Kade went right back to her breasts, sucking and tugging and nipping again.
She let go of all her worries. There was no place for them here.
Chapter Twelve
Piper eased the key into the lock and slipped inside the door. Dark. This room was so dark when almost every other room in the palace was lit with sunlight. She did as Rafe had instructed and closed the door before she started to look for the switch so no one would notice when she turned on the light. She ran her hand across the wall to her left and, sure enough, there it was. She flipped the switch.
Wow. So this was what the guys meant by dungeon.
The whole room was paneled in dark wood, the floors covered in a black marble. She was glad she hadn’t worn shoes. Almost any sound would reverberate in this room like the crack of a whip. She feared that even breathing too hard would sound loud.
She tried to look at the room logically. She’d spent the night before in Rafe and Kade’s arms, but this morning had been spent studying Talib, or more specifically, this one piece of Talib. She’d really delved into researching BDSM and all its accompanying toys online. She recognized a spanking bench. It was a padded bench-like piece with places for the submissive’s arms and legs to be tied down while her backside remained in the air for the Dom to torture. There was a large cross on the wall. She searched her memory. St. Andrew’s Cross. She’d watched a short video where a woman had been whipped by her Master while tied to the cross. He’d been an expert with the whip, leaving not a single welt on his sub’s flesh but sending her to some euphoria called subspace that puzzled but intrigued her.
Was that what she had felt the beginnings of that first night with Talib? Subspace? After a while, the pain of the spanking had seemed muted and every slap of his hand had an almost calming effect. She hadn’t needed to be in control. She hadn’t even wanted to be. She’d simply wanted to please him and to gain pleasure in return. It had been relaxing to utterly let go, trust him, and not worry about how she looked or acted or what others would think.
She kind of longed to get back to that place, and she worried Talib was the only one who could take her there.
“Would you like to explain why you’re here?”
She nearly screamed at the sound of Tal’s dark voice cutting through the silence. “Oh, you nearly scared me to death.”
He frowned at her, his hawk-like features in pure predatory mode. “You should not be here.”
“How did you know I was?” Piper asked, surprised he’d gotten here so quickly. Was the door on a silent alarm?
“I followed you. I caught sight of you as I came out of a meeting with the press. I wanted to make sure trouble didn’t find you.” His narrowed eyes told her he wasn’t happy. In fact, he looked furious. “I see you sought trouble instead. This door is locked. How did you get inside?”
Talib’s fury wasn’t simple. Maybe this had been a huge mistake. She’d wanted a little peek into his soul, but he looked almost volcanically angry. His face had flushed to a deep crimson, his hands in fists at his sides.
“I’m sorry.” Her voice seemed to squeak through the room.
“I did not ask for an apology. I asked for an explanation. This door is locked. Besides me, only my brothers have the key, so I would like to know which one of them betrayed me.”
She held her ground as he stalked forward. He was wearing his normal dress shoes, and they definitely echoed through the dungeon as he crossed the floor to her. She wasn’t about to get Rafe in trouble because she was curious. She held up the set of keys. “I stole them while he was sleeping. I wanted to know what was in here.”
Tal came to hover over her. He used every inch of his height for pure intimidation. “You thought you could simply walk into anywhere? Without permission?”
Piper sucked in a breath, reaching for her courage. The last few days with Rafe and Kade had been lovely, but she’d missed Talib’s utter dominance. But now, being in this room alone with him, doubts crept in. Would she be enough woman for him? Could she hold even a little piece of his heart? Or had it been locked away when Lily died? She couldn’t know unless she risked herself.
Ultimately, she was either in or out, and she had to decide now. She couldn’t really leave Bezakistan and her men so she couldn’t back down either. “Well, I was told this all belongs to me now. Or is marriage different in Bezakistan? Please inform me, Talib, because I seem to be ignorant of so very much.”
He moved even closer, the heat of his body rolling off him. “You have yet to agree to our marriage, so I don’t think you can lay claim to anything.”