Her eyes widened, hope filling them. “You’ve seen her?”

“No, but I flirted with the girl at the front desk earlier. I got her to leave her post for a second and was able to peek at the employee schedules. There’s a Kiki listed in the sub training slot.”

“Oh, thank God.” The relief was visible in every inch of her stance.

“Yeah, the only problem is anyone in training is on lockdown with their master—no outside contact unless the master allows it. So it’s not like we can go make a social call at whatever cabin or room she’s staying in. We’re going to have to wait for her master to bring her out.”

She frowned. “What if he doesn’t let her out for the whole time she’s here?”

“I’d be surprised if that were the case. If he’s training her to work here, he’s going to want to expose her to as much as possible—public displays, special equipment, et cetera. I think we’re just going to have to keep our eyes peeled, try to blend in, and participate in as many of the group functions here as possible.”

She nodded, some unreadable expression crossing her face. “Right. Participate.”

He shook his head. “Wow, is being here with me really that horrible? You didn’t have to pick me, you know.”

She turned and started walking again. “Not everything is about you, Reid. Let’s just leave it at—I appreciate your help, alright?”

Biting back a sigh, he caught up to her and swung open the exit door, and the damp night air washed over them.

She shivered and crossed her arms over her barely concealed breasts. “Which way are we going?”

“I rented one of the private cabins. It’s just a few yards down that path.” He glanced down at her and watched goose bumps rise on her exposed skin. He let the door click shut behind them and hooked the leash to his belt. “Hold on.”

With quick fingers, he unbuttoned his blue dress shirt and shrugged out of it, leaving him in just his gray slacks. Brynn’s eyes darted to his bare chest. “What are you doing?”

He smirked. “I thought we’d have a quick fuck right here against the wall. Break the ice.”

She gave him a you-must-be-on-crack look.

He shook his head, glad to be back in comfortable territory. Exchanging barbs with her kept them both safe. Kept him from examining the little whispers of old feelings she’d stirred with that kiss. He handed her the shirt. “Here. I wouldn’t be a very good master if I let my woman freeze to death before reaching the room.”

She grabbed the shirt and wrapped it around herself, the bottom reaching her mid-thigh. “Thanks. I’m not sure what they did with my clothes.”

“Don’t worry, they have a closet full in our cabin.” He turned his attention to her bare feet, then to the slate stone path leading to the cabins. “Are you going to be okay barefoot? You can hop on my back… or my front, if you’d like.”

“I think I’ll manage,” she said, her voice as cool as the air around them.

He laughed, grabbing her elbow and leading her forward. “You’re no fun at all anymore. What’s the deal with you, LeBreck?”

She stiffened next to him, but didn’t say another word until they reached the porch of their little wooden cabin. A white envelope labeled “Jamison companion” was clipped to the front door. She grabbed the letter and held it up. “What’s this?”

“Probably your waiver. You have to sign it saying you’re okay with being in unmonitored zones.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Unmonitored?”

He pulled a key out of his pocket and stepped past her to open the door. “I paid extra to get a room without security cameras. Most clubs would never allow it because it’s too risky for the sub, but they’re all about catering to privacy here. So there are private cabins and unmonitored zones. No senator or CEO is going to come here and allow some lackey to have video evidence of his carnal indiscretions.”

“Jace told me to avoid those areas—that it wasn’t safe.”

“It wouldn’t be if you were with someone you didn’t know.” He smirked. “What? You scared of me now?”

“No.” But the wariness on her face made him think she wasn’t being entirely truthful.

“Good, because I went through the trouble of reserving one of these so that you wouldn’t have to play the role the whole time.”

“So we don’t have to pretend in here?” she asked, her whole demeanor visibly relaxing.

He ushered her into the small living room, unhooked her leash from his belt, and flipped on the lights. “Nope, you can insult me as the need strikes.”

Instead of heading to the other side of the little living room like he expected, she stepped so close he could feel her quick, little breaths on his naked chest. The awareness in his body sparked like she’d touched him with a cattle prod.

What the hell was she doing?

She slipped her hands onto his waist, pressing herself against his lingering erection, and peered up at him with steely resolve in her eyes. “That’s not what I need.”

He didn’t trust himself to touch her. She had to be setting up some kind of joke or she was going to kick him in the balls. “Okay, then what do you need?”

“For you not to ask questions.” She let his borrowed shirt fall to the floor, revealing miles of delicious ivory skin. “And for you not to stop unless I say Texas.”

TWELVE

then

Five days. Five goddamned days of Reid gone on vacation, and it was like Brynn’s world had tilted off its rotation. Man, she was in trouble. She missed him. Really missed him.

She propped her elbows on her desk and pressed the heels of her hands to her brow bone. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This was supposed to be a fun fling. Nothing else.

For the past few weeks, she and Reid had kept up their ends of the fun bargain, stealing moments whenever they could to be together. To talk. To laugh. To have hot, sweaty sex in a sundry of places and positions. She’d been having such a good time she’d never let herself pause long enough to think about what could be developing between them. But now that he’d been in Florida with his family for the week, she’d had nothing but time to think. And pine.

