Cherished: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella Read online

  “She’s going to ask her about Will,” Chris said.

  “Yes, she is,” Serena replied.

  “No, I’m not.” She sighed. “Fine. I am since no one else will talk about it.”

  She strode over to where Karina was ordering a club soda and her friend was ogling the bartender. “Hey, Karina, can I talk to you for a minute?”

  Karina gave her a sure smile. “Of course.”

  “I need a diet soda and skinny vodka, heavy on the vodka. Actually just give me the vodka. We’ll call it a martini,” the blonde said.

  “Olives?” the bartender asked.

  The blonde winked his way. “Only if I’m eating them off your body, honey. I don’t eat anything without some sort of physical activity. When do you get off? Work I mean. Because I can get you off three minutes after that. Seriously. My oral technique is superlative.”

  Bridget watched them with a sort of shocked fascination.

  “Maia, you promised,” Karina whispered.

  Maia shrugged. “I promised I would try. I left the driver intact and he was lovely.” A long sigh came from her perfectly painted mouth. “Fine. But I thought this would be more fun.”

  The bartender held up his hands, a wide-eyed look on his face. “I’m gay.”

  “I could fix that for you,” Maia replied and then turned away. “Fine. But I don’t see how my not getting any is supposed to do anything but put me in a bad mood. You, entertain me.”

  Bridget realized the rude blonde was talking to her. “You, go fuck yourself.”

  A wide smile crossed the blonde’s lips. “Oh, I like this one, Karina.”

  “Ignore her. She did Big Tag a massive favor and now we all have to put up with her for a year. I kind of want to kill Tag for that. I’m babysitting.”

  “I did a favor for you, too,” Maia said irritably as she picked up her martini. “I handed you Derek on a silver platter. And I don’t need a babysitter.”

  “Fine, I’m monitoring the beast,” Karina conceded.

  “I like that so much better.” Maia looked out over the gathering.

  Bridget really didn’t want to know more. “I wanted to talk to you about Will.”

  Maia’s eyes lit up. “The good doctor? The ridiculously naïve one who almost got everyone killed a couple of months back? He had a very nice ass.”

  She didn’t like the idea of Skeletor looking at Will’s ass, but she couldn’t miss the salient point. “Almost got everyone killed?”

  Karina frowned. “That’s overstating it a little.”

  “Well, they weren’t going to kill him. They were leaving him alive to take the fall for killing you. That man is superhot but he’s dumb as a post,” Maia said. “Actually that’s kind of how I like them. So beautiful. So very stupid. I should look him up.”

  Bridget had enough of Maia. “He isn’t stupid. He’s a freaking neurosurgeon. What the hell are you? Some kind of dumbass, can’t do anything but smile for the camera model?”

  Maia put a hand on her arm. “That’s so sweet. I always thought I could model. No. I’m assistant district attorney for Dallas County and I’m the one who got your crush out of the mess he’d gotten himself into. He had his perfect sub but she turned out to be using him. What he saw in that no-brain idiot, I have no idea.”

  Karina put a hand up. “Maia, there’s Eve. Why don’t you go and bug her?”

  Maia nodded. “Oh, those shoes. Yes, someone should tell her they make her look like a milkmaid. And that hair. Horrible. She needs an intervention.”

  “Is that a good idea?” Bridget liked Eve. It seemed a horrible thing to sick a blonde demon on her.

  “Eve finds her amusing. I believe she’s writing an academic paper on Maia as the new Narcissus.” Karina turned sympathetic eyes on her. “You’re interested in Will?”

  Interested? Was she interested in a man she couldn’t stop thinking about? She’d tried to write this morning and her blond cowboy hero kept turning into a dark-haired doctor. “I’m considering going out with him.”

  For a limited time.

  “He’s a good guy. I met him while I was working a case having to do with missing girls.”

  “Was he a suspect? Because I can’t see him physically hurting anyone.” He might break her heart, but she’d been safe with him. The minute she’d shown a hint of pulling back, he’d respected her decision.

