“I can’t be fucked taking photos with fans tonight,” he responds with a casual shrug.
As the guys get back to talking shop, I tune them out and nurse my drink. My mind is consumed with figuring out how Strickland is sabotaging my mergers.
“What’s eating you?” Carter asks.
“Nothing.” I swallow the last mouthful of my whiskey.
“Two of our recent acquisitions have gone south,” James supplies. They talk around in circles for a while, dissecting the mergers, but I zone out. I don’t need to rehash it—I was there.
“How’s it going with Hailee? You popped the question yet?” Zac snickers, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“What? What are you talking about?” I look around the group, confused.
“Come on, man. It’s obvious you’re crazy about her. Every time you look at her, you’ve got hearts in your eyes,” Zac teases. My gaze drifts from one friend to the next, noting expressions ranging from amusement to pity.
What the fuck is going on?
I shake my head. “You’ve got it all wrong. It’s not like that with us. It’s strictly business. She’s my sub for the year,” I say, though they already know this.
“Riiight…” Carter smirks.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” God, I sound like a woman, but they’re really starting to piss me off.
“When was the last time she kneeled for you?” James asks.
It was every night until that asshole attacked her, leaving her with a stab wound in her thigh. I can’t expect her to kneel with her leg in that state.
My silence apparently speaks louder than words.
“Exactly. When was the last time she sucked your dick?”
She used to wake me up every morning with her hot little mouth wrapped around my cock. But since Beth had her heart transplant, our routine has been disrupted, and we haven’t fallen back into it. I’ve been getting up early to go to the gym, and I haven’t wanted to wake her.
“When did you last tie her up and dole out a punishment?” James continues.
“What about the last time she addressed you properly?” Zac adds.
Come to think of it, she hasn’t called me “sir” in a long time. A very long time. And I can’t even recall the last punishment I gave her, although she’s broken every rule I’ve set more than once. Lately, she’s been sporting leggings more often than not. But I haven’t said a thing. A lot has happened, and we’ve been so focused on Beth’s recovery that I haven’t pushed her for more than what she was able to give.
My eyebrows knit together. I’m having trouble grasping the fact that I didn’t even notice the signs. I’ve been content. Happy, even. Things have felt complete; nothing seemed lacking. I haven’t felt the need for her complete submission all the time to maintain control. Even in those moments when she was only partially submissive, I still felt a sense of control. I always thought that’s what I needed to be with a woman again after Mia. But that belief is crumbling before my eyes. If it were true, I would have craved for it from Hailee while she was focused on Beth. But I didn’t.
Hailee brings me a sense of happiness and peace I’ve never experienced before. Her analytic mind impresses me, she’s drop-dead gorgeous, and she’s the perfect balance of assertive and submissive. Ever the optimist, her smile lights me up from the inside out like the ball of sunshine that she is. And the fact that she can put away as much food as I can is the icing on the cake.God, no, it can’t be...
“I’m not in love with her,” I say quickly. The guys have been observing my silent meltdown, and I can’t stand the pity in their eyes. “I’m not!”
“For fuck’s sake, get your shit together,” James says. “It doesn’t matter if you’re in love with her. She’s an amazing woman, and you know it. You would be lucky to call her yours. But you can’t date her if you’re still her client. And that’s exactly what you’re doing. You two act like lovebirds, lost in your own little world, nothing like a dom–sub transactional relationship. You’re blurring the lines, and it’s not healthy. Make up your mind; either end the contract or enforce it.”
Fuck, he’s right.
I rake a hand through my hair, pulling at the roots.
“I warned you, man. One day, some woman would come along and turn your world upside down. And look where we are.” He grins. “And I’m absolutely loving it.”
The guys chuckle, and I punch him in the shoulder… hard.
Fucker.
Chapter twenty-seven
