Exposed to You (31 page)

When it was time to head to the airport, I dragged my
feet, unwilling to admit that our time together in this magical city was coming
to an end.

“We’ll come back,” Dallon promised. “It’s only a two
hour flight, remember?”

I spent most of the flight home reading the information
I’d collected on J. Houston Oilfield and playing with the Adobe software on my
laptop. Dallon kept his arm around me the entire flight, the other on his
e-reader.

When we landed, I turned on my phone and cringed at the
texts and voicemails I’d missed from my parents. I’d forgotten to call during
the last week. I cringed even harder when I heard my mom’s voicemail
reprimanding me for not telling her about my new job.

“What’s wrong?” Dallon asked, reading my expression.

“It’s my parents. They’re upset I haven’t called.”

He pressed a chaste kiss to my lips. “Call now. I’ll
pick up our bag and meet you at the doors.”

I sent a quick text to my mom letting her know I was
starting tomorrow and that I would call her in a second, and then I went to the
bathroom. By the time I was finished, I’d already missed a call, and my phone
began to ring in my hand.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Why did I have to hear about your new job through
Helen?” she demanded.

“I’m sorry. I’ve just been so preoccupied.”

“Sam told her you might get a promotion into Graphic
Design.”

“Yeah, they enrolled me in courses with the idea that I
move into another position.” I began walking toward Baggage Claim in search for
Dallon. “I’m still planning to pursue my own art on the side.”

“Honey, I’m so proud of you.”

I halted in my tracks momentarily. “Wow, thanks, Mom.
That’s… really nice to hear.”

She sniffed. “I just wish you’d told us. It’s exciting
news.”

“It is. I’m sorry.”

I spotted Dallon lifting our bag off the carousel and
heading toward the door, so I changed course.

“I have to go, though. Can I call you tomorrow?”

“Your father wants to speak with you. It will be quick,”
Mom said, and then my dad was on the line.

“Hey, sweetheart. Congrats. We’re both very proud of
you.”

“Thanks, Dad. I appreciate it.”

I sighed as Dallon paused mid-step to answer his phone.
He’d only just gotten home and people were already on him.

“Graphic Design huh,” Dad continued, grunting a little.
“Who would have thought of that? I guess you knew what you were doing all
along. We should have trusted you.”

Whoa. My eyes misted and I turned away. “Thanks, Daddy.
I didn’t really know what I was doing, but it seems like everything is finally
working out.”

“It does seem that way. We still miss you, sweetheart,
but we’re glad that you’re happy.”

“I am happy.” I peeked over my shoulder at Dallon.
“Things couldn’t be better.”

“Well we’ll let you go. Love you, sweetheart.”

“Love you too. Talk soon.”

Shaking my head, I hung up the phone. Who would have
known that talking to my parents could actually lift my spirits?

Dallon had finished his call and was shoving his phone
into his back pocket. As I cut toward him, he glanced up as if hearing his name…
and his eyes hardened. I stopped in my tracks. It was his dominant look, but it
wasn’t aimed at me; he was looking at a woman a few feet in front of him.

I froze. He hadn’t seen me yet. Ducking, I darted around
a man pushing baggage carts, and my view changed. I could see both of their
profiles as she approached him. I hid behind a column, putting a hand against
it to steady myself. It was obvious that they knew each other, and intimately.
Even from my vantage point there was no denying the tension between them.

“Ruri,” I heard him say with an exhale.

Ruri was thin as a reed, with a pointy chin and black
hair cut in bangs across her forehead and tied up in a high ponytail. She was
wearing a sailor dress and red heels that made her stick legs look sky high,
even though she was as petite as me. But it was the manner in which she greeted
Dallon that set me on edge.

“Hello, Sir.”

There was no mistaking the reaction her greeting invoked
in Dallon; his jaw tightened and as his eyes bore into her, the atmosphere
changed. As I watched, his demeanor changed subtly, so that he seemed larger,
stronger,
colder
... and Ruri responded, dipping her head as her cheeks
flushed pink. Glancing up at him through her bangs, she toyed with her hair,
smiling coyly.

Dallon took a step closer. My stomach twisted painfully.
He was looking at her the way I’d often caught him looking at me—like he wanted
to devour her.

“Where is he?” There was no mistaking the bitterness in
his voice.

“He’ll be back.”

Dallon reached out and tenderly stroked her cheek.
“Leave him.”

Her head lifted and they stared at each other, Dallon
imploring her with his eyes, and I saw it. Love. He was asking her to leave
whomever she was with because he was still in love with her.

No!
Feeling like I might
throw up, I moved completely behind the column, leaning my back against it. It
was torture to listen to the conversation, but I had to. I needed to know who
she was to him.

Ruri giggled—a musical sound like that of a schoolgirl.
“You’re still trying to save me.”

“Where are you coming from?” Dallon’s tone had changed,
and I imagined he didn’t like that she wasn’t listening to him.

“He took me to Key West on vacation.”

“Are you back in New York?”

“For now. How is your sub?”

My heart clenched as I realized she must be referring to
me, that that is how he must see me.

“Ruri, I…” Dallon began, but she cut him off.

“I should go. He’ll be angry if he sees me talking to
you.”

Dallon cursed under his breath, but the conversation was
over.

I waited a minute or two to compose myself before
stepping out from around the column, though I doubted Dallon would have noticed
anything was wrong. He was facing the door, his hands deep in his pockets, face
stoic. When I approached, he glanced at me with vacant eyes before exiting to
the waiting cabs.

