Isle of Sin: A Standalone Dark Romance

Everything smelled like fresh eucalyptus.

I inhaled deeply, allowing the scent to cleanse me entirely as Asher ran his fingers through my hair. He’d bathed me thoroughly, washed my hair in the shower, soaped me up, and rinsed me off. Then he’d wrapped me up in a towel.

Now he combed my hair with his hands, unknotting the strands with a gentleness that made me warm all over. He’d set me up on the counter, parted my legs, and stepped between my thighs. Then he’d reached around me to begin this process while studying the back of my head in the mirror behind me.

I’d seen Doms do things like this at Ecstasy. But I’d never experienced it. Most of my Masters just wanted to fuck and leave afterward.

Not Asher.

He’d seen to my pleasure. He’d given me an odd sense of control even while demonstrating his strength and power.

And now he was making me feel whole.

My eyes misted with tears, my heart suddenly in my throat.

I didn’t know how to handle this kindness. I didn’t know how to understand or accept it. This… this wasn’t my life.

Yet he made me want to live this existence. He made me crave something I shouldn’t. He made me desire forever.

“Shh,” he hushed softly, his lips grazing my forehead. “You’re safe, Adalyn. I have you.”

But for how long? I longed to ask. How long will you treat me like this?

I wasn’t sure what was worse anymore—the notion of this being a fucked-up game or the idea that this might be real.

Because if it was real, it could be taken away from me.

At least with a game, I would have expected it.

However, to grow used to this treatment only to have it ripped away from me? That would hurt me more than anyone ever had.

“Adalyn,” he whispered, his hands coming around to my face, his thumbs wiping away the tears beneath my eyes. “You’re safe, sweetheart. I’m right here.”

“I know.” My voice was no longer hoarse, but it still sounded like a rasp to my ears. “I know you’re here. I just… I just don’t know how long…” I trailed off, my shoulders slumping. I felt so weak. So young. So naïve.

The confidence I often faked at the clubs didn’t exist here.

I was just me. Broken Adalyn. Terrified of the future.

What happened to the woman who killed Nathan? I wondered.

God, that felt like a lifetime ago.

I… I wasn’t her anymore.

I was someone new. But I wasn’t sure if I liked this new version or not. She seemed to feel. And feeling sucked.

“How long what?” Asher asked me, one of his palms falling to my thigh. “How long I’ll be here?”

I almost denied it because I didn’t want to face the fear. However, I was too exhausted to hide anymore. This man had pulled out my heart and forced me to face everything it had to offer.

Part of me hated him for it.

The other part of me… the other part of me hoped he could heal it.

Which was why I nodded, confirming his question. How long will you be here? Will you be around long enough to make me whole? Will you really protect me? Will you keep me?

So many hard-to-voice questions.

But he seemed to hear them all because his dark gaze radiated understanding. Maybe I’d actually spoken all those inquiries out loud.

Because his expression exhibited an intensity that stole the breath from my lungs.

“I’ll be here for as long as you want me,” he told me, his words resembling a vow. They reminded me of what he’d claimed in bed about wanting me. I’d questioned him about it, but I couldn’t fully remember everything we’d said.

However, it seemed he still felt the same way about keeping me.

“I want to be with you forever,” I admitted in a whisper. “I never want to leave this place.” It was the first time I’d ever felt safe, ever been taken care of, ever been cherished.

“Then you’ll stay here with me forever,” he answered simply, his palm hot against my cheek. “You’re mine, Adalyn. And I’ll ensure those Sin Cave assholes know it, too.”

“Sin Cave assholes?” I repeated, blinking. Something about that phrase struck me as… as humorous. I actually felt my lips twitching, something I hadn’t experienced in… how long? I couldn’t remember. The last however many hours had felt like a century to me.

Everything was foggy.

My body felt renewed yet exhausted at the same time.

My mind longed for an escape, some place to stop functioning, just for a little while.

And my heart… my heart beat a little faster than it should, my soul warming the organ with knowledge of our potential future.

Here. With Asher.

He pressed his mouth to mine. “Yes. Sin Cave assholes.” He skimmed his lips across my cheek to my ear, his palm going to my hip. “But I don’t want to think about them right now, Adalyn. I want to think about removing this towel instead.”

I shivered. “And then what?” I asked.

But a knock sounded against the door before he could reply. “Yeah?” His tone was just loud enough to be heard without qualifying as a yell.

“You decent?” a deep voice asked. “Oh, who the hell am I kidding? You’re never decent.”

“Shit,” Asher cursed, reaching for a towel to wrap around his waist. My legs instantly closed, my heart skipping a beat at the sudden intrusion into our comforting bubble.

Someone new was here.

Someone with a masculine tone.

Someone Asher seemed to fear.

What’s happening? Who is this? Is it time for the dream to end?

“Adalyn.” Asher’s dominance wrapped around me in a tight noose, forcing my gaze to his. “What’s your safeword?”

“Dreams,” I breathed.

“Good girl.” He studied me for a moment, his dark irises swirling with knowledge. “Do you want to use that safeword right now?”

I swallowed. “I… I don’t know,” I admitted.

“Kane, give me five minutes,” he said to the door, his words a command, not a request.

The other man didn’t reply, but he didn’t barge through the threshold either.

My chest rose and fell, my heart still skittering against my rib cage.

