Cherished: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella (7 page)

Was she actually going to do this? What was she thinking? She should hire her gay stripper and be happy with him. “I found someone.”

“All right. Now all we have to do is come up with a cover story. I’m thinking Harvard educated something. Dad always loves Harvard educated people.”

“Nope. He doesn’t need a cover. He’s a doctor.”

And just like that she knew there was no going back. Two weeks. She had two weeks to pretend, to explore, to discover.

Maybe two weeks were better than nothing.

* * * *

The next afternoon Will moved across the basketball court, his hands out and ready for the pass. Sweat dripped from his brow, but he welcomed it. He needed to sweat for some reason other than his dick being in a constant state of erection. Maybe if he worked his body hard enough he wouldn’t think about Bridget’s breasts crushed to his chest or the way her lips felt against his.

He’d slept like crap for two nights, waiting for her to call. She still hadn’t said no, but he was starting to think silence was his answer.

He took his shot, and unlike the one he’d taken with Bridget, this time his aim was true. The ball swooshed into the net.

“Alex! How about some defense?” Ian Taggart shouted across the court.

Alex McKay shot his friend the finger after grabbing the ball. “Give an old man a break. We’re down by five and I have to meet Eve in thirty minutes. I need a shower.”

“Pussy. Eve should appreciate your manly sweat,” Taggart said, running a hand through his hair. “Kai, find me a tall dude who doesn’t mind tossing his body around. Alex won’t even throw an elbow anymore.”

Kai snorted as he shook his head. “I think Alex would mention that this is supposed to be a friendly game and he’s showing his emotional maturity by treating it that way.”

“Yeah, well, it sucks to lose.” Taggart turned his icy gaze Will’s way. “Who let you in anyway?”

“I think that was you.” He’d learned that the only way to handle Taggart was to speak his language. Which seemed to be sarcasm. “You should improve your vetting process. Don’t feel bad. I got through my undergraduate work on a basketball scholarship.”

Two jobs. Basketball practice. Making sure his sisters were fed and did their homework. Yeah, he didn’t miss those days, but they hadn’t left a ton of time for him to worry. He’d had to keep moving.

Bridget had likely had tutors and housekeepers and a massive college fund.

Two different worlds. Maybe it was for the best.

“You, Kai, do your job and find me some short, unathletic assholes Alex can defend against. I can’t drop him because he’s old and soft.” Taggart’s loyalty was something to be admired.

Alex McKay grinned as he backed toward the door that led into Sanctum. “I’m just glad Charlotte put an end to Ian’s dream of putting a boxing ring in. He’s trying to take his anxieties out on my body.”

Kai turned to Taggart. “You should really spend some time on my couch, Ian. We could talk out your fears about becoming a father.”

Ian ignored Kai. “I don’t need a ring. We could start a fight club without a damn ring. What’s the first rule of fight club?”

Will knew that one. “No one talks about fight club.”

“No, the first person to mention my anxieties gets his nose broken. This is my fucking fight club. I make the rules.” Big Tag stalked inside the club.

Kai rolled his eyes. “Sometimes I wonder why I’m here. In exchange for him footing the bill for my pro bono work, he gave me a list of applicants and then unapproved the only one who was suitable. Do you know what his reasoning was?”

With Taggart, no one could be sure. But Will decided to cut the guy some slack since he was funding Kai’s practice. Kai specialized in the treatment of PTSD in soldiers returning from war. Taggart had renovated the previously unused second floor of Sanctum, and now a steady stream of former servicemen made their way to weekly sessions with Kai. “No idea, man. I wouldn’t even try to come up with one.”

Kai sat down on the bench that overlooked the small court. Someone had taken the space and turned it into a small garden, a tiny oasis of green. The place was fenced in, but buildings rose from all around, reminding Will he was in the city. Will stretched while Kai let his head fall back, obviously enjoying the sun. “He told me he would never have a Dom named Devinshea in his club because it was a douchebag name.”

Will snorted a little. “He’s got a point.”

A laugh came from Kai’s mouth. “He said that if this dude’s parents had wanted him to have a membership at Sanctum, they should have named him something more masculine like Frank or Dan.” Kai shook his head with a sigh. “That man has serious issues.”

