Page 81 of Dual

You create family by taking care of the needy.

Dr. Ezra’s words claw at me, unwelcome and persistent. The bastard’s voice echoes in my skull like a parasite I can’t dig out.

As if thinking her name summons her, a text from Anna pings my phone.

ANNA: meet me at Carnal?

My cock hardens immediately, blood rushing south so fast I’m momentarily lightheaded. Damn woman either read my mind or therapy had her scrambling for the same escape. I lean against the wall, the cool plaster a contrast to my suddenly heated skin.

DOMHNALL: Now?

ANNA: Now.

I grin at the phone, thumbing in:

DOMHNALL: Good kitty

before taking the elevator down to the garage. The Aston Martin’s engine roars to life, pure predatory power vibrating through the steering wheel and into my bones.

Dallas traffic crawls, giving me too much time to think. About Dr. Ezra’s probing questions. About Moira and the mess I’ve made of that relationship. About four-year-old metrying to keep a crying baby alive while our mother stared blankly at the wall.

Family means something where I come from.

But what if I don’t know what family actually means? What if I’ve been playing house my whole life, desperately trying to prove I’m worth keeping around?

By the time I pull into Carnal’s private lot, I’m wound tight as a spring, desperate for the kind of release only pain and control can provide. The familiar throb of bass pulses through the asphalt as I approach the unmarked door. Kit nods at me, his eyes knowing as he lets me in without a word.

Inside, the club thrums with restrained energy. Amber spotlights catch on leather and skin, leaving the rest in shadow. The scent hits me immediately—leather, sweat, sex, and the sharp undercurrent of sanitizer that Caleb insists on. The air feels electric.

My eyes scan the room, searching for Anna. Then I spot Caleb behind the bar, his eyes meeting mine. He juts his chin toward the back wall, where the more serious equipment is set up.

My breath stops in my chest.

Because there’s my beautiful Anna, naked and shackled face-first to the St. Andrews cross, her round ass gleaming in the spotlight. Her pale skin catches the light, making her look almost otherworldly against the black leather and metal of the cross. Her hair falls in loose waves down her back, copper and gold under the amber lights.

“Anna,” I breathe out, rushing to her. “Are you alright, love?”

She looks over her shoulder at me, and my chest constricts at the naked vulnerability in her eyes. Something wild and desperate lives there, something I recognize from my own darkest moments.

“I want you to punish me, Sir,” she whispers, voice hoarse. “I’ve been a bad, bad girl.”

The words hit me like a physical blow. This isn’t just desire—this is desperation. The same kind that’s been clawing at me since I left Dr. Ezra’s office.

“What happened?” I demand, immediately furious. “What did that fucking doctor say to you?”

She shakes her head, the movement sending her hair sliding across her bare shoulders. “Nothing. I just need you. I’ve been a bad girl, and I need you to punish me. Please, Domhn. Play with me. Tell me what a bad little whore I am. Be your worst. I deserve it. I want it.”

And there, in the dark of her eyes as she begs me, I see something of what’s eating me alive. The need to escape into sensation. The desperate hunger for someone else to take control when your own grip on reality is slipping.

In so many ways, Anna isn’t just my interlocking puzzle piece—she’s my mirror.

We’re both running from something. Both trying to save ourselves through this twisted dance of pain and pleasure.

“Tell me what’s going on,” I say, but even as the words leave my mouth, I’m already reaching for my shirt, tugging itoff. The cool air of the club raises goosebumps across my chest.

“Nothing’s going on,” she insists, but I can taste the lie. Doesn’t she know how that drives me crazy?

Stubborn woman. I walk deliberately to the wall of implements, selecting each one with care. The flogger first—soft leather tails to warm her up. Then the paddle. And finally, the cane. I watch her eyes widen at that one.