  “Only in Derek’s mind,” she said with a wink. “Derek was jealous, but I always knew Will was a well-meaning man. We met him in a club. Not a good one, but then he was testing the waters. I think he tried to hide his dominant needs for a very long time. He even had a cover story. He pretended to be an EMT so no one from the hospital he worked at would find out. I get the feeling there’s a lot Will likes to hide from the world.”

  “Do you know about his mom?”

  “Only after the fact. I dug into his background. He grew up really poor, Bridget. He’s likely not proud of the fact that he came from a trailer park and his mom was in and out of jail.”

  He needed to be in control because so much of his life had been out of it. “He should be proud. He’s come a long way.”

  “I happen to know for a fact that it never feels far away,” Karina said, her eyes softening. “When you come from someplace like that it always feels like you’re one step away from being right back there. Will isn’t hiding anymore. He changed hospitals and while he’s private, he’s not actively hiding now. I know he’s talked to his sisters about going to clubs.”

  “And they didn’t have a problem with it?” Lisa didn’t seem to have a single problem with her brother.

  “They adore him. He could murder someone and they would ask how they could help him. He raised them. He protected them. He had two jobs from the time he was fourteen and he got through school. He’s a hell of a guy, but I worry he still doesn’t know what he wants.”

  He knew what he wanted when it came to her. He wanted a couple of weeks of casual fun. Was there really anything wrong with that? She hadn’t had sex in a year. Since she’d kicked her no-good boyfriend to the curb, she’d lived like a nun. “The evil one said something about him having a sub?”

  “Her name was Starr,” Karina replied. “Well, she called herself that. She was more like a slave than a sub.”

  “That’s what he wants?” She couldn’t do that, couldn’t suppress her own needs to give everything to some man no matter how good his abs looked. She’d met some of those women and a few she genuinely believed were happy, but it wasn’t for her.

  “Like I said, he was exploring. Most Doms go through a phase where they want a very submissive playmate. And a whole bunch of them come to the conclusion that they would rather have a full partner. It works for some people. You know the saying. There are as many ways to practice D/s as there are people who practice it. Some people look at it like a religion and some of us adapt it to fit our needs. It’s simply a more open way for two partners to use their strengths and buoy each other’s weaknesses. Will came from a place where everyone was dependent on him. He’s comfortable handling the whole load, but that’s not necessarily what he needs.”

  “I don’t know what I need either,” Bridget admitted. “I thought I needed stability and that led me to stay with a man who cheated on me for years. Maybe I need to follow my instincts this time.” And not give in to her fear that she was going to be the fool again.

  “I think you could be good for Will, but I would advise you to take it slow.”

  Slow. She didn’t have time to take it slow. Her cell chirped. Her sister. Damn it. “Thanks, Karina. I’ll think about what you said. I have to take this.”

  Karina nodded. “I’ll go save Eve. Oh look. Charlotte Taggart threw a glass of water at Maia. Don’t you fight! She’s pregnant!”

  Karina hurried off to stop the chick fight.

  Bridget flipped her phone to answer it. “Hey, Amy.”

  “Hey, big sis. I wanted to let you know that I got the private jet set up for you.
I e-mailed all the details.”

  “I know. I want to thank you for that. I kind of thought Pops would force me to fly commercial.” It would be considered a huge indignity in her father’s eyes.

  “I handled it. Besides, everyone’s interested in seeing who you bring. By the way, did I apologize profusely for doing that to you? I was slightly tipsy. It was either that or I would have thrown a punch and I’d recently gotten my nails done.”

  Was she actually going to do this? What was she thinking? She should hire her gay stripper and be happy with him. “I found someone.”

  “All right. Now all we have to do is come up with a cover story. I’m thinking Harvard educated something. Dad always loves Harvard educated people.”

  “Nope. He doesn’t need a cover. He’s a doctor.”

  And just like that she knew there was no going back. Two weeks. She had two weeks to pretend, to explore, to discover.

  Maybe two weeks were better than nothing.

