Ashley's Bend (39 page)

Russell said a few words to the other officer and soon Madame V was making her way over to me. It was different to see her out of her dominatrix attire and in worn jeans and a sky blue t-shirt and her long chestnut hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. Victoria Spencer, her given name, looked distraught as she approached me in my steel cage.

“Nic, what the hell is going on? Prostitution charges, really?” she asked as her warm hands folded over mine that were still gripped onto the bars, the concern and confusion written on her face was eminent.

“I’m not sure, Vic, but I need to get out of here to find out. My lawyer is on his way, but you should have access to the club credit account. There should be plenty of funds in it to get Knox and me out of here,” I told her.

“They haven’t posted your bail yet, Nic. Trust me, I have already tried.” She sighed frustratingly.

“Fuck, what is taking so long? Have you talked to Knox?” My questions were rapid firing as my agitation grew more and more.

“No, I came to you first, Nic. How could she have done this to you? I always thought there was something different about her. She doesn’t deserve you, Nic,” Victoria stated with earnest.

The same questions circulated through my mind as I went over the events from the night before. The look on Ashley’s face as she told Russell and the other officers present that I had paid her in return for sexual favors would not erase from my mind. The night constantly played over and over in my head like a movie stuck on repeat. I was angry, hurt, devastated; all the things my mother felt when my father would betray her. I should have stuck to my guns and my instincts and just fucked her and moved on, but only my heart wouldn’t allow it.

“I don’t know, but you bet your sweet ass I am going to get to the bottom of it. I don’t know if she did it for spite, money or what, but it fucking hurt, Vic, she has fucking gutted me,” I admitted.

When the fuck had I turned into such a pansy? Oh yeah, the day she walked into my club.

I leaned my head against the bars that separated Victoria and I, trying to will some relief for the pain I was feeling. My entire body felt like shards of glass were protruding from my skin; each piece of glass was a memory of where she touched me, physically and mentally. The biggest piece was piercing my heart.

“I’m here for you and Knox no matter what, Nic. I will do anything in my power to help you two get out of this. I will testify, whatever you need. Just ask,” she said to me as her hands caressed mine. It felt too intimate, a reminder of what I allowed Ashley to do, and I pulled my hands away to run them frustratingly through my hair.

“Thanks, I appreciate that, Vic, more than you know.”

Russell walked up right then and gave Victoria a strange look. I couldn’t quite figure out what it was and all too quickly it went away, leaving me slightly curious.

“Time for you to go, Miss. Your visit is over.”

“I meant what I said, Nic,” Victoria said right before she turned to leave me in my confined cage. I went back over to the bed and laid back trying to see if I could get some rest while I waited for my lawyer to show.

She was bound and completely at my mercy. My hands sifted through her long silky blonde hair before I fisted it in my hands to force her to look up at me. The green emerald pools that stared back at me shined with arousal, want and desperation. Her mouth was parted, and I could see the rapid rise and fall of her chest as she struggled to bring air into her lungs. A drop of sweat rolled down her chest to land between the valley of her swollen breasts and I quickly lapped it up with my tongue to trace the trail it left on her skin. The salty taste of her smooth alabaster skin was intoxicating, and I wanted more.

Walking her backwards, I pushed her down into the wooden chair beside the bed and quickly tied her legs to the side of it, leaving her dripping wet pussy open and waiting for me. I bound her arms to the back of the chair, giving myself complete control of her delectable body. The evidence of her arousal was already seeping onto the wood of the chair, and I grew jealous of such an inanimate object for getting a taste of her first. Her skin was flushed and the soft mewls of desire she was experiencing had my cock pressing hard into my jeans begging for a release.

Kneeling in front of her, I ran the palms of my hands up and down her thighs, stroking the polished velvet skin before tracing my fingers into the moist folds of her core. Her head fell back, and she sighed just from the relief she felt that I was touching her where she ached for me most. Inserting two fingers inside, I began to stroke the walls of her pussy aiming for that very sensitive spot that I knew would drive her wild. Her breathing became panicked as she sought desperately for her release. I had never seen anything more gorgeous in my life than my girl begging me to pleasure her. I found myself wanting to give her that pleasure. For once in my life, I cared about another person enough to want them to be happy and satisfied instead of my own selfish wants and needs.

Suddenly, I felt the cold slap of metal clamps on my wrists, and I looked up to find her no longer bound by the ropes I confined her in, but instead her hands were placed over the handcuffs that now circumvented my wrists. I looked up at her in confusion, not understanding what was happening. She removed her hands from the cuffs and quickly stood up to tower over me.

