Six Nights of Sin- The Complete Series

by Ellis O Day

  Taking Control

  CHAPTER 1: NICK

  Nick was stretched out on the bed, his cock already hard, pressed into the mattress. His hand skimmed across the sheets, searching for Sarah. He was ready for another round. When he found nothing but sheets he leaned up. Her perfume lingered on the bedding making him even harder. Where the hell was she?

  The bathroom door was closed, so he rolled over, waiting, the sheet tenting over his arousal. “Sarah, hurry up.” It was rude. She may have only been in there a minute or two but he was horny. When she didn’t answer, he got out of bed and knocked on the door. “Is everything okay?” Still nothing. No sound at all. Worry teased his mind. She might’ve fallen or something. “If you don’t answer, I’m coming in.” He waited another second or two and opened the door a crack, peering inside. It was empty.

  She couldn’t have left. She had to be in the living room or…the balcony. She wouldn’t be able to hear him from the balcony. He hurried into the other room but it was empty too. Completely empty. No Sarah and no Sarah’s clothes.

  “Son-of-a-bitch.” He scanned the room again. His brain unable to accept that she’d left. His eyes fell on a piece of paper on the table by the door. He strode over and picked it up. Oh, she was going to pay for this. He crumpled the note and tossed it across the room as he grabbed his cell phone from the table by the couch.

  Ethan, his friend and owner of La Petite Mort Club, answered on the fourth ring. “Hello.” His voice was rough with sleep.

  “Call Sarah. I want to meet with her today. Today!”

  “Jesus, Nick. Calm down. What happened?” Ethan was awake now.

  “She left that’s what happened?”

  “She left? Before you—”

  “No. We fucked.” But not enough.

  “Then—”

  “She broke the contract.”

  “But she showed up and you had sex, right?”

  “Yes.” He knew where Ethan was heading but he refused to go there.

  “Then, how did she break the contract?”

  “She was supposed to spend the night.” That sounded whiney to his own ears. “We had a deal.”

  “So, she left right after you had—”

  “I don’t know when she left. I was sleeping.”

  “Let me make sure I have this straight. She showed up. You had sex. You fell asleep and she left.” Ethan sounded a little confused.

  “No. She showed up and we fucked, several times and sometime later, when I was sleeping she snuck out.”

  “Snuck out?”

  “Well, she didn’t wake me.”

  “And you just realized this now, at five-thirteen a.m.”

  “Yeah.”

  “When was the last time you saw her?”

  “I don’t know what time it was. I woke. We had sex and I fell back asleep.”

  “So, she did spend the night.”

  “Not all of it.” He’d planned on fucking her well into the morning, maybe even into the afternoon.

  “Nick, stop being a baby. She didn’t break the contract.”

  “She did and I want to renegotiate.” He’d let her have her way far too much in the initial negotiations.

  “You know that’s only possible if the only other alternative is cancelling the contract. Are you ready to do that if she won’t agree to new terms?”

  She’d agree. He’d just given her multiple orgasms. She’d agree to anything he wanted. A twinge of doubt tickled his gut. She’d also left him in their warm bed and that wasn’t something a woman who’d bend to his wishes would do.

  “I hate to ask,”—Ethan paused—“but she did…enjoy the evening, right?”

  “Of course, she did.” He was insulted his friend had asked that. “The sex was great. Better than great. Fabulous.”

  “For her too.”

  “Yes, for her too.” He wanted to throw the phone against the wall. “I’m not a novice.”

  “I know.” Ethan hesitated. “Let me ask you again. Are you willing to risk five more nights of fabulous sex just to get her to agree to what…another couple of hours?”

  “Yes.” He’d risk it. She’d consent. She’d enjoyed herself as much as he had. Plus, he couldn’t keep letting her do whatever she wanted.

  Ethan sighed. “Are you sure? I’m only asking because…she has obligations that she won’t bend on. Obligations I respect.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I encouraged you to come see her at the Viewing because I thought you’d be good for her. I like her, Nick. She’s a good person who’s had some rough times.”

