Chapter 51
I let out a breath and peered out the window. The lights of LA were blinding, but I’d lived here all my life. I’d seen what lurked in the shadows of those lights, and it wasn’t pretty. Eventually, we pulled up outside a restaurant that was modern and sleek. I smiled at the name die-cut in cursive on the steel sheet above the door. Tinted glass walls lined the front, where I could see the vague silhouettes of diners seated at tables against the window. Bane kissed the back of my hand, then got out to open my door.
My gaze drifted down to the large steel and copper door, a doorman waiting over to the side. The man nodded to Bane, then me before he ushered us in.
“Mr. Rivera,” a man said in a cultured British accent.
“How are you, Tommy?”
“Fine, thank you, sir. We have your table ready for you.”
Bane intertwined our fingers once more and led me through the restaurant. As we weaved through the tables, I found a lot of women staring at Bane for a beat before their eyes slid to me. Most eligible bachelor, indeed. We entered through a tinted glass door and into a private dining room that had glass on all sides. Bane pulled out a chair for me, but I went to the glass instead. The tint was so dark.
“Can anyone see in here?” I hadn’t even noticed the room when we’d approached it.
“It’s one-way glass,” Bane said into my ear behind me. He touched his lips to my neck and whispered, “Very private. Unless you’re into exhibitionism, then I can flip a switch and make it two-way.”
A shiver went through me at the thought of what Bane and I could do in a room like this.
“You like that idea, Little Bird?” he rumbled, his hands coming to rest on my waist. Pulling me back against him, I squirmed at the feel of his erection pressing into my ass. “If that’s a fantasy of yours, I can make it happen.”
I spun around in his arms, looping mine around his neck. “Exhibitionism isn’t at the top of my fantasy list,” I tell him with a coy smile.
Bane stared at me for a beat before pulling my arms free and walking me to the table. I blinked at him, confused.
“Little Bird, if you keep talking about fantasies, I won’t make it through dinner with you, and I want to feed you because I’ve got the rest of the night planned out in my filthy head, and you’ll need your strength.”
Fuck. I nodded and placed my napkin on my lap. As soon as Bane had done the same, a waiter breezed into the room from a hidden door with a bottle of champagne and a bucket of ice. Bane poured us each a glass, and then we toasted.Original from NôvelDrama.Org.
“To champagne,” he murmured.
I could feel the flush creeping up my cheeks. “To champagne.” I took a shallow sip while Bane had a whole mouthful and placed his glass back down.
“So tell me about your other fantasies, Little Bird.”
Placing my glass down, I stared at him. “I will if you answer some questions about yourself.”
He sat back in his chair and folded his hands in front of him. “Is this a negotiation?”
I mirrored his body language. “Of sorts. I have a lot of fantasies, Bane, only I don’t like to tell people what they are without getting something in return.” I bit my bottom lip playfully.
He shifted his hips, and I had no doubt he was already hard for me. Kicking off one of my shoes, I dragged my foot up his leg to his thigh and slid it over his erection.
Bane’s eyes darkened. He grabbed my ankle. “You like playing with fire, don’t you? Pushing my buttons, denying me what I want.”
I shivered at his intent but nodded. I did enjoy all those things. I didn’t back down from things when shit got real-I ran into them headlong.
He smirked. “All right. I’ll tell you something about myself, then you can tell me about one of your fantasies. Do we have a deal?”
“How about I ask you about the things I want to know, then I tell you one of my fantasies?”
“Clever girl. Always ask for specifics.” I nodded my thanks. “Deal. But I start first. What’s one of your fantasies, Wren?”
Biting my bottom lip, I stared him straight in the face when I said, “Voyeurism. I like to watch other people fuck.”
He chuckled darkly, his cock jerking against my foot, where he still held it in his lap. “You’d love my club then. I can already see you dressed in lingerie, watching as another woman is pleasured by a man.”
Fuck, this was a dangerous game we were playing. My pussy was already beginning to throb.
“Okay, my turn. What was childhood like for Bane Rivera?”
He opened his mouth to answer but closed it when the waiter returned. “The usual, Mr. Rivera.”
“Please,” he replied, not taking his eyes off me. When the waiter was gone, he said, “My father was an abusive alcoholic who battered and assaulted my mother on an almost daily basis. He gambled, and he lost. And when he lost, he would take that shit out on my mother… sometimes on me when I tried to interfere.”
I put a hand to my mouth, thinking about the younger Bane and having to witness all that. “I’m so
-”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t want your pity, Little Bird. He may have been a monster, but I learned some things from him.”
I braced for his next words.
“I learned that women weren’t ever to be treated like he treated my mother. Men who beat their women are the fucking scum of the earth. That’s why I respect and help any of my Dolls who need it.”
I took a sip of my champagne. “And would they need it?”
“A lot of them are in abusive relationships. I can’t stand that shit. If they can’t get out because they have nowhere else to go, I help them. I have a block of luxury apartments where I always keep half a dozen empty in case they need it.”
“Is that where you would’ve put me?” I asked.