Cherished: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella (14 page)

Damn it. She did need one. She’d been putting it off because she had so much to do. If he were really her boyfriend, she would likely think nothing of it, but he wasn’t staying around forever. Hell, after he met her family, he wouldn’t want to stay the extra time.

“What’s got that look on your face? Is it your family?” He leaned over and kissed her.

He was so fucking perfect, and she was waiting for it all to fall apart because she couldn’t trust it. “I don’t think I can stay the extra week.”

He stepped back. “Why?”

He’d dropped the grin and now he stared at her in that same academic fashion he’d used before they’d signed their contract. She could feel him pulling away from her.

Maybe it was for the best. She could stay quiet and enjoy her last few days with him and then get out of the relationship with her dignity intact. She would move, naturally, because she couldn’t watch him come and go every day and not be able to touch him, but he didn’t have to know he’d broken her heart. She would also leave Sanctum and absolutely never return. She didn’t have to write BDSM books. She would stick to ménage and vanilla romance. The point was, he didn’t have to know what an idiot she was. She was going to tell him it was all about work and leave it at that.

Somehow her mouth and head weren’t in synch on this one. “It all feels settled, Will, and I know it’s not. You can amend the contract for a month and it buys me some time. I know you’re comfortable living in the moment, but I’m not built for it. I need to know where I stand.”

He leaned against the counter casually. “I told you where you stand. I want more time with you.”

“A month.” She knew she should stop, but something was pushing her. His actions told her one thing. That stupid contract said another, and she couldn’t quite reconcile the two.

“We can start with a month and see where it goes from there. I don’t understand why this bothers you. We’re just having fun.”

Did he not get it? She was on the verge of tears and she wasn’t doing that in front of him. No way. “That’s why it bothers me, Will. Exactly that. It doesn’t feel like fun. It feels serious to me. You spend every night with me. We sleep together. We eat together. We play together. For god’s sake, I’ve been wearing a butt plug for days so you can screw my ass. I don’t know how much more intimate we can get but you still say we’re just having fun.”

“What more do you want from me?” His voice went hard, frustration evident. “I’m willing to sign a contract. I’m willing to spend time with you. I’m faithful to you. What the hell else do you want?”

“I want to know we’re going to be together past the next month, damn it.”

“I can sign a contract with you and then leave you tomorrow. You understand that, right? We could get married and I could divorce you. Nothing holds me to you, Bridget. Even that contract is only a piece of paper, but I’m willing to sign it and honor it. It won’t hold me if I want to leave.”

“But love would.” She wanted to call the words back even as she said them. She was so stupid.

He groaned. “Do not throw that ridiculous word in my face. God, I thought you were more mature than that.”

She could feel her skin flushing with embarrassment, but what had he expected? “I write romance novels, Will. My whole fucking life is about trying to find love.”

He rolled his eyes and when he stepped away, he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “And I was very explicit about what I wanted.”

She was going to lose this fight. She’d known it in the back of her head, but her stomach dropped anyway. “Yes, you wanted a couple of weeks of sex.”

“Don’t you make me into the bad guy. I haven’t fucked you and walked away. I’ve been here with you every night I could be. I haven’t treated you with anything but respect and affection and I’m not the one trying to blow everything up over one freaking word.”

“But I love you.”

She watched as he took a deep breath and his shoulders settled. He seemed calmer when he turned.

“I’m glad, Bridget. I care about you. I don’t believe in that particular word. I think it’s something made up for greeting cards and to sell flowers, but if you believe in it then I’m glad you love me.” He walked over to her and caught her hands in his. “Baby, don’t do this over a word. What you call love, I call good teamwork. Compatibility. I am willing to admit to you that I started this relationship because I wanted to get into your bed so bad I could taste it, but I enjoy what we have. Do you have to have a declaration of love and eternal devotion to continue to spend time with me?”

So logical. He was calm and logical and it was sort of working on her. She was able to breathe. His hands were warm around hers, the steady strength of his body a real comfort to her. She was getting emotional and he was trying to ground her. Maybe he was right. Maybe they were speaking two different languages but it came to the same place.

