Entwined Fates: Dominating Miya (2 page)

“I saw him standing over you, and…your back.” He let go of her assistant and grabbed her arm turning her around. “What the hell?”

“Alex?” she said, trying to free herself from his grip.

“Be still,” he commanded, and to his surprise, she immediately froze.

He grabbed the edge of the material and gently moved it aside. Part of it next to her ribs had stuck to her flesh. It pulled at her skin as he moved the material farther aside. A small silver razor blade slid from her flesh, and fresh blood oozed from the wound to run down her back. Miya flinched but didn’t say anything.

Alex was livid. Her back was covered in small, deep cuts. This is what had been causing her pain while she was on stage.

He turned back to her assistant, who still stood against the wall, the look of a scared rabbit on his face. “I’m, uh…I’m sorry, sir,” her assistant stammered. “I was trying to get the dress off.”

Alex frowned as he recognized the young man. He was one of the bisexual submissives from his BDSM club on Palivan. “It’s all right, Sam. I need you to get me a med kit. Do you know where one is?”

Sam nodded and rushed out the door to retrieve it.

“I think you just took five years off Sam’s life,” Miya drawled drily.

Alex didn’t find her comment amusing and kept his expression stern as he met her gaze in the mirror over her dressing table. “Where did you get this dress?”

“The opera company provides it.”

“Does anyone else wear it?” he asked.

“No. It’s made for me. Why does my back hurt?”

He helped her turn around so she could see her back in the mirror. Her eyes went wide as saucers as she stared at the blood. “Oh my God,” she breathed. “How…”

“Razor blades were sewn into the material.”

She lifted her gaze and met his. Fear clouded the green, tightening Alex’s chest. He wanted to hold her to him and take the fear from her eyes, but he knew if he did, it wouldn’t stop there.

Sam returned with the med kit, and Alex spun her so her back was facing him again. She leaned one hand on the dressing table; the other continued to hold the front of the dress.

“Sam, help me move this aside,” Alex said, indicating the material on her left side. “Miya, I’m going to spread this out more and make sure the cuts don’t move around your sides.”

She shook her head slightly. “It doesn’t hurt there.”

Alex ran his hand between the side of the dress and skin. She was warm and soft, but he didn’t feel any cuts. One thing he did feel, though, was the shiver that skimmed just under her flesh.

“Grab me a wet rag, Sam,” Alex said softly.

Sam rushed to the bathroom connected to Miya’s dressing room.

“Why are you even here?” Miya asked.

Alex didn’t answer her, at first. Instead, he met her gaze in the mirror and frowned. “When I’m done, you and I are going to have a talk about these letters.”

“How did you know about the letters?”

“Sharna,” he replied as Sam came back into the room and handed him a warm rag.

Alex smoothed it over her back, wiping away the blood. Miya winced and hissed as the warm water burned the cut flesh.

“I’m almost done, angel,” Alex murmured, then inwardly cringed. What the hell made him call her that?

He glanced through his lashes at her startled expression and flushed cheeks. He imagined her cheeks flushed for another reason, then silently cursed at his stubborn wayward thoughts. He should’ve known he couldn’t be this close to her without thinking about sex.

He worked his way toward her shoulder blades, gently moving her ringlet curls out of the way so he could see beneath them. Her upper back was clear. The cuts were confined to her midback and lower.

Searching through the med kit, he found a sealer pen. It was used to fuse deep cuts and would be perfect for returning her back to normal without having to go to the hospital. Using the tip of the pen, he ran it over each small cut. Miya flinched just a little as the warm heat sealed the cuts closed, leaving behind only a pink line that would be completely gone tomorrow.

“All done,” Alex said as he handed the pen to Sam to clean and put away.

“Good. I need to get changed and get back out there.”

“No,” Alex said. “You and I are going to talk.”

She turned to frown at him. “Alex—”

“No,” he repeated firmly.

Miya’s jaw dropped. “And I thought my dad was bossy. You’ve got him beat by a mile.”

He ignored her remark. “Your understudy can handle the rest of it tonight. Get changed so you and I can go.”

“Are you for real?” she snapped.

Any other time Alex would’ve found her amusing. Right now, not so much.

