Page 45 of Illicit Education
“Okay,” Laurel said, “that we can work with. If you’d seen something that scared you or disturbed you, I’d want to get Mina involved.”
I groaned. “Please don’t.”
“Well, honey, she saw you run, so… she’s probably going to want to talk to you at some point.”
Closing my eyes on a long blink, I shook my head. “I’m mortified.”
“You almost shit your pants in front of yourothernew boss this morning,” Greer reminded me.
“Oh my God.”
“I’m just saying, things could be worse.”
Laurel snickered, covering her mouth when I looked up at her. Shrugging, she said, “That does sound worse.”
Does it though?“What if I told you he was down there?” I pointed to the door that led down into the club.
Laurel raised her hands, palms out. “Whoa. Don’t say another word. Everything that happens in the underground is private, remember?”
I nearly groaned again. I’d already broken the cardinal rule. “Mina’s never going to hire me now.”
Laurel smiled, then patted my shoulder. “You’d be surprised. She’s very understanding.” She looked up at Greer. “She did want me to tell you that the fashion show is about to begin.”
Greer’s eyes widened as she looked at me, a plea in those golden orbs.
“Go,” I said. “I’ll be fine.”
“I don’t want to leave you. We had plans.”
“I’m fine. I just… I think I want to call it a day, okay?”
Greer’s eyes searched mine.
Laurel keyed in the code and the door opened.
“I’m serious. Go support your friend. I can make it home on my own.”
Greer was halfway down those stairs before I finished the words.
“Come on.” Laughing, Laurel started walking back to the front of the store. “I’ll call you a cab.”
A quiet cab ride home was exactly what I needed to think about the events of the day. I couldn’t believe I’d met Cabot Reed just ten or so hours ago, and now I’d witness him whipping someone. And I’d enjoyed every moment of it.
Thoroughly.
What was I supposed to do with that?
More importantly, how could I face him again?
Chapter Seventeen
Cabot
With a soft towel, I wiped Stella’s arousal off her thighs with extreme care, so as not to overstimulate her sensitive skin. She’d been through the ringer tonight, and sensory overload was always just one misstep away. I retrieved a tub of balm from the cabinet and carefully applied it to each cheek and thigh in turn.
Stella purred beneath my soothing touch, but she was already fading fast, the adrenaline seeping out of her quickly.
Once balm had been slathered all over the reddest parts of her bare skin, I draped a robe over her exposed body and slowly removed the restraints from each wrist and ankle, then I collected Stella into my arms and lowered us down onto a nearby chair.