by Dakota Trace
Caelan watched as Kalinda walked back into his spare bedroom. Something had to be done about this. It had been nearly two weeks since the kidnapping and bust at Olivia’s. He’d never thought he’d see her control her impulsive nature, but Dominic’s refusal to see her had temporarily taken the wind out of her sails. His sister had been quiet the first couple days while keeping tabs on Dominic through Josh, but she’d become more irritable as the days had passed. When one week had turned into nearly two, he’d witnessed his sister’s growing aggravation. It didn’t take much to set her off. In fact Josh had made himself scarce after she’d torn a strip off his hide last night. Grabbing his keys, he hollered for Nisey. When she came into the kitchen still looking incredibly rumpled in his t-shirt, he smiled.
“Morning, Máister.” She wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Good morning, grá.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I need you to do something for me.”
She yawned as she stepped back. “Of course.”
“You’ve got to stall Hurricane Kalinda until I come back downstairs.”
Nisey cocked her head before a grin tugged at her lips. “Hurricane Kalinda?”
He leaned over to kiss her lips. “Yeah. She’s pissed Dominic still hasn’t called. If the look she had on her face before she headed back to take her shower was any indication, as soon as she gets out Dominic is gonna wish he’d never tried to shut her out.”
Humor crinkled the corners of her eyes. “So you want me to stall her while you…”
“…go upstairs to warn him that all hell is about to break loose.” When Nisey crossed her arms over breasts and glowered at him, he winced.
“Why should you warn him? He’s the one who chose to shut her out.”
He cupped her cheek. “Because he’s my friend. While I agree with you, we Doms have to stick together.” He gave her another quick kiss. “Plus I need to make sure that the apartment is in at least decent shape. She’s gonna go through the roof if he’s let it go to hell.”
Just then, Caelan heard the shower shut off. “Fuck! Stall her.” He raced out the front door. Rushing up the stairs to Kalinda’s apartment, he didn’t bother knocking on the door. He simply slid the key into the lock and let himself in. His nose wrinkled as the putrid smell hit him. Looking around, he couldn’t remember ever seeing his sister’s apartment such a filthy mess. There were take-out boxes scattered across every available surface. The garbage in the kitchen was overflowing. He knew that Josh had been dealing with a very stubborn Cajun, but this dirty hodgepodge was ridiculous. If his sister saw this mess, she’d go through the damn roof. Calling out to either Dominic or Josh, he quickly yanked the bag out of the can before grabbing a new bag from under the sink. After tying up the one bag, he dragged the can out of the kitchen to begin gathering up the smelly Chinese takeout boxes.
“Damnit, guys! Kalinda is on her way up...get your asses out here.” From the back of the apartment he heard a muttered curse before the sound of ‘man stumbling out of bed’ reached his ears. In his rush around the futon, he nearly tripped over the partial six pack of beer. That’s when he saw it. Tipped on its side on the coffee table a three quarters empty bottle was dripping beer into Kalinda’s prized teacup rose bush.
“Son of a bitch!” He was just reaching for the bottle when Kalinda stormed into the apartment. Behind her in the open doorway, Nisey wrung her hands.
“I tried, honest!” The tears in her eyes were nearly heart breaking.
Kalinda looked around the living room while Caelan held his breath. Her eyes seemed to take in every surface. When she didn’t say anything for a moment, he thought perhaps, by some miracle, everything would be okay. That was until her eyes landed on the bottle dripping beer into her rose bush. He watched in fascination as her face flushed before her hands landed on her hips. He’d obviously thought too soon and very wrong.
“Dominic Martíne LaFontane, get your ass out here!”
A low grumble filled the air as Dominic slowly entered the living room. He was wearing nothing more than a pair of drawstring sleep shorts. His chest was bare, exposing the white bandage high on his left shoulder.
“Just who the hell do you think you’re talking to, chérie?” His dark eyes were bloodshot.
She paled but held her ground. “The stupid ass Cajun who’s supposed to be my Master.” She ran her eyes up and down his body. “One that looks a little worse for wear too.”
