by Sorcha Black
This time when she looked at him, she really looked. She read misery there. Hopelessness. A man who was losing the woman he loved, not a man who was trying to be unreasonable. He needed reassurance, not impatience.
Elodie knelt in her place, on the floor between his chair and his stack of graphic novels, and waited.
“How far does it go? Do you love her?”
She edged closer, hoping he would put a hand in her hair – something to show they were still connected, that he wasn’t ending things. He didn’t touch her.
Lowering her chin, she tried to make eye contact, but he avoided it. It was like a physical blow.
Tess. How did she feel about her? She thought about the way the girl made her feel, made her laugh. Made her crazy. Could she give that up? Maybe, if Lock gave her an ultimatum. Was it fair to make him go that far? “I haven’t known her that long, but if she is the person she seems to be, I think I could love her someday.” The tension she could see in his shoulders pained her, but not as much as the twisting of her stomach.
“So your answer is ‘not yet’?”
Elodie nodded and dropped her gaze, which he didn’t want anyway. Oh god, she’d call Tess now and end things. She couldn’t live like this, with him rejecting her. There was no doubt she deserved this and more from him, but if he withdrew from her completely, it felt like she’d die. He was like water to her and he was going to let her shrivel in the sand, longing for him while he was inches away.
Tears rolled and she wiped them carefully so he would not see. She wasn’t one to use tears to manipulate a man.
“This wasn’t what I imagined for us. It was supposed to be you and me. My collar, your neck. What is this girl to me? A toy for you?” He gestured emphatically. “So you love each other and I’m supposed to feel grateful that I get to watch you fall in love while I get ignored?”
Sir rose and started to pace the room. Elodie shrank in upon herself.
“You have nothing to say?”
Now he was looking at her, but when she hazarded a look, his expression was fierce.
“I didn’t mean to, but that’s no excuse.” She shrugged and looked back down at the floor. “I’m not sure what you want me to say.”
“Maybe say that you’re not going to get obsessed with her and ignore me completely – or that you’re not going to run off with her.” The mournful desperation in his voice tore at her. Is that what he’d been thinking? “I know you don’t need my money. I have nothing to keep you here except me, and apparently I’m not good enough on my own.”
What had she done? She’d accepted his collar and now he thought she was rejecting him. She pressed her forehead to the floor.
“I’m so sorry, Sir.” Her voice wobbled, but she plowed on. “I like her so very much, but she isn’t a replacement for you. You make me feel protected, loved and controlled. Cherished. Things with her are different. She’s little and frightened and desperate for affection. When I’m with her I feel protective. The two of you fill different parts of me. I’ll walk away from her now if you want me to, but if you gave her a chance I really think you could have a relationship with her too.”
His footsteps circled her and she waited, wondering what he was thinking.
“Come here.”
When she looked up, he was sitting in his chair again. Elodie crawled closer then laid her head on his thigh. He flinched, but after a moment he touched her hair. Hope. She sobbed, unable to control it anymore.
He hauled her up into his lap, and she curled there, weeping, terrified, but he was holding her and that was the only thing that mattered.
“So you want to open our relationship up to other people.” His tone was resigned, but it was better than angry. He was petting her. Petting was good, right?
Using her shirt to dry her face, she tried to pull herself together. “Just maybe to her? Not to a bunch of people.”
“So you get a toy and I don’t? How is that fair?” His face was inscrutable. Did he want another girl?
She thought of him with some woman, other than Tess, and it made her more jealous than she’d thought possible. How was this fair to him, if he had to accept her choice, but she didn’t have to accept his? It wasn’t the same though, for him to have another girl, was it? “If you want a boyfriend, I’m willing to discuss it.”
Lock smacked her ass and barked a laugh. “I’ll pass.”
“Could you try to see if you could like Tess, though? For me?”
He sighed and laid his head back against the chair. “This has to be the weirdest fucking request I’ve ever heard of. ‘Sir, can you please try to fall in love with our maid?’ Only you would push for something this crazy, Minou.”
“I know, Sir. You are so patient to put up with me.” She kissed his chest, his neck, and the strong angle of his chin, silently pleading for him to give this a chance.
His body relaxed and he leaned his head on hers. “If this isn’t just going to be sex, we’re going to have to be more transparent about this. Totally open communication. When a couple opens their relationship it’s not supposed to work this way. We should have talked about it first, not after the fact.”
“She used a sneak attack. I wasn’t expecting it.”
He rolled his eyes, but laughed. “Was it a cute attack?”
“It was. It was so sneaky she didn’t even know she was doing it.”
One of his hands rhythmically patted her ass, and she felt the some of her anxiety drain away. The crisis was averted. For now.
“And what next? How long are we keeping her? Are we adding people to our relationship whenever you have a whim? Do I get a say?”
“You decide what happens next.”
One of his fingers twirled in her hair until it was well caught, then he tugged. “We’ll see if she and I can work things out. If we’re not compatible, it’ll complicate things.”
“Sir, if the two of you aren’t compatible, I’ll end things with her, myself.”
Now she just had to set the stage for them to fall in love with each other. How hard could that be?