  “But you won’t tell me anything, including why she’s leaving my bed in the middle of the night.” Usually, he didn’t care that Ethan never disclosed anything that was uncovered during the background checks, but he didn’t like his friend knowing more about Sarah than he did.

  “You know I can’t and it’s morning.”

  “Barely.” He was usually up by now, but he’d wanted her here.

  “One more time, are you—”

  “I’m sure.” He wasn’t but he couldn’t let Ethan know that. “And I want the meeting today.”

  “I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to reach her today.”

  “I don’t care. Today or I cancel.”

  “Now, you’re being a dick.”

  “Fine, but no later than tomorrow.” He really didn’t want to cancel and he wouldn’t without seeing her. She may be able to resist him from a distance but she’d be as hot for him as he was for her once they were in the same room and that’d make her malleable to his will.

  CHAPTER 2: SARAH

  When Sarah walked into her house, Tank was waiting at the door. He almost vibrated with excitement as he barked and whined his greeting. She bent down, running her hands through his thick fur.

  “It’s okay, baby. Calm down.” She should’ve never left him. He was panting and stressed. He pushed against her, sniffing and knocking her to the floor. At about one hundred pounds, Tank was big even for a Belgian Malinois. “I’m home now.” She wrapped her arms around him and he rested his head against her chest for a second, seeming to sigh in relief and then he started sniffing her again. She needed to shower. Nick’s scent had to be all over her.

  “He did good tonight.” Lisa was sitting on a pile of blankets on the floor next to Tank’s bed. “He was a little nervous when you first left, but he settled down.”

  She gave the other woman a disbelieving look. Tank’s panting was just now slowing down.

  “I swear.” Lisa stood and started folding the blankets. “He was good until he heard your car.”

  “The guest bedroom not comfortable?”

  “Tank didn’t like it in there. He kept pacing. I didn’t want him to get too upset, so we came out here.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry.” She had to force the words past her lips. Lisa should be apologizing to her.

  “No big deal. I’ve slept in more uncomfortable places than your floor.”

  “Right.” She stood, trying to remember that Lisa was doing her a favor by staying here with Tank, but all she could think about was the past.

  Lisa and Adam had met in Afghanistan. They’d fallen in love in Afghanistan. They’d had sex in Afghanistan and Adam had called her and broken her heart from Afghanistan. And then, he’d died there. She hated that place. She hated that word.

  Lisa piled the blankets on the couch. “I should be going.”

  “Are you sure?” She wanted the other woman out of her house, but she’d been raised to be polite.

  “Yeah. Tom and the kids will be getting up soon.”

  “Okay.” Suddenly, she felt guilty and she hated it. Lisa was giving up time with her husband and kids to watch Tank. The other woman thought she was working late on a project that she couldn’t do from home. Tank nudge her hand and dread settled in her stomach. “Are you sure he did okay? I can cancel the project.” She really didn’t want to do that. It’d be expensive and…she wanted to see Nick ag
ain.

  “No.” Lisa bent and stroked Tank’s fur. “We had fun.” Her eyes locked with Sarah’s. “I swear, I’d tell you if he got too upset. I don’t want anything to happen to him either, but he was good.”

  She took a deep breath. She may not like Lisa but Lisa loved Tank almost as much as she did. “Okay. Can you still watch him next Saturday?”

  “Of course.” Lisa kissed Tank’s head. “I want to see my boy as much as I can before I deploy.” She glanced up. “You’re taking really good care of him. Thank you.”

  She nodded, her throat tight. “I try.”

  “Well, you’re doing great.” Lisa stroked his fur. “I know it’s not easy. He was a real wreck when Adam died.” She buried her face in Tank’s neck. “I thought we were going to lose him too. You saved his life.” She stood, tears in her eyes. “Thank you again for taking him and for letting me visit him all these years.” She stared at Tank. “I know it wasn’t easy for you.”