“Who is in control, now?”
she said before she walked away from me leaving me cuffed and kneeling on the floor.

“Dominic...”

“Dominic...”

I sat straight up from the bed trying to calm my breathing while I worked to focus my eyes on my surroundings. My back felt stiff and achy from falling asleep on the disgusting excuse for a bed, and I reached around to rub it, trying to relieve the discomfort.

Where the hell am I? Right...jail.

“Dominic…”

I tilted my chin up to find the source of the voice calling my name to see my lawyer, Toby Johnson, standing on the other side of my cell.

Damn it’s about time.

“Good, you’re awake. I’ve been calling your name for several minutes trying to grab your attention.”

“Sorry, man, I must have dozed off. What took you so long to get here?” I asked him in a not so gentle manner.

Toby was a tall blonde haired guy who was close to my age. We met when I opened The Celtic Knot in Reno, Nevada and he had worked for me ever since. He may not look like a rough and tough lawyer with his pretty boy appearance, but he was one of the best in his field, and I had no doubt that he would help rectify the situation that Knox and I were in. His slightly wrinkled dress shirt and slacks told me that he got ready in a rush.

“I was in Sacramento, I had to catch the fucking red eye to get here. What the hell is going on, Dominic? We have never had an issue like this before with any of the clubs,” Toby stated matter-of-factly.

Well, I never let myself be vulnerable to a woman before, either.
I thought to myself as I sat on the bed stewing in my own personal hell.

“I don’t know what the fuck is going on, Toby. I...I just don’t know,” I sighed in frustration.

“Do you even know the woman who has accused you and The Celtic Knot of being involved in prostitution?”

Did I really know her? I had become obsessed with her, even fell in love with her, but did I really know her? All I knew is that she left a marriage from a man who had cheated on her, and that was the reason that she walked into my club those few months ago, and I have been consumed by and transfixed by her ever since. My stomach turned as I thought about her betrayal all over again, but what really had me feeling sick was the fact that I still loved her, even after what she did to me. My nails dug into the palms of my hands as I clenched my fists tightly at the thought.

“Yeah, I know her,” I admitted.

“Why the hell would she make false accusations against you then, Dominic? Was she one of your contracts, or a one-time thing looking to get something out of you rejecting her like you do all the others?” Toby questioned as he paced back and forth in front of my cell. He had his hands in his pockets and his gaze toward the floor as if trying to come up with a solution to get me out of the mess I was in.

“What would make her want to do this to you then?”

“Maybe she realized just what kind of man he really is…” Officer Russell said interrupting our conversation.

“Shut the fuck up, Russell,” I growled

“Dominic, don’t stoop to his level,” Toby warned me, but it was really hard not to want to punch the smug look off of Russell’s face.

“I just came by to tell you that it is time to go to your bond hearing, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up on getting out of here any time soon.”

I gritted my teeth together to stop myself from responding to him when Toby sent me a warning look not to open my mouth. Before Russell slid the door open, he had me turn around so that he could place handcuffs on my arms and shackles to my legs. I had to hold back a thought that cut me to the core. The restraints that had me tethered were like knots that Ashley’s betrayal had placed around my heart once more. It was at that moment that I came to the conclusion that I had learned my lesson. There was no such thing as true love, and all that sappy shit. They only thing that could come from love was destruction, pain and heartache. As I was led down a hallway that would take me to a vehicle to go to the courthouse, I promised myself that I would never again allow myself to be that vulnerable again.

Curled into a fetal position on my bed, my heart and body reminded me constantly of the damage I had caused. I ached all over; the physical pain of what I had to do to the people I loved was more than just heartache, it was an all-consuming pain that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.

I’d never forget the look on Dominic’s face when I told the police that he had paid me for sex. It wasn’t his disappointment or his anger that gutted me the most; it was the hurt that was written all over him. I had spent so much time trying to tear down his walls, only to have him build them back up again possibly even stronger than before. He had fallen in love for the first time in his life, and all I did was destroy him and proved to him that love really wasn’t worth it.

Kelly hadn’t said a word to me since we fought the night before after the club was shut down. I let her scream and vent every hateful emotion she was feeling towards me. I didn’t blame her one bit, because I am sure I was feeling much worse about myself that what she was expressing. I hugged my knees into my chest harder as I recalled the words she said to me last night.