Caught Up in You (8 page)

“Yes.”

More scared of what she may find out about herself.

EIGHT

Wyatt sat at his kitchen table Friday afternoon and
flipped through the profiles of the retreat attendees that his assistant had researched
and compiled for him this week. He scanned each guest’s business, hobbies, and personal
causes. Hollis Myers: CEO of movie theater chain, plays a lot of cards (blackjack
not poker), donates regularly to the American Cancer Society and the National Center
for Missing and Exploited Children. Cam Berthelot: head of natural gas drilling company,
enjoys deep-sea fishing, has a second home in Florida, and donates to the Red Cross.
Belle Pritchard: owner of bridal shop chain and wedding planning business, big into
supporting local small business owners, and donates to grassroots organizations and
an LGBT legal defense fund.

Wyatt scribbled a few notes, but those were mainly for Kelsey. He knew some of these
people already. And for the ones he didn’t, his memory had always been photographic
so he wouldn’t need a cheat sheet after reading through the list a time or two. But
the more each of them knew about the guests, the better shot they had at making relevant
conversation and engaging them. People liked to talk about themselves; you just have
to give them an opening and a topic. The hard part for him was always the talking-back
portion. He didn’t know how to fill space with airy chitchat. He usually ended up
talking business, which made people’s eyes glaze over, or he’d make some obscure movie
reference and no one would get it. He’d learned early in life that keeping that shit
to yourself was much wiser than getting that what-the-fuck-is-he-talking-about? look.

His cell phone rang, buzzing against the table and breaking through the silence of
the empty house. The name of his driver flashed on the screen. He hit the speaker
button. “What’s going on, Henry?”

“Ms. LeBreck declined my offer to be picked up,” he informed him with that to-the-point
tone of his.

Wyatt glanced up from his paperwork, a sinking feeling in his gut. So he’d been right
to worry. Kelsey had changed her mind. “I see. Did she say why?”

“I had informed her of your requested itinerary of dinner out and then a return to
your home. She said she had a few errands to run first and wanted your address so
she could drive herself directly. She was rather insistent.”

Wyatt blinked. “She’s still coming?”

“Of course, Mr. Austin. I just wanted to inform you of the change in plans. She didn’t
give me an indication of what time she’d be arriving. I didn’t want you to be caught
off guard.”

Wyatt leaned back in the chair, more relieved than he cared to admit. “Thank you,
Henry. I’ll be sure to be prepared for her.”

“You’re welcome, sir. Do you need anything else from me this evening?”

“No, just plan to be here tomorrow to bring us to the airport.”

“Yes, sir. Have a nice evening.”

Wyatt hit the end button, took off his glasses, and ran a hand over his face before
putting them back on. So Kelsey had decided to alter his prescribed plans from the
very start. The move both perturbed and intrigued him. They hadn’t made the formal
transition into the D/s roles yet, but he’d tried to get her primed for the mindset
the last time he saw her as well as with his very precise instructions on her shopping
trip. He had no idea if her little rebellion tonight was an intentional statement
of her independence or just a way for her to hold on to the last of her freedom before
she surrendered to him.

He turned toward the triad of windows to his right and stared out over the expanse
of his pool and backyard, anticipation rolling through him. Tonight was going to be
a test of sorts. For both of them. If it went well, they’d leave for the trip tomorrow
with a new confidence. If it didn’t, he’d have to revert to the original plan and
pay her to accompany him, no training or touching involved. Thunder rumbled through
the quiet kitchen, pulling him back to the view. It’d been raining off and on all
day, a cold front coming through. Now the clouds hung low overhead, blocking out the
last rays of the afternoon sun, and the wind had begun to rattle the early fall leaves
off the trees.

Maybe they’d be better off not going out tonight. Things looked like they were about
to get pretty nasty outside. His gaze flicked to the clock on the oven. He grabbed
his phone and scrolled through his numbers, looking for the one he’d recently added.

Kelsey answered on the second ring, road noise and pattering rain in the background.
“Hello?”

“Where are you?” he asked, skipping past niceties.