Chapter Ten
“Your full name is Theresa Jennifer Mulligan.”
She cleared her throat, interrupting his recitation. “Don’t tell them my name is Theresa or I’ll smack you. Call me Tess.”
“You’ll smack me?” He arched a brow at her in a way that implied smacking him would be a bad idea. “Not TJ?”
“I’m a grown woman, not an eight-year-old boy.”
Lock winked and went on. “You’re twenty-two, have a diploma in early childhood education and you’re looking for a job in your field. Your parents are Larry and Charlotte Mulligan and they live in Florida, where you grew up.”
She laughed and covered her mouth with her hand, then dropped it as she thought of Elodie’s lectures about looking more confident. “Don’t say it like you’re doing a book report on me. It’s going to sound fake.”
Lock playfully swatted her thigh, and she gasped.
“Fuck, sorry Tess. I’m used to swatting Elodie when she’s bratty.” Lock gazed at her earnestly.
“I was just surprised. It’s no big deal.” She blushed and tried to ignore the arousal the small slap had started.
“I have to thank you again for doing this for me. I never should have mentioned I was dating someone, but when Elodie moved in with me I was so excited that I let it slip to a few people, then the whole office knew. The bosses have been bugging me to bring her along to something for months, and they’ve decided that if I don’t play along, that I’m not serious about my job.” His knuckles were white on the steering wheel. “I hate feeling like I have to hide her like this, but it’s what she wants.”
Tess patted his arm. “I know. She was telling me about it the other night. For all that she’s social and self-assured, when it comes to formal occasions she feels like she’s a liability.”
He sighed and turned in to the parking lot of the golf store. “I don’t know. I’ve been applying at o
ther, more modern firms, but it would probably involve moving again. It’s not impossible, but it’s inconvenient. We’re settled here, and I’m lazy.” Lock parked the car and turned to her. His smile was dazzling, and for a moment she couldn’t look away. “Besides, we’re finding this area of the country...interesting lately.”
The nervous flutter in her chest prompted her to break eye contact, but it was still difficult to do. Heat crept into her cheeks and she wondered if blushing so much was bad for a girl’s health.
“Are you? There’s a lot to do around here if you can afford it. Concerts, the amusement park, shopping – then in Cobalt Harbor there’s the beach, and more shopping and other things to do.” She was talking to the dashboard. Lock’s hand came to her cheek and he turned her face back toward him.
“Look at me when you’re talking to me.” His gaze was intense and made her mouth go dry. What was it with this bossy couple taking charge of her and making her panties damp? Why did she like it so much?
“Yes, Sir.” Sir? Where had that come from? Although, she’d heard Elodie say it so much it was almost like Sir was his name. Still, that had been kind of forward of her.
He smirked. “And don’t call me Sir while we’re shopping.”
Oh dear, that might be awkward.
Ugh. Spending money at the golf store. When she’d agreed to cover for Elodie at this function, she’d thought of loaner golf clubs and wearing something in her closet, but apparently that wasn’t what Lock had in mind.
As they walked into the store, he grabbed her hand and she had to force herself not to pull away. Elodie had declared Lock should start treating her like a girlfriend so that no one at the tournament would suspect they weren’t actually together, but Tess wasn’t sure it was necessary.
He stood at the desk talking to the store associate about what she might need, but most of it went over her head. All she could think about was the warmth where his hand rested on her waist. Was it pleasant for him to hold her like that? She was bony, so it probably wasn’t very sexy. As for her, it made her think of sex too much. What if he slid his hand down her thigh and pressed between her legs? The counter was in the way and the salesman was busy. She looked at his other hand where it rested on the counter and wondered if she could even get one of his huge fingers into her without a lot of work.
And she refused to think about how it had felt when he’d rubbed the pad of his finger over her other hole. Visions of him coming at her with a butt plug – which she’d kind of accidentally Googled after Elodie had told her he used them on her – both terrified her and turned her on.
“Right, honey?” Lock patted her back, and she realized she had no clue what he’d been saying to the salesman. She gave a weak smile and a half shrug. The sales guy turned away chattering about something, but Lock’s sharp gaze told her he wasn’t fooled.
She felt another blush creep up her neck. Lock gave her a slow, sexy smile that just made her blush harder.
He knew everything. She was sure of it. He could tell she was wondering how it would feel to have his cock buried inside of her, and have Elodie doing things with her tongue, and...
Why didn’t she carry a vibe in her purse? Maybe because she didn’t own one. Poor planning on her part.
She tried to focus on golf, but she kept staring at his hands every time he picked something up.
The way he handled Elodie, as though he owned her, was disturbing and hot. Could Tess handle him treating her like that? Even if she ended things with them now, were a lot of guys into this sort of thing? It seemed like everyone she knew was kinky. What if Tristan was too?
“Can you think of anything else you need?” He was smiling down at her, the innuendo thick in the air. How had she never realized how charming he was before today?
The clerk started to scan their purchases and Tess excused herself and went out to the car. She needed to clear her head. The whirlwind shopping trip cost so much. Hopefully he’d be able to sell it all later, because the idea of wasting so much money made her ill. The clubs Lock had chosen for her cost more than her rent, and when the shoes and clothes were added, she couldn’t even think about it.
