Page 27 of Break Me Not

I took a moment to center myself, leaning against the far wall, looking at my now mostly empty gallery.

What the hell is he thinking? How dare he come here like this?

But I knew this was what he did. And it scared me. But the worst thing? The more scared I was, the angrier I became.

At myself.

At him.

I didn’t want to be helpless anymore. I didn’t want him to run my life.

I don’t deserve this.

It wasn't until the last guest left and the head of security came back with some water that I realized how much it had affected me. When I reached out to grab the bottle, my hands were shaking.

“We couldn't find the car,” he said. “But Jax is aware and⁠—”

My head snapped toward him.

“You already told her?”

He looked at me like I had two heads.

“Yes,” he said, matter-of-factly. “It's my job.”

I forced myself to sit down on the nearest stool. Running my hand through my hair, I let out a sigh. But after letting myself rest for a brief moment, I jumped back up.

“Well, tell her we'll meet at my house.”

“Wait! Ms. Thorne⁠—”

“Nope. After this, I'm getting into comfy clothes and showering. She can meet me there.”

An image of Jax showing up at my apartment while I was naked in the shower was too easy to conjure up. So were the following images of both of us in there, wet skin on wet skin.

But it was more than that. I didn’t just want the pleasure. I wanted the… comfort. The thought knocked me back into my own body.

My eyes shot up to the head of security, afraid that he might have seen right through me, but he was just looking at me. When he realized I wasn’t about to budge, he let out an audible sigh. He didn’t try to stop me as I left.

Lucky for me, because I wasn't going to head straight to my apartment.

Jax

“Okay, so, a new location, retraining all current security staff, and additional bodies for one of the club’s biggest events of the year. No problem at all, Sloan. Let me just get on that right⁠—”

“Okay!” Sloan said with an exasperated laugh as she led me through the mostly empty club. “How much time do you need?”

They were preparing to open, and since there were no patrons, I could walk around without a mask. You would think a place like this would lose its charm before the sun fully set, but if anything, it made me appreciate it more. They had fully gutted the inside of a large mansion-like house and decked it out in luxurious materials like marble and silk. And the photography that hung all over the walls was just the perfect hint of sinful.

I always had a soft spot for this place. A place where queer people could just be. Where I didn’t have to be shy about my desires.

I decided to stop by the club at Sloan’s request after I was done installing Liz’s equipment. Apparently, Club Pétale was opening yet another location, though this one, according to Sloan, was a little bit different from their usual.

Smaller, quainter, and located right in the heart of the city.

I knew they had money, but to operate places like these and hire people like me and other staff, not to mention the dirty money and payoffs I knew were floating around here… It just seemed like so much.

But somehow they made it work. And I was a big part of that.