Dayton rushed forward, leaving a frozen Rex in the doorway. “Sweet girl, what’s wrong?” He sat next to her, not caring about his towel and pulled her into his embrace. Someone must have died. A parent? Sibling?
She sucked in an audible sob and turned her face toward Rex.
Rex was white as a sheet when Dayton looked at him. His towel was in place, but his hands were shaking at his sides. Fisting and unfisting. He shook his head finally. “No.”
Dayton had never been more confused. “What? What happened?” He felt left out. How did Rex instinctively know what was wrong with Erica while Dayton didn’t have a clue?
Erica cried out loud now as she leaned her body into Dayton’s and wrapped her arms around his body. “I’m sorry. I knew it would be bad, but I didn’t realize how hard it would be.” Her words came out clipped, disjointed. So much pain.
Dayton cupped her face and forced her to meet his gaze. “What?”
“I got transferred,” she whispered, her voice too soft, fresh tears falling.
Dayton froze, his heart seeming to stop. Part of him was relieved. No one died. Part of him died instead. He wouldn’t freak out. He’d known this would happen. He needed to hold it together for both of them. “Okay. Take a breath. It’s okay. Where?”
“San Diego. Some start-up company,” she choked out, her voice high-pitched.
San Diego… Fuck. Could they have sent her anywhere farther? Like the moon?
Dayton had thought about this so many times. Both she and Rex had warned him several times that this would eventually happen. They were here on a temporary assignment. They would get transferred. Dayton had hoped that would happen in a year or five years or never. He wasn’t ready. And yet, she needed him to be strong right now. “Sweet girl, please don’t cry.” He brushed the hair from her face. “You’re tearing me up inside.” He pulled her against his chest and hugged her too tight. “Shh.” He started rocking her, his gaze meeting Rex’s.
Dayton reached out with just his fingers to encourage Rex to come closer. He didn’t want to release Erica, but he needed Rex to snap out of it for all of them.
Rex pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked close to crying himself. Please don’t let him cry right now. Later. Later Dayton could hold Rex and let the tears fall. But right now, his hands were full. “Rex, love, come here.”
Rex finally moved, thank God. He shuffled slowly toward them and dropped onto the sofa on Dayton’s other side. He leaned into Dayton, setting his cheek against Dayton’s shoulder.
They sat like that for a long time, the clock ticking, Dayton rocking front and back just enough to soothe them both.
Rex’s hand came up to grab Dayton’s where it rested around Erica, making it so that they were both holding her.
“I’ve never been to San Diego,” Dayton finally stated when he could get his voice to work. “I hear it’s gorgeous. I’ll just have to get used to long flights.”
She sobbed again. “I can’t do it. I can’t go.” She sat up straighter and met Dayton’s eyes with her red, swollen, watery ones. “Does that make me a quitter? My first job and I meet someone I love and quit?” Her gaze shifted to Rex and she reached out and cupped his face. “Two someones.”
Both men gasped softly, and she realized she’d just used the L word. Flippantly.
“Why just you?” Rex asked. “No one called me.”
“Yeah, apparently the place in San Diego is desperate, so John is going to call the office here in Miami Monday morning and tell them he’s sorry but he needs me somewhere else and that you are perfectly capable of finishing up the job.”
“Who’s John?” Dayton asked.
“Our boss,” Rex murmured.
“Ah. Okay.” Dayton took a deep breath. “So, we need to pull ourselves together. No one died. No one got sent to China. We can figure this out.” He had no faith. His heart was breaking. He couldn’t begin to imagine Erica moving to fucking San Diego.
It wasn’t like Dayton could up and go with her. For one thing, he owned a lucrative business that was thriving. He made his living here. For another thing, what about Rex? He wasn’t leaving just yet. Only Erica. What a clusterfuck.
Erica slinked out of his arms and slid off the sofa. She padded from the room without a word, not looking back, shoulders hunched, arms crossed over her chest, face tipped down in defeat.
