“Hey, I know I acted like a massive asshole earlier today.” He had a grim look on his face that changed to charming when he brought his hand around from his back and showed her the perfect white rose he offered her. “Would you please let me make up for it?”
There were a thousand reasons to say no. She could do it gently. She could remind him that the first chance they’d had to prove they could manage a relationship and still work together they’d blown. She could point out that there was still the hope of a cure out there.
Or you could live in the moment, my love. You could stop being so in that head of yours and let yourself feel.
Sometimes she could still hear her father’s wise voice in her head. He’d done so much, taken so many chances to bring his family to a better place.
“Ariel, please. I’m sorry I treated you like that. I took out my bad day on you and it wasn’t fair. I wanted our night together. I planned it all out, but I forgot that the only really important part of the night wasn’t the restaurant or the hotel. It was that we got to be together. Be with me for a while.”
She took the rose from his hand, all thoughts of why this was a bad idea flying out of her head. “Yes.”
But she wasn’t nearly as dressed as he was. “Give me a minute to change.”
He shook his head. “You look beautiful and we’re only going to the kitchen.”
“You dressed for the occasion.”
“I was also the asshole who challenged the authority of my commander in the field. Trust me, I like this far better than dropping to the floor and giving you a hundred like I…” He shook his head. “Not going there.”
She stepped in, putting a hand on his face. “It’s okay. Let the visual piece go and tell me what you felt.”
He pressed his cheek against her hand. “No therapist stuff tonight. I promise I’ll write it down later and talk to Kai about it, but I want you to stop thinking about me as a patient. This can’t work if you don’t. Please come to the kitchen with me. I managed to shove everyone else in the media room. They’re watching a football match. Well, Rebecca is reading on her e-reader and rolling her eyes when the guys yell at the screen, but the kitchen is on the opposite end of the floor. I promise it’s quiet there.”
She was still in the slacks and blouse she’d worn this afternoon. They were casual and comfortable. Certainly not something she would wear on a date. Robert was far better dressed for the occasion.
A vision of a private dinner where he was in a suit and she was wearing absolutely nothing floated across her brain. Sir wouldn’t want her in clothes. Sir would want to see nothing but her own skin so he could touch her everywhere, whenever he pleased. They could spend long hours like that. She wouldn’t worry about anything at all but pleasing her dominant partner.
“Come on.” He used that deep voice on her she’d heard him use at The Garden. Like her, Robert spent at least one night each weekend playing. She’d seen him paired up with some of her friends, but never had he taken one to a privacy room or up to his flat.
She hadn’t indulged herself in sex in a long time.
She followed him down the hallway and sure enough, heard someone yelling from the far end about a ref’s call. Poor Rebecca.
Robert led her away from it, his loafers making no sound over the carpet. This part of the club was comfortable, much more like a home than downstairs, and it made her wonder if Peter often had guests he put up here. She’d talked briefly to the man and he appeared to be very interested in teaching and training new D/s couples.
Were she and Robert going to be a D/s couple?
She stopped that line of thinking. This was nothing more than a pleasant way to spend an evening with a man she liked enormously.
With a man she might be falling in love with.
About Lexi Blake
Lexi Blake is the author of contemporary and urban fantasy romance. She started publishing in 2011 and has gone on to sell over two million copies of her books. Her books have appeared twenty-six times on the USA Today, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. She lives in North Texas with her husband, kids, and two rescue dogs.
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Other Books by Lexi Blake
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Masters and Mercenaries
The Dom Who Loved Me
The Men With The Golden Cuffs
A Dom is Forever
On Her Master’s Secret Service
Sanctum: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
Love and Let Die
Unconditional: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
Dungeon Royale
Dungeon Games: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
A View to a Thrill
Cherished: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
You Only Love Twice
Luscious: Masters and Mercenaries~Topped
Adored: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
Master No
Just One Taste: Masters and Mercenaries~Topped 2
From Sanctum with Love
Devoted: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
Dominance Never Dies
Submission is Not Enough
Master Bits and Mercenary Bites~The Secret Recipes of Topped
Perfectly Paired: Masters and Mercenaries~Topped 3
For His Eyes Only
Arranged: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
Love Another Day
At Your Service: Masters and Mercenaries~Topped 4
Master Bits and Mercenary Bites~Girls Night
Nobody Does It Better
Close Cover
Enchanted: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
Masters and Mercenaries: The Forgotten
Lost Hearts (Memento Mori)
Lost and Found
Lost in You, Coming August 6, 2019
Long Lost, Coming February 4, 2020
Lawless
Ruthless
Satisfaction
Revenge
Courting Justice
Order of Protection
Evidence of Desire
Masters Of Ménage (by Shayla Black and Lexi Blake)
Their Virgin Captive
Their Virgin’s Secret
Their Virgin Concubine
Their Virgin Princess
Their Virgin Hostage
Their Virgin Secretary
Their Virgin Mistress
The Perfect Gentlemen (by Shayla Black and Lexi Blake)
Scandal Never Sleeps
Seduction in Session
Big Easy Temptation
Smoke and Sin
At the Pleasure of the President
URBAN FANTASY
Thieves
Steal the Light
Steal the Moon
Steal the Sun
Steal the Night
Ripper
Addict
Sleeper
Outcast
LEXI BLAKE WRITING AS SOPHIE OAK
Small Town Siren
Siren in the City
Away From Me
Three to Ride
Siren Enslaved
Two to Love
Siren Beloved
One to Keep
Siren in Waiting
Lost in Bliss
Found in Bliss
Siren in Bloom
Pure Bliss
Chasing Bliss
Siren Unleashed
Once Upon a Time in Bliss
Back in Bliss, Coming September 10, 2019