Temporary Master (31 page)

“That’s
it.” He could ask Davis to give him a few minutes at his office after her
appointment. Now he just had to convince to his best friend to help make this
right.

Walking
down the hall towards Davis’s office and knocking on the door, he stuck his
head in, seeing his friend on the phone.

“You
drove her? Great, I was worried about her driving. She tore out of here like a
scalded cat before I could go after her, and by the time I dealt with Ethan,
she was gone.” Davis waved him in. “Yeah, I tore a strip off him, and now that
he’s had some time to process it, I imagine he’ll come begging me to set up a
meeting with her.” A chuckle rumbled free of Davis. “You little tease. You kiss
your mother with that mouth?”

Plopping
down on the couch adjacent to the desk, Ethan waited for him to finish his
call, wanting nothing more than to rip the phone away from his grip and demand
Lauren let him talk to Sabella. He had to remind himself patience was a virtue
he possessed, even when every fiber of his being wanted to take the opposite
action.

“All
right.
Let her know
our appointment for next week is still on, and I don’t blame her for this
situation with Ethan.” A moment later, after saying good-bye, Davis hung up.
“So what do you want?”

Ethan
focused on him. “I want Sabella, and you’re going to help me, Davis Clayton, or
I’m going to make your life a living hell.” Ethan arched his eyebrow at him.
“Remember the year our dads sent us off to that camp outside of Kochi? The
pranks I played on you will be nothing compared to the hell I’ll bring down on
your head. Like my dad says, I know where you sleep, buddy.”

Davis
stared at him for a few moments. “Did you ever think to simply ask?”

Ethan
cocked his head before finally muttering a “Well, will you?”

“Of
course.”
Davis gave an evil smile. “Because when it comes time to claim my lady you’re
going to owe me.”

Ethan
felt the blood rush from his face, but he nodded his agreement. Because even
though his friend’s help came with the steep price, his Sabella was more than
worth the headache of dealing with Lauren Haskell.

Pushing
open the door to Davis’s office, Sabella entered after thanking his secretary,
Eileen. She wasn’t surprised to see him hard at work. In front of him was her
open folder. He looked up from its contents. “Have a seat, Bella. I’m just
going over the investigators’ reports.”

“Investigators’
reports?”
She sank into the chair across from him.

“Yes,
after what you told me last time, I hired a detective to look into your former
Dom’s background, and had a cyber-hacker look into his financials. I think
you’ll find these interesting.” He turned the file around so she could read it.

Taking
the file, she skimmed over it,
then
swore softly as
she saw transactions listed to the same man who she remembered doing background
checks for Louis’s company in New York. The same man who’d come over to their
apartment in New York a number of times, and claimed to be a whiz at the
computer. More than once he’d joked with Louis about planting evidence in the
police database on those people who’d pissed him off, as they discussed
business. Of course the man probably would’ve never said a word to Louis, if
he’d been aware of Bella kneeling on the floor behind Louis’s desk. She
swallowed hard. “I know him. He’s some high priced computer geek who can dig up
dirt on anyone.”

Davis
steepled his fingers.
“Or manufacture it if need be?”

She
nodded. “Or so he claimed. Do you think Louis paid him to plant that crap in
the Sex Offender Registry? I mean it’s possible he was paying the man for other
services. He did do most of the background checks for Louis, while I was in New
York.”

Slowly
shaking his head, Davis sighed. “According to the dates of payment, this was
during the time he was here in Napa. I’ll have to double check with Ethan, but
it’s looking like a real possibility this happened after he arrived here.”

Confusion
surrounded her. “But why would he do that? He kicked me out.
Told
me he didn’t want a submissive who couldn’t commit herself wholly to him.”

“Well,
I’m no psychiatrist, but I have a feeling he’s burned every bridge in New York.
He moved across the country because of something that happened. While I don’t
know the particulars because of doctor/patient confidentiality, there must be
some legal issues because Ethan was appointed by the courts to be his doctor.
Ethan couldn’t tell me what happened, but I’m thinking it had to do something
with the BDSM scene because he asked me to keep an eye on the ass while he was
at the club. Not to mention he didn’t want Louis going to another club.”

Her
heart gave a twist at the mention of Sir and tears burned the back of her eyes.
Taking shallow breaths, she had to remind herself she couldn’t have a breakdown
in front of Davis. The man wasn’t being deliberately cruel by mentioning his
partner. Nor was it his fault her wounds were still too close to the surface.
Instead she concentrated on what Davis was saying.

“That
doesn’t surprise me. Louis could be a dick at the best of times, and a total
bastard at others.” She sighed. “It wasn’t long after I moved in when I found
out how ruthless he could be, especially after his father died.”

“Death
has a funny way of affecting people. Just remember that.” Davis sighed and
stood. “Okay, I’m going to contact this gentleman, and see if he’ll give me
some insight into what Louis might have paid him for. Not that I expect him to
admit to breaking several state laws to hack into the state computers to add
you to the registry. Meanwhile, I’m also going to have my computer nerd look
into the feasibility of any hacker being able to plant evidence. All we need is
reasonable doubt here, considering the case number is bogus on the file, and
they have no record of you ever being in the penal system in New York. I
couldn’t even find a jaywalking ticket for you.” He gave her a grin. “You’re
truly a good girl.”

She
couldn’t help but laugh at him. “So I’ve been told.”

“Okay,
I have one other issue to go over with you. I want to have Lauren be a
character witness for you if we need those in the courtroom.
Unless
you have any other life-long friends who can vouch for you?”

“I’ve
got a couple, but Lauren has been my best friend since first grade. Are you
sure you can be in the same room with her long enough to get an affidavit
signed?”

