Cured
Jack walked into the suite with a tired sluggishness that had nothing to do with his injuries.
Damn, that fucking bitch. My dick is going to be sore for a week.
Hela had been insatiable. Three hours of her riding him, choking him, demanding more until he'd finally pushed her off and told her to leave. His cock ached. His thighs burned. Even his jaw hurt from where she'd shoved his face between her legs for the fourth time.
He closed the door behind him and started toward the kitchen, already thinking about ice and painkillers.
Then he saw her.
Bella stood in the middle of the living room, her arms crossed, her face pale.
Jack stopped.
"Bella?" His voice was rough. "What are you—"
She strode across the room and slapped him.
The sound echoed through the suite—sharp, clean, final.
Jack's head snapped to the side. He blinked, his hand going to his cheek.
"Okay," he said slowly. "Normally that's a turn-on, but I'm getting the feeling you didn't do it for that reason."
"What were you doing yesterday?" Bella's voice was tight. Controlled.
Jack frowned. "Yesterday? I was—" He paused. "Are you actually mad that I had sex with Hela?"
"I don't give a shit that you slept with Hela." Bella's eyes were blazing. "I want to know who you sent out a hit on yesterday."
Jack's frown deepened. "I didn't order a hit on anyone."
"Liar."
"Bella, I'm serious. I didn't—" He stopped. His expression shifted. "Oh. Yeah. There was this guy. Umm... Gerald was his name."
Bella's breath caught. "So you did order the hit."
"It was for a client," Jack said. His voice was calm. Matter-of-fact. "Marcus Whitmore. He needed a case dropped. Environmental lawsuits. The guy was causing problems."
Bella went silent.
Jack watched her carefully. Something was wrong. She was too invested in this. Too emotional.
"Why do you care?" he asked.
"Was it really for a client?" Bella's voice was barely above a whisper.
Jack's eyes narrowed. "Yes. Why would I—"
And then he remembered.
The photo Hela had showed him. The man at the bar with Bella. Smiling. Laughing. He discovered his name.
Daniel.
Daniel Finch.
Jack's face darkened, but he forced his expression to remain neutral.
Gerald Finch. Daniel Finch.
Brothers.
Fuck.
He hadn't known. Hadn't made the connection. Marcus had just given him a name and a location, and Jack had sent Bones to handle it.
But now—
She's protecting him. She's protecting Daniel.
Jack felt something cold settle in his chest. Bella was moving on. She was building a life outside of him. Outside of King's Paradise.
And he couldn't let that happen.
But he couldn't tell her he knew.
She already thinks you're too controlling. Don't scare her further away.
"Stop harming Gerald," Bella said quietly.
Jack crossed his arms. "Why?"
"Because I'm asking you to."
"That's not a reason."
"Because you owe me that much." Bella's voice cracked slightly. "After over a year of staying by your side. After everything I've done for you."
Jack's jaw tightened.
"Everything I owed you died the moment you chose to split from me," he said coldly.
Bella flinched.
Jack let the silence stretch. Then he shrugged.
"I could just pay Gerald off instead," he said. "Promise him money to stay silent. Drop the case. Make it worth his while."
Bella's eyes lit up. "You'd do that?"
"Maybe." Jack took a step closer. "But I'll only do it if you come back to King's Paradise."
Bella's expression shifted. "Jack—"
"To me," Jack finished.
The hope in Bella's eyes died.
She looked away, her hands clenching into fists at her sides.
"No," she said quietly.
Jack's chest tightened, but he kept his voice steady. "Then Gerald stays a problem."
"Jack, please—"
"Those are my terms." Jack's voice was flat. "You come back, or Gerald keeps getting hurt. Your choice."
Bella was silent for a long moment.
Jack watched her. Watched the way her shoulders tensed. The way her jaw worked.
She's thinking about it. She's actually considering it.
"I'll come back to King's Paradise," Bella said finally. Her voice was barely audible. "But not to you."
Jack blinked. "What?"
"I'll work at King's Paradise again. I'll help with the members. The marketing. The expansion." Bella looked up at him, her eyes hard. "But I'm not coming back to you. Not like that."
Jack stared at her.
Not to me.
The words should have stung. Should have felt like a rejection.
But instead—
Jack smiled.
"That's more than enough," he said.
Bella's eyes widened slightly. "Really?"
"Really." Jack's smile widened. "I need you at King's Paradise, Bella. Sales have gone down. Memberships have been getting cancelled left and right. A one-eyed barbarian is not the right face of an eloquent business. You were much better at getting them to stay."
"That's only because they stared at my boobs and not what I said," Bella muttered.
"Your boobs were the best I'd ever tasted." Jack reached out, his hand moving toward her chest.
Bella swatted his hand away. "Don't."
Jack laughed—a low, genuine sound. "Fair enough."
Bella looked at him for a long moment. Then she nodded.
"Fine," she said. "I'll come back. But you leave Gerald alone. Completely."
"Deal."
Bella turned and walked toward the door.
Jack watched her go, his smile fading.
She thinks she's won. She thinks she's protecting Daniel by coming back.
But Jack knew better.
Bella was back in his orbit. Back where he could see her.
And that was all that mattered.
***
The private box smelled like leather and expensive cigars.
Jack sat in his chair, his fingers drumming against the armrest as he looked down at the warehouse floor below.
King's Paradise was alive tonight.
The bar was crowded. The lounge areas were full. The cage in the center of the floor was surrounded by members placing bets on the next fight.
And there—moving through the crowd with practiced ease—was Bella.
She smiled at a group of men near the bar. Laughed at something one of them said. Touched another's arm lightly, her body language open and inviting.
The men smiled back. Ordered more drinks. Stayed longer.