  “No, it wasn’t, but…it was the best thing for Tank.” She scratched his ear, taking a deep breath. Lisa was doing her a favor and it was time, past time, for this. “I never thanked you for contacting me about him. I think he saved my life too.” She smiled at the other woman. It was the first genuine smile she’d ever given Lisa.

  “Oh.” Surprise and gratitude sparkled in Lisa’s eyes. “I’ll see you next Saturday.”

  “You can sleep on the couch.” It wasn’t much of a concession but it was something.

  “Nah. I tried that. Tank was too anxious. He was better with me on the floor.” Lisa opened the door and hesitated. “Have you tried taking him to one of your doctors? You know the ones that work with the PTSD dogs.”

  It was none of Lisa’s business. Tank was her responsibility, but she kept her temper in check. “It’s hard. He panics if we go outside, except in the back yard. There’s too much stimulation for him.”

  “Oh.” Lisa opened her mouth as if to say something, paused and then said, “I should go.”

  “Goodnight and thank you.” She shut the door. She didn’t want a lecture about what was best for Tank from Lisa. It was bad enough she got one regularly from her mother and sister.

  She went into her bedroom, pulling off her clothes as she walked. Taking care of Tank was her job and of course, she’d tried everything to help him. She knew what she was doing. Her business specialized in treating emotionally injured animals, mainly dogs. She dealt a lot with military dogs and sometimes, PTSD couldn’t be fixed. Like humans, sometimes the mental anguish the animals suffered wasn’t repairable. Then, like with Tank, they did whatever they could to make the animal comfortable for the rest of his or her life.

  She turned on the water and stepped into the shower, washing away Nick’s scent. Too bad the memories of his touch weren’t as easy to remove. Her body refused to forget how he’d made her feel—desirable, sexy, hot and needy. A throbbing started between her legs. She pushed all thoughts of Nick and last night from her head. She was home. Nick didn’t belong here.

  She turned off the shower and got ready for bed. She crawled under her covers and grabbed her phone to set her alarm. She’d missed a call. She didn’t recognize the number. She logged into voice mail as Tank hopped on the bed and snuggled up against her side. She stroked his fur and her hand froze as she heard Ethan’s message. Nick wanted to meet, to renegotiate or he was cancelling their contract.

  CHAPTER 3: SARAH

  Sarah followed Ethan down the hallway. She had no idea what she’d done to upset Nick enough to cancel their arrangement. She’d thought they’d both had a good time, proving once again she had no idea what men wanted.

  “I’ll let you two talk. Hopefully, you can work this out.” Ethan stopped in front of a closed door.

  She nodded, her words getting caught in her throat. What was it about her that made men walk away without a second thought?

  “Just hear him out.” Ethan opened the door and stepped aside.

  Nick was sitting at the table, his back to her. It wasn’t a good sign that he didn’t even turn as she came inside. The door closed behind her but she stayed where she was. Her heart trying to pound its way up her chest and out her mouth. He wore business clothes today—black slacks and a white shirt that stretched over his broad shoulders. She remembered how his skin felt, hot and firm and his short black hair, so thick and soft. She wanted to run her fingers over his shoulders and into his hair, but that’d be a mistake today.

  “Are you going to stand there staring at me or are you going to take a seat so we can get this settled?” Other than taking a drink from his glass of scotch, he didn’t move.

  Another glass was on the table across from him. Probably, Crown for her but she wasn’t drinking tonight. She should because even though part of her regretted this sexual arrangement, another part of her didn’t want it to end. It’d been so good to be with a man and she wasn’t going through the club’s process again. That meant, she was back to her lonely life. No. She wasn’t lonely. She had her work and Tank. She didn’t need anyone else, to hell with Nick.

  She strode forward and sat at the table, looking directly at him even though it hurt. She’d seen that handsome face laugh and be kind and in the moment of ecstasy. It was hard to see the anger in his eyes. “I’m not sure what we have to work out.”

  “Really? You don’t think there’s anything about the other night we should discuss?”

