beyond your means.” Dawson was a rich man. He meant to have her. As much as she detested the thought of a night with the cruel man, she didn’t want Shawn to beggar himself. 128

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He laughed, stood, and beamed down at her. “A night
alone
with you would be worth all the riches in the universe.”

His words left her stunned, feeling beautiful and sad at the same time. As he walked away, she rose. How was she going to make it through the night, through the next couple of days?

Staring into the depths of the pool, a shiver raced up her spine. She turned to find Dawson beating a path toward her. She twisted her head, praying that Shawn was still in sight, that he would handle what she knew would be a distasteful encounter. Stopping before her, Dawson slowly twisted the ring on his finger. He stood for a moment in silence, animosity dripping from his body. She half expected to see smoke rising from the fire in his eyes.

He leaned forward with a snarl and murmured, “Tonight, you’re mine.”

Chastity’s knees almost buckled at the menacing tone of his voice. Her heart pounded against her chest. When a single fingertip slid down her bare arm, fear took shape and crawled across her skin. Her stomach pitched.

It would serve the man right if she spewed her lunch all over his designer shoes. Then again, paybacks could be a bitch, and there was already enough hostility between them.

Without another word he turned to leave. As she watched him disappear around a corner, Chastity wondered if Voyeur II would win after all.

* * * * *

One screen after another flickered in front of Seth’s eyes. An older version of Chastity flashed on the screen. Quickly, he scanned the article beneath the picture. His jaw dropped open.

He couldn’t believe what he read, what he saw. It was all there—another piece of the puzzle.

Chastity’s mother was alive.

“She was exonerated?” Seth asked in disbelief, remembering Chastity’s plea to contact her mom the day of the game show. He had called her a liar. Guilt tugged at him, weighing him down in his chair.

And what about the call she’d made from Ecstasy Island’s conference room? Had she spoken to her mother or to a lover?

If it had been her mother, then all the signals Chastity was sending him were real. She’d even said she loved him. The revelation was an instant aphrodisiac. His cock hardened. His need to hold her, to slip between her thighs and thrust into her wet core intensified with every tight breath he inhaled. 129

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When he got back to Zygoman he was taking Chastity to bed and keeping her there until he made up for the two years he lost. There would be no doubt in her mind how he felt about her.

The beefy detective slid his feet off the desk. The thump brought Seth’s attention back to the man in the room. Zac leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“Yes, only three months after she was incarcerated. It was self-defense. The man attacked her.” He sat up and leaned back in his chair. “She was pretty messed up. It took a little time to get the facts straight.”

Seth pushed a button and the screen went black. “Why hasn’t she been released?”

Chunky fingers threaded through Zac’s graying, brown hair. “That’s the mystery. I’ve sent a retainer to the moon to investigate. Appears the lady might have pissed off someone with a little money. At least that’s my guess.”

Seth stood. “All this time, someone has been paying to block her release?”

The man across from Seth slowly nodded.

The palm of Seth’s hand landed hard against his head. It all made sense now. Chastity needed money for the release of her mother.

Okay, so that piece of the mystery was solved.

Still, he had to wonder. Why had Chastity walked out on him two years ago, and what did this have to do with his cousin?

“Did you get anything more on Josh and Chastity?”

A crooked smile flashed across Zac’s face. “As we speak, an associate of mine is at his house.”

And where would Josh be while all this was taking place? Seth was sure his cousin wouldn’t simply open his door, invite the investigator in, and then spill his guts.

“Where’s Josh?”

“Out of town. Lucky break, he took a transport from Earth last night. Neighbors said he’s on vacation, left his pooch with the old lady that lives next to him.”

Although Zac Lawrence had discovered the whereabouts of Chastity’s mother, Seth still didn’t know how much to trust him. Seth needed more information and he needed it now.