Page 119 of Their Ruthless Sadist (Office Intrigue Duet 5)
“Why would I not be capable of love?”
Matt’s face fell and I could practically read his thoughts, so I filled in for him.
“Because I’m a monster, right? That’s why I can’t love you? Because I get off on hitting you. That makes me less than human?”
“You’re not who I thought you were, Zeke. I’m sorry, but … I can’t do this. It’s not what I agreed to.”
That night, Matt walked out of my house and completely out of my life. Eighteen months I had spent with him and he never looked back. A couple of days later, I went to the club we were members of at the time only to find out he had cancelled his membership.
That was four years ago.
I had learned my lesson that night. While the masochists wanted the Sadist, they didn’t want me. And no matter how hard I tried not to be, I was still human. I had feelings and Matt had crushed them with his insanity.
I never attempted to find him after that, choosing to lock it all up. Matt was the reason the monster was born. He was the reason I chose not to allow myself to get close.
Tonight was a reminder of that and his timing was impeccable.
Just when I thought I might open myself up again, he showed up and reminded me why that would be the biggest mistake of my life. Because losing Matt was hard, but losing Brax and Case…
Damn it. And now I was thinking about them by name?
I wasn’t sure I would survive them turning their backs on me when they figured out I wasn’t some fucking show horse. I couldn’t always be on display, acting the role they’d cast me in.
Which meant I had to be the one to put an end to this.
It was the only way.
*
Case
(The pretty boy)
AFTER WE CHANGED BACK INTO street clothes, Brax called for an Uber. The drive back to Zeke’s was weird. Brax didn’t want to talk, and for some reason, the driver didn’t want to turn on music, so we sat in the eerie silence as each mile crept by.
Finally, we arrived back at Zeke’s, but from the driveway, it looked as though no one was home. Since Zeke’s truck was out front, I knew he was there. I’d learned over the past four weeks that Zeke was rather predictable. If he wasn’t home, he was at work or at the club. He had breakfast with Jamie every Friday, and aside from having lunch out, he ate every meal at the house. He spent his extra time working out or playing with his dog.
“Maybe we should give him some space,” I told Brax when I climbed out of the car. “It’s obvious he’s upset about something.”
“And we’re gonna find out what it is,” Brax insisted. “We’re not turnin’ our backs on him now, Case. He deserves more than that from us.”
Maybe, but that didn’t mean the man would welcome our interference. He was a very private man and he didn’t open up to many people.
I knew Brax was right, but that didn’t mean I was eager to go inside and confront Zeke. He wasn’t the sort to run from anything, so clearly Matt had meant something to him. At some point, anyway.
The thought didn’t sit well with me. I didn’t like the idea of Matt and Zeke together. No, I had no claim on Zeke, but … well, to be honest, I cared about the surly man. A lot. A lot more than I was willing to admit, even. I wanted more time with him. I wasn’t ready for this to end.
The Uber driver pulled away and Brax and I had no choice but to confront this situation head on. When we stepped inside the house, I found myself fingering the collar around my neck.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Brax,” I whispered, my eyes taking a moment to adjust to the darkness.
“Zeke?” Brax called out. “Where are you?”
All the lights were off but I could hear the music coming from the basement.
I closed and locked the door behind me, then motioned Brax toward the stairs. With a nod, Brax led the way.
Every step felt like I was trudging through quicksand. I wasn’t sure what we’d find when we reached the bottom and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
We found Zeke pacing the floor, a fifty-pound dumbbell in each hand. He had removed his shirt and his shoes, his muscles flexing, sweat coating his skin, as though he’d been working out for hours. Since it hadn’t been that long since his confrontation with Matt, it meant Zeke was doubling his efforts. I knew that was his way of dealing with stress. He didn’t drink or smoke like some people. Instead, he abused his muscles with endless hours of working out.
