The Dom Who Loved Me (Masters and Mercenaries #1)(12)

She blushed when she thought of the instinctive way she’d called him “Sir.” She’d been fantasizing about him all afternoon. She was damn glad he couldn’t possibly know what that meant to her. He would probably run screaming from the building if he knew she viewed him as her dream Dom. Not that she’d ever actually had a Dom. Her husband had laughed when she said she wanted to try. She’d loved Pete, but he’d been very vanilla. He hadn’t even liked her reading about BDSM.

There was a long pause on the other end of the line. “He was flirting with you pretty hard.”

“I’m sure he flirts with everyone.” She had reminded herself of that little truth over and over again. Sean was beyond hot. He was smoking and completely out of her league. Even if she’d been twenty years younger, that man would be playing a different ball game from her.

“He seemed very interested in you. He was the one who insisted on bringing you along.” Matt’s voice was a gravelly mess. There was no mistaking the hint of accusation in it.

Grace sat up a little straighter. She wasn’t used to that tone coming out of his mouth. From day one, they’d had a strange relationship, she and Matt. They were friends, more partners than boss and admin. Now, he sounded like she’d done something improper. “Well, it’s a good thing. I was able to drive you home. I don’t think it would have made a very good impression on the client if he’d had to take you home. Your place is a mess. What happened to your housekeeper?”

“She quit. I haven’t found a new one.”

That explained it. Matt was a bit of a pig. She made a mental note to find him a new service. “It’s a disaster area. It looks like a tornado hit your living room. And you need to do some laundry.”

“It’s not that bad. I know where everything is. Well, I know where all the important things are.” He paused for a moment. “Son of a bitch. I think I’ve been robbed. Think Grace, was the door open or locked?”

“It was locked. I had to use my key. I didn’t notice anything missing.” There hadn’t been. His monster TV had been in its place, along with his plethora of electronic equipment. His laptop had been in its bag with him. She hadn’t checked the safe.

“Damn it.” He sounded like he was running. “Damn it to hell. Where’s the thumb drive? I had the thumb drive on me. They couldn’t have taken it.”

“Matt, calm down. Are you talking about the thumb drive that was in your pants pocket?” She’d found it when she’d helped him undress. It had fallen to the floor with a little bounce.

He breathed heavily into the phone, relief apparent in his tone. “Yes. The thumb drive that I brought home with me tonight. I put it in my pocket before we left for the restaurant.”

“It fell on the floor. I picked it up.”

“This is very important, Grace. Where did you put it?”

“I put it in my purse,” Grace replied. “You have a habit of losing thumb drives, then I have to find whatever important data you’ve managed to misplace. Do you know how long it took me to replace the payroll data the last time you lost it?”

Matt growled. “I don’t give a shit about the payroll data. Just get over here and bring me that drive.”

Grace looked at the phone like it was a snake that might bite her. He’d never spoken to her that way before.

“Grace?”

She put the phone back to her ear. “I’ll be over as soon as I can change. I was ready for bed. It’s almost midnight, after all.”

“Gracie, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled like that. It’s been a trying day, but I shouldn’t take it out on you. You’re the only one on my side. Won’t you please bring me that drive? It’s got some info I need for the Kelvin bid. I thought I would stay up awhile and get some prep work done.” He was all syrupy sweetness now. He sounded much more like the Matt she knew.

She took a firm hold on her temper. She didn’t see what was so important it couldn’t wait until the morning, but she was through arguing. “All right. I’ll be there in a bit.”

He agreed. Grace hung up her cell and rolled out of bed. Her nice night of dreaming of hunky executives was blown. She pulled the thumb drive out of her purse. “Stupid little thing. You’re costing me sleep and some special quality time with Bob.”

She needed to get a life, she thought as she pulled on jeans and wrestled the girls back into a bra. She’d named her vibrator. It was a sure sign that she’d taken a wrong turn. Of course, she also referred to her boobs as the girls, when they were obviously mature women, so she had to forgive herself for being fanciful. She pulled on a T-shirt. It occurred to her that he could still lose the damn thing. It made sense to download the data before she turned it over to him. She turned on her laptop and had whatever data it was that was so important tucked safely away before she left the house.





Matt’s street was very quiet as she turned into his driveway. Grace checked her rearview mirror and breathed a small sigh of relief. There wasn’t anyone behind her now. For awhile, she’d thought she was being followed, but given the time of night and how tired she was, she brushed off the feeling as paranoia.

Soft lights broke through the dark night. It looked like Matt had every light in the house on. The minute she opened the car door, Matt was striding out of the house. He was dressed in pajama bottoms and a T-shirt, his feet bare. His hair was wet from a recent shower. Even in the dim light, she could tell his eyes were red.