He rubbed her rump, before smacking her, right above her thigh. That stung, but it felt so good. "I don't think my brother will want me after he gets to know me. There's… no way."
As the words left her, she began to cry.
He didn't say anything, letting her put it all out. When she quietened a bit, he spanked her again, stirring another well inside her.
"I don't want to go back into Xander's life and destroy him."
And so it went.
Over and over, until every single secret and every single thought she held onto was out, the weight of the burden blank from her mind, her sobbing as she broke down. After countless spanks, until her ass was on fire and her mind at rest, she felt him pick her up gently and carry her to the bedroom, holding her close as she cried into his neck, letting out everything, releasing everything, letting go of everything that was holding her down, at least for a while.
Crying, in his arms, she passed out.
***
She stirred awake to see him sitting with his laptop on the desk, looking at the screen in the darkness of the room, his face lit up by the glow from the monitor.
Turning, she wrapped the sheet around herself and padded over to him.
"Come here," he spoke, opening his arms and letting her sit on his lap, caging her in as he turned her back to the screen, and kept working through some numbers.
She blinked, not understanding what she was looking at, but she let him work through it, semi-napping on him.
"Remember when I told you about my friend who ran away?" she asked him, feeling him still beneath her at the question.
"Yes," he waited for her to continue.
She stared at the screen, remembering mindlessly. "The man she escaped from, he kept me with him for a few years. He… he was the first."
He was still, utterly still, but remained silent.
"He called me tonight."
His hands were turning her around on his lap before she could blink, his devilish mismatched eyes intense on her. "Who?"
She shook her head. "I don't know his name. But he said… he threatened to kill you, to kill my brother. He… said he wanted to keep me again." Her voice trembled on the last words, and his grip on her jaw tightened.
"Not happening."
Two words, spoken with such ferocity she felt it seep into her bones.
"He's in The Syndicate?"
She nodded. "I think so. He addressed me by my real name."
He gazed at her for a long second. "Then you will have him at your mercy."
She never, ever wanted to see him again.
Dainn pressed a kiss to her neck, turning her around to face the monitor. "Full disclosure—I found your friend who ran away."
Lyla watched as he opened a folder, clicking on a photo. It blew up to show a beautiful girl, her eyes shining with happiness as she grinned at the camera. Lyla blinked, touching her hand to the face on the screen, remembering the girl who had left her behind. But she was happy.
"Where is she?" her voice cracked, her heart full for the little girl who had found a good life for herself.
A long pause in his reply made her turn her neck.
"She died. The bald man killed her."