Cherished (Masters and Mercenaries #7.5)(26)

“I don’t need permission to leave.” She was a freaking grown-up.

Serena’s head shook. “You signed a contract. I assure you there was something in there about leaving, unless Master Will is a total pushover and I hadn’t heard he was.”

Something about the way she said it got to Bridget. Serena had the perfect life. Two gorgeous men, a sweet baby boy, career to die for, and she didn’t even do her own laundry. “Well, I guess the perfect princess doesn’t know everything, does she?”

Serena’s jaw dropped and she pointed her index finger Bridget’s way. “You do not want to go there. I’ve done nothing to deserve that. You’re the one who’s taking a good thing and tossing it away.”

She was the f*ck-up. Again. “Is that what I’m doing? So because I won’t bow and scrape to some Dom, I’m ruining everything.”

Serena’s finger wagged. “You stop this instant. We are not having this fight. You think about it for two seconds. You can’t sign a contract with a man and then bail on him and expect everything to be great the next day. This is what you do, Bridge. This is how things go wrong for you.”

Bridget took a step back, her anger deflating because she was pretty sure Serena was right. Younger Bridget would have told Wiser Serena to bite her ass and never talked to her again, but Older Bridget really loved her friends. “Wow, your mom finger is strong today. It’s all full of judgmental righteousness.”

Serena backed down, a flush staining her face pink. “Sorry. It comes naturally now.”

“Let the hormones flow, ladies. I think I’ll take Tristan and we’ll run away. Let’s run from all the scary estrogen, baby boy.” Chris had taken a seat by the baby as if to ward off all the bad vibes coming from the women.

What the hell was she doing? She was fighting with her best friend because she felt stupid? She had to get over this shit. “I’m sorry, Serena. I’m feeling weird about Will and I’m taking it out on you.”

“Look at Auntie Bridget. She’s pulled on her big girl panties,” Chris cooed to the baby.

She wasn’t that mature. “Dude, I can still take you out.”

Serena held up her hands. “Everyone stop and let’s figure this out. Bridget, why did you leave Will and how has he handled it?”

“Serena is skipping the good parts. No starting in the middle. I want the whole shebang. And by shebang I mean the banging. How was the good doctor in bed?” Chris asked.

Heavenly. Perfect. “Okay.”

They both stared at her.

She could feel herself blushing. “Fine. He was amazing. It was totally vanilla and it was still the best sex I’ve ever had. Are you happy now?”

“Mostly.” Serena sat down and took a sip of her iced tea. They were supposed to be talking plots and promo for their next books, but it never turned out that way. They tended to gossip about what was happening at Sanctum and about Serena’s and Chris’s sex lives. “He treated you well?”

She nodded. “He didn’t even mention my scars. He was dirty and nasty and he took care of me in a way that made me pretty much want to drop to my knees and beg him to love me. And yes, that was why I ran like a scared little girl.” She slumped into her chair, shaking her head. “It was so embarrassing. I woke up next to this god of a man and all I could think was ‘please don’t let him see me in the cold light of day.’”

“Oh, she’s so getting her ass spanked,” Chris said with wide eyes. “How did he handle it? Did he come storming over that morning? This was yesterday, right?”

Yep. A whole day and a half had passed since she’d last seen Will. “He didn’t. Come over, that is. He didn’t even knock on the door on his way to work.” She shrugged. “I guess I pissed him off or something.”

Or he’d had enough of her and he was grateful to have avoided the next morning’s scene.

She’d gone to bed the night before wondering where he was but too afraid and embarrassed to knock on his door. God, she’d screwed up again.

“So, I need a new date to my sister’s wedding,” she said with a fake smile on her face. “I’m down to strippers. Get me a good one, Chris. But not the dude who humps the pole. He scares me.”

“Oh, honey, you have to talk to Will.” Serena leaned over. “You can’t slip out of his bed and then avoid him for the rest of your life.”

Actually she could. If she left now and then paid someone to clean out her condo, she could move to another city, change her name, her hair color, and live a Will-free life with lots and lots of cats. The virtual kind. Maybe houseplants could be her thing. Unless she killed them all. Fish. They were easy, right?

“And you can’t move to another city and get some unnamed house pet,” Chris said.

Well, at least he knew her really well. One guy in the world knew the real her and loved her, and naturally it was the dude who didn’t like vaginas.

There was a thought…

“You’re not becoming a lesbian, either,” Serena said.

“If I did, I would totally be into you.” Somehow, her life wasn’t quite as heartbreaking when she shared her problems with these two.

A smile lit up Serena’s face. “Back at you. Now let’s figure out how you’re going to handle the man you are actually attracted to because he seems to be throwing a hissy fit of his own.”