“Miya,” Sam cautioned.

With a snarl of annoyance, Miya rolled her eyes. “Just because you sink to your knees at his every command doesn’t mean I do.”

Alex glared at Sam briefly before turning back to Miya. “Excuse me?”

“I know Sam’s one of the subs at your club.”

“Miya,” Sam whispered.

Alex crossed his arms over his chest. “I see. And?”

“And…I’m not.”

Alex silently counted to ten. “Miya, someone just sewed blades into your opera costume. If you think for one second I’m going to let you put on another and go back out there, you’re out of your mind. Change clothes so we can go before I change them for you.”

Her jaw dropped again as she looked from a stern Alex to a wide-eyed Sam.

“Miya, he’ll do it,” Sam cautioned.

“Unbelievable,” she grumbled and headed to the changing screen at the far side of the room. “Would you at least shut the door?”

Alex reached out and pushed the door closed before leaning his back against it. Sam moved to lean against the dressing table as they waited. He kept his gaze down and away from Alex, as he should, considering he’d opened his damn mouth about the club.

“Do you need anything, Miya?” Sam asked.

“No, Sam. I’m good. Thanks anyway.”

“Sam,” Alex said softly. “I want to know exactly where that dress came from. Who ordered it, who made it, and who had their hands on it before Miya.”

Sam nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“We’re not at the club, Sam. You can stop with the sir.”

“Yes, sir.”

Alex sighed. “And another thing. Explain to me how Miya knows about the club.”

Sam cringed and actually appeared to shrink in front of him. “Do I have to?”

“Yes,” Alex replied, keeping his voice level and calm.

“I got drunk one night and told her how good a Dom you were and how I wished you swung my way.”

Alex’s lips twitched slightly. “Well, Sam, thank you for being honest…I think.”

Sam nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“But the next time you’re at the club, you’re going to be punished for opening your damn mouth. You know you’re not supposed to talk about the patrons there by name.”

Sam hung his head. “I know, and I’m so sorry.”

“Have you told anyone else?”

“No,” Sam whispered, his voice shaking slightly. At Alex’s silence, Sam asked softly. “Will you give me to DeBorge?”

“Do you want DeBorge?”

“Yes.”

Alex’s lips twitched again. Sam was a good man. Shy and quiet, he preferred the softer Doms to the more aggressive ones. Alex would probably give him to DeBorge. They fit well together, and he knew DeBorge liked Sam. She was good at punishment, so she would make sure Sam learned his lesson.

“I’ll make a deal with you, Sam. Get me that info and call me the second you see anything odd concerning Miya, and I’ll do my best to see you get DeBorge. Miya has my number.”

Sam’s whole face seemed to light up. “Yes, sir.”

Miya stepped from behind the screen in a pair of worn jeans, a red tank top, her hair in a ponytail, and the majority of the makeup wiped off her face. She’d never looked prettier.

She frowned at him, and Alex had to bite back a grin. “What are the two of you whispering about over there?”

“We’re not whispering. You’re not wearing that, are you?” Sam asked.

Miya frowned and glanced down at herself. She shrugged lightly. “I was going straight home after the show.”

“No parties tonight?” Alex asked.

“There’s always a party somewhere, but I didn’t want to tonight. I’m a little tired.”

Sam snorted. “More like a little freaked out. She hasn’t been to many parties since those letters started.”

“Good,” Alex said.

Miya’s dirty look deepened.

Chapter Three

Miya couldn’t believe she was climbing into Alex’s small ship. She’d fantasized for a long time about him picking her up after a performance, taking her somewhere romantic, then to bed. Too bad this had everything to do with a stalker and absolutely nothing to do with romance.

Why had Sharna told him about that anyway? And if she’d told Alex, did it also mean she’d told Christian? Miya would kill her when she got her hands on her.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Miya tried to put all that aside. The ship was very similar to the one her brother Hayden had. Small and sleek, it could fly at an incredible rate of speed and get them to their destination probably much faster than Miya really wanted.

As much as she enjoyed looking at Alex, she was still a little pissed at him for his high-handed treatment. He was so gorgeous, she knew she would forgive him most anything if he smiled at her, though. He was a weakness she couldn’t seem to shake.

