The Exposure (11 page)

As if she didn't already hate The Taskmaster enough, this just added to the number. He'd just managed to throw a wet blanket on the most perfect sex she'd had in . . . well, ever.

She refused to let him have that much power. Not on the one night she'd decided to give herself to Luke. Yet another reason
why one night only was smart. And if she had only one night, she wasn't going to waste it.

“Hey,” she said, rolling over to her side to face Luke.

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Hey, yourself.”

She stretched. “That was amazing.”

“I agree.”

She lifted herself up on one elbow so she could see the alarm clock over his shoulder. “Night's still young.”

“Is that a subtle hint, Meagan Bishop?”

“Oh no.” She traced his raised eyebrow. “There was nothing meant to be subtle about it.”

He laughed and rolled her over to her back. “If you want me to continue to be awesome, I'm going to need to recover.”

“It's good to be a girl.”

“I'll take your word for it.” He sat up. “I'm going to go get rid of this condom and when I get back, we'll see if I can't make you even more happy to be a girl.”

“I look so forward to it, Sir.”

He was gone for only a few minutes, but in that time she felt utterly alone in his large bed. She couldn't fathom why. The only thing she could attribute it to was The Taskmaster. God, she hated that man. At least, she thought it was a man. No, it was more; what she felt was beyond hate for whoever it was. Not only for what they were doing to her, but because they had now cast a shadow on what had been an amazing night.

“You okay?” Luke climbed in the bed and pulled her close.

She relaxed in his arms, chiding herself. She didn't want him to think she regretted anything. And she certainly didn't like the fact she'd thought about The Taskmaster so much while he was gone. “Just lonely without you.”

“I was gone for five minutes, tops.”

“It felt much longer.”

He started to speak, then hesitated.

“What?” she asked.

“I was just wanting to make sure you were okay with spending the night.”

Was she? Hell, yes. But would it be smart? In their haste, they'd agreed to one night, sure, but should she? Where would that leave them in the morning?

“Will anyone be worried if you don't go back to your place tonight?”

She laughed. “My plants.”

He nibbled on her ear. “I meant what I said earlier. If we only have tonight, we should take advantage of the
whole
night.”

“Mmm.” She'd never leave if he kept that up. “When did you get so smart?”

“When I accepted your invitation to dinner.” His fingers teased the back of her neck. Fuck, he'd remembered. All those years and he hadn't forgotten how to drive her crazy.

“Sir,” she whined, pushing her hips against him. “Please, please, please tell me you're recovered enough.” He had if the bulge she felt told her anything.

“Probably,” he said, but didn't move.

Well?
she bit back.

“Probably, I have, but there's something I want to do first.”

As long as he stayed naked and didn't get out of the bed, he could do whatever he wanted. “What?”

“I want to see if you taste as good as I remember.”

She moaned as he lowered himself between her legs. She might not survive until
morning.

T
he next Friday night, Meagan eyed the secluded house that looked more like a hunting lodge, and then turned back to Abby. “Are you sure it's okay that I'm here?”

Abby all but rolled her eyes as they got out of the car. “It's fine. And you were the one saying you needed to get out more.”

“I could just go to the bed-and-breakfast.” It was what she'd planned to do before Abby invited her to the “Girls' Night In.”

“You'd be by yourself. That defeats the purpose of getting out.”

“Dena's husband doesn't mind all these women sleeping at his house?”

“You, me, Julie, and Sasha are hardly ‘all these women.' Besides, Dena said Jeff was more than happy to spend the night at Daniel's.”

“If you're sure.”

“I am.” Abby waved at the car that pulled up behind them. “Look, there's Sasha.”

They waited while the other woman parked and got her overnight bag. She smiled. “Hey, Abby, and Meagan, right?”

“Yes, that's right.” The last time Meagan saw Sasha, the evening ended with her soon-to-be Master punishing her for coming without permission. But now, she couldn't help but notice the gorgeous collar the brunette wore in place of the thin leather band she had on the last time. “Love your collar.”

A look of complete bliss covered Sasha's face and she lifted one hand to trace the necklace. “Thank you.”

Ah, new love.
Had she ever looked like that? “I can't wait to hear about your hot Brit.”

“I'm surprised Cole let you get away tonight,” Abby said as they made their way to the front door. “Isn't Friday when you two start your more structured time?”

Sasha ducked her head, but not before Meagan saw her cheeks flush. “Yes, but he had to travel into New York City tonight to meet with his editor and some people she brought in. He said it'd be late, so he'd stay overnight and come home in the morning. Otherwise, I'd planned to just stay for a few hours.”

She sounded a bit wistful, as if she really wanted to be with Cole, but was trying to tell herself that it was just fine she was staying at Jeff and Dena's. No, Meagan decided, she'd never experienced anything like that before.

A dark-haired man with a gentle smile opened the door. “Hello, ladies. Come on in. Julie's already back in the bedroom with Dena.” His gaze stopped at Meagan and he offered her his hand. “Jeff Parks.”