“Yes, his name is Devinshea.” He was kind of with Taggart on that one. Poor dude probably got his ass kicked on a regular basis. He didn’t mention that Kai wasn’t a hell of a lot better. Sometimes he was happy his mother wasn’t terribly creative. She’d named him after his dad and then went down a list of
L
names with his sisters.

“No. I’m talking about Taggart. I think he’s scared of becoming a dad. It can’t be easy for him. His own father left at a young age.” Kai’s eyes were suddenly on him. “It can’t be easy taking on an adult role when you’re still a kid. That kind of responsibility can be difficult to deal with. It can cause a person to go through a kind of arrested development.”

Jeez. And they were back to him. “We’re not talking about Taggart anymore.”

Kai didn’t deny it. “I heard about the scam you ran on Bridget Slaten. I was surprised you would do that. I’ve been trying to figure out why you want to hurt her like that. You’ve never come off as a cruel person.”

“I’m not trying to hurt her. I was trying to herd her to me.”

Kai’s brow rose in a surprised arch. “Really?”

“I was trying to get laid, dude.”

“Huh. Well, then that’s a different story, though I’m pretty sure it still has the same ending.”

He was a bit offended Kai thought he was actively trying to be an asshole. “You thought I was trying to hurt her?”

“Well, I certainly didn’t think you were trying to date her. You have to admit that when you discuss your perfect woman, it wouldn’t be her.”

For some reason that didn’t set well with him. “She’s not so bad.”

“I didn’t say she was bad. I quite like her. She’s refreshingly honest about most things, but she’s also quite independent. I think you might chafe against that independence. You told me you would prefer a woman who was somewhat dependent on you.”

“I don’t think I put it like that. I think I talked about enjoying a submissive lover. I like to be in control. It’s kind of the whole point of being a Dom. If I didn’t need control, I would be vanilla or into swinging or foot fetishes or something.” Though he often thought it would be simpler if he only wanted to suck on a chick’s toes.

“I got the feeling you would prefer a woman who was submissive out of the bedroom as well. Bridget is never going to be that woman. In her own way, she needs control as much as you do. I believe she requires submission in order to let go long enough to find pleasure sexually. In some ways she almost needs permission to find pleasure or relaxation of any kind.”

It didn’t make sense to him. She’d grown up ridiculously wealthy. Her childhood would have been marked by opportunity.

Was it possible that she might need him?

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Kai asked. “I worry Bridget needs more than you’re willing to give any woman at this point.”

Sometimes Kai could be annoying. Will wondered if it would be rude to walk away. Probably. And he did kind of consider the guy a friend. “How do you know what I’m willing to give a woman?”

“Because we have weekly sessions and I did the whole PhD thing. Should I go over my credentials?”

“When do those end, by the way?” In order to get into Sanctum, he had to agree to weekly sessions with the good doc for a prescribed period of time.

“You’re on probation for six months. I’ll clear you at the end unless something changes radically, but I hope you consider continuing the sessions. I think it’s good for you to have a place where you can talk.”

He would never admit it, but he enjoyed those stupid sessions. Kai was right. It was good to talk. He’d told Kai things he’d never talked about before. Something about the man…well, he trusted Kai. “We’ll see, but I don’t understand how I’m hurting Bridget.”

Kai’s dark eyes brightened and he leaned in. “I’m so glad you asked.”

“I wish I hadn’t.” He knew a trap when he fell into one.

“But you did. Look, I think Bridget needs someone who can be serious about her.”

He was totally serious about fucking her. “From what I can tell she’s not dating. If she’s not in a relationship, I don’t see what’s wrong with spending some time with me. I’ve explained everything to her. I’ve been honest about what I want. If she decides to go to bed with me, it’s because she wants to.”

Kai pointed at him as though he’d made a point. “That’s the thing. I don’t know that she’s truly capable of stating what she wants. There’s a lot in her background that taught her to isolate herself and her needs. She won’t let you see when she’s upset.”

