Chapter 5 I'm Certain

Chapter 4 – I'm Certain

Noah Blake

Another night I didn't want to be here.

But my partner and best friend, Declan Reed, insisted. Said I'd been hiding long enough.

Ever since I ended my last contract, I hadn't touched anyone. The available subs who drifted through the club weren't my type. Too eager. Too practiced. Too... easy.

The second we walked in, Atlas came straight over with that damn smirk.

"Two new waitresses tonight," he said. "Complete vanilla. First time in a place like this."

Reed raised an eyebrow. "You hired vanilla?"

"They're competent. Glowing references. And after the mess with the last girls... a little innocence might actually be good for business."

From my seat I had a perfect view of them.

The brunette was pretty.

The blonde?

She demanded attention without trying.

"I'm telling you," Atlas went on, "they're magnets. Especially the blonde. Juliet."

"Which one's Juliet?" Reed asked.

"The blonde." Atlas's grin widened. "Polite. Obedient. 'Sir' rolls off her tongue like she was born saying it."

Reed laughed. "I could use one of those. My last one had a mouth on her."

"You say that like you didn't love it," Atlas shot back.

I didn't join the banter. I was already watching her move through the room like she didn't belong in it, yet somehow owned every inch she walked across.

I stood without a word and cut her off mid-stride. Our first collision was brief, but it was enough. Something ignited low in my gut.

When I sat back down, Atlas shook his head.

"Not to be a buzzkill, Blake, but that one? Impossible."

I took a slow sip of my whiskey.

"I love a challenge."

She avoided my table all night. Sent her friend every time. But every time I looked up, her eyes were already on me.

Then I saw her disappear down the private corridor with a tray.

"Why the hell did Caio send the new girl back there?" I asked.

Atlas followed my gaze and frowned. He was halfway to the bar to ask when I stood.

"Blake-"

"Rooms. Now. You're with me."

Reed didn't argue. Atlas caught up as we hit the hallway.

"Which room?" I demanded.

"Dominic."

I pounded once. Dominic opened, confused.

"Problem?"

"The girl?"

"She delivered and left."

Then we heard it. Muffled at first.

"NO! STOP! STOP!"

Atlas froze beside me.

We moved fast, tracking the sound.

"REEEED!"

The scream was pure terror.

One kick and the door splintered off its hinges.

The sight in front of me unleashed something feral.

Juliet was on the floor, mask crooked, blue eyes wide with panic. Calton was on top of her, pinning her wrists above her head, one hand shoved under her skirt.

I didn't think.

I just acted.

I ripped him off her and drove my fist into his face. Again. Again. Every punch carried six years of rage I'd kept locked down.

"Blake-listen-" he gurgled through blood.

I didn't want to hear it.

I'd banned this piece of shit months ago. He didn't understand what being a Dom meant. Consent wasn't a suggestion to him; it was an inconvenience.

I only stopped when he went limp. I let him drop like the trash he was.

"Wolf." The mountain appeared in the doorway. "Get this garbage out of my club. Permanent ban. Tell Ambrose and the others what he did."

I crouched, grabbed Calton by the hair, and got in his face.

"You are never stepping foot in another club again."

One last kick for good measure.

When I turned, Juliet was curled into herself, arms wrapped around her knees. Atlas was murmuring something, rubbing her back. Reed stood nearby, looking ready to commit murder.

We are Doms.

Everything we do is consensual. Mutual pleasure. Power exchange. Never force. Never violence outside negotiated scenes.

I knelt beside her.

"Hey. Can you stand? Want to sit on the bed? Chair?"

She lifted her head. Those crystal-blue eyes locked on mine through the mask.

"Thank you, sir..." Her voice was small, shattered glass. My whole body reacted to the sound. "If it's okay... I just want to go home. You don't have to pay me for tonight." She turned away. "I just want to leave."

Samy-her friend-burst in and threw her arms around her.

Atlas handed over an ice pack. "Mask off, sweetheart. Ice on the cheek before it bruises."

"Thank you, Mr. Atlas... but I really just want to go."

"Pay them and get them home safe," I ordered.

Atlas nodded.

Juliet stood with Samy's help. At the door she paused, looked back at me one last time.

"Thank you, sir."

Our eyes held for three endless seconds.

Then she was gone.

Reed came up beside me.

"You've never gone for the fragile ones."

"She's not fragile." I didn't take my eyes off the empty doorway. "Her eyes say she's a fucking warrior."

"If you say so." He shrugged.

"Make them permanent," I told Atlas when he returned. "Both of them. Every weekend. Starting now."

Reed snorted. "You really think she'll come back after tonight?"

A slow smile curved my mouth.

"I don't think.

I'm certain."

Just like I was certain of one more thing.

Juliet Pierce was going to be mine.