“So, you’re the dangerous man that runs Ravage?” Prudence asked. “Anything else you’re in to?”
He chuckled. James wasn’t going to get started in on what he liked to do in his spare time.
“Nothing that would interest you.”
She smiled, and his heart stopped beating. He’d never seen anything so beautiful in his life. For several moments he couldn’t turn away, and James was disgusted with himself. She was only eighteen, and his shaft thickened in his pants. The need to claim her struck him to the core. He wanted nothing more than to lift her in his arms and take her back to his place. She’d want for nothing if only she kept smiling at him.
“What’s the matter?” she asked. Prudence stopped smiling and reached out to touch his hand. “Are you okay?”
Her touch did several things to him. One, he pulled out of the trance he seemed to be in, and second, he realised what he was doing.
No, he refused to lust after an eighteen-year-old.
Wasn’t going to happen. He stood. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve got to get some work done.”
James walked to the kitchen where Veronica was stirring together some sauce. She turned to him with a smile. Her smile didn’t have the same effect. The look on her face didn’t call to him in any way.
“What’s the matter, baby?” she asked.
He wanted to wince at how unnatural the word sounded.
“I’ve got to go. There is something I need to do back at the club. Can I take a rain check?”
“Did Prudence say something?” She looked over his should with a foul look on her face.
“No, she was studying, and watching her work reminded me of something.”
James walked over to her. He cupped her cheek then brushed her lips with his.
Nothing.
No electricity or need to claim her.
One touch on the hand from Prudence and the need arose in him.
“Do you want me to come with you?” she asked, pressing her body against him.
He’d never seen a fault with her before he met her sister. She didn’t hold any of her sister’s voluptuous curves. Her smile wasn’t sweet, and it certainly didn’t light up his world.
“No. I’ll see you soon.”
He left without looking back. The urge to take Prudence with him was still there. James made his way back to the club and went straight to the Dungeon. He trained other subs in his spare time. Veronica’s presence in his life hadn’t changed his need to train other women. He removed his shirt as he walked into the Dungeon of Ravage. Several couples were already mid-way through a scene.
“I didn’t think you were coming today?” Kevin said. His best friend, Tate, was working a woman with a paddle in the far corner while Kevin leaned back and watched.
“I thought you were holding out for Rebecca?” James asked, wanting to take the focus from him.
“We are, but she doesn’t want to see us. This blows off steam in our spare time.”
When he saw the other man staring into his cup, James felt bad for bringing up the other woman. She couldn’t leave her house and saw only Cadeon.
“Do you think there will ever be a woman out there for all of us who doesn’t complicate things? I’m starting to wonder if the whole possessive crap is just a load of bull-shit.”
James thought about Prudence. There was no way that woman came without problems. She was nothing but problems.
The age gap between them was f**king scary. He felt like a cradle robber just for looking at her.
“I don’t know.”
He moved to his spot and pointed at the sub who worked behind the bar. James rarely f**ked the women he trained. He helped them to understand their own needs and desire and then matched them with a perfect Dom.
The sub came willingly to him. James led her through to his room where she leaned over a spanking bench. No words were necessary.
Prudence’s face flashed in his mind, and he raised his hand.
The sub wiggled on the bench waiting for him to punish her.
He wavered. How could he give the sub what she needed when he couldn’t get Prudence’s face out of his head?
“Sir, have I done something wrong?” she asked.
James shook his head. “No, you need to go back to the other room. Bring me the vodka and a glass please.”
He sat down on the bed available in the room. Perspiration dotted his brow. The sub came back with the bottled vodka. He drank from the bottle and thought about Prudence.
“Stop thinking about her, you sick f**k. You can’t have her. You’ll never have her in your life. Stop thinking and concentrate on what you do have.”
Swallowing the strong spirit allowed him the bliss to fall back on the bed and go to sleep.
His dreams were filled with Prudence, and when he woke up he didn’t feel better about himself.
“Great, the woman I want is the younger sister of the woman I’m dating.”
As if his life couldn’t get more complicated enough, after some years passed, she walked right into Ravage.
Chapter One
Straight after Owned by the Dom Part One
James Castleden charged out of Ravage without looking back. His anger was acute, and he needed to find the person responsible for taking Prudence away from him. The thought of his woman being at the mercy of a bastard criminal was enough to drive him crazy.
“James, stop,” Cadeon said. Lucas shook his head as Stephen walked through the entrance to the club. James looked at the sign for Ravage. In his heart there was no future without Prudence. His woman meant the world to him. Without her there was no point in him living.
Glancing down at his hands, he saw the blood painted on his fingers. “What? Why do you need me to stop? Jermaine is f**king dead, and Leo or f**king Daren have my woman. I’m not going to stop until I get her back.”
Lucas stopped him with a hand on his arm. “This is not the way.”
“No, this is not the way, but Prudence is out there, and she wasn’t supposed to be part of the deal. Whatever way we were going to handle this shit has gone. I’m going to Veronica’s house to get the answers I need.” He pushed Lucas’s hand away. The rage inside him wouldn’t be tempered down by kind words or reassurances. His woman was in danger. Getting Prudence back in his arms meant more to him than calming down his friends.
“You’re not designed for this,” Lucas said. “I’ve been in battle. You’re not the person for this.”
“I may have wealth, but I know how to fight my battles.”