Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries #11)(100)

This was exactly why she’d stayed out in the field for so long. She’d known Case was working with Drew, and the last thing she’d needed was to see him flirting with another woman. A woman who would be his perfect submissive, always deferring to her man. His perfect sub would do everything right and never question him.

She kind of wanted to throat punch his perfect sub. Which again proved he wasn’t the man for her. He would likely look down at throat punching. Even though he’d said he liked his women a little crazy. That had obviously been one more lie to get her to sleep with him.

Riley frowned. “I like him. I didn’t think I would. I need you to understand that I went into the first meeting with him fully planning on hating his guts and maybe figuring out a way to screw him legally.”

“And then you met him and you fell for his blue eyes and perfect shoulders?” She was being heinously sarcastic. She knew what it was about Case that drew people in. There was a heroic quality to him. He was a man you could depend on to save you when the chips were down.

If only he’d been the type of man who could have loved her.

“I ended up admiring him,” Riley admitted. “He walked in and he offered to train me. I told him to f*ck himself. I didn’t need training. I’ve taken self-defense and I’m not planning on getting in some kind of shootout, so I told him he could take his macho, douchebag, * self and find another idiot to dupe.”

She felt her jaw drop. “Did he punch you?”

“He laughed and sat down and started to explain to me that self-defense didn’t teach me everything I needed to know. He wanted to train me to be aware of my surroundings, to learn to listen to my instincts because even though I’m going into an office building and not a war zone, I’m trying to take down a dangerous man.”

That didn’t sound like her Case. “Wow, I would have expected him to flip you off and walk away. He’s not very patient.”

“Oh, that’s not the Case I’ve come to know. He’s been infinitely patient with me. I think it’s because he’s so madly in love with my sister.”

Mia stood up. It was obvious Case had been working double time to keep her family’s business. “He’s just good at his job, Riley. It doesn’t mean anything. We’re worth a couple million a year to his company, and believe me that company means everything to the Taggarts.”

Family meant everything to them. It was one of the things she loved about the Taggarts. You didn’t have to share their name to be one of them. If one Taggart loved you, the rest of them brought you in and made you feel welcome. They were a big family of non-blood relatives who stood by each other no matter what.

She’d wanted so badly to be a part of that family.

“I think you mean more to him.” Riley stood and straightened his jacket. It looked like he’d come in straight from the office. “I’ve spent a lot of time listening to him talk about you. He’s made me tell him every story I can remember from our childhood and when I ran out, he moved on to Bran.”

He’d asked about her past? He’d seemed to almost shy away from the subject and she’d been more than happy to avoid it. Now he knew every nasty detail since he’d taken on the role of advisor to her brothers. Why had he done that? Why ask about her? He’d made it clear he was done with her. Had he wanted to know how awful and scandalous her past was so he would know he’d dodged a bullet? “Well, I hope you told him everything. I hope he knows how kids at my school would find out who I was and ask if I would go crazy one day like my dad.”

Riley put a hand on her shoulder. “Yes, he knows about that, too. I think if that man could go back in time, he would murder a couple of kids.”

Tears were forming in her eyes. Why couldn’t she be reasonable about that man? The idea of him being in her home, asking her brothers about her past got to her.

He hadn’t called her. Yes, she’d changed her phone, but deep down she’d known that was a test of sorts. She’d wanted to see if he would push his way back in. It was what Case Taggart did. He punched his way through all obstacles. He didn’t care what she needed. He would go after what he wanted. If he wanted her, he would have bullied his way back in. She’d gotten nothing. No attempts at forcing his way into her life. Nothing after he’d gotten the report on the drug. He’d been content to work for her brothers, never reaching out to her. Six months had passed without a word from him. How could she believe he truly wanted her?

“It’s over between the two of us,” she said. “It’s been six months. Believe me, if Case Taggart wanted me, he would have come after me. I should have listened to him in the first place. He didn’t want me then. He doesn’t want me now. I was convenient and gave him some good intel. That was all we had between us.”

Riley rolled his eyes. “Sure it was. I didn’t shut off your phone because he kept calling it. After that morning when you shoved that phone in my face and told me to kill the number, I meant to do it. I was going to, but he left a voice mail. I thought I should listen. I thought he would make an ass of himself and I could happily make it impossible for him to reach you. He thanked you for some report and then he started talking about how sorry he was and how much he missed you.”

“He did?” Case Taggart rarely apologized. It just wasn’t something he would do.