Chapter 37
Erica was out of her mind by Monday morning. She’d spent the rest of Saturday and all of Sunday wandering around like a zombie in Dayton’s house, except when she was curled in a ball trying not to cry.
She was a grown woman for God’s sake. She’d known all along this would happen. It was time. The whirlwind relationship she was in was fun while it lasted. At least that’s what she told herself. Inside, she was dying.
And she knew both men were too. They tiptoed around her, bringing her drinks and encouraging her to eat. They both looked as bad as she felt though. All weekend. Even at night, though they slept together curled up in Dayton’s king-sized bed, they didn’t have sex and they hardly exchanged words.
Rex drove her into work that morning. He even broke his own work rules and set a possessive hand on the small of her back as they entered. No sooner had she dropped her purse on her desk than Jonas Blackwood stuck his head in the door. “Hey, can I see you two in my office?”
Erica’s heart fell. How fast would she be on a plane?
Rex responded for both of them. “Sure. Be right there.”
Jonas shoved away from the doorframe. “Great.” He walked away without a word.
Rex grazed two fingers down Erica’s cheek. He forced a smile. “We’ll figure this out. We have to.”
She nodded, not believing him. How? How the fuck was he going to figure this out? This was her first job. She couldn’t quit after one assignment. It would look horrible on her record. A record she didn’t have until now. Besides, what would she do? Not every company in the vicinity needed someone with her technical resume.
Erica followed Rex to Jonas’s office as if they were headed to the firing squad. She settled in a chair next to Rex across from Jonas, crossing one leg over the other to keep from shaking.
Jonas’s brow was furrowed, and he met them with a very serious gaze. “Your boss called me over the weekend,” he began.
Jesus. He didn’t even wait until this morning?
“Said he needed you in San Diego.” This part was directed at Erica.
She licked her lips, uncertain she could speak without losing her composure. Already another round of tears was threatening.
“I was under the impression you both liked working here, yeah?” Jonas continued.
“Yes,” Rex responded. “We don’t have control over where we’re sent though. Believe me, if we could choose, Erica would not be leaving Miami.”
Jonas glanced from one of them to the other. “That’s kind of what I figured.”
Erica’s spine stiffened. Did Jonas suspect the two of them were involved?
Jonas leaned forward on his elbows. “Do you like living in Miami?” he asked, his gaze going from Erica to Rex and back a few times.
“Yes.” Erica didn’t know what else to say.
Jonas took a deep breath and blew it out. “I kind of thought maybe the two of you were in a relationship.”
Erica stiffened, her eyes going wide as she glanced at Jonas and then Rex and back. Shit. Had they been obvious? She didn’t think so.
Jonas waved a hand through the air. “That didn’t come out right. I mean I don’t care what you do on your free time. I just meant that I took a gamble, hoping neither of you would care.”
Erica frowned. What was he talking about?
Jonas shook his head. “I’m botching this up. Sorry.” He chuckled. “I met with the board over the weekend. We bought out your contracts.”
“What?” Rex asked that.
Jonas cringed. “It was stupid of me not to talk to you both first. I can undo it if it’s not what
you want, but I jumped on the initial paperwork over the weekend. We decided the two of you are invaluable to the company and we want you to stay.”
Erica couldn’t breathe. She was frozen in her seat, not even blinking.
Rex wasn’t moving next to her either.
Jonas finally cringed after a few seconds. “I misjudged.”
Rex broke the silence. “No. Not at all. You bought us out?” he confirmed. His hand reached out to grab Erica’s, and his gaze shot to her. His eyes were wide, his lips curved up with hope. “Erica?”
“Seriously?” She couldn’t fully grasp what was happening as she turned back to Jonas.
“Yes. If that’s okay.”
Finally, she released a long breath. “It’s more than okay,” she responded in a voice she didn’t recognize. Calmer than she felt inside. “We’d really love to stay.”
Jonas beamed. “Great. Good. Wonderful. I’ll tell HR to finish off the details.”