We rode home in silence. Dallon was staring out the
window, looking pensive and rubbing his temples with his right hand. It ate me
up inside knowing he was still thinking about her—Ruri. I desperately wanted to
confront him, to let him know what I’d seen, but I didn’t know how to proceed
after last night’s conversation.

I was also terrified of what I’d discover.

I followed Dallon into our home, feeling further
neglected as he walked ahead of me without holding my hand. He went straight
into his bedroom and dropped off the bag, and then returned a moment later,
heading straight for the bar. Poured himself a glass of scotch and tossed it
back. Filled it again. Lumbered over to the breakfast bar and sat heavily on a
stool.

He was still elsewhere, still lost in the memory of his
exchange at the airport. I stood in the living room, unsure how to proceed. It
was like he’d completely forgotten I was there. As the seconds passed, I felt
him moving further and further away from me, retreating into himself.

“Dallon, what’s wrong?”

His face turned to mine and he blinked a few times
before responding. “Amy. Is there something you need?”

I sat down on the couch, patted the spot beside me.
“Please come here. Sit with me.”

He frowned and looked into his drink, twirling the
contents. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why?” My voice was so quiet, I was surprised he even
heard me.

“You should stay away from me.” He tossed back his drink
and immediately filled it again.

My scalp prickled, and I braced myself for the worst.

“It’s not your fault—you tried, but I didn’t let you.
And now I’ve turned you into what you are.”

His words sliced me like a knife. I stood up, teetering
on shaky legs. “What do you mean, you turned me into what I am?”

“I’m the bad guy, Amy,” he bit out, his voice rising. “I
do bad things to good people. I’m surprised you haven’t figured that out already.”

I shook my head. “No, you’re not. Something is going on.
Just tell me. Please.”

In response, Dallon jumped to his feet, threw his glass
against the kitchen cupboard. I jumped, covering my face. When I dropped my
hands, he was staring at me with a dark expression.

“You were better off before you met me.”

Angry tears burned my eyes. Everything I feared was
coming true, and he couldn’t give a shit. Anger surged through me as I shot
back, “Was Ruri?”

He froze. “How do you know about Ruri?”

“I saw you two. At the airport. I heard your
conversation, too, the one in which she referred to me as your sub.”

“Did you now.”

“Yes,” I said, raising my chin. “I heard her call you
‘Sir’. You told me that no one had ever called you that before—that you’d never
had a relationship like ours before.”

“I haven’t.”

“Don’t lie to me, Dallon.”

He rolled his eyes and returned to the bar, filling a
new glass. “I don’t need this right now.”

“You never tell me anything. Sam knew more about you
than I did.”

He turned around slowly, glass in hand.

“Please, tell me who she is and what she means to you.”

 His tone was petulant, his eyes widening in challenge. “No.”

“I heard you tell her to leave him.”

“So?”

“You still care about her, don’t you?”

He looked away, but not before I caught the guilty look
on his face. I’d already figured out what was going on, but it still stung.

“How much? Because you’re telling me that I should have
stayed away from you and it’s obvious that you still care about her.”

Agonizing seconds passed as he stared into his drink.

“I never meant to hurt you,” he said eventually, still
looking into the liquid. “I never meant to hurt anyone.”

The tears hit my cheeks and I let them, no longer caring
if he saw my pain—
wanting
him to see it, even. “This is what I was so
afraid of. I’ve given you everything you wanted, and now you don’t want me
anymore.”

I turned and ran to the safety of my room.

***

“I broke her. I sent her to him.”

I opened my eyes and rolled over to see Dallon
silhouetted in the doorway.

“Ruri?”

He nodded and came into the room, sat beside me on the
bed. “She was the one who showed me who I am.”

My breath caught. Now we were getting somewhere. Ruri
was the woman that had introduced him to his lifestyle.

I sat up and shoved over so we could sit side-by-side
against the headboard.

“She wanted a relationship, not just sex,” Dallon
continued, putting an arm over his eyes. “She pushed me to continue, to do
things to her that I was ashamed of doing, promising the whole time that she
could help me accept who I really am. But I didn’t want that. I wanted to be…
fixed. I hated her for making me into that person. I used and abused her, and
then I kicked her to the curb.”

I tried to swallow, but my throat was dry.

Dallon let out a shuddering breath. “When I think of how
I treated her—like she was an object—I hate myself.”

Holy shit
. This glimpse
into Dallon’s past was a lot, more than seeing the pictures. I’d known he was
dark, but to hear him confess just how dark…

“To make things worse, she ended up with
him
.
It’s all my fault.”

“Who is he?” I whispered.

Dallon’s arm dropped to his side and he looked at me
with such misery, I shivered.

“Christopher. I went to University with him. He hates me
so he went for her, but what I didn’t realize is that he already knew what we
were involved in. He doesn’t care for anyone except himself. He’s one of those
creeps that takes the lifestyle too far, and Ruri is too deep to get out.”

“What do you mean?” Images of scary S&M people
danced through my head.

He closed his eyes as if in pain, pinched his nose.
“Like I already you, trust is the most important aspect, but so are respect and
love. Without that, a Dominant is basically asking for a sex slave to take
advantage of. Some of the things he’s made Ruri do…” He opened his eyes, and
they were blazing with fury. “I’ll kill him. If I see him, I know I’ll kill
him.”

“Shh.” I took his face in both hands and kissed his
lips, fear tugging at my heart. “It isn’t your fault. None of that is your fault.
Ruri is a grown woman making her own decisions.”

“I broke her,” he repeated. “I stripped her of whatever
self-esteem she had left, and then she walked right into his arms.”