Free Dark (Beautiful Ashes #1) by Lora Ann Page A

much intel Keeley could gather if she were in the hands of certain sadists. Tar would kill him if he ever learned what Leith was about to lead Keeley into. Yet, Leith agreed with the code his team followed, sometimes the sacrifice of one was worth the salvation of many. He studied Keeley’s profile. Could he do it? Would he be able to take her into an establishment where he knew she would endure unspeakable acts of pain? Her gaze met his and it was there in those sable depths that he vowed, “I won’t let you do this alone.”
    She licked her lips. “What are you saying?”
    “You only take this assignment if I’m undercover with you.”
    “As my?”
    “Master.” What the ever-loving fuck are you thinking?!
    “Ohhhhhhhh,” she gasped. “Tarius will…God he’ll kill us if he ever finds out!”
    “Then we best be damn good at what we’re doing.”
    Keeley needed pain as much as she needed air and water. The slave ring needed to be taken down so they didn’t harm any more innocent girls. Win-win. Sure, there were a couple of details to work out, like Leith and her sharing some kind of sexual chemistry. But the other one made her heart ache in ways she didn’t fully understand. Tar would never forgive her if he found out, and surely he wouldn’t love her anymore. When that happened, Keeley would make sure she died. Living without that kind of adoration simply wasn’t an option.
     

Chapter Ten
     
     
    Something wasn’t right. Tar felt it in his bones. The gut didn’t lie, and his was flipping end over end. Keeley was resting, but she had fresh wounds that simply weren’t adding up to the story Leith gave them. She slipped in the basement attempting some martial arts move. Bullshit his inner radar screamed. Why didn’t they train in the room designed for such falls? Worst part was, Mitch backing up the lie. Yeah, they were all definitely hiding the truth from him. But the more he pulled his heart out of the scenario, the more Tar recognized that he was actually a danger to the operation. For the best if he didn’t see another man touch Keeley. He’d go all kinds of apeshit if they did, and Keeley’s reasoning for wanting to do this at all still resonated deep within him.
    Her hand laced through his hair while he rested it against her side. “Tar, I know you’re worried for my safety.” She swallowed back the lie about getting hurt in training. He didn’t deserve this, and she didn’t deserve him. While she knew it, she couldn’t bring herself to sever the ties to him. Instead, she pulled his head up so they were eye to eye. “Make love to me.”
    He gasped, cradling her tiny face in his large hands. “You need rest.”
    Keeley knew this would most likely be her one and only time to make love without holding any of herself back from him. After all, she didn’t do anything…yet. But she acknowledged her own patterns, and once she was caught in the grips of deception, she’d detach. The injuries did come from training. Just not the kind Tar was told. Untruth, yes. Relatively small on her long list of them though. “Please. I need you,” her soft whisper revealing absolute fact—he was her lifeline. And, at that moment, she craved what only he could give her. He leaned down, brushing her lips with his. She took advantage of his hesitation and latched onto his mouth. Tar was the only one who could save her, and Keeley needed him to know how much she wanted to be saved.
    From herself.
    From the choices she was making.
    From the whole damn world.
    His tongue matched hers, thrust for thrust, as he moved onto the small bed with her. She opened her legs so he could grind against her. They had messed around before, even done the deed against a hotel wall, but never made love. Keeley couldn’t recall when she’d ever done so with anyone. It was always about pleasure, pain, and fucking, never tenderness or souls connecting. She craved that most as his mouth moved across her collar bone with