Chapter 2

The following day Stephen was working out in his gym when James gave him a call. For the whole of the night he hadn't been able to get Ursula out of his mind. Her lush body pressed against his was seared in his mind. She filled his hands completely. Never before had a woman given him enough time to let go like she did. He took the call feeling the growl in his voice and his body at being disrupted. She wouldn't be 'round till four, and he wanted to be home to greet her.

"What?" he asked.

"Am I interrupting some playtime? I didn't know you had a sub at the moment." The teasing from the other man pissed him off. He didn't have the head to deal with assholes, especially when he craved to a fuck a woman he couldn't have.

Why can't you? You're her boss. Force her to.

He shook away the thought. Stephen had never forced a woman. He wasn't used to the fact that she wasn't falling at his feet for more. Being a wealthy man had made him impatient and expectant.

"Don't start. What do you want?" he asked, wiping the sweat off his face with a towel.

"I talked to Lucas last night and thought I'd tell you not to bother asking. I'm not accepting every fucker into my club who think they're a Dom. We both know it takes a lot to be an expert, and not every man or woman has it," James said.

"I made it as a suggestion. I've got petitions up my ass for a fucking playroom in my club. Give me a break for trying." He threw the towel away then walked out of his gym. Most days he worked from home. The Knox holdings didn't need his constant attention. He had a board of directors whom he met with in order to keep on top of

everything. There were only a few people he'd gotten rid of since taking over from his father.

"I already have a day every week where demonstrations take place. They're crammed full of the people I keep refusing admission to regularly."

Stephen switched the light off, making his way downstairs. "If these petitions don't stop I'm going to have to start revoking membership from Possession. I personally don't think many men are truly that possessive over their women. I mean, look what happened to Rebecca Black." He referred to the woman who had been abused by one of their members. They never talk about it, but it was the reason they had started to make more cut-backs on memberships. There were too many people who abused the clubs for their own sadistic means.

"Speaking of old members, Sean has been visiting Ravage asking lots of questions. He's starting to upset a lot of customers."

Stephen cursed. He knew there was a past to Sean, but he didn't want to know about it. "I'll deal with it."

"Warn him that if he comes into my club again asking questions I'll have him removed," James said.

"You are aware we haven't agreed on anything," Stephen said.

"I know, but we've agreed there are too many applications. I think we need to meet and decide on what we should do next."

Stephen made the necessary arrangements as he entered his office. He opened the blind and the window allowing some cold fresh air to come in. When they said their goodbyes, he threw his mobile on the desk. He was getting sick and tired of dealing with something he no longer believed in. Sean was becoming a problem with his own fucking past. Running his fingers through his hair, he started up the computer and pulled the contact information for Sean up. He dialled the number and wasn't surprised

when Sean didn't answer. Stephen called Lucas, telling him to go and check on Sean with the same information that James had given him.

Lucas hung up agreeing to go. Stephen turned away from his computer to look out over his garden. He saw Rick the gardener trimming back some dark green bush. Stephen didn't like gardening and couldn't care for the work.

Spinning back, he stared at the picture of his father and mother on the wall. When his father had died Stephen couldn't bring himself to take the double portrait down. His father had loved his mother in such a possessive, consuming way that Stephen had thought it was possible to love a woman in such a way. After the last twenty-plus years, he'd come to see it was a waste of time. No woman had ever left him with such deep yearning or with the feeling he would rather kill someone before letting them touch his woman. The women he'd been with, he'd shared with other men. There was none of the instinct his father talked about. He didn't mind watching another man sink his cock into a woman's cunt. Since none of the emotions his father had was inside him, he found Club Possession hard to deal with. At some point he thought it was jealousy at the fact other men had a woman they felt possessive of.

"Why the fuck did you leave me this shit?" he said to the painting. There was no answer, and he grunted in exasperation while walking out of his office. He usually hired several cleaners and cooks, but since meeting Ursula, he liked only having the one woman inside his house. Stephen lost count of the number of women he'd found inside his bed wanting to be seduced. He picked his own women and his own playthings. Every part of his life, he found a reason to moan. Life never used to be like that. He loved being part of the whole world where he could walk into a room and command attention instantly. There was a time where he used to sleep with other men's wives and mistresses just because he could. When he looked back on those times, he

felt himself sneering at his own attitude. He never cared if anyone liked him. The only thing he cared about was getting his own way.

There was some orange juice with the label "drink me" on it. He noticed Ursula's handwriting immediately. Turning the label over he saw the added message, "You need to stop drinking whiskey. Otherwise you'll end up like this". There was a picture of a stick man with a large belly on his back looking sick.

Stephen burst out laughing. She really did have a sense of humour. He checked the time and saw there were a few hours until she arrived for the afternoon.

He decided to go and pay Cadeon a visit. Stephen rarely visited members of the club at their home, but he'd made friends with a few members.

After a quick shower and changing into another white shirt and pants, he grabbed his car keys and drove. The shirt from the night before had been put in the bin. There was no way he'd be able to clean tomato juice from the fabric. They were expensive shirts. He would never dock her pay. One of the few pleasures in his life was Ursula. She would probably laugh at him.

He pulled up outside Cadeon's house and saw his friend's car in the driveway. The gate was open. He put the car into park. Stephen was getting out of the car as the front door opened. Violet stood looking at him. Seconds later, Cadeon walked up behind her, circling his arms around his woman's waist. Stephen watched him speak to her, and then she left with a blush on her face.

"She still doesn't like me?" he asked.

