A Dom is Forever (Masters and Mercenaries #3)(68)

“Should I send Monica in, sir?” Malcolm got up and went to the door.

Sweet, dumb Monica. She thought he was going to marry her. She was good for hiding files and had a remarkably flexible jaw. She could take care of his problem. “Yes.”

Malcolm left and Molina found his cane. It was time to perform again.





Chapter Twelve


Liam watched her. He’d expected a bit more excitement, but Avery was shut down and had been for hours. She’d been waiting for him outside her office building, not inside as he’d planned. He wanted to get a lay of the land, but she’d been standing outside, her face a pale white, her hands on her purse. She’d followed him to the Tube, sat beside him through dinner, but she hadn’t really engaged.

It was getting to him. Was she that worried about the evening ahead?

“We could just go home,” he said. The last thing he wanted to do was push her and potentially lose her, and it was for reasons that went far beyond the op. He wanted her to enjoy this part of his life. He was finally realizing just how much he needed it. He’d always thought of it as fun before, but now he wanted the responsibility. He wanted the deep ties that came with D/s.

She frowned up at him, her eyes blinking as though she was trying to process what he’d said. “What?”

Or she just hadn’t been listening. “I said we could just go home. You seem to have changed your mind.”

She seemed to have changed period. Her smile all evening long had been forced, her conversation stilted. She was always so present when she was with him, and now she seemed to be in another place entirely. She shook her head, her eyes going back to the building across the street. “No. I’m fine. I’m looking forward to it.”

“I’ve promised to spank you for disobedience. You’re really looking forward to that?” She’d shut down after the threat. Had he really misjudged her? Was she really that worried about an erotic spanking?

A hint of a real smile finally lit her face. “Well, it is a little unfair, you see. I had to work. I don’t know that I like being punished for working, but that’s not really what it’s about, is it? It’s play, like you said. It’s just a fun game to spark our imaginations. Lee, I’m not afraid of you.”

She should be. She would run away if she knew half of the things he’d done under the excuse of protecting people. “Then tell me what’s wrong.”

He’d been afraid to ask up to this point. He’d been a * pansy-ass who wasn’t doing his job which was to protect her and comfort her. He might never have had a permanent sub before, but even he knew that was his primary function as a Dom. But he’d been afraid of the answer so he’d let her brood.

She shook her head. “It was just a rough day, Lee. The price of grain is up, and that has everyone scrambling. I’m sorry I’m being distant. I don’t mean to be, and I don’t want you to think I’m not interested in exploring the club. I want to. I’m rapidly discovering that really nasty sex can be a great stress reliever.”

Years he’d used subs for stress relief, but hearing Avery describe it like that cut him to the quick. She wasn’t telling him something. She was holding something in, and he hated it. A nasty little suspicion was thrumming through his veins. She’d thought he was a hustler before. What if the perfect little princess was just using him for sex? Had he really thought she was interested in him for anything beyond a little stress relief? She was smart. She’d grown up privileged. Yes, she’d lost her parents and that lifestyle, but did those beliefs ever really go away? She’d married a boy from a good family.

His family was all dead, and he’d had a hand in killing his brother. He’d been born in a slum and still drank cheap beer.

Her hand went to his chest. “Lee? Are you all right?”

He forced his face to go blank. She was his f*cking kryptonite. He’d been trained, worked for years, and it all fell away because one passably pretty girl said something to hurt him.

That was the problem. He knew she wasn’t beautiful. On an intellectual level, he knew she was rather plain. But when he looked at her all he saw was the sun in the sky, and she was never going to love him. She deserved better.

“Hey, maybe I could use a little stress relief, too.” He was well aware the words came out with a nasty little bite. He’d spent all day thinking about her, waiting for her, and she wanted to use him as stress relief. Two could play at that game, and he was the Dom in this situation. She was here for his use. “You’ll go into the club, and I have a friend waiting for you. Her name is Eve, and she’ll take you back to the dressing rooms.”

“You’re not going with me?” For the first time in hours, she really looked up at him.

He couldn’t help but soften slightly. “You have to change. It’s fet wear only once you get beyond the lobby, and men and women have separate locker rooms.”

“That sounds oddly normal for a place like this.”

“Only because you don’t understand a place like this. There are rules to the floor. I can walk you around naked on the floor of the club and everyone understands how to behave. And if they don’t they can get their asses handed to them. It’s not going to be a sexual free-for-all in there. It’s very disciplined.”