Knowing that he was heading home turned on and pent up poked at her mind like bony fingers. Did he have some girl he saw on the side? He wasn’t dating anyone, but she doubted a man like Wyatt was a monk. She hated the crackle of jealousy working its way through her, but she couldn’t help it. “And you?”
The corner of his mouth lifted, as if amused by the question. “I would never disrespect you that way. The exclusivity goes both ways.”
She released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding on to.
“And if you change your mind about any of this …”
She reached out and grabbed his hand. “I’m not going to change my mind.”
He gave her fingers a squeeze. “’Til Friday, then.”
“’Til Friday.”
And with that, he gave her another gentle kiss and was gone.
The second the door closed behind him, the vacuum his absence left behind walloped Kelsey. It was as if all the warmth in the room had just disappeared. She grabbed the throw from the back of the couch and wrapped it around her shoulders. She’d lived alone for the last year and had enjoyed the solitude, but she had the instinctive urge to call after him. To ask him to stay here with her at the cabin. Something in her settled when he was close by.
And that terrified her more than anything had in a long time.
The last thing she needed was another addiction.
And Wyatt Austin was turning out to be a very, very tempting drug.
“You’re going to what?” Jace asked once he and Wyatt were back on the highway heading toward Dallas.
Wyatt leaned against the headrest, his body still buzzing with unreleased energy and his better judgment starting to sneak back in now that his head was clearing. “I know. She should’ve just taken the money.”
“Ha. That would’ve set up a nightmare of a trip. Her being on your arm all day as your girlfriend and then sharing your room at night, possibly your bed. You would’ve spent most of the trip jerking off in the shower to keep your hands off her. Sounds like fun for all.”
It would’ve been tortuous. But at least it would’ve been safer. “I don’t want to hurt her.”
“So don’t.” Jace glanced his way, headlights from a car coming in the opposite direction flashing across his features. “I know it’s been a long time for you, but you’re still a master of self-control. You’re not going to lose your shit and do something stupid. That’s my style, not yours. You know how to do this. Pay attention to her signals, sift out what her needs are, and then push her to her edge.”
Wyatt sighed and rubbed his eyes beneath his glasses. “I don’t know if I’m as calm and in control as you think.”
“Did you fuck her tonight?” Jace asked, shifting his gaze back to the road.
“No.”
“Would she have let you?”
“Yes.” And he’d wanted to. God, had he wanted to. “It wasn’t the right time.”
Jace gave a triumphant smile. “See. There you go. Proof positive you’ve still got it. Because believe me, not many men would walk away from a willing Kelsey LeBreck. That girl is temptation personified. I’ve seen male subs grovel at her feet for the mere privilege of serving her a glass of water.”
“She got on her knees for me, man,” Wyatt said, looking out the side window, almost talking to himself. “I was ready to say no, that there was no way I could do this, go down that road again. But seeing her there, I couldn’t fucking stop the urge. The need to claim her welled up and took over. Orders started falling out of my mouth like I was possessed by some former version of myself.”
Jace reached out and gripped Wyatt’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “Welcome back to the dark side, brother. We’ve got cookies. Hope you enjoy your stay.”
Wyatt turned his head, his tone deadpan. “You’re not helping.”
His brother laughed. “Come on. You’ve got a beautiful woman willing to play slave to you. And your business retreat issue is fixed. Embrace that. You’ve made this agreement. Now keep your word and stop stressing about it.”
Wyatt sagged in the seat. His word. That’s what he’d given Kelsey. And he didn’t go back on a promise. Plus, if he was honest with himself, he was already in too deep to walk away. How Kelsey had felt against him tonight, the way she’d melted under his commands had lit a fuse that wasn’t going to burn out easily. Even the sound of her voice, those soft cries as she came kept replaying in his head like some song he couldn’t shake.
He had to have her. And not only in his bed, but surrendering to his will, being his.
He prayed that a week would be enough, that he wouldn’t get consumed by that need like he had with Mia …
Because if he stripped Kelsey of even one ray of the light that seemed to shine from her, he’d never forgive himself.
You’re older now, more in control, he reminded himself. He wasn’t some lovesick college student. This was a sexual arrangement, not a relationship. Kelsey was not Mia.
Yeah. Now to get himself to believe it.
“Bring me to your place before you drop me off at mine,” Wyatt said, shoving the worries back into the dusty, dark corners of his mind and refocusing on the task at hand. He needed to take a page from Jace’s book and live in the moment for a change.
“Okay. How come?”
“Because I’m going to need you to open up Wicked for a private shopping session tonight. It’s time I use my investor discount, don’t you think?”
Jace’s grin was pure mischief. “I thought you’d never ask. Hope you’ve got an extra suitcase to bring on the trip, bro. Because you’re about to get the kink hookup of the year.”
* * *
Kelsey sat on a bench outside of The Ranch, her leg bumping up and down as she waited for Wyatt’s driver to pick her up. She was suddenly having visions of those scenes in Pretty Woman where the stuck-up shop owners were giving Julia Roberts shit because they thought she was trash. Kelsey glanced down at her simple white sweater and jeans, hoping her outfit didn’t scream “Imposter!” to anyone who looked too closely.
And what was Wyatt’s personal assistant going to think? Would Wyatt have told him or her that Kelsey was some new woman in his life, or would he have told the person the truth? The latter made her stomach churn. She’d been on the other side of judgment in her life too many times to count. She should be used to it by now—the upturned noses, the whispered comments, the passive-aggressive remarks. But, though she was more practiced at her outward response these days, that kind of judgment still chipped away at her with painful accuracy.
So when the limo pulled up a few minutes later, Kelsey had gone into