Jack watched her, his chest tight.
She's a natural.
Even after months of not being here, Bella had slipped back into place easily. She knew how to work the room. How to make the members feel seen. Valued.
She was everything Jack wasn't.
And the members loved her for it.
Jack felt the rageful storm that had been brewing inside him for weeks begin to dissipate.
The family is back together.
A knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts.
"Come in," Jack called.
Maya stepped inside, her expression careful. "Two girls called off work today."
Normally, Jack would have sighed. Would have complained about staffing issues and unreliable workers.
But today—
"Okay," Jack said simply.
Maya blinked. "Okay?"
"Yeah. Okay." Jack gestured for her to come closer. "Come here."
Maya crossed the room slowly, her heels clicking against the floor.
Jack pulled her onto his lap, his hands settling on her waist. He turned her so they were both facing the window, looking down at the warehouse together.
"See that?" Jack pointed at Bella. "The family's back together."
Maya followed his gaze. "She's good at this."
"She's the best." Jack's hand slid down to Maya's ass, squeezing lightly. Then he slapped it—not hard, just enough to make her gasp.
His other hand moved between her legs, his fingers slipping beneath the hem of her skirt.
Maya's breath hitched. "Jack—"
Another knock on the door.
Jack sighed and pulled his hand away. "What?"
The door opened, and the game master stepped inside—a tall man with a shaved head and a clipboard.
"Boss," he said. "What set are we playing tonight?"
Jack was quiet for a moment, his mind working.
Then he smiled.
"I have a new game for them," he said.
He set Maya off his lap and stood, straightening his shirt.
"Collect four women workers and the sex kit," Jack said. "Meet me on the center stage."
The game master nodded and left.
Jack followed him out, his steps deliberate as he descended the stairs to the warehouse floor.
The crowd parted as he approached the center stage. Conversations quieted. Eyes turned toward him.
Jack picked up the microphone, the weight of it familiar in his hand.
"Good evening," he said, his voice carrying across the warehouse.
The crowd fell silent.
"The last time you saw me," Jack continued, "I was a wounded animal."
A few murmurs rippled through the crowd. They remembered. The fight. The blood. The way Jack had barely been able to stand.
"But now?" Jack smiled. "Now I'm just an animal. Healed and refreshed."
A few laughs. A few cheers.
Jack's eyes swept across the crowd, landing on Bella. She stood on the second floor, her arms crossed, her expression unreadable.
Jack held her gaze.
"Tonight," he said, "I have a new game for you."
The game master appeared on stage, followed by four women and a large bucket filled with ropes, paddles, vibrators, and other toys.
Jack gestured to the bustiest of the four women—a blonde with wide hips and a nervous smile.
"Strip," Jack said.
The woman hesitated for only a moment. Then she reached for the hem of her dress and pulled it over her head.
The crowd watched with keen interest as she unhooked her bra and slid her panties down her legs.
She stood there, naked and trembling, her hands at her sides.
Jack grabbed a length of rope from the bucket.
"Bend over," he said.
The woman obeyed, bending at the waist until her bare ass and pussy were facing upward.
Jack moved behind her, his hands working the rope with expert precision. He looped it around her wrists, binding them together. Then he threaded the rope through her legs, pulling it tight so her knees were forced apart.
He tied the rope to her ankles, then pulled it up and over her shoulders, creating a harness that kept her locked in place.
The woman couldn't move. Couldn't straighten. Her ass and pussy were completely exposed.
Jack stepped back, admiring his work.
Then he looked up at Bella.
Their eyes locked.
"The name of this game," Jack said into the microphone, "is called Love or Lie."
Bella rolled her eyes.
Jack smiled.
"Here's how it works," he said, turning back to the crowd. "This game will include two volunteer couples. Each couple will have a squatter."
He gestured toward the bound woman. "Each squatter will have a vibrator inside of them."
Jack reached into the bucket and pulled out a small, egg-shaped vibrator. He knelt behind the woman and pressed it against her entrance.
She gasped as he pushed it inside, the vibrator disappearing into her pussy.
"The game master will have the controllers to the vibrators," Jack continued. "Each couple will be asked a series of questions that test their connection. To see if what they have is love or lie."
He stood, brushing his hands off.
"For every question they get right, they get nothing." Jack's smile widened. "For every question they get wrong—"
He grabbed a paddle from the bucket.
CRACK.
The paddle came down hard on the woman's ass. She yelped, her body jerking against the ropes.
"—the opposing couple gets to paddle the squatter's ass."
The woman moaned, her hips shifting.
Jack handed the paddle to the game master, then picked up the vibrator controller.
He turned the dial.
The woman's moan turned into a gasp. Her thighs trembled.
Jack turned the dial again.
"Every question wrong increases the level of the vibrator," Jack continued. He turned the dial a third time. "And every question wrong allows the enemy couple to slap the ass of the opposing couple's squatter."
CRACK.
Jack brought the paddle down again, harder this time.
The woman cried out, her body shaking.
Jack turned the dial to the highest setting.
The woman's moans turned into desperate, breathless gasps. Her hips bucked. Her thighs clenched.
"The goal of the game," Jack said, "is to not have your squatter squirt first."
He kept the vibrator on high, kept paddling her ass until the woman's cries turned into a scream.
Her body convulsed. Liquid sprayed from between her legs, dripping onto the stage.
The crowd erupted in cheers and whistles.
Jack turned off the vibrator and set the paddle down.
"The winning couple," he said, "gets a share of the betting winnings and a cash prize. As usual."
He looked up at Bella again.
She was staring at him, her expression unreadable.
Jack smiled.
"So," he said into the microphone. "Who wants to play?"