Was he high? “Have you seen what happens to people who cut her off on the highway? I was behind her once and she is the very definition of road rage. I heard a story from Serena about the way she deals with assholes who try to get out of traffic by driving in the service lane. She throws the passenger door open, man. I can’t imagine what her insurance premiums are like. I don’t think she has a problem expressing herself.”

“Anger, no. She can express that readily. Hurt? Vulnerability? Those are different. You’re a good guy, Will. You recently came off a bad relationship.”

“If by bad you mean she tried to set me up for murder, then yes, it was bad.” It still sat in his gut. How stupid he’d been. Naïve and foolish. He didn’t want Bridget to ever find out how dumb he’d been.

“You’ve still got a lot of anger and I don’t want you taking it out on Bridget,” Kai explained. “She seems like an easy target because she’s so prickly, but underneath she’s quite soft. You know she’s the black sheep of her family, right?”

She never talked about her family from what he could tell. “Why?”

“I think it has something to do with her chosen profession.”

The sex books. Her father was probably a stick in the mud and didn’t like that his daughter wrote sex for a living. “Her father is a public figure. I’m sure having a daughter who writes porn is a liability.”

Kai’s eyes widened. “Do not call it that if you want to hold on to your balls.”

“Porn?” What else was he supposed to call it? Girl porn?

“Yeah, they take offense,” Kai said. “Read her books. If you want to know who she is, read one of her books. I don’t think you’ll call it porn then. And you might have some more sympathy for her.”

He hated feeling restless and that was what this whole conversation was doing to him. The last thing he wanted to do was cause Bridget harm. “You really think having a short-term affair will hurt her?”

Kai nodded. “I think she needs more.”

“All right.” He wasn’t a bad guy, but he had to be better. “I’ll find her a date. Any way you could go to Hawaii next week?”

“I would love to. I genuinely like Bridget, but I’m not ready for a relationship either so I’ll keep my hands off her. I think you’re doing the right thing, Will. Give it some time and you’ll find the other side. You’ll come out of this and you’ll be ready for something real.”

The door opened and Will turned, ready to see Taggart or McKay.

“Will?” Bridget put a hand over her eyes, obviously adjusting to the bright light of the afternoon.

She was here. She was standing there in a white shirt and jeans and those strappy sandals she liked to wear. Her dark hair was loose and flowing.

He was a good man. He always did the right thing. He stood up. “Hey, I’m glad you’re here.”

He trusted Kai. Kai knew what he was talking about. When Starr had called two nights before, there had been rage in his gut at the very thought of her. He wasn’t in a place to give Bridget a fair shake. She needed someone who she might have a shot with. The very fact that it had run through his head that a woman didn’t give a damn about anything but sex was proof positive he wasn’t thinking straight.

She brushed her hair back and seemed to steel herself. “I tried calling you. For a guy with two phones, you don’t answer a lot.”

“It’s in the locker. I was playing basketball. Keeping your phone in your pocket is a very good way to destroy it. Despite what Taggart will tell you, McKay hits pretty hard.” He was putting off the inevitable. He didn’t want to break it off. When he told her he was letting her go, she would retreat. She wouldn’t brush it off and tell them they could be friends.

He didn’t want to be her friend. Damn it. He hated being a good fucking person in that moment.

Of course, it likely wouldn’t matter because from the grim look on her face, she’d come to give him her answer.

“Well, I probably should tell you this in person.”

Getting rejected sucked even when he’d been about to reject her in the first place. He hadn’t realized how much he’d counted on her saying yes to him. Since the moment he’d seen her, he’d plotted and planned on having her, and now that restless feeling threatened to take over. He would have to throw himself into work, but he’d taken all that time off. Still, letting her off the hook was the right thing to do. “You don’t have to say it.”

He would let Kai take care of her, and she would have a good time. She wouldn’t get any orgasms out of Kai, and Kai would likely only talk to her about the lifestyle in an academic fashion. He wouldn’t tie her up so she would know what it felt like to take her Dom’s cock up her ass.

Damn it. He was fucking hard again, and masturbating was a poor substitute for the real thing.

She closed her eyes, and her shoulders came up around her ears. “Yes.”

Well, he’d known it. “I was talking to Kai and we thought…” What? “Yes?”

Kai stood. “Bridget, Will and I have been talking.”