Alexander led me down a dark corridor and shoved me roughly through a door near the end. After a quick glance around, my eyes widened in horror. A bed covered in black sheets sat ominously in the middle of the shadowed room, with a wooden grate of sorts hanging above it from the ceiling. Restraints lined the walls, along with a slew of other BDSM paraphernalia that I only vaguely had time to process before I heard the door slam behind me.

I snapped to attention when I heard the click of a lock. I spun around to face Alexander, feeling beyond infuriated for the way he manhandled me. I was about to go off, but stopped when I saw his face. It was dark. Menacing.

“You wanted someplace private? Someplace quiet? Well, here you have it,” he growled as he moved toward me.

Before I could process what he was doing, he rushed at me. I went to take a step back, but he grabbed both of my wrists and pinned them behind me with one hand. With his other, he gripped my neck, spun me around, and shoved my chest hard against the concrete wall. I could feel his erection pressed up against my ass. I probably should have been afraid, but I wasn’t. I was just royally pissed. This wasn’t him. This wasn’t my Alexander. And if he thought I would allow him to treat me like this, he had another thing coming.

With my face was pressed against the wall, I tried to wiggle free. I couldn’t budge in his hold.

“Get off me,” I hissed.

“No,” he said into my ear, pushing his groin harder against me.

“Is this what it’s come to, Alex? Am I just another random whore from your club? If that’s how you want to treat me, then have at it!” I yelled.

His hold on me slackened at my words. Taking advantage of the opportunity, I pulled my wrists free and spun back around to face him. His face was only inches away from mine as I stared up at him. The smell of liquor was hot and pungent on his breath. His eyes were hallowed and dark, his chest rising and falling at an erratic pace.

I pushed against his chest, needing to find space, but I may have been trying to move a brick wall. He laughed at my feeble attempt, but took a small step back. Grasping my upper arms, he looked me up and down, like he was trying to decide on what he wanted to do with me.

“Get undressed,” he finally ordered.

Oh, hell no! Drunk or not, he’s out of his fucking mind!

But I didn’t voice the words, as I didn’t want to provoke him further. His fury was of the likes that I had never seen before. I knew why he wanted me to undress. He wanted to fuck away his anger. I even briefly contemplated doing as he wanted, knowing that a quick roll might simmer his temper down a bit. However, as fast as it passed through my head, I quickly dismissed it. Sex wouldn’t fix our problems – not this time. Giving in would be a mistake.

Instead, I tilted my chin up stubbornly to show my refusal. He was trying to prove a point by scaring me. It stung that he would stoop so low but, little did he know, I wasn’t afraid. I knew the man beyond the façade. He would not hurt me.

“No, Alex. If you want me shackled to a wall, I’ll be more than happy to oblige another day. I’ll even help you secure the goddamn chains. But it definitely won’t be happening today. Not like this.”

He didn’t respond, but wrapped his hand around my ponytail and tugged. Hard. He brought his lips to the shell of my ear and whispered, his voice sounding broken and raspy.

“Why did you come here? You saw my mother’s scar. He did that. I am capable of doing the same. Why are you tempting me?”

All my anger fell away at his words. The man I had fallen in love with, this powerful, physical, and captivating man, was allowing himself to be made small by things he had no control over. I knew in my heart that he was wrong, but I just didn’t know how to convince him otherwise. All my efforts to try to be there for him, to be his safe place, seemed to be in vain. Tears rushed to my eyes, falling in hot streaks down my cheeks.

“Alexander. Please,” I sobbed. “This isn’t you. I know it isn’t.”

He pulled back and stared at me long and hard, before eventually releasing his hold on me completely. His arms dropped to his sides and he took a few steps back.

“Go, Krystina. Get out of here. You don’t belong here. In this place. In my fucked-up world. With me.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

He staggered and, for the first time, I realized exactly how drunk he was.

“I said get out. Don’t make this harder than it has to be. This is never going to work. I was foolish to believe that I could have anything normal with you. Just go. Find another man to give you what you deserve.”

Moving to the corner of the room, he collapsed down into a plush black velvet armchair. Bracing his elbows on his knees, he held his head between his hands. He looked defeated, but I refused to let him go down this easily.

I looked around the strange and foreign room, located in a place that was all too familiar. It was here, at Club O, that Alexander and I experienced the beginning of the end. While we eventually made our way back to each other, I had pushed him to his hard limit that night.

“Sapphire,” I said quietly.

Alexander slowly raised his head to meet my gaze.

“What?”

“You heard me. I said sapphire.”

“I know what you said. Why did you say it?”

“Because being without you is my hard limit – my only hard limit. You don’t get to walk away from me, Alexander Stone.”

He shook his head, but didn’t speak. I moved toward him, squatted down in front of him, and took hold of his hand. Raising it to my chest, I pressed his palm against my breast so that he could feel the beat of my heart.

“Angel, what are you doing?”

“I left you once before. Here. In this place. But you eventually came after me. I won’t leave you again, Alex. Not now, not ever. That day on the side of the road when my car broke down, we stood in the rain and you placed your hand over my heart. Do you remember?”

He blinked, as if trying to clear the fog in his brain.

“Yes.”

“You forced me to acknowledge my feelings for you. My heart beat for you then, but it beats even stronger for you now. Please, let me take you home.”

He searched my face through glazed eyes. I wasn’t sure what he saw, but he eventually nodded. When he stood, he wobbled. I took his arm and put it over my shoulder, barely able to support his heavy weight. Reaching into my back pocket, I pulled out my cell and dialed Hale.

“He’s here, but in rough shape. I need you to help me get him home.”