Cherished (Masters and Mercenaries #7.5)(34)

Maybe she was being a crazy bitch because they’d only been dating for a week and she was asking for a lifetime. She looked up at him. He really was a spectacular man. “I’m sorry. I’m writing a scene that gets me emotional.”

He sighed and leaned over to kiss her forehead. “I wish you would write a scene that got you horny.” He pulled her close and when he touched her, she knew it was right. “It’s going to be okay, baby. We’re going to have fun. You’ll see. I’ll handle your parents. All I want you to think about is relaxing. No work. Okay?”

He was an optimist. She would give him that. “I will try.”

His cell trilled and he groaned. “Damn it. It’s the hospital. I told them to call if they had questions about the meds I prescribed. Give me a minute? I promise no calls after tonight. Just you and me.”

And her wretchedly nasty family. But she gave him a nod and he answered the phone, striding back to the bedroom where he tended to take his work calls. She’d been nosy the first couple of times. She’d stood outside the door and listened in, some tiny part of her waiting to hear him talking to another woman. Unless words like ventriculostomy and craniectomy got women hot, he was all about the work.

There was a knock on her door. Pizza. They’d agreed that the night before a trip should definitely be pizza night, but again she’d expected it a little later.

She sighed. She was sure Kai would tell her that her anxiety stemmed from childhood issues of abandonment and the fact that the two men she’d previously had somewhat serious relationships with had turned out to be cheating douchebags, but she had to get over it. She had to find a way to trust him. If they had any shot at working this thing out, she had to put her issues aside and see Will for the man he was, not the men she’d dated before.

She opened the door and frowned. A woman stood there and she definitely wasn’t carrying a large pepperoni with mushrooms. She looked like she never ate cheese in her life. Thin and lovely, she had perfectly straight platinum hair and wore a pair of heels that made her at least six inches taller than Bridget. “Can I help you?”

She bit into her bee-stung bottom lip and pointed to the door across the hall. “I know this seems stupid and I’m so sorry to bother you, but I was hoping you would know when Will Daley might get home. He’s a doctor and he works certain shifts. Maybe you’ve seen him coming and going?”

Her gut knotted. This was definitely not one of Will’s sisters. “Why?”

“I’m his girlfriend. His submissive, though you might not understand the term. I need him. If you have any way to contact him, please help me.”

No. There was no way this was possibly happening to her. The woman in front of her was beyond gorgeous. Was she the woman who had hurt Will so badly he’d gone into his shell? Was she the reason he wouldn’t use the word love? Because he’d loved her and he wouldn’t love anyone else?

She felt stuck. Trapped. Like suddenly her feet were glued to the ground and she couldn’t pull away. “His sub? He’s your Master?”

“Yes.” She sighed as though relieved. “You understand. Good. Then you know that he would want to help me. I’m in trouble. I’m likely to endure a very long spanking, but I’ve realized how good I had it with him. He’s a kind man and he loves me. I need to speak with him as soon as possible.”

“He told you he loves you?” An ache began somewhere deep inside.

“Many times, but I was too foolish to return it until now. Do you know what kind of shift he’s working this week? His hours can be odd, but he’s usually home at night. He tried to work his schedule so I wouldn’t be alone, so he could protect me.”

He’d probably treated her like a princess. He’d probably never poked her awake and asked her to drive him to the hospital at two in the morning because he needed to look over some notes before an emergency procedure. No, this blonde goddess would be “protected.”

“Bridget? Is the pizza here? I’m starving.”

She turned and he was stopped in the middle of her living room, his eyes on the woman in the doorway.

“Starr?”

Starr smiled brilliantly and nearly trampled Bridget in her haste to get to her Master. She threw herself against him. “Master, I’ve missed you so much.”

His hands went to her arms, peeling her off his body. “This is a conversation we should have in private.” He pulled his keys out of his pocket. “Go to my place. You seem to know where it is. We’ll have a conversation about that, too.”

He was all Dom now. No hint of her teasing lover.

Starr sniffled and turned. A single teardrop clung to her cheek. Bitch even cried pretty. When Bridget cried, she became an ugly, sobbing mess. Like Jabba the Hutt except with snot. Which was precisely why she wasn’t going to cry.

“Yes, Master. I’ll wait for you. I’ve missed you so much. I’ve been such a fool.” She gave Bridget a nasty stare as she exited stage left.

A heavy silence hung over them.

Will finally moved, his eyes on the door. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Bridget stepped in his path. “Who was that?”

She knew the story, but apparently not the whole of it, and she’d never heard it from his side. He never talked about his past except in snarky witticisms. When she tried to scratch the surface, he always changed the subject or kissed her until she couldn’t breathe.