His beautiful amethyst eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled, softening the lines of his face and making him look younger, kinder, more approachable.

He was tall with broad shoulders and a don’t-mess-with-me attitude. He carried that attitude well. He had a way about him that made her feel safe. He had a raw sex appeal, though, that made her hot whenever he was near.

He glanced over at her, and she squirmed slightly in her seat. What would it be like to have those eyes look at her with desire? To run her fingers through all his black hair? A few times she’d thought she’d seen longing in his eyes, but it never lasted. She either mistook what she saw, or he covered it up well. She preferred to believe the latter: that he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

The whole Dom thing didn’t concern her. Matter of fact, imagining Alex doing to her some of the things Sam had described made her wet. Just thinking about it now made her nipples tingle and bead. She crossed her arms over them to try to hide the evidence of her arousal.

“You’re certainly used to getting your way, aren’t you,” she murmured as he started the ship’s engines.

He glanced over at her briefly, amusement shining in his dark gaze. “Yes.”

Miya snorted softly. Alex gunned the ship, taking off so fast, she squealed and grabbed the dash. “Jeez. In a hurry?”

His soft, deep chuckle sent a current of lust through Miya’s limbs, startling her. The sound was so deep and sexy. She wasn’t sure she’d ever heard him sound like that, and her desire for him increased tenfold.

“I’m never in a hurry in anything I do,” he replied.

Miya licked her lips as she imagined Alex taking his time with her. She remembered Sam saying that about him—that he took his time, bringing subs to orgasm several times before he was done with them. To be with a man that good at sex would just be…

Lord, if he knew all the things Sam had told her, he would probably be livid. She shouldn’t have outed Sam the way she did. It had just happened before she realized it, and then it was too late to take it back.

“I didn’t mean to let that slip about Sam. Don’t be too hard on him. He was drunk, and well…I didn’t discourage him from talking about it.”

At her admission, Miya felt heat move over her cheeks.

“He isn’t supposed to tell names, so he will be punished,” Alex said.

“You realize Sam likes to be punished, right?”

Alex glanced sideways at her briefly before turning his head back to the front and merging the ship into other flying traffic. “He won’t like this one. If he does, he’s more a masochist than I thought.”

Her lips lifted slightly. Yes, Sam was definitely a masochist. “So are you a masochist?” She knew he wasn’t. She just wanted to see if she could get him to talk about it more.

“No, sweetheart. I’m a sadist.”

Miya eyed him skeptically. “Sam says you don’t like doling out punishment.”

“There’s a difference between punishment and pain play, Miya. Pain play is for fun. Punishment is not. And we should probably stop this discussion before it goes any further.”

She turned in her seat slightly to face him better. She saw the muscles jerk in his cheek and wondered what exactly had him so tense. Was it their conversation?

“I’m curious,” she said.

Alex snorted. “No, you’re not, imp. You’re just trying to make me uncomfortable.”

“Imp,” she scoffed. “Now you sound like Dad.”

“I take that as a compliment.” He turned his head briefly and gave her a smile that was both a little mischievous and slightly sad. “I like your father. I do business with your father, which is exactly why you and I shouldn’t be having this discussion. Tell me about the letters.”

“Why did Sharna tell
you
about the letters?”

Alex sighed, and the muscle in his cheek twitched again. He definitely didn’t like being disobeyed.

“Does my brother know?” she asked.

“Yeah, he knows,” Alex said, then gave her an apologetic look before turning back to the traffic. “He was about to force you to go with them this week, but I agreed to keep an eye on you since I was going to be here anyway. That’s when he told me about the letters.”

“Great,” she grumbled. “Like they don’t treat me like a baby enough.”

Alex chuckled softly. “They love you, Miya. I would expect no less of them.”

“You don’t baby Cara like that.”

Cara was Hayden’s wife. She and Alex were very close. Cara considered Alex a brother, despite the fact they weren’t really blood related.

“That’s because Cara has the ability to take care of herself, if you’ll recall, so there’s no need for my protection. You on the other hand…”

He gave her a firm look she assumed most people would understand and obey without question. Miya, not so much.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “What about me
on the other hand
?”