by Poppy Flynn
Oh, he knew, now, that Desi and Jake had been very close friends back in the days when she and Joel had been 'dating', if you went with Desi's version of events—'training', if you went with Joel's—and that Jake had occasionally scened with the two of them as a 'third', but this was something else. They spent a lot of time together, and Connor wasn't so oblivious that he couldn't see the way Jake was coaxing Desi out of her shell. As for whatever the hell was going on with them personally, God only knew. Connor sure as hell didn't, that was for sure. Just like he wasn't at all sure what was going on between himself and Fluff.
He forced himself to think of her that way, even when they were at work. He'd been trying to keep her at arm's length, but she had a way of worming under his skin. It made him start to realise that he hadn't scened with another submissive during all the weeks he'd been here on the east coast. Hell, he hadn't even scened with anyone during the times he went back to Club Risqué and his regular south coast haunts.
What the heck was that all about? Whatever it was, it was something Connor didn't want to dissect too closely. Next time he was at home, he'd make sure to rectify that little oversight. It wasn't like he'd made any promises to Laurel. In fact, he'd been damn careful to avoid it. It's just that she still had the ability to turn him on faster and hotter than any other woman had in a damn long time, maybe ever, so where was the point of scening with a different sub who was just going to leave him frustrated and unfulfilled?
Hell, maybe it would be better all-round if he didn't scene at all. The thought made him unaccountably angry. Damned if he was going to let any bratty little sub to whom he didn't owe one damn thing delegate how he lived his life.
At least things were coming along with 'Perversions'. The kink club was well on the way to becoming the next Club Risqué. The negotiations were done. They were just waiting to sign on the dotted line. If Joel would just get his arse back here long enough to deal with the paperwork, they'd be set, but the man was clearly too busy avoiding Desi Harper, and sometimes Connor knew exactly how he felt.
When he and Fluff played together, it was like nothing he had ever experienced before. But that very knowledge made him wary. She made him lose control.
Oh, he was careful since that first time, but it was always such a goddamn struggle that he had to wonder at the wisdom of it. She took him to the edge and made him vulnerable in a way he had promised himself he never would be again.
For a bleak moment, a vision of Rayleen shimmered in front of his unseeing eyes as he gazed blindly out of his office window. He had loved her in the way that only a young boy who had been deprived of tenderness and raised by a distant father could love the woman who had stepped into his dead mother's shoes and managed to warm his father's heart, giving him his first taste of maternal affection. He'd thought the sun had risen and set with his beautiful, glamorous step mother.
Connor growled deep in his throat and forced the image away. No way, he was going down that path. First chance he got, he was scening with somebody else. Of course, he never imagined that it would end up being Desi!
Laurel didn't need to be working late today. It was midweek, and things had settled since the first buzz of excitement about the buyout had caused a shockwave to reverberate through Universal Holdings a couple of months ago. Of course, things were still on edge, but everyone was trying to act and pretend that everything was normal.
Laurel had watched with a fascination that she was sure must be shared by many others at the company as Desirae had slowly transformed into a completely different person. Or maybe it was just that Laurel saw it close up and personal, since she was her PA.
Today, there had been a whole lot of hushed conversations going on that had tweaked Laurel's curiosity. Between Joel and Desirae, but those had a slightly awkward and stilted vibe to them. Between Jake and Desirae—those were earnest and had a certain intensity to them—but most intriguingly, between Connor and Desirae. They'd both looked up guiltily when she'd popped into her boss' office to drop off some paperwork that needed signing, like there was something going on between them. Laurel had narrowed her eyes at Connor, but he had avoided her gaze, making Laurel even more suspicious about what was going on. Even the ever-cool Desirae had been uncharacteristically flustered and unsettled by Laurel's presence, waving her off and hurrying to close the door behind her retreating back as if she had something to hide. And if something was going on between them, then, surely, as Connor's regular submissive, she had a right to know?
She'd even gone so far as to corner Connor in the break room that afternoon.
