Madame (Salacious Players' Club, #6)

by Sara Cate

I’m rushing like someone might beat me to him. The mere thought of someone else taking him into a room makes my stomach clench and my blood boil.

“There is absolutely no talk of him here, understand?” He knows instantly that I’m talking about Jack.

“I can’t be in a room alone with you,” he mumbles quietly as I return to where he’s standing. “I have a girlfriend now.”

“You owe me,” he says with conviction.

“You ruined me, Eden. You’ve made it impossible to move on, and I asked you to tell me to stay gone, and you wouldn’t. So then you gave me hope, and that was unfair.”

“And after all of that, I helped you,”

“So now you owe me.”

“My girlfriend wants to watch us.”

And I know how it sounds. I had the same reaction when Jade asked me. And I’m pretty sure even she thought it was crazy, but let’s be real.

Eden ruined me. Jade loves me. And I’m clearly so fucked that I need this to make it work.

Her fingers, with their matte-black nails, are clutched so tightly around her forearm she’s leaving marks.

“I don’t want her here because this was our place, okay?”

“But I guess if there is no more us and she’s about to watch us together, then it really doesn’t matter anymore, does it?”

What happened to us? There was a point in the last year when I felt closer to her than I ever felt to anyone in my life. Now, it just feels…broken.

But I like the real person. The woman with eyes so green and intense she’s even more beautiful without the full lashes and thick eyeliner. I like the woman who lets her hair fall naturally to the sides, small little flyaway wisps framing her face like a halo.

We’re playing with fire. Fuck, this whole idea is more than playing with fire. It’s walking directly into an inferno and expecting to come out of it alive.

She never could be honest. That was always the problem with her. She’s a liar. Or rather…the persona she puts forth is a lie.

“One time, Eden. Give Jade this one time, and I’ll be gone. Whether you tell me to or not, I won’t come back. I won’t bother you, and I won’t ask you for ridiculous favors anymore.”

If I could make myself bleed for her, I would. Not that it would make a difference. She’d still walk away.

“Besides,” I add. “I’ll have Jade, so hopefully, I won’t miss you as much.”

“I need to know your limits and expectations. You still have those forms?”

“I still have them,” I say. “And the limits are the same as before.” “But you said no sex,”

my eyes to snap back up to her face. I did say there would be no sex, but we both know I didn’t say that on my forms when I first started s...

“And I’ll send the payment the same as before,” I add, which has her wincing.

“No payment. Not for this.”

“Oh, but I’ll see you in the morning first.” She pauses and stares at me with a questioning look. “Morning?”

I even try to hate her. But it’s useless. It’s probably about time I accept my fate. I may never stop loving her.

Every little touch of her fingers on my skin takes me to a place where I feel calm and at peace. The more she tightens the rope, the further I fall into my euphoria.

I’m used to being the one in charge, the protector, the leader, the dominant. But with her, I do what she tells me to and eat up her praise. She’s so easy to please that I can’t get enough.

“I think about fucking you all the time. I think you’d be such a good boy for me, and I think you’d come so hard you’d beg me to do it again.”

“You’re so perfect,” she says, this time with more sincerity than the dirty talk. When she says things like this to me, I believe it. “So perfect and all mine.”

Why would I care when everything here feels so fucking good?

“Dammit, Clay,” she snaps in a frantic, angry tone.

“Try to be tough for me. Put yourself through pain just because you think it pleases me? I don’t want to hurt you, Clay. I never want to really hurt you, and I need to trust that you’ll be honest with me so that I never do.

Do you understand? It’s not about you being tough and manly for me. We can’t do this if I can’t trust you. We have to be honest with each other.”

She’s clearly upset, her eyes wide and filled with fear. Shaking off the rope, I wrap my arms around...

“You could never hurt me.”

a glance in Clay’s direction, feeling the sting of attraction when I see the wide, handsome smile on his face. It’s not the same man who came to the club last night.

Today, he’s in a tight black T-shirt, dark-gray joggers, and crisp white sneakers. His hair is hidden in a ball cap, and while I’ve always considered myself a lover of expensive suits, this casual look on him has me feeling surprisingly feral.

When he showed up this morning, he greeted me with a smile—a stark contrast from the scowl or pure avoidance I recei...

“Yeah. All the way up to college. Then I tore my ACL, and it was all over.”

“Where’s his father, Eden?”

“He’s out of the picture,” I reply in a whisper. “Does he know about Jack?”

“I’m part of his life now, Eden. Can’t you see I care about him? Does that entitle me to anything?”

“That’s right. It’s always on your terms, isn’t it?” he replies, sounding annoyed and wearing a sarcastic smirk.

“I’m just trying to understand why you push me away all the time, Eden. Because all I want is to protect and take care of you too. The fact that Jack’s father isn’t here when I am⁠—”

“He’s dead. His father is dead.”

“You came!” Jack squeals as he barrels into Clay’s arms, and Clay hoists him off the ground with a laugh.

“Dude, she fucking loves cheeseburgers.”

This makes Jack laugh and slap his hand over his mouth. I level a tilted glare at Clay as he grins contritely. “Sorry.”