Devoted: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella (16 page)

“Then it sounds like you’re on the right path,” Miles assured him. “Are you still sure this is the right lifestyle for you?”

There was no doubt in his mind. “We’ll never be twenty-four seven, but I think we both like having our roles and clearly defined goals for what we need and want. We’re quite compatible in that fashion. I don’t want a sub I have to make decisions for. Hell, sometimes I like it when Amy takes charge of what’s going on in real life. I get caught up in work. She gets caught up in work.”

“So you need to understand your roles will be more fluid than others,” Dean explained. “Our wife is the single most talented person I’ve ever met and yet she’s at her best when she’s got nothing to worry about except our son and her writing. We handle the rest of the world so she doesn’t have to. We make the decisions in our daily lives. She deals with her work. We all sit down as a family and make the big decisions. You and Amy need to figure out what works for you. The key is not letting things slide. You have to talk to her about her needs and your needs. You have to treat your relationship like something worth putting real time and effort into. That’s the nature of the entire class.”

“That doesn’t sound like simple D/s.” It sounded like a damn fine way to have a marriage.

“That’s the beauty of D/s. It’s not only about one thing. It means being honest about what we want and need and finding the proper partners to make it happen. It works for business, friendship, play. It definitely works for marriage,” Miles finished.

“So go forth and set up a surprise for your girl.” Dean started moving to the exit. “I’ll handle Wade. We’ll call it make-up homework. Have fun.”

Miles hung back. “The honesty thing is the important part. You understand that, right?”

“Yes.” He got the feeling Miles wasn’t simply reiterating theory.

“Good.” Miles stared at him for a moment and then started to turn.

“You know.” The words were out before he could stop them.

“I know everything. It’s a sad fact of my life. I’m very good at putting things together,” Miles explained. “I had Hutch run the background checks. He’s a smart kid, but utterly uninterested in anything except candy and first-person shooters. He can find every piece of data, but he rarely puts puzzles together. I like to try to guess who Kai’s going to pair up. The last two training classes have been easier since Big Tag…well, let’s just say he’s got other things on his mind.”

He’d lost his youngest brother. That would put any man off his game. “She used her married name.”

“But any background check will show you who she is and what she does. The same as you. I got interested because of all the trainees, you two have the most in common. Vaughn and Regina come from similar backgrounds, cop and ex-military. They tend to go together nicely, but their childhoods diverge to the point that I wonder how they’ll mesh long term. Not you and Amy. You have so very, very much in common.”

Adam Miles was the communications expert at McKay-Taggart. Unlike Chelsea, who worked for the Agency, he didn’t have the same kinds of rules attached to him. He could pretty much do as he pleased. “She doesn’t say much about her childhood.”

Miles sent him an enigmatic smile. “You’ll have to ask her, but I suspect you won’t. You haven’t talked to her about your mutual interests, have you? Does she know? There’s a reason we don’t give trainees their partner’s dossiers.”

No, the club kept that for themselves. All the records were kept private, but the members assumed Kai and Wade and Big Tag wouldn’t allow anyone in who could be dangerous. Training partners could get as personal or be as impersonal as they wished.

“I have no idea.” He could say that honestly now. If Miles had asked a few weeks ago, he would have qualified that answer with a probably, but now he couldn’t.

She seemed so open with him up to a point. She was hiding something now, but he was almost sure it was worry and anxiety, not lies.

Amy was the kind of woman who would try to put a bright face on things. He rather thought it was a leftover from her childhood. Or the result of years of working at a high level in corporate America. The female executives at Glendale were brilliant and innovative and also bore the scars of having to constantly prove they were tough enough. No matter what he did to combat it, the corporate culture reasserted itself time and time again. It was likely better than it had been, but it would take women like Amy fighting and winning to make it truly change.

Damn it. He respected her, admired her.

