Page 4 of Kneeling for Them

Sebastian drops me off at Dorado Terrace.His beard tickles me when he gives me a kiss goodbye—not on the lips or cheek, but on my neck, right below my ear.

“I can’t wait to see you again tomorrow,” he says.“Think of us today.”

“I will,” I say.Every time I move, there’s a new muscle protesting.These guys gave me a workout, and I wouldn’t be able to forget it even if I wanted to.

But I don’t want to.Ever.Even when I’m past Mrs.Dali’s age, I hope that the memory of nights with Kingston and Bash are still vibrant in my mind.

My shift at Dorado Terrace goes by fairly quickly.I am maybe not doing the best job I could be doing, but can I really be blamed when every time I take a step, I remember being led around Kingston’s coffee table, my hands bound in front of me?Or every time I bend over to pick something up, I remember Sebastian’s thumb in my ass this morning, stroking me?Or every time I stop vacuuming so as not to disturb a resident walking past, I recall Kingston’s hand on my mouth as he orders me to be quiet so we don’t wake Sebastian?

Impossible.

I’m nearly finished for the day, and getting mentally prepared to rush to my place for a change of clothes for Bartleby’s, when a Dorado Terrace resident walks past me.She makes eye contact.I’ve seen her around before, so I give her a faint smile while I haul the vacuum cleaner back toward the supply closet.

“Hi,” she says.“I’m sorry to bother you, but I wanted to introduce myself.”

“Oh, it’s no bother.”My mind is whirling.Why on earth does she want to introduce herself?I’m supposed to blend into the background.Melinda’s going to be pissed if I’ve somehow made a nuisance of myself here.

“I’m Olivia,” she says, holding out a hand.Her gray eyes are full of kindness.“I live here.With my fiancés.”

I wait for her to correct herself and say ‘fiancé,’ singular, but she doesn’t.When the moment stretches to the point of awkwardness, I collect myself and shake her hand.“Oh!Um, congrats on your upcoming marriage.I’m Ella.”

“I don’t know a whole lot about you,” she says, “so please forgive me if I’m making any wrong assumptions.But if you were to be in a similar position to mine, and you wanted someone to talk to, well, you could text me or we could meet for coffee sometime.”

“A similar position?”I ask.

“With a, shall we say, dominant, protective guy?Or two?”She looks unsure, like she might be offending me.

My face flames.“How would you know…”

“Jaxon and Ryder, my fiancés, got in touch with Kingston,” she says quickly.“I don’t know anything else, just that Jax said Kingston sounded like him, and we saw you leave with Bastian Crown, too, and…” She trails off and waves her hands in front of her.

“Yeah,” I say slowly.“Um.I don’t know if it’s going anywhere.Probably it isn’t.But, I appreciate it.”

She pulls a slim phone from her pocket.“If you want, I can text you so you have my phone number.No pressure to get in touch.”

“Oh.Sure.”I rattle off my number.A second later, my phone buzzes where it rests in my dress pocket.

Olivia smiles at me and says, “It was really nice to meet you.I’m around if you need a friend.”

“Thanks.”I mean it, although I wonder if I’ll ever take her up on that.She seems really nice, but I honestly don’t know if Kingston and Sebastian will keep me around long enough for a friendship with Olivia to make sense.

We say goodbye.Then I finish putting away my cleaning supplies and take the bus back to the Bellefleur District and my apartment building.

I’m still thinking about Olivia when I get up to my third-floor apartment, so it takes me a moment to realize what I’m seeing.

The light is different.It’s because one of the apartment doors is open, rather than closed.

It’smyapartment door that’s open.

The frame is splintered around the lock.

Someone kicked in my door.

Two

Sebastian

As soon as I get into my apartment, I turn up the heat.There’s a chill in my bones that is far deeper than what I should be feeling in early February in the mild climate of southern California.