Page 16 of Raine

As if sensing my thoughts, Raven says, “Don’t even think about it.”

Rolling my eyes, I crawl the rest of the way without stopping, and when she kicks open the heavy, dark cherry-red timber door, I’m assaulted by her scent.

It hangs heavy in the room — sweet jasmine — undeniably Raven. My knees hit the light beige carpet, and a moan of relief leaves my lips.

“Feel better?”

I nod, and she chuckles. “Not for long.”

Looking up, I take in her space and notice it hasn’t changed. The same deep red lines her walls, the ceiling an off-white color, with a black and red wall behind the bed with two sconces on either side of the four-poster king-size bed.

Between two cherry-red bedside tables, Raven’s bed is adorned with a deep red, velvet-looking comforter and a mass of pillows decorating it. Typical Raven style.

I go to sit back on my calves, but she shakes her head and motions for me to stand. Confusion decorates my insides, and I’m sure she can read it on my face.

Letting go of the lead, she walks toward her dressing table, moves the antique Queen Anne chair, and turns it around.

“Sit.”

I hesitate, my mind working on overdrive, because I can’t say she’s had me sit on a chair in our time together. Deciding it’s not worth an argument, I move slowly to the chair, but she holds out her arm to stop me before I can sit.

“What now?” I groan.

“Take your clothes off.”

“What?”

“Do as I ask, Raine. You know the rules when I’m in charge.”

And I do, so I take off my clothes, sit down with my legs crossed on the velvet cushion of the chair, and wait for her next instruction.

She stands back, emotions flickering through her eyes that don’t stay long enough for me to latch on. After a minute of her staring at me, she opens the dresser and pulls some rope from it and a set of handcuffs.

I raise my eyebrow at her but say nothing as she goes to work on tying me up and then handcuffing the chair to the dresser.

Disconcertion sinks deep into my belly, confusion latching on and suckling at my self-doubt and insecurities when she steps away and looks at me with a look I can’t decipher.

“What are you doing?” I ask, hating the quiver in my voice and the pounding in my chest.

“You’ve been a bad girl, Raine.”

“We’ve established that,” I snap, the anger rising inside of me to mask the other emotions floating around.

She opens her mouth but closes it right as I feel the air shift in the room, the bergamot whiskey scent dominating the space.

My head snaps to the side, my eyes widening when I see Arrow walk in from Raven’s balcony.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” I ask, my jealousy spiking as I pull on the restraints of the rope. “I thought you had errands to run.”

“I did. I do,” he says, shrugging off his leather jacket and throwing it on one of the bedside tables as he closes the space between us.

He stands next to Raven, and the green-eyed monster inside of me is ferocious. He is my friend, not hers. They better not be fucking if they know what’s good for them.

I open my mouth, and Raven pulls the mouth gag out again, and I close it just as quickly. Fuck her. What the hell is going on here? More to the point, what the fuck have I gotten myself into now?

“Bad girls don’t get to play, but they do get to watch,” she drawls, and my eyes dart between the pair of them.

Oh, hell no.