“Uh . . . in the middle of a blinding storm at the moment. But if I followed directions
correctly, I’m pretty close to your place.”

He frowned, a clap of thunder outside his window signaling the start of the onslaught.
“You should have let Henry drive you. I don’t want you out in this.”

“I’m fine. There’s just a lot of water on this road all of a sudden, so I’m taking
it slow. I can handle a little storm.”

“Kelsey, if there’s water on the road, you need to turn around. The neighborhoods
around here flashflood easily with the lake nearby. There’s no way to tell how deep
it is.”

“I think it’s—” There was a strange whining sound in the background. Then a string
of curses.

“What’s wrong?”

“Can I take back what I said? I think my car just stalled out.”

“Christ.” He shoved his chair back from the table, almost toppling it in his rush.
“Tell me where you’re at. I’m coming to get you.”

“Um, wait, shit, I’m not sure. I can barely see anything,” she said, the pattering
in the background now blending with the sheets of rain banging against his kitchen
windows. “I think the next cross street ahead is supposed to be Briarpatch.”

Hell, right by the golf course.
That spot was notorious for flooding. “What kind of car do you drive?”

“It’s a ninety-nine white Honda Civic.”

“All right. Stay put for now. I’m only ten minutes away. If the water looks like it’s
rising, get out of the car and onto higher ground.”

“Okay. I’m sorry. I didn’t meant to—”

“Not your fault. Just hold tight. And keep your phone close.” He hung up the call
and strode toward the garage, grabbing a set of keys off the pegboard in the laundry
room and pulling on a jacket. His car wouldn’t be any better than hers in the water,
but his housekeeper’s son had been working on an old Jeep and had asked to store it
at Wyatt’s. The paint job wasn’t done yet, but Wyatt knew the kid had gotten the engine
in shape last month. If this helped him get Kelsey out of this situation safely, he’d
buy the guy that paint job.

Visibility was still a challenge as he made his way off his property and toward the
cluster of neighborhoods closer to the highway. The sky had gone a weird green-gray,
and the automatic street lights were popping on even though it wasn’t even six yet.
He kept a hand on the wheel and called Henry to set up and handle a tow for Kelsey’s
car. Wyatt didn’t want her sitting out there, waiting for someone to get her car.

It took him a little longer than he hoped to get to her. Other cars besides hers had
gotten stuck, so he had to carefully maneuver around them, but luckily the water seemed
to be staying at a manageable level. The rain let up a bit as he made his way down
the road, and he spotted Kelsey’s car in the right lane, the street lamp above her
making the white car look orange.

He pulled up behind her and hopped out, the icy rain soaking him instantly. Kelsey
was already opening her door before he got to her. She pushed an umbrella through
the crack and popped it open, a bright pink spot in the haze of gray. She climbed
out of the car, water rushing over her heeled boots, and grabbed the top of the car
to steady herself.

He made his way over as quickly as he could, but he still had on his dress shoes from
his trip to the office earlier today and the damn things had no grip. He motioned
at her and raised his voice, fighting with the ever-rolling thunder. “Get in the Jeep!”

“All my stuff is still in here,” she called back, taking a careful step in his direction
and shutting the driver’s-side door. “For the trip.”

He made his way over to her, locking a hand beneath her elbow and breathing a sigh
of relief that she was okay. “I got it. Let’s just get you inside the Jeep first.”

“I can help.”

“And I want you out of this. Inside. Now.”

She gave him the eye but held back another protest. She thrust the umbrella into his
hand and now he could see the damn thing wasn’t just pink but also had a pattern of
little cupcakes all over it. “Take this.”

“I don’t need—”

“So all the stuff doesn’t get wet.”

“Fine.” He took the umbrella from her and nudged her toward the Jeep, putting the
keys in her hand. “Go. And turn on the heat.”

As soon as he verified she was able to get herself through the water without stumbling,
he opened her trunk and grabbed her suitcase, but there looked to be two grocery bags
in there as well. Dammit. He couldn’t get all of it. He slammed the trunk closed and
hurried back to the Jeep, tossing the suitcase in the back, then sloshed his way back
through the water for the sacks of groceries.

