From Sanctum with Love (Masters and Mercenaries #10)(80)

He couldn’t help it. He locked the door and drew the blinds. “Ms. Williamson, I’m afraid I need to talk to you about your performance.”

She sighed. “Kai, I think we need to talk about your brother.”

That was the last thing he wanted. “It’s been a rough day, baby. Can we play for a while? I’ll understand if you don’t want to and then we can go have a nice dinner and I’ll go out with Jared by myself.”

He hoped guilt worked on her. He threw in some puppy dog eyes to make the point clear.

“I can’t believe you’re giving me that look,” she complained. “You think I don’t know that look? Because I do. That’s your sad puppy look and it always works, damn it. It’s so freaking cute on you.”

He let his fingers brush over the pink tops of the sadisticks before selecting one. Yeah, they would leave nice marks on her skin. She would squirm and cry when he worked her over. Maybe if she was happy with him, she would plead with him to stop. Not use her safe word, of course. It was all part of the game. She would pretend she couldn’t take another second and his cock would respond. “If you want Sarah to come out with us tonight, invite her along.”

“I told you, Jared doesn’t want her there.”

“He does want her. I assure you I know what type of women my brother likes, and I’m surprised he hasn’t jumped into bed with her yet.” He moved behind her, relaxing because he was sure he was about to get what he needed. He put his hands on her shoulders, fingers running under the edge of her blouse so he could feel the heat of her skin. He loved how her shoulders immediately relaxed, as though submitting to their Master.

“He doesn’t want to subject her to his world,” she replied, her voice dropping.

His fingers massaged the muscles of her shoulders as he started to work the blouse down. “Sarah’s a strong woman. She can hold up to the scrutiny. What she won’t be able to handle is not knowing if it could have worked. Did Jared forbid her from coming?”

“Not exactly. He said if she came, he would ignore her. What am I supposed to say to her? She knows damn well Case and Mia are going and that Jared doesn’t have a date. It’s going to hurt her feelings if I tell her she can’t go, and it’ll hurt her if he ignores her.”

“Ah, but if he ignores her, she’ll be able to say she tried at least.” He needed Kori with him and he wasn’t saying anything he didn’t believe. Sarah would be happier with a direct confrontation than she would being left behind. He didn’t actually think Jared would be able to ignore her, but if he did then Sarah could call him a dick and move on. “Being left completely out without an explanation will hurt her more than Jared ignoring her.”

He ran his right hand up her scalp, tugging lightly. This was a dance and he needed to warm her up.

She sighed as he pulled her hair. “I think Jared really doesn’t want her to come.”

“Then he can turn her down. It isn’t right to make you do it. He’s the one who showed up at your house and flirted with your friend. He’s the one who made her think she had a shot with him.”

“Something happened in Vancouver. God, that feels so good, Kai.”

This would feel even better. He leaned over and kissed her ear, running his tongue over the shell before he nipped her earlobe. Her whole body shivered under his touch. So responsive. So perfect for him. “I’ll handle it. I’ll make sure none of this blows back on you. Sarah can come with us. If Jared ignores her, she’ll find someone else and she’ll have fun. Sarah isn’t a girl to sit idly around waiting for her prince to come.”

“You can’t be mean to Jared,” she said firmly.

He bit her again. “How about a please? We’re playing right now, unless you tell me to stop. When we’re playing you don’t give me that ballsy, take-charge voice. You get to be in charge most of the time. This is my time.”

He needed it. The truth was he needed both Koris. He needed the Kori who took charge of the office and made things run smoothly, the one who he didn’t worry about because she could take care of herself when she needed to. He also needed the Kori who submitted to him, who needed what only he could give her.

Damn but he needed that Kori right now.

She turned in her chair, the one he’d bought for her because after their first office had blown up, he’d enjoyed shopping for new furniture with her.

Why had he wasted all this f*cking time? Was he going to waste more? Was it too early to get her tipsy and on a flight to Vegas and oops, where did that wedding ring come from? Damn, guess we should make the best of it.

He had to play it cool with her. She was the elusive, free-range sub and he had to get her to understand she was safe with him.

“Do I even want to know what’s going through your head right now?” Her eyes lit with mirth as though she could read his thoughts.

“Probably not.”

She stood up and wrapped her arms around him. Her head came to his shoulders because somewhere along the way, she’d kicked off her shoes. “Thank you for dealing with the Sarah situation. I don’t want to cause anyone trouble. It’s why I thought staying home would work.”

He cradled her against him. “She would know something was wrong. She still will, but confronting the problem is almost always the best way to move forward.”