“Which is exactly why I didn’t want you to see me like this.” He turned to head back down the hall, his steps slow. “Leave, Kalinda.”
* * * *
Gritting his teeth against the pain in his shoulder, Dominic tried to make it back to the bathroom where his pain meds were without jarring his shoulder. He knew he had just been a total ass to Kalinda, but he hadn’t been able to stop himself. Before he’d been released his doctor had told him that surgery might be required to permanently repair his shoulder, but he needed to run a few tests to determine if it would be required immediately or could be postponed for sixty days. Last night he’d found out that if he wanted any movement at all in that shoulder he’d have to go under the knife almost immediately. With that one call, Dominic had seen his dream of sharing Kalinda with Josh going down the drain. After his experience with Simone, he wasn’t going to chance Kalinda walking away from him when the going got tough - instead he was going to do the walking. She had Josh waiting in the wings to take care of her. In fact, when Josh came home from work today, he was going to tell him to take Kalinda back to his condo. As soon as the doctor gave the okay for travel, he was heading back out to California to reevaluate his options. The other man should happy about it. He’s getting what he wanted from the beginning - Kalinda.
He was just entering the bathroom when a pair of slender arms wrapped around his waist from behind. He stiffened. He should’ve known that Kalinda wouldn’t leave without a knock-down, drag-out fight. It was the primary reason why he’d avoided calling her.
“What part of leave didn’t you understand, Kalinda?” He hardened his heart against the soft gasp against his back. In his sleep pants, his cock stirred. Even in pain the feel of her pressed against his back had him longing to throw her over the nearest flat surface to fuck the hell out of her. Reminding himself that it was no longer a possibility was difficult. “I meant it. This thing between us is over.”
Her arms dropped from his waist. “Why, Master? Is it because of what happened at Olivia’s?” The catch her voice had him calling himself every bit of a fool. He knew from Josh that she’d felt guilty as hell about responding to Raphael’s touch. She’d thought that the fact the other man had made her beg in front of her Master would be detrimental to their relationship. If he hadn’t been shot, he’d have been the first to reassure her that it wasn’t the case. While he hadn’t known that Raphael had been an undercover operative, he knew that there had been one in the Gilded Lily’s organization. All he had to do was wait for the operative to tip his hand. He’d been giddy with relief after he’d been introduced to the operative in the hospital, who had assured him that nearly half of what he’d seen was faked. His ‘subbie’ was an excellent actress.
“Is that the reason, Master?”
The uncertainty in her voice was killing him. “I don’t want to be your master anymore, Kalinda. It’s over.”
When it grew silent behind him, he thought perhaps she’d left.
“Turn around.” Her order came out brittle sounding.
“Why can’t you just let this go?” He slammed his good fist down on the bathroom counter.
“Not until you can look me in the eye when you tell me we’re through. I’ve gotten the Dear Jane letter once damn it. If you’re going to dump me, then at least be a big enough man to look me in the eye when you do.”
He squeezed his eyes shut against the pain her confession brought. Had Josh actually broken it off with her in a letter? No wonder she’d gone off the deep end. Turning to face her, he took in the vulnerable expression
on her face before he did the one thing he’d sworn never to do. He lied to her.
* * * *
Dominic was packing his things when he heard a throat clearing behind him. Without looking over his shoulder, he answered. “You’re early. I’ll be gone shortly, Kalinda.” Before she left the apartment, she’d told him she wanted him gone in an hour.
“Exactly what the hell did you do, Dominic?” Caelan’s voice was cold.
“It’s between your sister and me.” He zipped the toy bag shut after removing Kalinda’s favorite flogger and her anal plug. Placing them with the remote on the bedside table, he looked around the room to see if he’d missed anything. His heart nearly broke when he saw the white peachskin dress she’d worn only a week before. He’d had the world at his feet then.
“What about me?” Josh’s voice had his head lifting. He’d hoped that he’d be gone before Josh had made it back over to check on him.
