Read Online Davies, Corinne - Steam-Driven Seduction [Steampunked Lust 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Corinne Davies - Free Book Online Page B

to reassure them that no one knew where they were, but they insisted on maintaining a high level of secrecy. They couldn’t risk going after the information they needed, but Kass could. Now she had to figure out how to get it to them. She quickly packed all the information into a waterproof bag. Then she took the small packet and placed it in the back of a drawer in Julien’s writing desk. She knew he wouldn’t find it there, as he did the vast majority of his work in his office. This had been her desk to write letters when she’d been his wife. She opened another drawer and found sheets of writing paper and her favorite pen.
    She found it rather touching that he’d kept these here. She never thought he’d be sentimental about anything. But then he’d surprised her quite a bit at the end, and she had to ask herself if she really knew him at all. The man she thought she’d married turned out to be a complete falsehood. She had no idea who the real Julien was and frankly was terrified to find out. The man she married was courteous and kind. He never raised his voice or lost his temper. He treated her like a porcelain doll…and she hated it. At the time she thought that was what she wanted, but as the months went on, life became boring. She would forever be thankful to Julien for saving her life and caring for her until she felt strong enough to take care of herself. But, the stronger she got the more she noticed the chasm growing between them. He had secrets. She knew that, but never did it occur to her that he had the ability to be so brutal.
    She remembered that night with such clarity. She’d been unable to sleep and aching for Julien’s hands on her body. In a rare act of boldness she’d decided to take matters in her own hands and seduce him wherever she found him. The sounds of a man moaning were what had caught her attention, and the crack of a whip had her running down the hall. She’d planned to tell Julien about this and watch her husband take the man apart for his horrendous behavior.
    She’d shifted her position slightly to look further into the room and saw her husband standing there, a whip in his hand, smiling with pride. He was smiling after whipping a poor man who had obviously been so abused that his sense of pleasure was perverted.
    She could admit now that she’d been horrendously jealous. Not that she wanted to be anywhere near a whip, but that he knew another man so intimately but wasn’t interested in learning anything more about her. She stole back to their rooms and feigned sleep when he crawled into bed. She remembered the feel of his callused palms on her stomach, knowing that some of those calluses would’ve been caused by his use of the whip. She’d felt physically sick. He’d fallen into a deep sleep almost immediately, and she was gone before he woke up.
    As much as separating from Julien had hurt, it did a lot to help her heal. She’d learned and grown up so much in the past couple years. Using a brothel as a home base was effective because she was safe and protected there but also she learned more about Julien’s needs. The working girls were very forthcoming with answers to any questions and they were the ones who taught her how to protect herself while looking helpless. Julien might not be the same man she’d fallen in love with, but she was no longer the same woman he’d rescued either.
    Kass wanted more out of life. She wanted love, passion, but deep down she needed to feel safe and protected in a man’s arms. Or two men’s arms. The Gifrador sisters had found love between two pirates each, and Kass wanted something similar. A man who would accept her for who she was and not put her on a pedestal or treat her like glass, even when she felt like that was what she was made of.
    Miguel’s face invaded her thoughts, a fascinating character and obviously a past lover of Julien’s. Jealously had no business raising its head, but she still wondered when the two of them had