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I pushed the button that said LL and leaned against the cold, metal wall, anxiously
waiting to land at the lower lobby. Just in case it helped speed things up, I punched the
LL button a couple more times.
It didn t. It stopped at almost every floor to pick up passengers on the way down. I
wished I had boarded the express instead of the local. Most folks got off on the floor
marked with a single C and I saw why when the doors opened. The casino echoed with
an assortment of irritating noises that could drive me crazy in a heartbeat. Ding-ding-
ding. Dong-dong-dong.
I let the clothing bag drop to the floor in order to block my ears while waiting for
the doors to whoosh closed again. The clanging finally stopped when I reached my
floor. I bent over to pick up my bag and when I straightened up, I saw that LL must
have stood for lower level. I was in the parking garage. So much the better. I could slip
out onto the street without being seen other than by the two guys coming toward me.
When I recognized the swagger, I froze. Dorian took only a second to recognize me
and react, then he called out to the other guy,  There she is!
I dashed toward the sound of traffic with both of them racing after me. Could I run
faster without the bag of clothes? Probably. Did I want to abandon the striking Audrey
Hepburn dress and matching black heels? Nope. I could carry them a tiny bit longer.
When it was clear that Dorian was gaining on me, I made the hard but appropriate
decision and tossed the bag into his path. He leapt over it and continued to close in.
Damn. I couldn t see where the other guy was. Maybe he didn t care enough about
Dorian s little problem to join the foot chase.
I heard an engine revving and the screech of tires. Soon a vehicle roared up behind
me. I didn t dare take my eye off the prize. Daylight. Freedom. Please, God, just one
more burst of speed& Dorian must have prayed for the same thing because he grabbed
me around my waist and we both tumbled into the gutter by the side of the ramp.
His buddy screeched to a halt and jumped out of the car.  Why the hell did you
rescue her? I thought she was trying to put you in jail.
66
Love Cuffs
 Calm down, Ivan. I don t want to complicate things with a murder charge. He
dragged me, swearing, over to the car and opened the passenger s side door.  Get in,
darling. We have a hypnotist to meet.
Ivan shook his head.  I thought you said she was tied up.
 She was. Dorian looked at me and if I wasn t mistaken, a little respect was mixed
with the aggravation in his expression.  How did you get out of the room?
 Ha, wouldn t you like to know?
He glared.  The maid didn t go in there, did she?
 Why, did you tell her not to?
 I paid her not to.
 Here, use my cuffs. Ivan handed the shiny, metal bracelets to the fiend squeezing
my guts.
 Thanks, Ivan.
I launched into a litany of swear words that would make a war veteran blush.
 I m not taking any chances with you, sweetheart. Where you go, I go, and he
snapped his left wrist to my right.
Now that I had my breath back, I decided to give him a piece of my mind unless
his accomplice had a ball gag.
 You son of a bitch. What s the matter with you? Does it give your puny self-esteem
a boost to tie up women and leave them? Do you get a charge out of knowing they re
helpless without you? That all they can do is wait for your return and let you push
them around some more? What a friggin awesome way to treat a lover.
He gave me a cold stare, then retorted.  My self-esteem is just fine and you know
why I can t trust you not to run off.
Yeah, I did. And at the first opportunity I d do so again so there wasn t much I
could say in response to that.
 Why can t you understand my position, Hope? You want to arrest me for the way
I make my living and my whole friggin lifestyle. You re trying to ruin my life.
 Look, I do understand but I have a sworn obligation to uphold the law. You re
breaking it, so you should go to jail.
Dorian rolled his eyes.  Think for a moment. Turn off your rigid cop doctrine and
think as a person who believes in freedom. Do you believe that consenting adults have
the right to meet their sexual needs in private?
Shit. When he put it that way, my actions seemed downright un-American. Was he
right? Was I buying into some sort of big brother-like censorship? I had to come up with
a better defense for moral decency.
 I d say yes, as long as it s not hurting anybody but give me a freakin break,
Dorian. Your business is to hurt people!
 My business is to bring people pleasure.
67
Ashlyn Chase & Dalton Diaz
 Bullshit. Disney World brings people pleasure.
He shook his head.  Forget it. You ll never understand.
Ivan chuckled from the front seat.  That s because she s a normal, my friend.
 Thank you, I said, gratefully.
 That wasn t meant as a compliment.
Now I hated both of them. I would have crossed my arms and pouted, except that I
only had one arm and I was saving it to clock somebody if I had to.
Ivan, oblivious to my irritation, continued.  Do you think gays have the right to
their lifestyle? Do you think the government should storm into their homes or bars and
arrest them, simply for being gay?
 Don t be stupid. It s not the same thing at all.
 And what about people who persecute them? Are they wrong?
 If someone is beaten with a baseball bat for any reason, they should be punished.
At that point, Dorian piped up.  What about more subtle forms of discrimination,
like denying a job to a homosexual or closing down a gay bar?
Damn. I knew where this was going.  Dorian, your den of torture and depravity
isn t the same thing as a gay bar and you know it.
 So it s okay to have gay clubs for people who live the gay lifestyle but not BDSM
clubs for those who choose that lifestyle? Why?
 Shut up. Not my most scintillating retort but I d had enough of this conversation.
I yawned.  You know? I think I ll just take a little nap. Wake me up when we get to
wherever you re taking me against my will.
* * * * *
I awoke with my cheek on Dorian s shoulder. The pressure of the seat against my
back seemed to indicate the car climbing into the foothills. So many mountains
surrounded the city of Las Vegas it would take the CSI team to find me.
I listened intently for any clues to determine our whereabouts. Nothing. Not a
sound. I opened one eye to pitch darkness. We could be driving through deep space for
all I knew. No, I d be floating in zero gravity and as much as that sounded like fun, it
was good to know we were somewhere on earth and probably still in Nevada.
The car turned and slowed to a stop. I yawned and stretched as if I d just woken up,
then I remembered I was mad at Dorian and yanked myself out of his grasp. Damn, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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