The rest of the conversation was a blur of salaries and official duties and expectations. Erica could hardly concentrate, and her knees bobbed up and down the entire time. All she could think about was telling Dayton. And not over the phone.
When they all stood, it was Rex who came to the rescue. “We have a few things to take care of this morning. Loose ends. Do you mind if we take a few hours and return at lunch?”
Jonas nodded. “Of course. Go ahead. Take your time. I’m sure your heads are spinning. In a good way, I hope.” He smiled broadly.
“Definitely,” Rex responded.
“What do you think he’ll say?” Erica asked Rex as they pulled up to Dayton’s house. Usually he went into the office on Monday mornings, but after the weekend they’d all had, he’d decided to work from home.
Rex took her hand as they made their way toward the house. “I think he’s been in a full-on panic, and tonight he’ll finally be able to sleep. We all will.”
Rex opened the door, letting Erica in first. Dayton wasn’t in the main room, but they could hear him in his office. They shot each other quizzical looks, wondering who he was talking to. Erica thought maybe he was on the phone, but as they got closer, she hoped that wasn’t the case because whoever he was talking to was getting their ass royally chewed out.
Erica stepped into the office first, feeling hesitant and then blowing out a relieved breath when she found Dayton sitting at his desk, his back to them, leaning back in his chair, hands behind his head, cussing up a storm. “Fuck. Shit. God dammit. Son of a bitch.” His voice rose with each word.
There was no way to avoid startling him, and Erica went for it. “Dayton.”
He jerked upright and spun around to face them. “Jesus.” He was breathing heavily.
“Sorry. I didn’t know how to avoid scaring you. I’m glad you were talking to yourself. Who are you so pissed at?” Erica asked.
Rex released her hand and set a palm on Dayton’s shoulder, his brow furrowed.
Dayton sighed heavily and ran a hand down his face. “No one. Life.”
“My leaving?”
He met her gaze. “Yes.” His gaze darted to Rex. “Wait. What are you doing here?”
Rex smiled. “We have some news.” He shifted his gaze to Erica.
She smiled broader. “Turns out I’m not leaving. Neither is Rex. We wanted to tell you in person.”
Dayton shot to standing. “What?” he shouted, his eyes wide, his lips curled up in a grin. “Please tell me you’re serious.”
“Totally serious,” Rex added.
“Why? How?”
“Smith, Lauder, and James bought us out. They decided they like our work and needed to keep us full-time.” Erica beamed. She really liked the look on Dayton’s face. Shock. Excitement. He looked like he was going to explode, his body stiff as he leaned into them, swallowing. And then he did erupt. He reached out with both arms and pulled Erica and Rex into his embrace, squeezing the life out of them.
“Oh my God.” Dayton’s words were muffled in her neck. He held her tight for a long time before pulling back. “I was losing my mind.” He glanced at Rex. “There was no good solution.”
Rex set his cheek on Dayton’s shoulder. “I hear you. I’ve been trying to figure something out for two days. Nothing seemed to make sense.”
Erica squeezed both their arms. “It’s over now. Deep breaths. No one is going anywhere.”
Dayton leaned back, frowning. “I was hoping both of you would actually consider a move though.”
Erica scrunched up her forehead, wondering what he was talking about. “What do you mean?”
“Here. Get out of those ridiculous furnished apartments and move in here.”
“You serious?” Rex asked, meeting Dayton’s gaze.
“Very. Do it this weekend. You never sleep there anyway.”
Rex cupped Dayton’s cheek and then leaned in to kiss the man hard on the lips. “Done. It won’t even be hard. We don’t have anything in Miami except clothes.” Rex tipped his head to one side. “Do you realize I have an apartment in Denver?”
“Really?” Dayton asked.
Erica was just as shocked. He’d never mentioned that.
“Yep. My neighbor is keeping an eye on it.”
“So, we’ll have some place to stay when we want to escape the heat and go skiing,” Dayton grinned wider.
Erica stepped closer, squishing herself between her Doms as they both wrapped their arms around her tighter, drawing her into their chests. “I’m so relieved. I was losing my mind.”
