Her friend grabbed her by the wrist. “Let’s just leave him alone. I think we’ve put him through enough…” She gently pulled her friend along.
I was losing her, and I had no choice but to let her go. The ring on my right hand felt unnaturally heavy. But then suddenly, I didn’t feel it at all. The weight evaporated into thin air like it’d never been there to begin with. “There is something you can do.”
She stopped and didn’t allow her friend to pull her any farther. “Anything.”
“Tell me your name.” I took a step toward her, not wanting to miss whatever she was about to say. I lived for that answer, needing to hear it in my ears and taste it on my tongue. When I beat off later that night, I wanted to know exactly who I was beating off to.
“You want my name?” Her voice barely came out as a whisper. “That’s all?”
“Yes.” My eyes narrowed on her face, needing that answer more than anything else in the world.
She faltered for an instant, unsure if she should give it to me because she didn’t understand my motive. Maybe I wanted it so I could report her to the police and press charges. If that was the case, that was my right and she had to cooperate. Her lips were parted before she spoke, and she finally gave her answer. “Rome Moretti.”
2
Calloway
I walked into Ruin and pushed through the throng of people as I made my way to the bar. Men in black leather held their submissives by leashes and chains. Most of them were on their knees on the floor, looking up at their masters with grotesque fascination. The music was amplified in the sub club, booming loud with the bass and matching the dark tones of the black lights.
One submissive made eyes at me, not having a master to obey. But the second her eyes landed on my black ring, she quickly turned her gaze away and pretended she hadn’t seen me in the first place.
I made it to the bar and saw Isabella there. The black ring was on her right hand, and she sipped a drink as she sat on the stool. Dressed in a tight black dress with her hair in a braid, she stood out among the other women in the crowd. Beautiful, dark, and sultry, she was the most remarkable woman in the place. None of the men stared at her because they knew she was off-limits.
Everyone respected that.
When I reached her side, she immediately turned her brown eyes on me. They took me in with fascination, and like the obedient submissive she was, she quickly lowered her gaze and tilted her chin downward, bowing to me without bending her spine. “Master.”
“Come with me.” I barked out my command and walked away without bothering to look behind me. I knew she was there, following me like the good submissive she was. I didn’t need a leash for her because it was unnecessary. This woman had been trained well. With the snap of my finger, she did exactly as I commanded—and she did so without complaint.
She was the best submissive I’d ever had.
We walked to the opposite side of the building on the top floor and entered my office. The furniture was black, and the large window behind my desk was tinted so the outside world couldn’t see within. They would never understand people like us. They would never understand our desires and our necessities. To them, we were just freaks.
And I thought the same about them.
My desk was carved from stained cherry wood, and the bookshelves on either wall were the same material. A lone lamp sat on the surface, and once I turned it on, we weren’t blanketed in the shadows any longer.
Isabella fell to her knees in front of my desk, taking the position she was expected to maintain whenever she was in my presence. Her braid trailed down the middle of her back, ready to be wrapped around my fist the instant I wanted her.
I leaned against the desk and crossed my arms over my chest. I took a moment to look at her, to appreciate her last moments as my submissive. For the last year, I’d been her exclusive Dom, making us one of the rare monogamous couples within our world. She pleased me exceptionally well, and she required no training. Perfect the way she was, she came into my life and gave me the satisfaction I craved. I never loved her and told her I never would, and she accepted that at face value. “Up.”
She rose to her feet, her slender frame uncoiling from the uncomfortable position on the floor. One time, she stayed that way for nearly five hours while I entertained guests over dinner. She didn’t move an inch—not even to scratch her nose. Now she watched me with her big and bright brown eyes, waiting for a command she could fulfill. Her universe centered around me, the man she obeyed constantly.
I pulled the black ring off my finger. It was snug before my joint, and I had to twist it until it came loose before I placed it on the desk beside me. A faint tan line marked the skin that had been covered for so long. Now it could finally breathe, finally see the sunshine.