He was leaving, but this time she was calm. He wasn’t leaving her. “I will wait up.”
He got off the bed and walked to the closet. He pulled out a pair of pants. “I don’t want that.”
She frowned. Well, she was tired. “I can go to sleep.”
“No, Kaj. I want you with me.” He put on the pants and walked to the bed, holding out his hand. “Come with me.”
She put her hand in hand his because she would follow him anywhere.
Chapter Seventeen
“And how do you know where they’re going to be?” Chalen asked his former mistress over their video connection.
“I pay one of the maids to keep tabs on him,” Ashley replied.
He had to give it to her. The girl was smart. “Did you get a time on when he would be there?”
“I know he and the shanimal left about a half an hour ago. They didn’t take the limo, and they left from one of the lower levels. The maid was surprised the beast was with Dante. They had been fighting earlier in the evening. They had been arguing over the press.”
Chalen felt a satisfied grin split his face. “I’m not surprised that he would try to evade the press. I’m sure the Dellacourts are perfectly horrified that their son is involved with an animal. Although I am a bit curious about this Kaja. Get dressed. I’ll pick you up in twenty minutes. I think it’s time for you to have a little talk with Kaja. I think I’ve found another use for that tape you made of Dante. I prefer the press’s version that he couldn’t find another consort. But I wonder what his new wife will think about his plan. I belong to that club. I’ll get us in.”
Ashley’s eyes widened in confusion. “Why would I talk to her? Everything is going along exactly as you planned. The press is tearing the Dellacourts apart. I just watched a news editorial on how we will all be copulating with animals if we don’t recognize Torin’s right to rule.”
Oh, the net was tightening, but Chalen had plans for Dante that didn’t include simply hurting his feelings. And if he could make a profit while he was at it, that was all the better. The shanimal would be very interesting to his medical division.
“I don’t pay you to tell me what to do,” Chalen said. “I’ll pick you up in twenty minutes.”
He closed the link between them and let the head of medical research know that he would have a new subject to test very soon.
* * * *
Dante held Kaja’s hand. He barely restrained himself from wrapping an arm around her and keeping her close to his body. He wanted contact with her. He craved it. He’d been fighting his instincts for weeks in a vain attempt to look normal.
Normal wasn’t going to work for Kaja. Normal was going to stifle her. It was going to kill that sweet soul of hers in a way violence and neglect hadn’t.
“Good evening, Mr. Dellacourt,” the desk clerk said.
Dante nodded at the man who probably was well armed and trained. The doors to The Club opened, and Dante led Kaja through.
One day he would bring her here as a sub, not just a guest. The BDSM club was known for its exclusivity. Royals only, and royals with money. Everyone else was well-vetted staff.
He didn’t miss the way Kaja’s eyes took in the grandeur of the space. Julian Lodge didn’t do anything halfway. His entryway was a monument to decadence.
“Dante.” Julian walked out of his office and into the grand entry. “Welcome back. It’s been a long time since you came in.”
“Well, seeing my sister bound to a Saint Andrew’s Cross while her consort whipped her made me swear off sex for a very long time.”
Kaja stared up at him.
“Three days is very long for me,” Dante conceded.
>
Julian laughed. “Really, it is. This is your consort.” Julian bowed in the formal fashion. “Greetings, consort.”
He nodded at Kaja, and she smiled at Julian. That smile. Gods, it got to him. Especially since he knew she’d never smiled before she met him.
“Hello,” Kaja said.