Dayton kissed her forehead. “I know you were, sweet girl. Thank God it worked out.”
Emotions overwhelmed her as she met their gazes, tears threatening to fall. She was so stressed and tired that she couldn’t contain the relief. She had never imagined finding love anytime in the near future. Not a geeky awkward woman like her who had a kinky fetish. Was it too soon to use the L word? She knew she wasn’t the only one in this for the long haul.
They might have an unconventional relationship, but these two Doms were hers. She was home. It was time to spell it out. “I love you. Both of you.”
Her men stepped closer, holding her tighter.
“I love you both too,” Rex stated.
“Love is almost too mild a word to describe how I feel for you two,” Dayton added. “But yeah, I love you too.”
Erica tipped her head back as both men’s lips met hers in a tangle of mouths. Relief flooded her.
Her life was perfect.
I hope you’ve enjoyed Taming Rex. Please enjoy the following excerpt from Tempting Elizabeth, the ninth book in my Club Zodiac series.
“You have got to be kidding me,” Flynn muttered to himself. He was usually a fairly even-keeled guy. It took a lot to shock him. Currently, he was so stunned that he reached up and rubbed his eyes just to be sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing.
Yep. It was her all right. Elizabeth Kepler. He hadn’t seen her in three years, nor had he ever seen her in shiny black pleather boots that reached up to her thighs. He also had never seen her in a shiny black pleather dress that was skintight, barely covered her ass, and had a zipper in the front that was unzipped enough to reveal all of her amazing cleavage.
Flynn stopped moving, planted a hand on the wall to steady himself, and blinked several times. Elizabeth’s glossy black hair was in a high ponytail. She had on a lot of makeup, and she was currently dragging a thick black flogger down the back of the nearly naked man strapped to the St. Andrew’s cross in front of her.
No matter how long Flynn stared, he couldn’t wrap his head around this side of Elizabeth. He’d known she was formidable. A pain in the ass most of the time at work. But a Domme? The thought had never crossed his mind. In fact, considering how feisty she was in the workplace, knocking everyone who got in her way to the side, he would have pegged her as submissive when she wasn’t working. High powered people often needed someone else to take control for a few hours. It was common.
He shuddered. Except
in Elizabeth’s case he never would have imagined her in a fetish club at all. Not in a million years. He’d considered her a prude. A ruthless one at that.
Apparently, his assessment of his former coworker had been wrong.
Flynn had worked with Elizabeth for five long years. They’d been co-heads of event coordination for SaFleur Pharmaceuticals in Atlanta. They had never gotten along, both of them fighting to get ahead in a cutthroat world. They disagreed on nearly everything, and spent most of the time avoiding each other in order to keep their blood pressure down.
At least that’s how Flynn remembered it.
How could this possibly be the same woman, and what was she doing in Club Zodiac? Hell, what was she doing in Miami? The club wasn’t big enough for the two of them, and Flynn had definitely been there first. He’d been a member since he moved back to Miami three years ago. He’d never seen Elizabeth at the club.
Damn. She was good with floggers. She stood behind the man in the G-string, feet planted wide enough to give her stability in her four-inch heels. Judging by the precision with which she flogged her submissive’s back and butt cheeks, she had a lot of experience.
“You okay, Flynn?” The voice to Flynn’s right made him jerk his attention from Elizabeth to face Lincoln, co-owner of the club. He had one brow raised. “You look a bit pale.” His gaze roamed toward Elizabeth before coming back to Flynn. “She’s impressive, isn’t she? If you’re thinking what I suspect, I’m pretty sure she’s not your type. She didn’t introduce herself as a switch.”
Flynn took a deep breath. “I know her.”
“Oh really? From where? She said she just moved here from Atlanta.”
“Yep. Worked with her in Atlanta,” Flynn gritted out. “Five of the longest years of my life. I only got to enjoy a few months of peace after she finally left the company. When my dad died, I had to resign too.”
Lincoln chuckled. “That bad?”
Taming Rex Page 21