"Why don't you come over to my place this evening and I'll make you a nice home-cooked meal," she had invited with an over-bright smile as she carefully watched his reaction. "I know how much you hate the revolving door of restaurants and take-out food while you're holed up in that hotel."
Connor had frowned and shuffled from foot to foot, an uncharacteristically nervous gesture on his part. And he still wouldn't look her in the eye, either.
"Not tonight, Fluff. I have to catch a flight back home this evening."
The use of her club name should have been tantamount to an endearment, a testament to the closeness of their relationship, but for some reason, it grated on Laurel. She preferred it when he called her pet.
"That's not until late tonight," she pointed out. She knew exactly when his plane took off.
"I need to get packed," he evaded, and Laurel knew she was being fobbed off. Connor had gone home many times in the past months and he had never bothered to pack before. The Blackwood corporation had a number of hotel suites on long term retainer, precisely so its staff didn't need to worry about dragging a lot of luggage to and fro.
"You have plenty of time before you need to leave," Laurel argued.
"I said not tonight!" Connor snapped, and he strode out of the room without waiting for his coffee to finish percolating.
Laurel had been taken aback, but instead of putting her off, it had just made her all the more determined to find out what was going on. Did he have a date with someone else? Was that it...Desirae?
She certainly seemed to be getting around a bit lately, Laurel thought sourly. First gallivanting around with Jake Blackwood for weeks, then turning up at the kink club and playing with Joel—oh, yeah, Laurel had heard all about the scene they'd done together at Perversions. There might be a non-disclosure agreement in place, but it didn't stop the members and staff from talking between themselves. The outwardly aloof Desirae Harper had quite a hidden side to her. And a kinky one at that. For all her boss' chilly, detached demeanour, this obviously wasn't her first rodeo. As astounding as it might seem, Desirae clearly had some kind of submissive training.
So now, here Laurel was, hanging around under the pretence of working late. Desirae still hadn't left the building, and neither had Connor and the rest of the Blackwood contingent.
She was loitering shamelessly, waiting to see who left when and with whom, when she was surprised by Luanna Morgan, the new Finance Manager.
"Oh, hi, Laurel." The other woman smiled. "I thought I was the only person still working this late."
"Oh, no," Laurel replied cheerfully. "There are a few of us left on this floor still and some upstairs as well, I think."
In fact, she knew exactly. She'd been keeping tabs on who was still about. They all had to walk right past her office to get to either the main elevator bank or the staircase, so nobody was leaving without her knowing about it.
Well, I'm done for the day," Luanna confessed. "I'm just making up an hour since I've got to take my son to the dentist in the morning."
Laurel nodded politely, only half listening as she trained the rest of her attention on what was going on around them. Still, she was aware that Luanna was a single mother to a teenage son, even though the redhead was only in her early thirties.
Laurel manoeuvred closer to the door as she heard someone coming down the stairs. She tried not to show her disappointment when it turned out t
o be Logan Thornton, the Blackwood's legal director. A low hum of appreciation had her turning back in surprise, just in time to see a speculative gleam light up Luanna's eyes as she followed Logan's retreating figure down the corridor.
"Takeover issues aside, there's certainly no shortage of man candy around here since the Blackwood entourage moved in." Laurel grinned wickedly.
Luanna only nodded, but her eyes didn't leave the man until he was out of sight. Noticing Laurel watching her, Luanna caught herself and tried to hide a blush.
"Well, I really have to be going. See you tomorrow," she said, hurrying away.
"Bye," Laurel called just as the Blackwood cousins made their way to the elevators, talking in furiously hushed tones. The doors had just closed when another set of footsteps sounded on the stairs. Laurel would recognise Connor's gait anywhere and grabbed up her purse and coat, determined to waylay him in the lift. She was just locking her office as Connor pressed the button, but instead of waiting, he pushed through the stairwell door in a hurry. Laurel frowned and dived into the elevator he had called but not waited for. As the doors closed, she heard the distinct tapping of a pair of ladies' heels on the stairs, but her thoughts were still on Connor. She could probably intercept him at the bottom.