“What about you?” He used his good arm to lift his duffel off the bed. He moved to leave the room only to find Josh blocking him. Evidently Caelan had called the other man after Kalinda had fled downstairs in a fit of angry tears. “Move, Josh.”
Josh narrowed his eyes at him. “No. You can’t seriously be thinking of doing this to her. It’s bad enough I fucked up two years ago, but at least I had honorable motives for doing what I did. You’re just hurting her to avoid the chance she might walk away when you need her. She’s not fucking Simone!”
Even though the other man had hit the nail on the head, Dominic denied it. “You don’t have a fucking clue what you’re talking about. At least I had the decency to look her in the face when I broke it off. How could you kick her out of your life with a fucking letter? If I were her I also would’ve run as far and fast as I could.” Dominic used the bag to push past Josh.
Josh grabbed him by the front of his shirt before slamming him up against the hallway wall. The sound of Kalinda’s knick-knacks rattling were unheard by him as bone searing pain enveloped Dominic. “Like you are? I never figured you for a coward or a quitter, LaFontane.”
“I’m not but Simone…”
“Get it through your thick fucking Cajun head. Kalinda would never leave you just because the going got tough. She’s as true blue as they come. Why the hell do you think I left her a letter before running like hell? I spent the next three months refusing to return her calls while moving from town to town so she couldn’t find me. I had to force her out of my life because if I’d simply told her that I wanted her to experience other Doms, she’d have laughed in my face before worming her way deeper under my skin and into my heart. She is not Simone!”
Dominic hissed when the pain in his shoulder quadrupled when Josh shook him. Sweat beaded on his face as he tried to deal with the agony, even as he’d realized the other man was right. He’d let his own fear of being abandoned fuck him over. His beautiful slave would never leave him - unless he threw her out. God, I fucked this up.
“So, you had better listen to me and listen good…” Josh’s continuing tirade jerked him out of his thoughts. “…this is not happening, you arrogant bastard! You dragged me back into this relationship kicking and screaming. I’ll be damned if you’re gonna bail on me now.”
Dominic could hardly believe what he’d just heard, especially when Josh leaned until their faces were mere inches apart. “That’s right, you ass! You have just as much of a relationship with me as you do with her. Not only have I’ve wiped your ass for the past two weeks, I’m the same man who you begged to just give this threesome a chance. I’ll be goddamned if I’m letting you walk away now.”
Gritting his teeth against the pain in his shoulder, Dominic tried to push back against Josh’s hold. A sharp groan escaped him when the other man pushed back.
“Quit struggling, you fucking idiot. All you’re doing is hurting yourself - and I’m just enough of a dominating asshole to not care.”
“Like I fucking didn’t know that!” Dominic had to close his eyes against the pain at Josh’s blatant reminder of why he had chosen the other man as his third. “Even if I wanted to get her back, it’s too late, Josh. She’ll never forgive me. I hurt her - badly.”
Josh sighed. “You royally fucked yourself. From one fool to another, welcome to the club.” Dominic stumbled when the other man released him, before picking up the bag which had hit the floor during their tussle.
“The club?” Dominic cringed at the thought that they actually needed a club to commemorate the fact they’d both hurt Kalinda.
“Yeah, the one that I’m starting right now - the “Get Back in Kalinda’s Good Graces” club. Our first move is to move you into my condo. Does she expect you to go back to California?”
He nodded. “Yeah, she told me to take my toys and go home because she wasn’t going to play with me anymore.”
Josh winced. “Ouch.” A grin slowly crossed the other man’s face after a moment. “We’re going to give her exactly what she wants.”
Dominic tried to make sense of what Josh was saying. “I’m going back to L.A.? How does that…” He winced when Josh threw an arm over his shoulders.
“Tell me, where is your home right now?”
Dominic prayed for patience. “As of right now? No where. I gave up my apartment in LA when I went back two weeks ago.”
“I’m not talking about a physical location, Dominic. Ever hear the expression home is where the heart is?”
As he followed Josh out of the apartment, he frowned. “Yeah, what of it?”
