so long, the old dominance inside him rose up like a phoenix from the ashes—ravenous and seeking.
He wet his lips. “How do you block out these windows?”
Jace frowned. “Don’t go there, Wy. You’re only supposed to be talking to her. If Colby comes down here and sees the window darkened, he’s gonna come in.”
“Then keep him busy.” Wyatt turned the knob on the door and stepped inside, closing the door behind him before Jace could say anything else. Deadly quiet surrounded him, augmenting the little catch in breath Kelsey gave at the click of the door.
Her lips parted as if to call out to whoever was there, but then, apparently remembering her role, she clamped them shut. She shifted her position slightly, her nerves evident. Wyatt glanced back through the window to find Jace sending him a warning look, but Wyatt ignored him and caught sight of the switch next to the window. Wyatt smiled, gave Jace a little finger wave, and flipped the switch. Instantly, the glass darkened, eventually reflecting only Wyatt’s image back at him.
He turned back around to look at Kelsey again, savoring the sight of her there on her knees. She looked so pristine, so lovely and lush. The stark overhead light caressed sun-kissed skin that called to be touched, tasted. A perfect gift perched there just for him.
No. Not for him. For some other guy, he reminded himself. The reality check made him flinch. This wasn’t fair to Kelsey. She hadn’t given her consent for him to see her this way. He cleared his throat. “Kelsey?”
She startled, her entire body stiffening. “Who’s there? Where’s Colby?”
Before he could respond, her hand went straight to her blindfold, yanking it off.
He held up his palms. “Kelsey.”
She blinked once, twice, then her eyes went round. “Wyatt?”
“Yes, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to burst in on you like this.”
She glanced downward, as if remembering how little she was wearing, and scrambled to her feet. She reached for a robe on the bench behind her and wrapped it around herself with hasty movements. “What the hell are you doing here? How did you even get in?”
He stayed on the far side of the room, not wanting to make her retreat further. “I was worried about you, and no one could tell me where you were. I needed to see if you were okay. So I called in a favor to Jace.”
“Goddammit. He shouldn’t have told you anything.” Her whole face was flushed now. Part of it was clearly anger, but he also sensed shame there, embarrassment. “I didn’t want you to … This is not your business.”
He frowned, rubbing a hand over his jaw and feeling like a jackass for putting her in this position. “You’re right, it’s not. I’m overstepping bounds all over the place, but I had to see you. And God, to see you like this …”
Her expression turned pained, and she looked away. “Right. Like this. Guess you can let whatever shred of respect you had left for me go now.”
He took a tentative step closer, unable to resist the magnetic pull she always seemed to have on him. “Is that what you think? That I’ve lost respect for you? Kelsey, it’s taking everything I have not to haul you off to a private room and tie you to something so I can spend the rest of the night showing you exactly how I’d like to respect you.”
Her face whipped back his way, surprise morphing her features. “What?”
He peeked back at the closed door, hoping he still had a few minutes before being interrupted. “You’re not the only one with secrets.”
She stared at him for a long moment, and he could almost see when the awareness dawned.
“You’re a dom,” she said flatly, not looking at all happy about this conclusion.
The term sounded almost foreign to his ears, it’d been so long since someone had called him that. “I used to be.”
She shook her head and looked to the heavens. “I should’ve known.”
Wyatt crossed his arms. “But Jace told me you were, too. Why are you in here?”
All the starch seemed to leave her body as she knotted the sash around her waist and pulled the robe more tightly around her. “I’m trying to get promoted to a trainer so I can make more money. This is part of the process.”
“How much money do you need, Kelsey?” he said, the possessiveness flaring up in him again. He’d be damned if he was going to let her turn her body over to some random guy so she could get cash.
She pinned him with a warning gaze. “I appreciate your concern, but don’t get any charitable notions. I don’t take handouts, Wyatt. I can handle this.”
The door opened behind him, and he spun around to find his brother with an I-told-you-so look standing behind a man who could only be Colby. The guy was as tall as Wyatt but built like a fucking lumberjack. And he looked mad enough to swing an ax Wyatt’s way. “Kelsey, you all right, sweetheart? Or do I need to haul this fucker outside?”
Wyatt gritted his teeth.
Kelsey raised a palm. “It’s okay, Colby. He’s a friend of mine. And was just leaving. I’m sorry about the delay. I’ll be ready for our session in a second.”
Wyatt looked between the two of them. The hell she would. He stepped closer to Kelsey, thinking fast, altering his original plan. “I can offer you a job.”
“Wyatt—”
“I’ll pay you twenty-five thousand dollars for a week of work,” he said, snagging a figure out of the air. “But you’ll need to come with me right now.”
Her lips parted in surprise. “What?”
“I can explain everything to you, but not here.” He glanced at Colby and Jace, then back to her. “You don’t have to do this right now. At least hear me out first.”
Kelsey stared at him for a stretch of seconds, and he thought she was going to tell him to take his money and fuck off, but then she blew out a breath. “Fine.” She peered past Wyatt. “Colby, I’m sorry, hon. I didn’t mean to screw up your schedule. Can I take a rain check? I need to take care of something.”
Colby shrugged. “Sure thing. Gives me a good reason to cut out early tonight. I had a long week at the day job anyway. Let me know when you want to reschedule.”
Kelsey walked around Wyatt and pushed up on her toes to kiss Colby’s cheek. “You’re a sweetheart.”
His lip curled. “You wouldn’t have said that if you’d gone through my training session.”
Kelsey smiled and patted his arm before peeking back over her shoulder at Wyatt. “Come with me. I have to change, then you can walk me to my cabin and we’ll talk.”
For the first time ever, Wyatt saw the glimmer of dominance in her own eyes, the sass. He was on her turf now and he sensed the confidence of that running through her. The sight should’ve warned him off. He didn’t have a submissive molecule in his DNA. But somehow it only made him want