Miles leaned against the lockers. “I would suspect not. I got to know her a little when she was bringing down her father. She’s a very nice woman. Smart. Capable. I can’t talk much about it because I do have some rigid guidelines when it comes to privacy. I invade it so very often that I have to keep secrets to myself. Jake and Serena don’t understand the rivalry between your companies.”

“I don’t understand the rivalry between our companies.” If Miles could shed some light, he would take it. “My father never explained it to me. I didn’t truly understand why he hated George Slaten so much.”

“Here’s what I’ve pieced together. Slaten and your father went to college together. At one point in time there were rumors that Slaten wanted to merge with Glendale. Slaten was bigger at the time, but Glendale was coming up in the world. Something happened. Again, I only have rumors. I think your father pulled the plug and they’ve been going at it ever since. Maybe it simply turned into a rivalry about money, but I suspect Slaten had an affair with your father’s first wife and that’s what soured the friendship. Not that I think anyone could have truly been friends with Slaten. He’s a bastard.”

“It makes me wonder how Amy turned out so lovely.”

“And quite unlike her sister. Bridget is open and out there with every emotion. Her creativity and vitality are out there for everyone to see. Amy is more of a mystery. Likely because she watched what happened to Bridget when she defied their father. She’s more private.”

Bridget was a writer. She was expected to be emotional and flamboyant. Amy was expected to be controlled and sedate.

Except she wasn’t with him. She let loose and gave him everything she had. She cried with him.

“I’ve had some issues with spying,” Flynn admitted. It seemed like Miles kept things private. Perhaps he would make a good sounding board. He didn’t want Mitch involved any more than he already was. Will Daley was Mitch’s best friend and he didn’t want to cause them trouble. “Most of those can be traced back to Slaten.”

“And now you’re worried she’s lying to you,” Miles summed up. “If it helps, both of your firms hide it quite well. There’s not a lot in the press about it unless you know how to read between the lines. It’s why it got past Kai and Wade. I didn’t pick up on it until after Hutch had sent the reports through. I’m going to give you some advice. Do you care about this woman?”

That was easy. “Yes.”

“Do you want to have a relationship with her that goes past the training period?”

Again. No question about that. “I think I want her no matter what she’s done.”

Miles whistled. “You have to talk to her. It doesn’t have to be today, but you better sit down and explain yourself before the course is over and you’re regularly around the rest of the club. They’ll figure it out and if she finds out from anyone other than you, you’re in serious trouble.”

“And if she already knows?”

“Then you’ll have to decide how to handle it. But I doubt that. She took the company from her father in order to change it, to make it better. Why would she do the same things her father had done?”

“Because sometimes desperate people do desperate things.” He’d heard the rumor that her father was causing trouble, trying to get his stock back in a bid to oust Amy.

Gaining access to a piece of software that could revolutionize the way they did business would go a long way to ensuring she kept her place at the company. He’d seen people do more for far less.

He was stuck, but he had some time. They wouldn’t go to the club until the last week. He could figure this out.

But tonight he just wanted to be close to her.

“Good luck,” Miles said with a tip of his head. “Are you going to find your girl and teach her tonight’s lesson?”

At least one thing could go right. “I think that would help us both.”

He had to find a way to surprise her. And he would need a few props.

His girl was coming home to a very stern teacher tonight.

* * * *

She had her plan in place. It was like a mantra in her head. Tomorrow she was going to meet with the Clannahan brothers. She’d managed to convince them there was still a chance she could change their minds. It played through the back of her head that they were likely using the meeting with her to get the best deal they could out of Glendale.

But they didn’t know that she’d figured out their weakness.

She was putting it all out there.
Please work.
It had to work.

She had a brand new consultant. She prayed he had a job at the end of the day tomorrow. Oh, it was a side job for him, but she wasn’t going to tell the Clannahan brothers that.

It was actually quite a desperate play, but she had no idea what else to do. Glendale seemed to know everything she had planned. They’d easily bested her best offer—but not by too much. It was as if they had an insider who knew exactly what they were doing.