  * * * *

  The next afternoon Will moved across the basketball court, his hands out and ready for the pass. Sweat dripped from his brow, but he welcomed it. He needed to sweat for some reason other than his dick being in a constant state of erection. Maybe if he worked his body hard enough he wouldn’t think about Bridget’s breasts crushed to his chest or the way her lips felt against his.

  He’d slept like crap for two nights, waiting for her to call. She still hadn’t said no, but he was starting to think silence was his answer.

  He took his shot, and unlike the one he’d taken with Bridget, this time his aim was true. The ball swooshed into the net.

  “Alex! How about some defense?” Ian Taggart shouted across the court.

  Alex McKay shot his friend the finger after grabbing the ball. “Give an old man a break. We’re down by five and I have to meet Eve in thirty minutes. I need a shower.”

  “Pussy. Eve should appreciate your manly sweat,” Taggart said, running a hand through his hair. “Kai, find me a tall dude who doesn’t mind tossing his body around. Alex won’t even throw an elbow anymore.”

  Kai snorted as he shook his head. “I think Alex would mention that this is supposed to be a friendly game and he’s showing his emotional maturity by treating it that way.”

  “Yeah, well, it sucks to lose.” Taggart turned his icy gaze Will’s way. “Who let you in anyway?”

  “I think that was you.” He’d learned that the only way to handle Taggart was to speak his language. Which seemed to be sarcasm. “You should improve your vetting process. Don’t feel bad. I got through my undergraduate work on a basketball scholarship.”

  Two jobs. Basketball practice. Making sure his sisters were fed and did their homework. Yeah, he didn’t miss those days, but they hadn’t left a ton of time for him to worry. He’d had to keep moving.

  Bridget had likely had tutors and housekeepers and a massive college fund.

  Two different worlds. Maybe it was for the best.

  “You, Kai, do your job and find me some short, unathletic assholes Alex can defend against. I can’t drop him because he’s old and soft.” Taggart’s loyalty was something to be admired.

  Alex McKay grinned as he backed toward the door that led into Sanctum. “I’m just glad Charlotte put an end to Ian’s dream of putting a boxing ring in. He’s trying to take his anxieties out on my body.”

  Kai turned to Taggart. “You should really spend some time on my couch, Ian. We could talk out your fears about becoming a father.”

  Ian ignored Kai. “I don’t need a ring. We could start a fight club without a damn ring. What’s the first rule of fight club?”

  Will knew that one. “No one talks about fight club.”

  “No, the first person to mention my anxieties gets his nose broken. This is my fucking fight club. I make the rules.” Big Tag stalked inside the club.

  Kai rolled his eyes. “Sometimes I wonder why I’m here. In exchange for him footing the bill for my pro bono work, he gave me a list of applicants and then unapproved the only one who was suitable. Do you know what his reasoning was?”

  With Taggart, no one could be sure. But Will decided to cut the guy some slack since he was funding Kai’s practice. Kai specialized in the treatment of PTSD in soldiers returning from war. Taggart had renovated the previously unused second floor of Sanctum, and now a steady stream of former servicemen made their way to weekly sessions with Kai. “No idea, man. I wouldn’t even try to come up with one.”

  Kai sat down on the bench that overlooked the small court. Someone had taken the space and turned it into a small garden, a tiny oasis of green. The place was fenced in, but buildings rose from all around, reminding Will he was in the city. Will stretched while Kai let his head fall back, obviously enjoying the sun. “He told me he would never have a Dom named Devinshea in his club because it was a douchebag name.”

  Will snorted a little. “He’s got a point.”

  A laugh came from Kai’s mouth. “He said that if this dude’s parents had wanted him to have a membership at Sanctum, they should have named him something more masculine like Frank or Dan.” Kai shook his head with a sigh. “That man has serious issues.”

  “Yes, his name is Devinshea.” He was kind of with Taggart on that one. Poor dude probably got his ass kicked on a regular basis. He didn’t mention that Kai wasn’t a hell of a lot better. Sometimes he was happy his mother wasn’t terribly creative. She’d named him after his dad and then went down a list of L names with his sisters.