"Violet doesn't understand you." Cadeon came down the few steps to greet him.

"What's not to understand?" He shook his friend's hand, looking over his shoulder to see if Violet was there.

"She's gone to put the kettle on for you."

"I'm surprised you haven't got her tied up or something."

"Violet is not ready for that," Cadeon said.

"And you're fine with waiting?"

"I love her, Stephen. If she's never ready, then I'm

fine with that." They walked into the house together. "She doesn't know why, for someone with as much wealth as you, you're so miserable. There is a woman out there for you. She doesn't know why you are not looking. She came from nothing but fear. You came from nothing but love, and yet you're both the complete opposite about life."

Cadeon stopped talking when they entered the kitchen. Stephen took a seat at the counter as his friend went to his woman. His arms went around her waist once again, and he fell to kissing her neck. The love between the two could not be ignored. Stephen felt like he'd been punched in the gut. He would never feel that with anyone. Violet closed her eyes and leaned back into Cadeon's touch. The trust on her face was something Stephen had never seen with her. She and Cadeon had fought for everything they had together.

Cadeon pulled away. "We can sit at the table."

Stephen followed him into the other room. Violet came through with the drinks. She placed one in front of Stephen then two in front of Cadeon. Before she moved away, his friend caught her round the waist, sitting her on his lap. He seemed to be fascinated by her waist.

Stephen thought about Ursula. She was a full woman like Violet, and she had a small, rounded tummy. He smiled thinking about last night only to stop short at the fact she had a boyfriend at home. Violet tapped his friend's hand then got up, taking her cup, and left.

"I didn't mean to interrupt your time together."

"Don't worry about it. We've got the rest of our life together. You're here to visit. What's the problem?"

Stephen took a sip of coffee. He only wanted his friend's company, but he might be able to sort out the problems at the club. Cadeon was a businessman after all. ****

Lucas was pissed off. The mornings were his time to himself. This time he had to find that bastard, Sean. The other man always had a way of spoiling his fun or at least the small amount of fun he could get these days. He pulled up outside Sean's house and knew the place would be trashed. Lucas was sick and tired of dealing with his shit. Turning the engine off, he walked through the door and was overwhelmed by the stench of cigarette smoke, stale food, and whiskey. There was broken furniture around every room. Lucas knew Sean had no relationship with his parents. He knew they'd set Sean up with a trust fund for him. The other man could spend the rest of his life in luxury, but he took high risk missions by being a bloody operative. That was how Lucas had met Sean, and that was how Sean had met Isabella, his sister. His hands tightened into fists at the memory of her phone call. For the last five years he'd done everything in his power to try to get her back. They had no idea where she was. Sean had promised him he'd find her and bring her home. A groan came from the room on the left. Walking over the broken bits of a chair and stand Lucas found Sean coming 'round on the couch. It looked like he'd been run over by a truck. Blood had dried on his face from a cut on the eyebrow and lip. There was bruising over the left side of his face. He wore a stained shirt. An ashtray was overflowing with docked out butts. Lucas leaned against the wall and watched the man before him.

"What do you want?" Sean asked.

"I'm surprised you're alert enough to know who it is," Lucas said.

"There is something about your condescending stare. I can feel it on me like a load of maggots."

This was classic Sean. He insulted others around him when he failed. "I take it a night at Ravage and you're still nowhere near finding Isabella?" Saying her name still made his heart ache with wanting. She'd been so open and innocent. He knew if they ever found her it would be a miracle. If Lucas was honest with himself, he knew they'd never find her. She'd been taken by people who bought and sold women for sport. How she had managed to get mixed up with that he'd never know.

"What can I say? No one wants to talk to me. I'm getting close, I know." Sean looked completely obsessed verging on mad. Moving closer into the room, Lucas almost threw up when he saw a pile of sick in the corner.

"You smell like an ashtray and look worse. Also, if you go back to the club asking questions James has said he'll ban you from Ravage for good. You know how hard it is to get your application accepted. Don't be an asshole, Sean. Stop causing trouble."

"I'm close, Lucas. I'll get her back. I promised you I'd get her back."

Staring around him Lucas came to a decision. He stared at the man who used to be one of his dearest friends. "Sean. She's not coming back. You've got to let it go." He didn't want to say the words. After five years without a word Lucas knew Isabella was lost to them. He hoped she was happy. He couldn't bring himself to think of her dead in a ditch with no one caring to lay her to rest properly.

"Don't say shit like that, Lucas. I'll find her. Killing Dominic wasn't the smartest move. I can feel we're close."

"She's gone, Sean."

"No. Don't say crap like that to me. I'm going to get her back. Just give me more time."

Lucas hated this. Staring round at the chaos, he knew his friend had lost all sense of reality. Sean needed to face the fact Isabella was gone and never coming back. "I know you don't want to deal with this, but if you don't stop

looking, James and Stephen will ban you from the clubs. I've accepted she's not coming back. You need to as well."

Silence met his words. Lucas waited to see what the other man's reactions would be. Sean threw the contents of the table all over the floor. His rage knew no bounds. Lucas stayed to watch the destruction. He knew Sean had to get this out. Isabella, his youngest sister, needed to be laid to rest even though it killed him to admit defeat.

"I never should have let her go," Sean said, sinking to his knees amongst the mess.

"You did, and now she's gone. Get yourself together. This is the last time I'm coming here." He turned to leave then stopped. Fisting his hands at his side he glanced over his shoulder. "Isabella would hate to see you like this." He left with his words ringing around Sean's head. At least he hoped they were.