By the time he climbed back into the driver’s seat, he was soaked, freezing, and trying
hard not to shiver. He shrugged out of his drenched coat and held his hands up against
the vents, but no warmth was coming out.

“I can’t get it to heat up,” Kelsey said, her voice vibrating with her own shivers.
She wrapped her arms around herself, her blonde hair saturated and dripping onto her
shoulders.

Crap.
Apparently the kid had fixed the engine but hadn’t gotten to the heating system yet.
“We need to get back to the house.”

“But my car . . .”

“I’ve already got someone on the way.” He made sure nobody was behind them, then reversed
and drove over the median to get to the other side of the road so they could head
back. “We need to get home and out of these clothes.”

She glanced his way, an eyebrow lifted. “Not wasting any time getting me naked, are
you?”

He chuckled, glad she could still make jokes when her vehicle was about to float down
the damn street. “Don’t tempt me. I just walked around with a pink cupcake umbrella.
I may feel the need to reassert my manhood.”

She smiled and leaned forward to shrug her way out of her saturated jacket, filling
his peripheral vision with an impossibly tempting view. He tried to keep his eyes
on the road, but had a hard time focusing on safety or being a gentleman with Kelsey’s
now-see-through cream-colored blouse taunting him, the wet material clinging to her
skin and molding over the swells of her breasts and her cold-stiffened nipples. Wyatt
stopped for a red light and dropped any pretense of politeness to give her a long,
assessing view.

She glanced his way, no doubt noticing the heat in his eyes, then looked down as if
only now realizing what she’d revealed. Her hands moved to cover herself.

The flash of modesty endeared him, but he wasn’t going to let her get away with it.
Training started now. “Put your hands in your lap, Kelsey. No reason to hide from
me. You need to get accustomed to me seeing your body.”

She wet her lips and followed his direction, clasping her hands in front of her. He
could see the pattern of her lace bra beneath the shirt now and the dark shadow of
her areolas peeking through. The sight was enough to have his cock twitching and his
good sense evaporating. He’d promised himself he wouldn’t touch her until they negotiated
limits. But he hadn’t anticipated this kind of immediate assault on his noble intentions.

The car behind him honked, dragging him from the delicious sight. The light had turned
green, and he had no choice but to pull forward. He cleared his throat. “Have you
had any second thoughts about our arrangement?”

“No.”

“Honesty, please.”

She sighed. “Yes. But not in the way you think. I’m mostly worried about not being
able to pull off a ruse.”

“We’re going to work on that some tonight. I think you’re going to do better than
you imagine, though. You’re naturally charming, so people will be drawn to you. All
we need to worry about are the little factual details that may come up.”

“Right.”

“Did you remember to bring your passport?” He’d been happy to hear she already had
one on hand from a past trip to Mexico. Even with his connections, getting anything
moving that quickly through a government office would’ve been tough.

She patted her purse. “Got it.”

They rode along in silence for a while, the pounding rain and bad visibility a good
distraction from the siren call of temptation winding through his mind.
Control.
This was about his self-control. He’d spent an extra long time in the shower this
morning, stroking himself to release as he imagined the scene from Friday night, Kelsey
tipping her head back and coming against his hand. He’d wanted to prepare himself
so that he didn’t jump on her like some horny pervert when he finally got her to his
place. But the few minutes with her in the car had his blood heading south and desire
pumping through him like he hadn’t climaxed in a month.

Patience.

He took a left onto the long driveway that led up to his place. Kelsey bent forward,
trying to peer through the rain-covered windshield. His house was barely visible through
the haze of the storm and the trees that dotted his property. “You’ve got a lot of
land around you.”

“I like my privacy.” He hit the button on the garage as he took the final turn up
to the house. “In fact, you’re going to be my first overnight houseguest. I usually
don’t like sharing my space.”

Her brows lifted at that, and he realized too late that he probably shouldn’t have
mentioned that. “You should’ve said something. I could’ve come over tomorrow morning.
You didn’t have to invite me to stay the night.”