  “No. I’m talking about Taggart. I think he’s scared of becoming a dad. It can’t be easy for him. His own father left at a young age.” Kai’s eyes were suddenly on him. “It can’t be easy taking on an adult role when you’re still a kid. That kind of responsibility can be difficult to deal with. It can cause a person to go through a kind of arrested development.”

  Jeez. And they were back to him. “We’re not talking about Taggart anymore.”

  Kai didn’t deny it. “I heard about the scam you ran on Bridget Slaten. I was surprised you would do that. I’ve been trying to figure out why you want to hurt her like that. You’ve never come off as a cruel person.”

  “I’m not trying to hurt her. I was trying to herd her to me.”

  Kai’s brow rose in a surprised arch. “Really?”

  “I was trying to get laid, dude.”

  “Huh. Well, then that’s a different story, though I’m pretty sure it still has the same ending.”

  He was a bit offended Kai thought he was actively trying to be an asshole. “You thought I was trying to hurt her?”

  “Well, I certainly didn’t think you were trying to date her. You have to admit that when you discuss your perfect woman, it wouldn’t be her.”

  For some reason that didn’t set well with him. “She’s not so bad.”

  “I didn’t say she was bad. I quite like her. She’s refreshingly honest about most things, but she’s also quite independent. I think you might chafe against that independence. You told me you would prefer a woman who was somewhat dependent on you.”

  “I don’t think I put it like that. I think I talked about enjoying a submissive lover. I like to be in control. It’s kind of the whole point of being a Dom. If I didn’t need control, I would be vanilla or into swinging or foot fetishes or something.” Though he often thought it would be simpler if he only wanted to suck on a chick’s toes.

  “I got the feeling you would prefer a woman who was submissive out of the bedroom as well. Bridget is never going to be that woman. In her own way, she needs control as much as you do. I believe she requires submission in order to let go long enough to find pleasure sexually. In some ways she almost needs permission to find pleasure or relaxation of any kind.”

  It didn’t make sense to him. She’d grown up ridiculously wealthy. Her childhood would have been marked by opportunity.

  Was it possible that she might need him?

  “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Kai asked. “I worry Bridget n
eeds more than you’re willing to give any woman at this point.”

  Sometimes Kai could be annoying. Will wondered if it would be rude to walk away. Probably. And he did kind of consider the guy a friend. “How do you know what I’m willing to give a woman?”

  “Because we have weekly sessions and I did the whole PhD thing. Should I go over my credentials?”

  “When do those end, by the way?” In order to get into Sanctum, he had to agree to weekly sessions with the good doc for a prescribed period of time.

  “You’re on probation for six months. I’ll clear you at the end unless something changes radically, but I hope you consider continuing the sessions. I think it’s good for you to have a place where you can talk.”

  He would never admit it, but he enjoyed those stupid sessions. Kai was right. It was good to talk. He’d told Kai things he’d never talked about before. Something about the man…well, he trusted Kai. “We’ll see, but I don’t understand how I’m hurting Bridget.”

  Kai’s dark eyes brightened and he leaned in. “I’m so glad you asked.”

  “I wish I hadn’t.” He knew a trap when he fell into one.

  “But you did. Look, I think Bridget needs someone who can be serious about her.”

  He was totally serious about fucking her. “From what I can tell she’s not dating. If she’s not in a relationship, I don’t see what’s wrong with spending some time with me. I’ve explained everything to her. I’ve been honest about what I want. If she decides to go to bed with me, it’s because she wants to.”

  Kai pointed at him as though he’d made a point. “That’s the thing. I don’t know that she’s truly capable of stating what she wants. There’s a lot in her background that taught her to isolate herself and her needs. She won’t let you see when she’s upset.”

  Was he high? “Have you seen what happens to people who cut her off on the highway? I was behind her once and she is the very definition of road rage. I heard a story from Serena about the way she deals with assholes who try to get out of traffic by driving in the service lane. She throws the passenger door open, man. I can’t imagine what her insurance premiums are like. I don’t think she has a problem expressing herself.”