Read Bind and Keep Me, Book 2 for Free Online

I smiled to myself. Klaus was my hero, always had been.
    “Here will do.” To my surprise Klaus set his back against the house wall and slid down it then beckoned to me to join him on the floor.
    I barely hesitated. Sitting between his legs, with the quiet night sky out there, and the breeze brushing my face, finally, I could feel a little safe. The prickling, cold sensations running over my skin slowly ebbed. My mind cleared. I sighed, and reached back over my head to slide my palm through his short hair, to caress his face.
    In the summer sun, on the beach, his hair was golden.
    That was enough to break the moment. I sobbed, once, before I caught it. He only clasped me tighter against him and slowly the rise and fall of his warm body against my back made me relax again.
    “Thank you, Klaus.”
    “For what, sweetheart?”
    “For coming here. For being you.”
    Beneath my hand, I felt the stubble on his chin scrape on my skin as he shook his head. “Tonight, I didn’t do so well. I’m sorry.”
    I opened my mouth to deny that, but he continued. “How are you feeling?”
    “I’m…” I took stock. “Stomach ache.
Everywhere
ache. Confused.” I slowed down my listing. “Terrified. Sad that this happened at all.” Even if she was at fault, Melissa had died. Leon, I didn’t know him. He’d died but anger at what he’d set in motion was all I felt right then. “Angry and lost too.”
    He offered a humorless, cut-off laugh then kissed my nape. “Yeah. I understand. We’ll just do what we can to make things right. I can’t bring anyone back from the dead, though. Wish I could.”
    He rarely admitted fault. We had an almost Master/slave arrangement when at home. I liked it that way. Without Klaus my world was shakier, and lacking. I loved his dominance, his assurance. I loved placing my life in his hands, and knowing how much he cared about me.
    “Jodie, there are decisions we need to make tonight that I cannot decide for you. I can’t and wouldn’t do this anymore than I would command you to have our child without consulting you. This is just me and you.”
    “Okay.”
    “First off. This big idea of mine of pretending you weren’t here, it won’t work if you can be connected to this party in any way. Did you phone anyone who is here? Were you on CCTV together with Melissa down at the jetty? Some of those shops might have it though the jetty itself doesn’t.”
    I thought a minute while picking at the thread on my blouse. “No. We separated. I caught up to her at the car she’d parked on a side street. No to all those. This was a spur-of-the-moment thing.”
    “We should clean her car too then. But, good, we still have three options. The first—run away and leave Australia.”
    What? “Leave our home? Here? The island? Our whole
country
? All because someone else involved us in their crazy party? No. Fuck no.”
    He shifted behind me then went on, “Second choice is for me to admit everything to the cops. I don’t know how much jail time that would involve, but it would be some. Steph too, she’d have to take her chances.”
    “You in jail? That really makes me even sadder.” I cleared my throat, feeling that heaviness in the center of my forehead that came from building tears. But, we were thinking this through. “How long would that be?”
    “I don’t—”
    “Do a search on your phone? There must be cases like this? The police can’t tell you’ve been here, can they, if you do that?”
    “No. I doubt it. Only in a Hollywood movie. Wait. I’ll see what I can find.” He pulled out his phone and started tapping.
    The smell of the sea was stronger up here once the night fell into the later, deeper evening close to midnight. Maybe because any traffic pollution lessened, or because it was cooler, or maybe the wind changed? Whichever, it was beautiful. I loved the sea. It was why I lived here on Magnetic Island. From this height, in daylight, you would be able to see the big crescent sweep