A Dom is Forever (Masters and Mercenaries #3)(66)

She let him hug her. He really had seemed like her only friend for so long. When she’d first taken the job and they’d been in New York, she’d thrown her whole being into her work. Brian had died shortly afterward and she’d stuck close to Thomas, two stunned victims alone on a seemingly endless sea.

She sniffled a little.

“It’s all right, Avery.” Thomas’s hands smoothed across her back. “I can take care of you.”

His voice was deeper than before, and she could feel the heat of his breath on her neck. A little shiver went through her. She didn’t like being so close. It felt different than before. It felt more intimate, and she wasn’t sure she liked it. Maybe it came from being with Lee, but she suddenly didn’t want to be so close to Thomas.

“Sir, I needed to talk to you,” a masculine voice interrupted.

Thomas’s head came up, and there was a little snarl on his face. It was gone so quickly she wondered if she’d actually seen it. “Malcolm, this had better be important.”

“I wouldn’t interrupt you if it wasn’t.” Malcolm was the head of Thomas’s security. Standing at a massive six foot four, Malcolm was a bit of an enigma. He rarely talked, and he disappeared for long stretches of time. Thomas almost always had a bodyguard around, but Malcolm was the only one who really scared her.

Thomas stepped back, reaching for his cane again. “I’ll see you in an hour or so, dear. Please order some lunch for everyone. Use my card.”

He stepped into his office, Malcolm closing the door behind him, and she was alone again.

She wanted Lee. She wanted to call him and tell him to come and get her, and she would just go with him anywhere he wanted to go.

And he would ask why and she would have to admit what she’d done. Would he understand? Or would he be like her in-laws and find it to be a betrayal? She wasn’t sure she could risk it.

In the end, she picked up her phone and took the coward’s way out. She texted him explaining that she couldn’t meet him for lunch.

Her phone rang almost immediately. Lee. She couldn’t talk to him right now. She would break down. She texted again. In meeting. Can’t talk.

That’s twenty, love. Don’t think I’ll forget. Pick you up at five.

Twenty. He was going to spank her. She would get upset at the injustice, but just for a moment he’d taken her mind off her trouble.

Yeah, she’d take a spanking for that.

With her hands still shaking, she sat down and got back to work.





Molina tossed his cane away with an angry crash.

He hated that cane. It had been necessary for the last several years. He needed it to keep up his pretense, but how he loathed being seen as weak and vulnerable. He should be able to force Avery to her knees, to spread her legs and make her scream, but no, he had to play the * role.

One day she would know exactly how strong he was.

“Careful, boss, someone might come running in.” Malcolm’s voice was perfectly bland as though he hadn’t interrupted something intimate. The idiot had the worst timing. She’d been soft in his arms. She’d been ready to accept his lips on hers, and Malcolm had ruined everything. She’d been horrified at her mother-in-law’s call. It had been exactly as he’d planned. Now she would compose herself. Now she would gather that seemingly endless supply of optimism around her like armor.

“Give me one good reason I don’t fire you this instant.” And by fire, he really meant find a bloody gun and take Malcolm’s head off. That might start to calm him down.

If Malcolm was affected by his harsh tone, he didn’t show it. His face was blank and smooth as always as he took the seat in front of Molina’s desk. “You said you wanted an update on Lee Donnelly. I thought I would give you one.”

“Do you have a picture of the bastard’s face yet?” Molina tossed his body into his chair and then winced at the nasty pain. He was hard, but then being around her always made him hard. The thought of all that innocence for the taking had his fists clenching.

“No, I haven’t. It’s a little worrisome. It’s like the bastard knows what he’s doing.” Malcolm laid a folder in front of him. He opened it and pulled out four photographs. Not a single one of them had a good shot of Donnelly’s face. He was tall and well built, with broad shoulders and arms that looked like they had seen the inside of a gym on a regular basis. “He always wears a baseball cap and tends to keep his head down. He makes sure she walks on the inside. Do you see how he always takes the street side?”

Polite *. Unfortunately, he also always seemed to be looking Avery’s way so most of the shots were of the side of his head. Avery, on the other hand, was in almost every shot, her face shining up. She held on to her new boyfriend, her eyes constantly looking at him. She looked happy where she always looked so lost and sad before.

He realized in that moment it was her misery that attracted him. She fought so valiantly against it. It was interesting to watch her flail and fight and pretend that her life was all right.

She’d been so brave, and he wondered what could make her cower in fear.

He wanted to be the one who finally broke her. And he wouldn’t let this nasty f*ck change that.

“Take him out.”

“Boss, he moves quite well for a civilian.” Malcolm frowned. On him it was practically a cry for help.