Cherished (Masters and Mercenaries #7.5)(17)

She never talked about her family from what he could tell. “Why?”

“I think it has something to do with her chosen profession.”

The sex books. Her father was probably a stick in the mud and didn’t like that his daughter wrote sex for a living. “Her father is a public figure. I’m sure having a daughter who writes porn is a liability.”

Kai’s eyes widened. “Do not call it that if you want to hold on to your balls.”

“Porn?” What else was he supposed to call it? Girl porn?

“Yeah, they take offense,” Kai said. “Read her books. If you want to know who she is, read one of her books. I don’t think you’ll call it porn then. And you might have some more sympathy for her.”

He hated feeling restless and that was what this whole conversation was doing to him. The last thing he wanted to do was cause Bridget harm. “You really think having a short-term affair will hurt her?”

Kai nodded. “I think she needs more.”

“All right.” He wasn’t a bad guy, but he had to be better. “I’ll find her a date. Any way you could go to Hawaii next week?”

“I would love to. I genuinely like Bridget, but I’m not ready for a relationship either so I’ll keep my hands off her. I think you’re doing the right thing, Will. Give it some time and you’ll find the other side. You’ll come out of this and you’ll be ready for something real.”

The door opened and Will turned, ready to see Taggart or McKay.

“Will?” Bridget put a hand over her eyes, obviously adjusting to the bright light of the afternoon.

She was here. She was standing there in a white shirt and jeans and those strappy sandals she liked to wear. Her dark hair was loose and flowing.

He was a good man. He always did the right thing. He stood up. “Hey, I’m glad you’re here.”

He trusted Kai. Kai knew what he was talking about. When Starr had called two nights before, there had been rage in his gut at the very thought of her. He wasn’t in a place to give Bridget a fair shake. She needed someone who she might have a shot with. The very fact that it had run through his head that a woman didn’t give a damn about anything but sex was proof positive he wasn’t thinking straight.

She brushed her hair back and seemed to steel herself. “I tried calling you. For a guy with two phones, you don’t answer a lot.”

“It’s in the locker. I was playing basketball. Keeping your phone in your pocket is a very good way to destroy it. Despite what Taggart will tell you, McKay hits pretty hard.” He was putting off the inevitable. He didn’t want to break it off. When he told her he was letting her go, she would retreat. She wouldn’t brush it off and tell them they could be friends.

He didn’t want to be her friend. Damn it. He hated being a good f*cking person in that moment.

Of course, it likely wouldn’t matter because from the grim look on her face, she’d come to give him her answer.

“Well, I probably should tell you this in person.”

Getting rejected sucked even when he’d been about to reject her in the first place. He hadn’t realized how much he’d counted on her saying yes to him. Since the moment he’d seen her, he’d plotted and planned on having her, and now that restless feeling threatened to take over. He would have to throw himself into work, but he’d taken all that time off. Still, letting her off the hook was the right thing to do. “You don’t have to say it.”

He would let Kai take care of her, and she would have a good time. She wouldn’t get any orgasms out of Kai, and Kai would likely only talk to her about the lifestyle in an academic fashion. He wouldn’t tie her up so she would know what it felt like to take her Dom’s cock up her ass.

Damn it. He was f*cking hard again, and masturbating was a poor substitute for the real thing.

She closed her eyes, and her shoulders came up around her ears. “Yes.”

Well, he’d known it. “I was talking to Kai and we thought…” What? “Yes?”

Kai stood. “Bridget, Will and I have been talking.”

“About how great it’s going to be to go to Hawaii,” he said quickly. She said yes. Yes. She’d said yes to him even knowing what the boundaries of the relationship were.

“What happened to being a good person?” Kai asked under his breath.

Good people apparently didn’t get inside Bridget. His cock had heard the word yes and his conscience had become an unnecessary thing. She’d said yes.

He was going to be her Dom.

He moved into her space, a lightness he hadn’t felt in forever taking over. Thinking of nothing but getting close to her, he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up, hauling her close as he pressed his lips to hers. “You said yes.”

Her arms found their way around his neck, and she smiled the first pure smile he’d seen from her. It was joyous, without the edge of cynicism that seemed to accompany everything she did. He’d put that smile on her face.

“I said yes, but I thought you would be cleaner,” she said, wrinkling her nose. She didn’t push him away though. She seemed perfectly content to dangle in his arms.

“Don’t worry about that, baby. According to Taggart, it’s just a little manly sweat and I promise to shower before tonight.” He kissed her again, lightly with no real intent but showing her affection.