Asher approached me slowly, his hands loose at his sides. “The man out there is my half brother, Adalyn. He’s not going to touch you. But he is going to protect us.”

My brow furrowed. “Wh-what?”

“I told you I have a lot of siblings, sweetheart. Kane is one of my older brothers.” He took another step toward me, the heat of his body brushing mine despite the gap between us. “He won’t hurt you.”

My heartbeat gradually returned to normal as I processed his words. “Okay.”

“Okay?” he repeated.

I nodded. “Okay.” If he said Kane wouldn’t hurt me or touch me, then I believed him. But I did want to know what he meant by “protect us.”

Asher’s palm touched my cheek, his opposite hand going to my hip. I automatically parted my thighs for him, allowing him entry and kissing him as he pressed his lips to mine.

It felt so natural.

So… so… expected.

Like this was what life should be between us.

Which caused my pulse to soar for an entirely different reason as I wrapped my arms around his neck. His tongue entered my mouth, engaging me in a sensual dance that left me quivering against him.

More, please, I thought, my nipples beading beneath my towel.

The hand on my hip slid to my lower back. His touch branded me through the cotton as he pulled me to the edge of the counter, placing my hot center against his groin. He was hard and solid, even through the fabric wrapped around his waist.

I arched into him and he pressed back, his fingers sliding into my hair again to knot with my damp strands.

“Asher,” I breathed, suddenly so hot that I couldn’t think straight. “Sir.”

“Asher,” he replied. “We’re not scening right now, sweetheart. This is just you and me.”

“But you asked for my safeword.”

“To remind you that you always have an escape card,” he replied. “No matter what. You say dreams, I stop.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever really want you to stop,” I admitted softly. “I… I think I just want more.”

He grinned, his hips pressing against mine. “Me, too, sweetheart. However, I need to talk to Kane. And I’m guessing he’s up here because he wants to meet you.” He pulled back a little to study my expression. “Do you want to meet him? Or should I tell him to fuck off?”

My eyebrows rose. “You would say that to him?”

“If you tell me you’re not ready to meet him? Absolutely, I will. And he won’t fault me for it, either. He’s just as much of a Dom as I am. He understands the importance of protecting a woman. Hell, he values protection more than anyone I know. He even made a job of it.”

“A job?” I echoed.

“He works in private security.” His fingers loosened in my hair, his touch going to the back of my neck to tenderly massage the tight muscles there. “That’s why he’s here, Adalyn. He’s going to ensure you’re protected, no matter what.”

I gaped at him. “What? What do you mean?”

“He knows how to help people disappear, Adalyn.” Asher’s palm squeezed the back of my neck, providing some much-needed assurance. “If something goes wrong, he’ll get you to safety. And he will make it so no one can find you.”

“You think something might go wrong?” I asked, searching his eyes. “Asher, if you… I can’t let you put yourself at risk for me. That can’t be an option. If you think it’s going to go wrong, then just give me back to them.”

I… I could never live with myself if something happened to him because of me.

Just thinking about it caused my heart to beat wildly all over again as the room began to shrink around us. “I… I can’t, Asher. I can’t—”

“Adalyn.” The harshness in his tone drew me back to him immediately, his dark irises swirling with command. “It’s a secondary precaution. And after my discussions with Julian today, I have them right where we need them to be. It’s going to be fine.”

“Right where…?” I started, mimicking his phrasing without understanding him.

“They’re in my debt, Adalyn. They’ve insulted me twice. And I’ve demanded that they let me keep you for recompense, just like we discussed.” His palm slid from my nape to my face, his thumb tracing my cheekbone. “It’s going to be all right, sweetheart. And Kane has flown in to guarantee it. He’s the backup plan because I don’t believe in relying on one single strategy. All right?”

Backup plan.

Debt.

Recompense.

Strategy.

My head was spinning with his words, but most of them registered as sensible. At least on a high level, anyway. But that didn’t stop my brain from spiraling with what-ifs.

I knew this organization better than Asher.

I knew how they operated, what they demanded of their Elite, and how they preferred to play their games. I’d spent enough time in the clubs sucking their cocks to know how they spoke to and about each other.

It provided me with an inside edge.

One I should use.

Because it might help Asher. It might help us. It might ensure my ability to remain here.

“There’s nowhere your brother could send me,” I whispered. “They own security firms around the world. They’re tapped into all the governments, too. That’s not a viable backup plan.”

“How about we meet with Kane and let him tell us what he thinks, then you can let us know where you see faults?” Asher suggested. And it wasn’t worded in a condescending way like Nathan would have done it.

Instead, he sounded actually interested in what I had to say.

Like he would treat me as a partner in this.

Something about that had me sitting up a little straighter. It made me feel… important. Human. And not so lost.

“I… I would like that,” I admitted.

Asher nodded. “Good. Then maybe you’ll be interested in hearing my plan, too.”

“Yes,” I replied. “Yes, I would.”

His lips curled, his palm warm against my cheek. “That’s my girl,” he murmured, pride in his voice. “I trust you to help us survive, Adalyn. Because that’s who you are—a survivor. And I need you to trust me to see everything through, too. Okay?”

I studied him for a beat before saying, “Okay.” That appeared to be our word for this conversation. Yet it seemed to mean so much more.

“Good girl,” he whispered, kissing me. “Then let’s go find Kane. I’m sure he’ll have a comment to give us about time.”

“Time?”

“Mmm,” he hummed. “You’ll see.”