She wouldn’t put it past her father to do it, though he shouldn’t know what their bid was going to be. Hell, she couldn’t trust Glendale at all. The rumor was some of her former employees were being paid by Glendale to tell the company all about her.

And then there was her father’s nasty plan to take back his position. She had to talk to Flynn. She’d put it off for a while, but she had to tell him and figure out if she was going to ruin his life, too.

The elevator opened and she trudged down the hall. At this time of night, the hall was deserted. She’d missed him so much. She’d sat in her meeting going over and over what they would do tomorrow and Flynn had been there in the back of her mind. She’d wanted to be in his arms, sitting in his lap as they talked about whatever Wade had planned for them.

She had to think about pulling out of the class. Val and the workers might not care, but her board would. She was very much aware of how light her control was. Even if she brought in Clannahan, if she lost two votes, her father could be right back at the head of the company and she would be out.

Would Flynn still want to see her if she couldn’t go to Sanctum? Would he be all right with playing in private?

The decision might have been made for her already. She’d missed two classes. Surely they were going to lose patience with her soon and she would be informed that she would need to take the class over again.

Even if they gave her that option, she would decline because she couldn’t imagine another training Dom.

She was in too deep with that man. Way too deep.

With a weary sigh, she pressed her key in and unlocked the door. There had been a little hope in the back of her head that Flynn would show up at her building to take her out to a late dinner, but he hadn’t even texted her.

He was likely losing patience with her, too.

She stopped in the middle of the doorway because someone had moved her kitchen table and Flynn was sitting there, his big body in slacks, a dress shirt, and a sport coat. He looked up from the book in front of him.

“Ms. Lyndon, it’s been brought to my attention that you’ve been skipping classes. Why don’t you come into my office and we’ll discuss how to fix this particular situation.”

She felt her eyes widen. What the hell? “How did you get into my apartment?”

A single brow rose over his dark eyes. “This is my office but if I were to lock myself out, a friend has a key and would be very happy to let me in. Especially if I need to meet with a wayward student and attempt to show her the discipline she needs to get back on track.”

Holy shit. He’d gotten her spare key from Will and Bridget’s place. Had he explained that he intended to turn her living room into a professor’s office?

Her whole body flushed at the thought. He looked so very stern.

Still, they had more important things to talk about. “Flynn, I think we should…”

“Professor Flynn,” he corrected, his eyes narrowing on her. “And there’s nothing more important than talking about the recent downturn in your normally excellent work. Tonight’s lesson was on role-playing and I believe you need a private tutoring session. Everything else can wait. I’m here for the evening because I am dedicated to ensuring your proper education. So you should lock the door behind you and put away your things. We need to discuss how to deal with your disciplinary issues.”

His hand moved across the desk to a ruler. His fingers played along it.

Her heart skipped a beat. Was he planning on using that on her? There was so much going on, but he was offering her a few hours of respite. The day’s stress had taken its toll, but he could give her relief in the form of some ridiculously nasty sex.

“And we’ll talk afterward?”

He stood and strode over to her, his eyes softening. “We can talk during the play, baby. That’s what this is for. You can tell me everything that went wrong with your day and why you’re pulling away from me, and you can do all of it while we’re playing. Or I can take off this silly coat and put your table back and we’ll sit down and simply talk.”

Ah, the choice. He was offering her a chance to talk, but also a different way to talk about it. If she sat down with him, she would be academic, unemotional. It was hard to switch gears and she’d had days of forcing herself to be logical and methodical.

But play was different. It gave her a layer of protection and she could let go.

Her father’s voice played through her head. She was a pervert to need this. It was wrong. Normal people didn’t have to get spanked and tied down to talk about their issues. Normal people didn’t pretend to be a schoolgirl so they could fucking cry.

“Don’t,” he said, cupping her face and forcing her to look at him. “I don’t know where you’re going in your head, but don’t leave me. This is you and me and no one else.”