Master No (Masters and Mercenaries, #9)(5)

“Hey.” Theo looked perfectly comfortable with the P90 strapped to his chest. His gaze warmed as he took in his girlfriend.

His sub. That had been a shock. Erin and Theo were involved in a D/s relationship. Not in a million years would she have expected to find another D/s couple out here in Africa.

Not another. She wasn’t in a relationship anymore. Her “Master” had decided she wasn’t worth the trouble and dumped her via text. It wasn’t that she was horribly hurt. She hadn’t been that invested, but now she was at loose ends and the prospect of trying to find a good play partner was daunting.

“So I hear you’re coming home with us, Doc,” Theo said, leaning against the railing.

“I don’t know.” When Erin had made the offer, she’d practically jumped at it. Not only were Theo and Erin in the lifestyle and really pleasant to be around, they had connections to a very swanky club in Dallas. Normally Faith played in her home city of Houston for a few months during her leave, but the breakup with her old Master might make things uncomfortable.

And wouldn’t a new start be amazing? She only had a few precious months before she would be back here, fighting disease and poverty and increasingly dealing with radicals who would love to take out a Western doctor. Most of the year she had the weight of the world on her shoulders, and those sweet times when she could shrug off responsibility and indulge in her submissive side were like gold.

Did she really want to waste them on all the drama that would go with going home? Not only would she have to deal with her old Master and the nastiness of the mean girl club subs there, she would have to deal with her father and sister. She knew they loved her but they also judged her. With judgey eyes. Yeah, there was a reason they kept her far from the press. She used words like judgey.

“You don’t know?” Erin asked with a frown. “I thought it was all settled. You can stay with me.”

“With us,” Theo corrected. “Faith, you are more than welcome to stay with me and Erin. We have a new house. It’s not huge, but it’s certainly got enough room for you.”

“What?” Erin asked, her face flushing.

Theo’s lips tugged up in a sexy grin. “Surprise, love. I asked my brothers to find us a place while we’re here. I didn’t want you to have to go back to your sad, nondescript apartment. You’ll find Case and Ian have moved us totally into our new home.”

“They moved me out of my apartment?” For a second Erin sounded shocked, almost angry, but then she took a deep breath. “That’s a big surprise, Theo. Maybe we should have talked about that.”

He shook his head. “You know that apartment was in a dangerous part of town, and I won’t have you unprotected. You’ll see. This is going to work out beautifully, and now we have a place for Faith. I would hate for her to have to sleep on your couch.”

“Oh, no. I couldn’t impose,” Faith said quickly.

“Well, now you’re not,” Theo replied. “Now you’re helping my lovely sub and I move on to the next phase of our lives. We’ll be more than happy to have you with us, and I’ve already talked to my contacts at Sanctum. When we touch down in Dallas, there will be a contract waiting for you.”

“Seriously?” She’d heard about Sanctum. It was kind of legendary in their circles. And incredibly exclusive. “I’ve got to ask. If you can afford a Sanctum membership, why are you here?”

“You can afford it. Why are you here?” Theo shot back.

He used that deep, dominant voice on her and she realized she was being incredibly rude. Even part-time Doms preferred politeness. It was one of the things she liked about the lifestyle. She would never be twenty-four seven, but she deeply enjoyed patches of time where she could sink into her submissive role. “I apologize. You’re correct, of course.”

Erin gave her a grin. “And he totally can’t afford a membership. His brother runs the place. I’m surprised Theo could afford the house.”

Theo shrugged. “I’m full of surprises, baby. And you know I always give you what you need.” He winked. “I’m going to pack. Our flight leaves at 0900. If you’re game, I’ll set up a cyber meeting with a Dom from Sanctum. He can go over all the rules and your contract. If you decide to come with us.”

Theo gave them a nod and started walking toward the security office.

“You’ve got some time, you know,” Erin said. “Three glorious weeks where we check each other for fever twice a day. It’s going to be a blast.”

“My dad’s place in Munich is beautiful.” It was outside the city, actually. Out in the Bavarian countryside. She didn’t go there often but her father and sister used the place for skiing holidays. Personally, she thought a three-week quarantine of perfectly healthy people was overdone, but her father had asked her to do it and offered up a really nice check for her clinic, so she would allow him to go all over the press stating his hero doctor daughter was observing the rules. Naturally they were rules set up by freaked-out politicians who knew nothing about medicine, but they were somehow “the rules.”

That was the kind of crap one put up with when one’s father was a senator. God, she prayed he never ran for president.

“Thanks for inviting us along.” Erin sat back, crossing her legs at the ankles and leaning her back against the solid wood of the frame. “You know, I really admire you. I can joke about the rich girl stuff, but you do good work, Doc. I’m pretty cynical about the world myself, but you’re the real deal.”