When he got into the car with her, she did her best to stay as far from him as possible. This was dangerous ground, being innuendoed at by a middle class man who was almost married to a girl she had a crush on.
“So we’ll go practice for a while, and if you’re comfortable maybe we’ll play nine holes.”
The word ‘holes’ coming from Lock’s mouth sounded dirty and she tried not to laugh. She never used to get sex jokes, but Elodie and Lock made so many that now it was becoming second nature. Did every adult in the world walk around thinking about sex all the time? How many jokes had she missed over the years?
The driving range was quiet, and Lock spent some time correcting her swing and explaining rules and scoring. All she really planned on doing was making nice with the wives and trying not to make Lock look bad, but he was determined that she should be able to play at least a bit.
“You have to follow through when you swing.” Lock adjusted her stance again, but when he touched her it distracted her more than anything. He stood behind her and put his arms and hands over hers, guiding her through the stroke again. “Like this.”
She groaned inwardly, only half listening. Like this moment didn’t have romcom written all over it. Now she just needed to twist her ankle somehow to complete the scene.
“Are you listening, Mouse?” In her ear, his voice had turned growly. He stepped closer and pulled her into him, pressing his groin against her ass. Oh fuck, was he hard? His breath tickled her bare shoulder. Why had she let Elodie talk her into a tanktop? Tess felt that much closer to being naked. Her body wanted everything this man had to offer, but the amount of guilt that came with her lustful thoughts made the situation uncomfortable.
“Yes, S–Lock.” She tried to nonchalantly extricate herself from his grasp, but that just seemed to make him more interested.
Was he going to try something on the way home?
Okay, so he was hot. If he was single, she’d be mooning after him like an idiot. But he was Elodie’s, and although Elodie had been encouraging them to make out while they were alone together today, the truth remained that she felt like she was cheating with her best friend’s boyfriend and also cheating on the girl she was already half in love with. Between her feelings for Elodie and the gratitude, letting Lock get handsy with her when they were alone felt wrong. What if her friend only thought she was okay with the idea, when the reality might make her hate Tess? Losing Elodie by developing a crush on Lock was idiotic.
After nine holes of golf, to her horror, Lock insisted on driving her home. What if he asked to come up? She’d explain she had to get ready for work – well, she did, so that was a good excuse, right? Her shift wasn’t for a few hours, but he didn’t need to know that.
For a few minutes she toyed with the idea of directing him to drop her off at another building down the street that didn’t look as crappy from the outside, but then she realized that Lock being Lock, he might insist on walking her up and then what would she do? Admit she lied? They pulled up outside her building, and he cut the car’s motor.
“Okay, well this was a productive day.” Tess unbuckled her seatbelt and clutched her purse to her belly, hoping it would calm some of her butterflies. “Thanks for everything and I’ll talk to you the day after tomorrow when I come by to clean.” She reached for the door handle and he put a staying hand on her arm.
“Hang on. I’m going to walk you to your door.” He glanced up and down the street, looking displeased. If he thought the neighborhood was bad now, he didn’t want to see it once it was dark. “Stay.”
He got out of the car and came around to her side, then opened the door and handed her out like she was the queen getting out of a carriage. The rough-looking men who hung out on the front step two doors down – the ones that usually yelled dirty things at her when she walked by –
sized up Lock and stayed silent. They were one of the reasons she carried a pocketknife in her purse, although she was pretty sure if she tried to use it, an attacker would take it away and use it on her instead.
“Lead the way.” He stepped back and let her pass, but kept steering her around the garbage and beer bottles that littered the street. Did he think she didn’t do this on her own every day? His concern was cute, though.
They walked into the building and he tsked.
“What?” She looked around and tried to see the place through his eyes. The halls were dirty and covered with graffiti and there was just as much garbage in here as there was outside. It was hard to decide which stench was most prominent – garbage, mold, or something dead.
“There’s no security door. That’s not very safe for you, a woman living alone.”
She shrugged. “Apartments aren’t cheap – even crappy ones.” Sure it wasn’t the Hilton, but it was hers. The places she was raised in hadn’t been much better. Lock must have grown up middle class, if places like this surprised him. They got to her door and she turned to face him. “Well, this is me. Thanks again for today. It was educational.”
His brow rose. “I’m not dropping you off in the hall, Tess. Get in there.”
With a sigh, she dug through her purse and came up with her keys, then fought with the deadbolt to get it open.
“Does it always stick like that?”
With him breathing down her neck, she felt like it took a million years, especially since all sorts of dirty thoughts ran through her head. She was bringing a man into her apartment – a hot one who apparently had a lot of interesting proclivities.
Had she left anything embarrassing out? She tried to remember if she’d left underwear on the floor or something, but it was too late now. Maybe he wouldn’t come in.
Finally the door popped open. A quick scan told her she hadn’t left the new pack of maxi pads on the coffee table, thank goodness. She turned back to him.
“Well, see you later.”
He smiled down at her, predator to prey. “You’re not going to invite me in for a minute?”