His touch was strong and sure. “Nice to meet you, Jeff. Meagan Bishop. I'm a friend of Abby's.”

“Technically,” Abby said. “She's my boss, but for tonight, we're just friends.”

Understanding crossed Jeff's face. “Her boss, you're the one—”

“Come on, let's go see Dena,” Abby interrupted, grabbing Meagan's hand and pulling her down the hall before Jeff could finish his sentence. “'Bye, Jeff.”

They left a frowning Jeff standing at the front door. Meagan peeked over her shoulder. He stood watching them, his arms crossed. “Uh, Abby. Jeff doesn't look very happy.”

“I am
not
going to go into what happened at that club. That was months ago.”

“He was there?” When Abby's first post went up at the news station, it was an unprecedented success and Meagan had taken her to a BDSM club to celebrate. An old Dom friend asked Meagan to dance and later to play. She'd agreed because he assured her he'd taken care of Abby. But he hadn't and she'd almost been assaulted.

“He was the one who saved me,” Abby said. “And I'm not talking about it anymore.”

They'd made it to the bedroom where a gorgeous and very pregnant blonde was sitting up in bed, surrounded by pillows and giggling at something the brunette beside her was saying. They looked up at their entrance.

“Hey, guys,” Abby said. “This is my friend Meagan. Meagan, that's Dena in the bed and Julie beside her. Julie owns Petal Pushers with Sasha.”

Meagan nodded and said hellos, but she couldn't help but feel out of place. These ladies all knew one another and had shared history. She should have gone to the bed-and-breakfast.

She was even more sure of that when Jeff entered the bedroom. He made a beeline to Dena and sat beside her on the bed. “I'm going to Daniel's. You let me know if anything happens.”

Dena lightly stroked his cheek and gave him a sweet smile. “Yes, now you go have guy fun. The little miss and I are fine.”

He leaned forward and kissed her. “Love you.” He kissed her belly. “Love you, too. Stay put a few more weeks.”

When he stood up, he spoke to Abby. “Call me if she so much as sneezes.”

Behind him, Dena picked up a pillow and aimed it at his head.

“I see you,” he said.

“Damn, you do have eyes in the back of your head,” Dena said, but put the pillow down.

“Nah, just a well-placed mirror.” He nodded to the far wall. Instead of leaving though, he turned to Meagan. “Any friend of Abby's is a friend of mine. If she's made peace with you, I won't hold the past against you either.”

No one said anything until he left.

“That was cryptic,” Sasha spoke first.

“Not talking about it,” Abby said.

“I should go.” Meagan shook her head. “This was a bad idea.”

“No,” all four women said at once.

Meagan hesitated. It
would
be nice to be part of girls' night. “I don't know.”

“I'm deciding for you,” Abby said. “You're staying.”

Meagan turned her Domme face on her, but Abby just laughed. “Don't even.”

The group seemed to think the discussion over. Sasha walked up to the bed. “How many weeks are you?”

Dena rubbed her belly. “Twenty-eight.”

“I miss being pregnant.”

All eyes shot to Abby. She held her hands up. “Not that we're doing anything to change that. I mean we are
doing it
, but not to get pregnant or anything. I just, you know, enjoyed being pregnant.”

“You should have a third,” Julie said.

“Easy for you to say,” Abby replied. “You don't even have one.”

“Not yet.”

“Are you . . .” Sasha started.

“No, but we've talked about it lately.”

Everyone agreed this was A Really Good Thing and before she knew what was happening, Meagan found herself getting caught up in the laughter and teasing of the group.

Two hours later, Abby, Meagan, and Julie finished off their second bottle of wine. Dena didn't drink any for obvious reasons. Sasha said she couldn't drink without Cole's permission and he hadn't replied to the text she'd sent asking.

Meagan glanced to where Sasha sat frowning at the silent phone. “Kinda makes you want to grab them by the balls and give a good yank, doesn't it?”

Sasha laughed. “Yes, but yank Cole's balls? Nope. Never going to happen. But it would be nice if he at least replied.”

“He's probably in a meeting or driving or something.” Julie nodded. “But yeah. Hell to the no to the ain't gonna happen, on ball yanking.”

Meagan tried to picture messing with Luke's and had to agree. “Right, bad choice of words. Yeah, I could just see me doing that with . . .”

She trailed off as four pairs of eyes looked her way.

“I didn't know you were involved with anyone,” Abby said softly.

“I'm not. I mean, it was one night.” She blew a piece of hair out of her eyes. “One really, really amazing night.”

“The photographer?” Sasha asked.

Meagan nodded, remembering Abby told her Sasha was the one who found the old magazines.

“Oh my . . .
fuck
,” Abby said. Meagan was surprised at how pale she looked.

“Abby?” Meagan asked.

“I just didn't think you were ever getting back with him.” She groaned. “Shit.”

“What is it?”

“I'll tell you later. When I've had less wine.”

“There we go.” Sasha put her phone down with a sigh. “He said no. He wants my head to be clear. Though I don't know why. It's not like he's here.”