Laurel tapped her fingers impatiently. The lift she was in must have stopped at every single floor. Connor would be gone at this rate. She scowled as the person next to her pressed the button to get off a stop before the bottom. Hurry up! she silently admonished.
Laurel powered out of the elevator car as soon as it hit the ground floor, pushing past several people who had gotten on in front of her.
Screeching to a halt halfway across the foyer, she frantically looked around for Connor, but he was nowhere to be seen. Laurel raced to the door and shielded her eyes with her hand against the late afternoon sun.
There! On the other side of the road, Laurel saw Connor walking toward a car. He opened the rear door and then paused as if holding it for someone. She saw his lips move and followed his line of vision, taking an instinctive step backward into the shade of the Universal building, when she saw Desirae hurrying towards the vehicle. How on earth had she managed that? She had still been upstairs when Laurel had left her office. The woman must have beaten her down in the other elevator car.
Laurel pressed her back into the wall of the porch overhang and pressed her lips together as she watched Connor help her boss into the back of the car where she scooted across the seat, so he could follow her in.
Laurel scowled and felt an unwelcome prickle behind her eyes. Packing? Yeah, like hell he was!
Well, she wasn't going to take this lying down. Blinking hard and rubbing at the unexpected ache in her chest, Laurel planned her next move. She might not be able to follow him, but she could make sure she 'accidentally' bumped into him before he caught his plane. He'd have to return to his hotel at some point and Laurel planned to lie in wait for his return.
She just needed to drive home and change first, so it looked like she'd just casually popped in. If her actions were bordering on obsessive, then it certainly didn't occur to her.
Two and a half hours later, Laurel was slumped in her car in the hotel car park, scowling and watching the front entrance like a hawk.
Two and a half hours. One hundred and fifty minutes, and Laurel had been here for the last two of those hours. She knew Connor wasn't in his suite, because she'd called the front desk and asked to be connected to his room to check.
She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. He'd have to come back soon, if he was going to get to the airport on time.
Another twelve minutes… Laurel popped up in the seat when she saw Connor hurrying across the road. Her eyes narrowed. He looked dishevelled in a manner that was unusual for the normally pristine Dom, but he was still in the suit he'd worn to work that day, though in the waning evening light, it looked like his tie was missing.
Laurel was springing out of her car even as she assessed the situation. Connor was moving fast. She ran to the side of the hotel, grateful that she'd dressed casually in jeans and trainers. Slipping around the edge of the building and into the foyer ahead of him, Laurel gave a soft, triumphant laugh as she managed to time her intercept almost perfectly. Halfway across the floor, she spun around to face Connor, who had just come through the door, making it appear as if she was just leaving.
Connor started when he saw her, and Laurel pasted a huge smile on her face.
"I thought I'd missed you," she exclaimed happily, stuffing down the dark thoughts of the past couple of hours.
"What are you doing here?" Connor frowned, barely slowing his pace toward the elevator bank.
"I just thought I'd pop over and say goodbye," Laurel replied, doing her best to aim for open and casual despite the knot of irrational fury that balled in the pit of her stomach. "I thought I was too late and you'd already left." She paused deliberately. "But it doesn't look like you've been back here yet. Where have you been?"
Laurel ducked her head and winced. She'd tried to keep the accusation out of her voice, but she knew it had slipped in there.
"I went to grab something to eat," Connor said defensively. Why was he having to explain himself to her?
Laurel noticed his shirt was ripped and some of the buttons missing. "Was there a stampede for the food?" she asked savagely, tugging on the ruined clothing. "You look like you fought for it!" She hissed a breath out. "Why don't you just tell me the truth?" she accused.