  “I…I said I was sorry about being nervous at first, but I thought we got through that.”

  “This isn’t about you being nervous. That was fine. It ended up…very good.”

  She flushed. She’d enjoyed their game too and had looked forward to more.

  “Nothing else comes to mind?”

  She shook her head. The rest of the night had been excellent, except when she’d confused him for Adam and had almost cried, but there was no way he knew anything about that.

  He leaned forward. “You don’t feel even the littlest bit of remorse for sneaking out in the middle of the night before you’d satisfied the terms of our contract?”

  “This is because I left?”

  “Yes.” He leaned back, seeming pleased with himself. “You broke our deal.”

  “I did no such thing. I agreed to spend the night. I did.”

  “You did not.” His voice was hard and his dark eyes snapped with anger.

  “I arrived on Saturday and left on Sunday. Later than I should have, just so you know.” This was absurd. He was being absurd.

  “Later?” He almost stood. “You left before dawn. What time were you planning on leaving, twelve-o-one?”

  “No. I wanted to leave, needed to leave, by three. I didn’t leave until four. I was…” She’d almost said late but that’d bring too many questions.

  “Three? No.” He shook his head. “That’s not going to work.”

  “You should’ve thought of that when we were signing the contract.” She stood. There was no reason for her to be here.

  “Sit down.”

  She almost sat at the command, but she stopped herself. She wasn’t his employee or his slave. “I have to go.”

  “That seems to be a habit. One you need to break.”

  “Too bad.” She headed for the door. The man had a lot of nerve making her come down here after they’d agreed…

  “Then, I’m cancelling the contract.”

  She spun around. “On what grounds?”

  He turned. “I don’t need grounds. If I’m unhappy with the arrangement and I am, I can cancel after the first appointment.”

  A heaviness settled in her stomach. He wasn’t kidding. She walked back to the table and sat. She hated cowing to his wishes but she wanted to be with him again. After these six nights, she’d go back to being alone, but she really wanted this time. “I…I wish you wouldn’t.”

  Her confession seemed to erase some of his anger. “I don’t want to,” he said softly.

  “Then don’t.”

  “I need you to stay
through the night. Into the morning. Late morning.”

  “I…I can’t.” She reached across the table and touched his hand. It was a fleeting gesture but it sent a spark zinging through her body and settling between her legs. She wanted him right now.

  “Why?” His voice was hard again.

  “I…I can’t explain. It’s personal.”

  “Fuck personal. Tell me or we end this.”

  She shook her head. She couldn’t explain Tank. That’d bring up Adam and he didn’t have any place in a relationship like this one. “I’m sorry. I can’t.” She fought the tears. She wouldn’t cry in front of him. She wouldn’t. “I…you should know that if I could, I’d stay later, but I really can’t.”

  He tossed back the rest of his drink, watching her for several minutes. “You aren’t going home to a husband or lover. Ethan would’ve had that in the dossier.”

  “There’s no one.”

  “Then why do you have to leave at three a.m.?”

  She remained silent. She’d answered him the best she could.

  “Do you have a kid?”

  She shook her head. It was like a punch to the gut. No, she didn’t have a child. The baby had died too. Adam’s baby. Her baby.

  “Then I don’t understand.”

  “I’m sorry.” She couldn’t do this. The ghosts of Adam and their child were here now, haunting her memory. She stood. “I’m sorry. Truly, I am.” She headed to the door. She’d remember the look on his face for the rest of her life. Shock, disbelief and humor all mixed as if she were joking, had to be joking. She wished she were.

  “Wait.” He almost shouted.

  She stopped her hand on the doorknob.

  “I want another night.”

  “We’ve already gone over this. I can’t.”

  “You’re here now. You made time today.”

  “Barely.” She looked at her watch. “And I can’t stay long.” As it was, she’d had to get her sister to come by and sit with Tank. He liked Maisie and her son but after a couple of hours he started to stress. He was almost ten and his heart wasn’t good. She’d die if something happened to him because she was out having sex.