His Possession(42)

“Hello,” she said. Cadeon sat her next to Sean as they made room for her at the table. Pushing a stray lock of hair out of her eye, she kept her gaze on the woman on the stage.

“What do you want to drink, sweetness?”

She turned as Stephen spoke to her. “Sorry?” she asked.

“What do you want to drink?”

Turning her gaze to Cadeon, he nodded his head. “An orange, please.”

The men talked amongst themselves. She guessed they were all catching up. The woman on the stage kept staring at their table before turning back to the room.

“So what do you do, Violet?” Sean asked.

“I work for Mr. Ashwood,” she said.

“Doing what?”

“I use to deliver coffee and the mail.”

“Enough with the twenty questions, Sean.” Cadeon placed his arm across her shoulders.

After some time the men moved out of the room, and they went with them. She watched the way Cadeon moved around the room. Everyone steered towards him. She thought about their conversation in his office at home. He didn’t want her working for him anymore. Instead she would spend her time either at his home or in his office. Being at his beck and call all day everyday. Doing everything and anything he wanted her to do. She ran the gold watch around her wrist, feeling the weight of the object weighing heavy on her body and heart.

“You look like a woman with too much on her mind,” Tate said as he sat down next to her. She glanced over at Cadeon. The way he behaved when men spoke to her made her nervous. “Don’t worry about me. I’m a friend, and he wouldn’t cause a scene. Besides, if he did, he was in perfect company. Most of the men in this place know how he feels.”

She smiled and glanced down at the gold trinket. Another piece of jewellery. She didn’t like the gifts or what they could mean. Was this another way of paying for sex? Her mother always entered her head when she thought about the way Cadeon treated her. The warnings. Some of the signs her mother had said were there. Could Cadeon being keeping her just to use her for sex?

“I take it you don’t want to talk to me,” Tate said, making her aware she hadn’t answered him.

“I’m sorry. I’ve got a lot on my mind right now,” she said. Trying to give herself something to do, she reached for a glass of water. Her hands were shaking.

“Are you afraid?” Tate asked.

“No.”

He stared at her without saying anything. “I know this is going to sound like a strange question, but do you know any self-defence moves?”

She glanced over at Cadeon. He smiled at her and waved his hand.“No. I don’t.”

“Would you like to come with me to show you some?”

“I don’t think that would be appropriate,” she said replacing her glass back down.

“It won’t be anything intensive. Just some moves that can help you if you’re ever alone. Cadeon can’t always be with you, and there are some moves I think women should be able to use for themselves to get away from any intended attacker.”

At his words she thought about Dominic Green. She’d never met the man, and yet he posed the biggest threat to her life. She followed Tate out of the room. He took her down several flights of stairs until they came to a large metal door. He opened the door with a combination. When they entered she knew they’d walked into a gym. Mats were on the floor.

“This is a strange place to keep a gym,” she said.

“Some men like their women to know what they’re doing.”

“Being protective of them.”

“All of the men in this club are wealthy. They want their women to be able to defend themselves. This place is to provide them with the best possible way of defending them and make sure the men can watch their women training at all times. . They’re wealthy and if that information got into the wrong hands things could turn to shit very quickly.”

Tate rolled up his sleeves. Violet stared at him and wondered if she should have left the main room.

****

“Will you lay off her? You’re going to scare her,” Cadeon said as he watched Tate taking her into another room. He’d suggested teaching her some self defence moves that he thought all women should know. Cadeon hated her being out of his sight, but he had to warn Sean to keep his mouth shut.

“Every bit of information I get from her helps me to determine if she’d under threat,” Sean said.

Cadeon closed his eyes as the fear gripped him. He hated to think of his woman in any danger. He loved her more than anything. Nodding his head in agreement, he went in search of Tate and Violet. He would make sure she spent some time being questioned by Sean.