Pining. She was pining. Oh, good God.

She peeked over at Reid’s desk—empty—just like it had been since Monday. He hadn’t called much because he was afraid his aunt or uncle would hear him. But she found herself worrying that maybe he really didn’t want to call and was using that as an excuse. Maybe he was having too good of a time without her. They were only a fling anyway, right? There were probably loads of girls hanging around the Jamisons’ sure-to-be-fancy beach house just waiting to take a shot at her guy.

Her guy. Yep, she was screwed.

With a sigh, she scooted from behind her desk and headed through the darkened office to the employee lounge, hoping a change in scenery would get her spiraling thoughts to go away. She needed to focus and get some work done. Everyone else had left for the day, but she’d agreed to stay late to stuff goody bags for the next campaign fund-raiser. Bad idea. Between her racing mind and her lack of sleep, she hadn’t even made a dent in the project. She was going to be here every freaking night for a week at this rate.

Not bothering to flip on the lights, she walked toward the fridge and rummaged around for something with sugar, and preferably caffeine. The people around the office drank coffee like fiends, but she’d never had a taste for the stuff, so she had to rely on soda to get her fix. She saw a glint of red behind all the diet lemon-lime drinks and stretched her arm farther in to reach the cola.

A light squeeze on her ass made her jolt upward, nearly banging her head on the top of the fridge. “What the—”

“Easy, sugar. It’s just me,” Reid said from behind her as he slid his arm around her waist and nuzzled her neck. “I couldn’t resist with you bending over like that.”

She spun around in his grasp, the blasting cold from the refrigerator chilling her backside as his body warmed her front. “Reid! You scared the crap out of me.”

He brushed a hand over her hair. “Sorry about that.”

She tried to catch her breath, not sure if her pounding heart was from being startled or from being so close to him. “What are you doing here? You’re not supposed to be back until tomorrow.”

“I hopped an earlier flight.” He dipped his suntanned face closer and brushed his lips against hers. “I couldn’t stay away from you for another minute. I’ve never hated the beach so much in my life.”

“What? Too many beautiful, bikini-clad girls for you?” She poked his ribs.

“Ooh, jealousy. I like it on you.” His thumb stroked the small of her back, her skin coming alive beneath his touch. “And I didn’t need to check out the other girls. I already have the one

I want.”

She stared into the bottomless blue of his eyes, unable to tell if he was being serious or simply being his charming self. How could she be who he wanted? He couldn’t even take her out in public for fear someone in his circle would see them. She pushed the ugly thought away and tilted her chin up. “Guess I shouldn’t have spent my week working my way through the guys in the office, then. I didn’t realize you were going to have such a strict moral code on your trip.”

“Oh, is that what you’ve been up to?” The corner of his mouth tipped up. “I’m not enough to satisfy you? Maybe I should’ve taken Jace up on his offer to join us for a threesome.”

Her eyes widened and retort got hung up in her throat. Reid and Jace. Whoa.

He laughed and kissed the tip of her nose. “Don’t worry. I told him no. Even though I’m guessing by the way your body just quivered, you’re not totally opposed to the idea. Naughty girl. Too bad I’m too selfish to share you.”

She shook her head, dismissing the erotic images the crazy suggestion had sparked. “You’re more than enough for me to handle.”

“Uh-huh. Then why are your cheeks getting all red?” he asked, trailing his fingers along the curve of her ass. “What other fantasies are rolling around in that pretty head of yours?”

Fantasies. She looked down so he couldn’t read her expression. Was that all this was about for him? Exploration. Games. Sex. Or did he get the same fist-to-the-solar-plexus feeling she got anytime she thought about the end of summer?

She hid her thoughts with a saucy smile. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“Vicious tease.” He dragged her away from the open fridge and lifted her with ease, guiding her legs around his waist. Her skirt bunched around her thighs, and he nipped at her lower lip. “Man, I’ve missed you like crazy this week.”

She couldn’t stave off the smile that hopped to her lips, a little zip of giddiness going through her at the obvious sincerity of his words. Maybe he did feel something more. “Really? You missed me?”

“Ah, sugar, you have no idea.”

Her heart did a little flip, confirming how far into crazytown she’d strayed. Okay, so this was stupid. Insane. She was getting in too deep. She should run hard and fast. There were a thousand reasons why this couldn’t work long-term.

But she couldn’t bring herself to turn away from him. No one had ever made her feel this good, this free to be herself. Alive. So she shoved the worries in a mental closet and kicked the door closed. Stressing about the inevitable wouldn’t get her anywhere. She would figure out how to say good-bye. Soon.

But not while he was giving her that look that made her insides turn liquid. She kissed along the curve of his neck. “So are you going to show me how much you missed me? Or do I need to call one of the other guys?”

A low growl rumbled from his chest as he swung her to the left and planted her back against the wall. “Well, I was going to take you to get some dinner first. But if you insist, I’ll gladly fuck you right here.”