Read Online French Connection Vol. 3 by M. S. Parker - Free Book Online Page B

while.”
    I bit back the insult on the tip of my tongue and focused on trying to find a way to get out of here and look for Carrie. I had no doubt Alizee had security guards all over and they could easily take me down. Even if it was just me, I wasn't sure I could get out. But it wasn't just me. Carrie was here somewhere and I knew Alizee would call the cops on Carrie if I ran.
    “Alizee, think about this.” I decided to try to reason with her. “If I don't want to have sex with you, it's going to be difficult for me to... perform. It won't be satisfying for either of us.”
    She laughed. “Come now, Gavin, do not play coy with me.” She took a step toward me, making sure she was still positioned between me and the exit. “I am quite a skilled lover. I have no doubt I can... persuade you to be an active participant.”
    Apparently I was being too subtle. I glanced down at my jacket. There was one thing I could say that would definitely get my point across. I hadn't wanted to put it quite this bluntly, but she wasn't really leaving me any choice. “You know that blackmailing someone into sex is rape, right? And what you just said, you're taking about non-consensual sex, Alizee. That's illegal. So how about you just take a step back, let me and Carrie leave, and we can pretend like none of this happened.”
    “Rape?” She raised an eyebrow. “Americans have funny notions about sex. A woman cannot rape a man who is able to perform.”
    I made a disgusted sound. “Unfortunately, there are Americans who would agree with you about that.” I started to edge toward my jacket. “But I don't think I'll have a problem proving it.”
    “I do not understand.” She scowled at me. “This is not a betrayal of your precious lover.” The words dripped with scorn. “You would do this to protect her. Is that not a, as you Americans would say, a free pass? You are being given the chance to fuck me without repercussion from Carrie. She cannot claim you cheated and there would be no guilt as your reasons would be noble.”
    “You don't get it,” I said. “I don't want a ‘free pass,’ Carrie is the only woman I want.”
    I was within arm's reach of my jacket. I didn't want to grab it now, not when I still didn't have a clear line to the door. I could knock Alizee down if I had to, but if she had some of those massive men within shouting distance, I wouldn't get very far. I would need a better head-start.
    “Very well,” Alizee said.
    She reached toward the fireplace and picked up the poker. From the look of it, it was iron and while the point wasn't knife sharp, I had no doubt it could be used to kill. She pointed it at me.
    “If that is your final word, then you will wait here while I have my men bring Carrie to us.”
    Her obvious threat told me she wasn't bringing Carrie here so she could let us both go together. Well, that and the fact that I'd see how vindictive she could be.
    “I am going to hurt her while you watch. And then I will have my guards hurt her.”
    Alizee and Howard would've been a match made in heaven, I thought. I remembered what it had been like to see Carrie tied up and know that Howard wanted to rape her. I'd never forgotten the expression of fear and pain on her face. I couldn't put her through that again. No matter what it meant for me.
    My shoulders slumped and I gave a weary sigh. I didn't have a choice. Well, I did, but it was a shit choice. I could keep telling Alizee no and then watch her torture Carrie because I didn't want to do something I found distasteful. Or I could do what needed to be done and protect the woman I loved. Sleeping with Alizee would hurt Carrie, I knew, but I trusted she would understand why I did it.
    I had to make a decision and it came down to which was the lesser of two evils, which would hurt Carrie less. When I thought about it that way, it wasn't difficult to know which was best. Knowing it and having the guts to follow through with it were two totally different