“It’s simple. Kalinda is our home - even if she doesn’t realize it. Now we simply have to convince her.”
Hope flared through him. “Fuck waiting. I’m sure we can seduce her into taking us back.” He moved across the vestibule with every intention of reclaiming their woman.
“Not so fast, Romeo.” He came to a stop when Josh grabbed the back of his shirt. “It’s going to take more than a sexual seduction to get her back.”
“Like what?” He looked over his shoulder at the other man.
Josh gave him a huge grin. “Get your good duds ready, because we’re going courting. We’re going to seduce every part of her: mind, body and soul until she begs us to take her back.”
Dominic scowled at him but turned to follow him out of the house. “Let’s pray you’re right and we don’t end up on our knees begging.”
Josh laughed as they walked towards his car, but Dominic didn’t feel as confident as the other man was about getting back in Kalinda’s good graces. He’d seen the look on her face when he’d lied to her. She wouldn’t be forgiving him anytime soon.
* * * *
Kalinda slowly trudged back up the stairs to her apartment. Not only were her eyes bloodshot from her crying jag, her head was pounding. Even though she’d called Dominic every name in the book while telling her friend Nisey what had happened, she could feel the huge hole in her heart that he’d torn out when he’d tossed her out of his life.
Tears welled in her eyes again when she entered the quiet apartment. She could smell the lingering scent of Stetson mixed with Burberry Brit. It only reminded her of what she’d lost this morning. God damn them! Why the hell did they have to give me a taste of heaven before jerking it away? If she’d thought it would do any good, she’d have thrown a real temper tantrum about how unfair the whole situation was.
Deciding it was time to pull herself up by her bootstraps, she forced the thought of the two men who’d made her feel so complete from her mind. It was time to move on. Taking in the mess of her apartment, she rolled up her sleeves. The first thing she needed to do was clean up the mess that Dominic had left behind. While she’d sworn not to think about him anymore, she found the apartment’s clutter out of place, as he was as much a neat-nick as she was.
She was in the process of running the vacuum when the phone rang. She glanced at it but didn’t feel like talking to anyone, so she let the machine pick it up. She’d just turned off the vacuum to attach the crevice tool to edge aroun
d the coffee table when she caught the tail end of the message.
“….so Mr. Fontane, it is of the utmost importance that you schedule this surgery as soon as possible. Please call our office at…” The woman’s voice rattled off a local phone number.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d stood there in total shock before she dropped the crevice tool to run into the kitchen. Hitting the play button on her machine, her heart raced. After she’d listened to the recording in its entirety tears poured down her face. Even though Dominic had pushed her out of his life, she had to know. Reaching for the phone, she dialed the one person she knew that would tell her the truth. He was nothing if he wasn’t brutally honest.
Listening to it ring, she waited impatiently for Josh to answer. After the third ring, she heard the clatter of the phone before a distant but grumpy Cajun drawl filled her ear.
“Yeah, I got it…only a fucking Englishman would hide the god damn phone in a drawer…I don’t care what kinda of fucking armoire it is…it’s still stupid…damnit I am answering it…”
She clenched the phone tighter in her fist when Dominic finally spoke into the phone.
“Hello?” She closed her eyes against the need to rail at him for not telling her about his surgery, but realized she no longer had that right. It figured that he’d be at Josh’s. The bastards had a tendency to stick together. Pulling her anger tightly around her, she spoke briskly.
“Call your damn doctor, Mas..” She slammed the phone down as the word Master slipped past her lips. Almost immediately her phone began to ring. Without even looking at the caller ID, she reached down and yanked the cord out of the wall.
* * * *
“What the hell is her number!”
“Whose number?” Josh came further into the living room, concerned by the frantic look on Dominic’s face.
“God damn it. You don’t even have caller I.D. What’s Kalinda’s home number? Fuck it - I’ll call her cell.”
Josh grabbed the phone from Dominic. “Slow down, talk to me. Are you sure that was Kalinda on the phone?”