Close Cover (Masters and Mercenaries #16)(33)

It was going to be all right. He could handle this. He could take care of her and enjoy her, and when it was over they would both have a fond memory. That was all. They would go their separate ways and not regret having cared about each other for these weeks or months.

She hummed while she was in the shower.

He stood there listening to her for a moment, the sweet sound piercing him in a way very little did anymore.

Was he the one in over his head?

It didn’t matter because there was no going back now. Warm heat hit him as he entered the bathroom. Through the opaque shower door he could see the graceful lines of her body. He dropped his jeans and joined his new sub in the shower. It was time to put their relationship on solid ground. It would be good for her. Despite the fact that this relationship was real, he would be foolish not to use it to help keep her safe.

She turned, her lips curling up. Her hair was wet, dropping down slightly past her waist. Yes, she was a siren calling him away from safety. Calling him right to her. “You got rid of Big Tag pretty fast.”

“I can work miracles when I need to,” he promised, reaching out for her. “Come here, chèrie.”

When she moved into his arms, nothing had ever felt so right.





Chapter Six


“Hey, you!” Serena Dean-Miles waved her way as Lisa walked through the ladies’ locker room. The locker room at Sanctum was a posh space with everything a submissive or Domme could need to pamper herself silly. Serena was sitting at one of the vanities, brushing out her brown and blonde hair.

Lisa waved back, moving out of the dressing area and into what she liked to call the “primp station.” Here there were a bunch of beautifully lit vanities where a woman could perfect her makeup or dry and curl her hair.

“Good to see you’re back,” Avery said with a wink as she moved a flat iron over her dark hair.

“I’m happy to be back,” Lisa replied.

And she was. It was incredibly good to return to Sanctum. And to have a job. And a Dom waiting for her in the lounge. That was a completely new situation. In all the months she’d played at Sanctum before, she’d never had a Dom who was hers.

Three days into their “relationship” and she still hoped he didn’t catch her drooling. Life was looking up. She had a job she hadn’t gotten fired from on the first day, one where the vents didn’t spit glitter at her and there was no public food for her to fall into. She was required to wear comfortable shoes. There were all kinds of things to eat in her refrigerator because her Dom believed in regular meals and they’d made a deal. He bought the food stuffs and she turned it into something he wanted to eat. And yes, she did put those quote things around the word “relationship” even in her brain, but damn he was fine.

“Where have you been?” Serena gave her a quick hug before sitting back down. “The kids have missed you.”

She hadn’t even met the baby yet. Serena had a new baby girl, but it had happened after she’d left Sanctum. “I got way too busy with my old jerk-face boss’s money laundering, and then it turns out when you’re associated with money laundering, no one wants to hire you even though you were the good guy who turned the boss in.”

“That’s rough,” Avery said. “I heard you’re working at Top now.”

Remy had gotten her the interview. Hell, Remy had gotten her the job. She’d interviewed with Deena Vail, who was running the business end of Top while Sean Taggart was on some mysterious mission in Fort Hood. She switched between bartending and waitressing. “Yes. I know Will is going to say I’m wasting my degree, but I actually love it there. I might have made a horrible mistake going with the accounting degree. Turns out it’s kind of boring.”

“I can’t imagine,” Serena replied. “But I would love to hear about the money laundering. Is the case over? Is that why you could come back? Are you playing tonight? Because I thought I saw Bridget walking around earlier.”

“Yeah, my Dom says he doesn’t care what deal I made with my brother’s tender eyeballs.” That was kind of how he’d put it. “He likes to play when he likes to play, and Will can get blinders.”

She was a bit worried about how this would go. Will had never actually seen her with a Dom. He’d been careful about it. She’d offered to try to find another club, but that idea had damn near melted her brother’s brainpan.

“Sanctum is big enough you can avoid each other,” Avery said. “I’m just glad you’re here.”

“Me, too. And I’ll be in the nursery on Sunday night.” She was eager to get back to the babies. She’d missed those kids.

“You’re working the nursery? Remy usually plays on Sunday. I heard you were with him now,” Serena said.

“He’s taking a dungeon monitor shift,” she replied. “But we’re kind of, sort of together. I mean we’re totally together, but only until he’s ready to move. He’s going home to Louisiana, but we’ve got a contract until then.”

A frown crossed Serena’s pretty face. “Are you okay with that? Short-term contracts can be hard on a girl. They’re kind of made of heartbreak. It’s why an awful lot of romance novels start with one.”

“We’ve been completely honest with each other. It’s an affair,” she said. “Not every relationship lasts forever. We’re two adults who’ve consented to enjoy each other while we have the time.”