Maybe she was being a crazy bitch because they’d only been dating for a week and she was asking for a lifetime. She looked up at him. He really was a spectacular man. “I’m sorry. I’m writing a scene that gets me emotional.”

He sighed and leaned over to kiss her forehead. “I wish you would write a scene that got you horny.” He pulled her close and when he touched her, she knew it was right. “It’s going to be okay, baby. We’re going to have fun. You’ll see. I’ll handle your parents. All I want you to think about is relaxing. No work. Okay?”

He was an optimist. She would give him that. “I will try.”

His cell trilled and he groaned. “Damn it. It’s the hospital. I told them to call if they had questions about the meds I prescribed. Give me a minute? I promise no calls after tonight. Just you and me.”

And her wretchedly nasty family. But she gave him a nod and he answered the phone, striding back to the bedroom where he tended to take his work calls. She’d been nosy the first couple of times. She’d stood outside the door and listened in, some tiny part of her waiting to hear him talking to another woman. Unless words like ventriculostomy and craniectomy got women hot, he was all about the work.

There was a knock on her door. Pizza. They’d agreed that the night before a trip should definitely be pizza night, but again she’d expected it a little later.

She sighed. She was sure Kai would tell her that her anxiety stemmed from childhood issues of abandonment and the fact that the two men she’d previously had somewhat serious relationships with had turned out to be cheating douchebags, but she had to get over it. She had to find a way to trust him. If they had any shot at working this thing out, she had to put her issues aside and see Will for the man he was, not the men she’d dated before.

She opened the door and frowned. A woman stood there and she definitely wasn’t carrying a large pepperoni with mushrooms. She looked like she never ate cheese in her life. Thin and lovely, she had perfectly straight platinum hair and wore a pair of heels that made her at least six inches taller than Bridget. “Can I help you?”

She bit into her bee-stung bottom lip and pointed to the door across the hall. “I know this seems stupid and I’m so sorry to bother you, but I was hoping you would know when Will Daley might get home. He’s a doctor and he works certain shifts. Maybe you’ve seen him coming and going?”

Her gut knotted. This was definitely not one of Will’s sisters. “Why?”

“I’m his girlfriend. His submissive, though you might not understand the term. I need him. If you have any way to contact him, please help me.”

No. There was no way this was possibly happening to her. The woman in front of her was beyond gorgeous. Was she the woman who had hurt Will so badly he’d gone into his shell? Was she the reason he wouldn’t use the word love? Because he’d loved her and he wouldn’t love anyone else?

She felt stuck. Trapped. Like suddenly her feet were glued to the ground and she couldn’t pull away. “His sub? He’s your Master?”

“Yes.” She sighed as though relieved. “You understand. Good. Then you know that he would want to help me. I’m in trouble. I’m likely to endure a very long spanking, but I’ve realized how good I had it with him. He’s a kind man and he loves me. I need to speak with him as soon as possible.”

“He told you he loves you?” An ache began somewhere deep inside.

“Many times, but I was too foolish to return it until now. Do you know what kind of shift he’s working this week? His hours can be odd, but he’s usually home at night. He tried to work his schedule so I wouldn’t be alone, so he could protect me.”

He’d probably treated her like a princess. He’d probably never poked her awake and asked her to drive him to the hospital at two in the morning because he needed to look over some notes before an emergency procedure. No, this blonde goddess would be “protected.”

“Bridget? Is the pizza here? I’m starving.”

She turned and he was stopped in the middle of her living room, his eyes on the woman in the doorway.

“Starr?”

Starr smiled brilliantly and nearly trampled Bridget in her haste to get to her Master. She threw herself against him. “Master, I’ve missed you so much.”

His hands went to her arms, peeling her off his body. “This is a conversation we should have in private.” He pulled his keys out of his pocket. “Go to my place. You seem to know where it is. We’ll have a conversation about that, too.”

He was all Dom now. No hint of her teasing lover.

