Lured (Team Zero #1) by Rina Kent

A hole forms in my chest. I was ready to leave a few minutes ago, but being erased hurts.

“Bordel.” I curse when I recall that he has my underwear. Whatever. I smooth my skirt and my tank top then slip on my sandals. I spy Dominic speaking with passion on the phone while buttoning his shirt.

My lips roll behind my teeth. He’s such a handsome, thrilling adventure.

It’s better this way. I have an awful intuition that if I stay and let him deeper, he’ll destroy me.

I’m an adult. I can walk away.

And I do.

I silently slip out of the room and close the door behind me. The final sound of the door clicking settles a weight in my chest. A hollowness eats at my heart.

It’s over.





Chapter Eleven





The following day, I’m trudging in the coffee shop and offering automatic smiles to the customers.

Samir gave me a time out and asked me to stay behind the counter. He has every right to. Sulking in front of patrons isn’t good for business.

I’m being dramatic.

I slide behind the counter to take care of the cashier. It’s better if I hide here until the end of my shift. I stare at the clock. It’s still the afternoon. I have all the way to the evening.

I sigh and drop to the seat behind the counter. A burn erupts in my ass and I wince. Fils de pute.

It’s been hard to lie down or sit properly. Deep down, I don’t even hate it. A throb starts between my legs whenever I recall how I got the red ass.

You will feel me on you for days.

The throb vanishes when I recall how I left.

I secretly hoped Dominic would follow me. He didn’t. He didn’t even show up today. Although his group doesn’t come on the weekends.

I plop my elbow on the counter and rest my head against my cheek. My eyes are droopy as I watch the customers chatting about. I couldn’t sleep last night. Ever since I left that hotel room, I kept replaying what happened in erotic, meticulous details.

The spanking, the sobbing, the coming apart. Dominic’s intensity is engraved under my skin. I don’t think I can erase it from my memories any time soon.

A part of me is appalled I let a complete stranger do all those things to me – and finding sick pleasure in it. But the other part? The more unhinged part? That one wishes I never left the hotel room. Maybe if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be feeling so out of my skin today.

It’s been only a day and I feel like I’ve known Dominic for eternity. That’s the type of effect he has on me.

A yawn escapes my lips and I close my eyes. Just a little while. I need to sleep for a second. Hopefully, Samir won’t catch me.

In my hazy half-asleep mind, I’m at that hotel room again. I’m standing near the table I fainted on wearing my denim skirt, tank top, and sandals. My body is aching, begging for a touch from Dominic.

Only… he isn’t there.

A gruff voice drifts my way. It’s muffled and seems as if someone is speaking from a bottle.

“It’s her... yes… he doesn’t suspect anything… it will be taken care of…”

What?

Where’s Dominic?

I moan when something stings my neck. Mais qu’est ce qui…

“If you’re moaning, you better be dreaming about me.”

Dominic!

My eyes snap open. I don’t even realise I’ve been asleep for that long. Dominic is perched over my chair. I rub my eyes. Am I still dreaming?

This is so cruel.

Dominic – or his doppelganger – doesn’t disappear. He’s in the same black suit from yesterday without the tie. His face appears tired as if he pulled an all-nighter. Even his usually perfect hair is a bit dishevelled.

His hand is gripping the back of the chair I’m sitting on while the other clutches the counter.

I’m completely under his scrutiny. It’s similar to when he came to find me at the pub. Only this time, his brown eyes are cold and his face is contorting as if he’s angry with me.

“Dominic?” I blurt, trying to hide the giddiness filling my insides. “What are you doing here?”

His voice drifts my way in a dark, hot caress. “Are you asking for punishment? I held back with you and we need to rectify that.”

Just mere words and my damn thighs are shaking. “What…?”

“I told you not to move. What did you do?”

His commanding voice is like his tongue, and it’s licking its way down my heated body.

“You were putting your clothes on.” I lift a shoulder and stare at my hands in my lap. “I thought we were done.”

“Did I say that?”

“It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out.”

He places two fingers underneath my chin and tilts my head so I’m eye to eye with those deep, destabilising browns. “I had an emergency at the lab and just finished. Otherwise, I would’ve come here and spanked your arse for defying me.”

My breath catches in my throat and relief overwhelms me. Hearing that explanation erases all the doubts.

I pull away from his hold. “It doesn’t matter anyway.”

Maybe it’s better when we stopped. I feel myself falling into a slippery slope. I have a strong hunch that if I give myself to his enigmatic methods, I’ll probably never find a way out.

When I couldn’t sleep, I spent the entire night re-reading about sociopaths to remind myself how easy it is to fall in their well-crafted webs.