Connor grabbed her hand and held it away from him. "Look, Fluff, we've scened together at a club by mutual agreement for a few weeks. That's it! Where the hell is this possessiveness coming from suddenly?" Connor gritted out, dropping her hand as if it might scald him. "I thought we were both clear on exactly where the parameters of our relationship stand, but if it's an issue, maybe we'd better call it a day."
Laurel took an instinctive step back and sucked in a breath, feeling as if he'd slapped her physically rather than metaphorically. Then she choked out a laugh that sounded forced even to her own ears.
"Jeez, I thought we'd become friends, Connor," Laurel retorted, desperately trying to backtrack. "Not just kink buddies. Pardon me for not realising the two were mutually exclusive. My mistake!" she huffed, moving to the side as if to step around him, trying her best to put on a nonchalant air, as if this make or break scenario wasn't remotely important to her, praying all the while that she hadn't just blown it with her indignant, adolescent behaviour and petty jealousy.
"You seemed weirded out earlier, so I thought I'd come by and see if there was anything you needed before you left. Sorry I bothered!" she finished with an indignant show of false indifference.
She'd taken two steps toward the doors, her heart sinking into her stomach before Connor stopped her with a hand on her arm.
He huffed out an audible sigh. "Look, I'm sorry, okay." Connor closed his eyes. He liked the girl, damn it, and didn't want to leave things on a sour note. Maybe if he told her the truth, she'd realise where they stood together. He enjoyed scening with her—hell, he loved it! And he'd like what they shared to continue, but it had to be on the terms they'd originally agreed. If she wanted to be friends, then fine. Maybe that could work, too. He just had an unsettling feeling, sometimes, that Laurel was a bit more invested than she let on. But perhaps that was just him being paranoid because of his own fears and distrust.
She certainly always managed to make him feel like he was bending things out of all proportion when he pulled her up on it, so he wasn't sure what to think. But, surely, if he was straightforward and honest, they could enjoy what they shared together without any misunderstandings or recriminations.
"If you must know, I was asked to take part in a ménage scene and I agreed. But that sort of stuff is private and personal, not the kind of thing you banter about in the break room, and certainly not anything that I'm going to have casual conversations about with you or anybody else. If that offends you, then I'm sorry, but it's not
something that will ever change. You should know better, having been in the lifestyle as long as you have, that we have non-disclosure agreements for a reason. They're to protect you just as much as everybody else."
Connor's blunt reprimand made her feel small and petty but not as much as the revelation that he had scened with someone else kicked her in the heart.
She fought hard to appear indifferent and unaffected by his words. As she swallowed convulsively and took a shaky breath, she forced her voice to sound strong and knew it was time to beat a hasty retreat before she gave away a whole lot more than Connor would be comfortable with.
"Look, Connor, we've obviously had a bit of misunderstanding here," she announced as stridently as she could manage. "Let's just pick it up when you're back in town."
With that, she strode confidently to the door as if she didn't have a care and made her way to her car.
Connor looked after Laurel in bemusement. Then he shook his head and made his way up to his suite, berating himself for obviously misreading the situation so badly and breathing a heartfelt sigh of relief. Damn it, he needed to be a little more easy-going in the future, he admonished himself, if he was going avoid risking the relationships he enjoyed in his life for no reason other than his own paranoia.
In the car-park, Laurel fumbled with her keys. Her hands were shaking and her breaths starting to come in short, choppy pants. Inside, she felt like she was dying, like someone had stabbed a knife right through her heart with a rusty blade that was left to fester, but she was determined to get away from the hotel and out of Connor's sight before she fell to pieces in a fit of anguish and rage.
Laurel was uncharacteristically out of sorts. She was as sour as she had been for the past two weeks, which was exactly when she had last seen Connor. She glared at her boss at every opportunity she got and spoke to her in sentences of only one word, if she had to speak to her at all. Of course, Ms. Desirae Harper seemed to be mostly oblivious of Laurel's snubs. Or if she was aware, then she didn't call her on it, which just served to make Laurel even more irritated. And why? Because Desirae had gone right behind her back and taken part in a steamy BDSM scene with Connor.