He
chuckled. “Oh, I think I can resist the urge to toss her over my desk…barely.”
He stood. “I need to get a consent form for you to sign, showing you’re aware
I’m going to be contacting Lauren, in regards to your case.
Confidentiality
laws and everything.
It’ll allow me to share certain legal facts with
her without violating your rights. Wait right here.”

“Okay.”
She watched as he exited the room, shutting the door behind him.

* * * *

“All
right, you better not fuck this up, because this is the last time I’m gonna
pull your fat out of the fire with Bella.”

Ethan
turned away from the window in the conference room to stare at Davis, as he
came in with a sheaf of papers. Tossing them at him, Ethan caught them out of
reflex. Looking down he saw nothing but legalese and mumbo jumbo.

“After
you get done convincing her to take your sorry ass back, have her sign the
bottom of page three and date it. I’m going to lunch and I expect you to have
fully convinced her back to your side, by the time I return at two.” He glanced
pointedly at his watch. “That gives you approximately an hour and half to get
your act straight. Think you can handle that, Ethan?”

Nerves
had his palms sweating, but Ethan nodded. “Yes. Signature and back together by
two. It’s doable.”

“Good.”
Davis grabbed his jacket off the coat rack in the corner of the room. “I’m out
of here, and don’t fuck up my office. No make-up sex over my desk or I’ll be
kicking your ass, tenth degree black belt or not. I’m not gonna spend the rest
of the afternoon smelling pussy while I work.” Then he was gone.

Pulling
himself up straight, Ethan ignored the knot in the pit of his stomach. Now he
had to convince the most beautifully submissive woman he’d ever had the
pleasure of dominating into taking his dumb ass back.
Not
that she won’t be answering to me about her lack of pride in herself as a
submissive.
She should’ve come in and read me the riot act
instead of running.

Following
his friend out of the room, he nodded to Eileen who was gathering up her
things. Obviously Davis had told her to take a long lunch. “I’m going to lock
up behind me, Dr. Tremaine. So you and Ms. Johnston have the office to yourself
until approximately one forty-five.”

He
nodded. “Thank you.”

She
just smiled. “Ms. Johnston is a delightful young woman. It was obvious she was
a perfect match for you during your demonstration last weekend. I’ve never been
as turned on as when I watched you together. So it’s the least I could do,
after Davis told me how you wanted to win her back.” She leaned forward in a
conspiratorial fashion. “But if you can, do me a favor…if you’re going to have
make
up sex, do it on Davis’s desk. It’ll drive him wild all
afternoon. And after he canceled on me last weekend, I need a good hard
spanking.”

Ethan
chuckled. “And you think me having sex on his desk will earn you a punishment?”

She
slowly nodded. “Especially if you let it slip I urged you to do it.”

“You
definitely need a good hard spanking, Eileen. Plotting against Davis is a sure
way to ensure it.”

“I’m
counting on it.” She slipped into her coat. “Good luck!” She waved as she
twisted the lock on the handle of the outer office door.

Squaring
his shoulders, Ethan entered Davis’s office as if he were Daniel entering the
lion’s den.

* * * *

Reading
a naughty, erotic romance featuring a hunky Dom and his feisty sub on her smart
phone while she waited, Sabella barely noticed when the door opened behind her.
It had been several minutes since Davis had left, but it wouldn’t be the first
time he got sidetracked by Eileen during their legal sessions.
Considering
he won’t accept any money from me, nothing more than a pittance so we’re covered
legally, I can’t complain.

A
moment later a packet of papers entered her vision followed by a soft chuckle.
“Must be reading the newest Tymber Dalton book, because the last time I saw the
expression on your face, you had your nose deep in one of her books. But if you
think you can pull away long enough to sign these, Davis would be grateful.”

Sabella
nearly dropped her phone. Her eyes widened and her heart raced as she took in
Ethan’s presence.
“YOU!”
She moved to stand, but was
pushed back in the chair, as he leaned over her, his sheer masculinity pinning
her in place.

“Yes,
me.”
His eyes
deepened to a familiar forest green. She was soooo screwed. She knew that look,
even if she’d only seen it a few times. He wanted her. “And you’re not going
anywhere until we straighten out this misunderstanding we have going on. I
won’t let you run again. Now sign the papers so we can get started. I have only
a little over an hour to convince you we belong together.”

She
bit her inner lip, everything in her responding instinctively to his dominance.
Between his tone and his take-no-excuses attitude, she was drawn to him just
like a moth to the flame. But
she couldn’t, no wouldn’t, let
herself forget what happened
. She’d just have to fake her way out of the
situation. She couldn’t let him realize how his closeness was affecting her.
“T-there’s nothing to talk about, Dr. Tremaine.”

He
arched a brow at her, obviously not impressed by her show of bravado. “Sign the
papers, Sabella.”

She
looked around nervously. Maybe if she did, he’d back off and leave her personal
space. “I don’t have a pen…” With her purse on the floor, where she couldn’t
reach without touching him, it was the truth.

“But
I do.
Breast pocket.
Get it.” His soft words and tense
expression sent a shiver of awareness through her. He was ordering her to touch
him, to feel his heat, even as his scent enveloped her. It weakened her
resolve. “Do it, little one. I promise I won’t bite.”

Lifting
her fingers slowly, she tugged the end of the pen free of the pocket, with the
least amount of contact as possible, trying to ignore his sudden intake of
breath. Not that she was successful. Not only did the back of her fingers
tingle from where they brushed over his chest, she wanted to touch, to explore
the fit expanse of his shoulders and torso.
To see if he’s
still as fit as I remember.
“I need you to move back…”

“Not
happening.
Sign.”
He continued to hover over her, his
chest expanding and contracting, as he breathed in deeply. “Damn, you smell
good.”