Secret Mercy Read Online Free Page B

was getting away from the stares of strangers before she was crippled by humiliation.
    She ran, throwing open the door of the lounge and rushing into the lobby. The bright lights reflecting off the marble blinded her, and she lifted an arm to shield her eyes. She started for the entrance, but stopped after a few steps. She couldn’t go out there like this. Her dress was still hitched up. She’d left her shoes back in the lounge, and she couldn’t go rushing out barefoot into the street, no matter how much she wanted to. She needed to get a hold of herself.
    She saw a women’s restroom sign and headed for it.
    The door swung closed behind her. She went to the sink and turned the cold knob. She rested her elbows on the hard surface and listened to the rush of the water. Her head slumped down.
    What had she done? Not even half an hour in Mercy Club and she had been splayed out in front of an audience.
    And she’d liked it. A part of her did, at any rate. The part that she’d tried to silence for so long. That little voice inside her that she always hushed when she was tempted to cry out for more. More adventure. More sensation. More of everything.
    The door swung open. Paige quickly straightened and pretended to wash her shaking hands. She kept her head down and focused on her breath, hoping to slow her pounding heart. The last thing she needed right now was someone asking her if she was all right. Not when she wasn’t sure about the answer.
    The click of a deadbolt being slid home echoed off the bathroom walls. Paige shot up. Alan stood there, his back resting against the door, watching her.
    Paige backed up until she hit the wall. She spread her arms out to her side, and splayed her fingers across the cold, white tile. She stared at him. He didn't make a move. He didn't have to. Where was she going to go? There was one way out and he controlled it.
    “You shouldn't be in here,” she said, her voice too high, lacking conviction.
    He laughed. “So says the woman who came to my club without an invitation.”
    “Your club? You own Mercy Club?” Paige didn’t need him to answer. It made sense. He walked around like he owned the place—because he did.
    “Along with eight others.”
    “Maybe it would be better if I left now.”
    He shook his head slowly, deliberately.
    “I don’t want you to leave, Paige. And you don’t want to either.”
    “How can you be so sure of that?”
    “Because if that’s what you wanted nothing would have stopped you. You’d already be out there. But you’re not. You’re in here, waiting for me.” He stepped toward her. She saw her opportunity and ran for the door. His arm snaked out, just as she tried to pass. “You came here for more than a diddle in the lounge.”
    His fingers were as tight as shackles around her arm, and just as unyielding. She pulled and twisted. With that same amused smile he patiently waited for her to quit her vain attempt to run.
    Paige wasn’t even sure who she was trying to run from anymore, him or herself.
    He pulled her closer. She molded against his body. He slid his hand over her head, smoothing her hair. Halfway down he grasped the mass of curls and yanked down hard. The gesture lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze.
    “Didn’t you?”
    Fighting had gotten her nowhere. Maybe the truth would.
    Paige nodded.
    His smile was devastating, at total odds with the force of his domination. His eyes stayed locked with hers as he hooked his arm under her knee and easily lifted her up. Paige wrapped her legs around his waist on instinct. He carried her to the line of sinks. She hissed in a breath at the feel of the cold porcelain against her exposed skin.
    He was more forceful this time when he slid his hand up her leg. His fingers bit into the tender flesh of her thighs. He grasped the thin fabric crotch of her panties and wrenched them down. The slip of lace and silk tangled around her ankles, and she tried to kick them off. Keeping his hold on her