“Julie,” Dena said. “Before I forget, will you let Bo and Ace out? They need to go out one more time for the night.”

“Sure.” Julie hopped up. Not quite as gracefully as she had before the wine, but still steady.

“Sasha,” Abby said. “Are you okay? Is something wrong?”

“Remember how you once told me Doms had a reason for everything they did?” Sasha asked.

“Yes.”

Sasha stood up and put her hands on her hips. “What could possibly be his reason for not letting me drink tonight? I mean, he's not here and it's not like I get together with you guys a lot. It feels like he's just doing it to be a pain in the ass.”

“I doubt he's being a pain in the ass,” Abby said.

“Maybe I'll have a glass. He'll never know and you guys won't tell.”

Dena laughed. “Girl, they always find out.”

Sasha sighed. “True. Ugh. It's like he has Dom ESP or something.”

Julie returned from letting the dogs out, but she wasn't alone. Cole stood behind her and since they were both behind Sasha, she didn't see him. Meagan tried to get Sasha's attention, but Cole held his finger up to his lips. He was just intense enough looking that Meagan obeyed.

“Seriously, he's worse than Santa Claus. I wouldn't be surprised to find out he's got elves stationed everywhere as spies.” She sat back down with a huff.

“In that case, why don't you come sit on my lap, so you can tell me if you've been naughty or nice?” Cole asked, an amused expression on his face.

Sasha gasped and as Cole approached her, she came up to kneel and bowed her head. “Sir. I wasn't expecting you.”

“Obviously.” He ran his fingers through her hair. “I decided I didn't want to spend the night in the city. I came by to see if you'd like to go home like we originally planned. If not, you can stay and drink.”

“That's why you wouldn't let me have a drink?”

“We've never played intoxicated. We're not going to start tonight.” He rocked back on his heels. “Assuming you come home, that is.”

Though she had seemed content with staying overnight with the girls, Meagan couldn't help but see the delight in Sasha's expression—heck, her entire being—at the prospect of going home with Cole.

“Let me get my things.” She stood up and kissed his cheek. “Take me home, Cole,” she said in not quite a whisper.

“Don't you want to stay? Visit with your friends?”

“I want you.”

He gave her a sultry grin and then in a surprise move, he grabbed her around the waist and dipped her low, giving her a long and passionate kiss. “I'm not going to argue with that,” he said once he had her back upright. He glanced at Dena. “Tell Jeff we'll come by and get her car tomorrow.”

Dena sniffled and waved her hand at the couple. “Damn pregnancy hormones. Go. Don't worry about the car.”

Sasha quickly told everyone good-bye and good night and though the other women hugged her and said they were happy for her, Meagan could tell Sasha had one thing on her mind: get home with Cole. He stood off to the side, waiting patiently while she got her things together. Sasha gave Julie an extra-long hug and nodded at something she said. Then she turned toward Cole with an infectious smile.

“Let's go home, Sir.”

He snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her close, and giving her a quick kiss, before saying to the group, “Good night, ladies. I'd say I'm sorry for stealing Sasha away, but I'm not.”

When they heard the front door close, Julie broke the silence. “I would never in a million years have thought they'd be good together, but every time I see them, I can't imagine them with anyone else.”

“She grounds him,” Dena said. “I haven't known him for as long as Daniel, but she soothes him, for lack of a better word. There's a peace with him he's never had before. Even with Kate.”

“Kate and Cole were in a twenty-four/seven relationship for eight years,” Abby told Meagan.

“I think it's because she accepts who he is and doesn't try to change him or make him something he's not,” Julie said. “And he does the same for her.”

“That's so important,” Abby said. “If you go into a relationship trying to change that person, you'll never be content.”

It was a simple truth, one Meagan had heard numerous times before. But for some reason, hearing Abby say it thrust it in an entirely new light. How many times had she gone into a relationship with that mind-set? Granted, it was never as cut-and-dried as “He's okay. Let me fix XYZ and he'll be perfect,” but the intention was there.

And how many times had she been in a relationship when the guy tried to change her? Too many to count.

If Sasha and Cole had found in the other person someone who accepted them, she was thrilled. And jealous.

Her phone buzzed and she pulled it from her pocket.
Luke.
She'd told him she was going to the bed-and-breakfast, but hadn't told him about her change of plans.

“Hey,” she said, answering.

“Hey.” He didn't sound right. Not really as though he was angry, but there was a hint of something in his voice.

“Something wrong? You sound off.” She prayed silently that he hadn't found out about The Taskmaster.

“I'm at a bed-and-breakfast someone told me they were going to be at, holding a bottle of wine, cheese, crackers, and a rope. Guess who's not here?”

“You went to the bed-and-breakfast to see me?” Meagan glanced up and saw that no one was talking; rather, they were all staring at her. “I changed my plans. Abby invited me to a girls' night thing. I'm at Jeff Parks's house.”

“Abby West?”

“Yes.”

“She's a sweetheart. And so much for my surprising you.”