Starr sniffled and turned. A single teardrop clung to her cheek. Bitch even cried pretty. When Bridget cried, she became an ugly, sobbing mess. Like Jabba the Hutt except with snot. Which was precisely why she wasn’t going to cry.

“Yes, Master. I’ll wait for you. I’ve missed you so much. I’ve been such a fool.” She gave Bridget a nasty stare as she exited stage left.

A heavy silence hung over them.

Will finally moved, his eyes on the door. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Bridget stepped in his path. “Who was that?”

She knew the story, but apparently not the whole of it, and she’d never heard it from his side. He never talked about his past except in snarky witticisms. When she tried to scratch the surface, he always changed the subject or kissed her until she couldn’t breathe.

“It’s not any of your business, Bridget. I’ll handle it.”

She shook her head. “She said she’s your sub. I think that makes it my business.”

His lips quirked up in a big jerk smile. “She lies. Now step aside. I won’t be more than ten minutes.”

“You won’t be anything at all if you don’t talk to me.” She was screwing this up. “I’m sorry. I need to know.”

“Are you giving me an ultimatum?” He wasn’t looking at her. He was staring at the hallway, likely at his door, as though his whole being was already in that room with her, with Starr.

“I need to know. Please talk to me.” She could deal with it if he was honest with her.

“You don’t need to know. I’ve told you everything you need to know. I wrote it all out in that contract. If you’re worried I’m going over there to fuck her, you can rest assured I wouldn’t touch that woman with a ten-foot pole. I will handle the situation and come back to you and we’ll eat dinner and get ready for our flight tomorrow.”

“You have got to be kidding me.” He couldn’t expect her to ignore what had happened.

“Bridget, move out of my way and do it now. I’m talking to you as your Dominant partner. Either stand down and let me deal with this or break our contract right here and now.”

She stepped back, allowing him access to the exit. Her heart was thudding in her chest, but she was pleased with the even tone of her voice. “Now who’s giving out ultimatums?”

He turned at the door. “Bridget…”

Now he wanted to talk? Oh, he’d made himself perfectly clear. She held up a hand. “No, please. Don’t let me keep you.”

She slammed the door in his face as the tears began to fall. There was a hard thud against the door like he’d smacked it in frustration, but then she listened and heard him take the necessary steps, heard his door open and close.

Before it could escape, Bridget shoved her hand over her mouth, stopping the sob that wouldn’t stay inside. Tears blurred her world as the truth hit her. She was in love with a man who couldn’t even be bothered to explain why another woman had shown up at her door.

He really did view her as a good time. He might stay around. He might honor that month-long contract he talked about, but he would never love her. He would never want forever.

She locked the door and then turned the dead bolt it so he couldn’t use a key to get back in. He’d made himself plain. She was good for sex and fun and she had no place in his real life. A woman like Starr had. When the good doctor settled down—and she had no doubt that he would eventually—it would be with someone gorgeous and deeply submissive. It wouldn’t be with a girl who everyone knew was a brat.

When the pizza came, she slid two twenties to the delivery boy and asked him to give the pizza to the first homeless man he came to and then locked the door again.

Oddly, she’d lost her appetite.

* * * *

Will closed the door behind him and wondered how he was going to get back into Bridget’s place. His brat had undoubtedly dead bolted the door, and she would likely do anything to keep him out.

He couldn’t let that happen. He also couldn’t let her know about Starr. God, what the hell would she think if she knew what an idiot he’d been? The object of his idiocy sat on his sofa with her legs crossed, looking every inch the lady when he knew damn well she was so much more. Liar. User. Accessory to murder.

“I don’t want you here. Please leave and don’t return.”

“You quit your job in Fort Worth,” she said, her voice quiet. She always talked in that soft voice. At first he’d found it haunting and peaceful that she never raised her tone. Now he found it annoying. How the hell was he supposed to know what she was feeling? Bridget always let him know. Usually with force.

But she should trust him enough to deal with this. What the fuck was that ultimatum? She wanted to give him ultimatums? He didn’t deal well with them.

Of course, he’d then thrown one in her face, and he kind of got the feeling she didn’t deal well with them either. Damn it.