Luke
Good girl.
Fucking hell, he knows how to floor me and set my pulse racing with just two words. I throw my phone onto the bed and take a deep breath.
How on earth will I get through a whole baby shower with him in the same room?
CHAPTER 33
Luke
I’m grinninglike an idiot at my desk, fuelled by the drug that is Emmeline Warner. I don’t know why I’m so happy, this is an absolute car crash waiting to happen. But for now, I’m going to enjoy every moment I get.
“You look happy,” says Jessie, appearing in my office doorway. “Something to do with your brunette?”
“Might be,” I concede.
“I’ve not seen you like this before,” she says, eyeing me.
“Like what?”
“Happy. Loved up. It’s nice to see.” She smiles and flops down onto my sofa, rearranging my cushions absentmindedly.
“Iamhappy, Jess. She’s incredible. But this can only ever be a short-lived chapter. She needs to start over and be single for a while; I’m just keeping her company and helping her explore her kinks.”
She gives me alookand purses her lips before audibly sighing.
“You deserve to be happy too, Luke. If you’ve got feelings for her, you should tell her. She’s lucky to have you in any capacity, but if there’s a chance for you to be happy together, you should take it.”
“You’re awfully pro-monogamy for the manager of a sex club, Jess,” I joke but it sounds a bit hollow.
“Deflect all you like, Luke, but you should think about what you really want. Because you might just find she wants it too.”
“But Nick?—”
“Nick loves you. Who better to be with his sister?”
“I love that you think that but I really don’t think Nick would see it that way. And he’s the most important friend I’ve got. He’s basically a brother to me. He always talks about me being there for him when his parents died but the truth is that he was just as much of an anchor for me during a rough spell a few years ago. Losing him isn’t an option. Not after everything he did for me.”
The buzz of a few minutes ago dies instantly as the force of my words hit me. Jessie just nods and says nothing. For a long beat, we just look at each other and then she gets up to go.
“I still think you should tell her how you feel. Even if it’s not full-blown love. You’re not just fucking and you know it.” And with that truth thrown at me like a grenade, she strolls out of my office.
Two nights later, I’m back in room eight waiting for Emmy. We’ve planned a night to explore impact play, and I’ve laid out a variety of different paddles, whips, canes, and crops across the bed. I’m just starting to worry that it’s overkill when there’s a click at the door, and the woman in question materialises before me.
“Hello,” she says, grinning as she strides across the room and plants a kiss on my mouth.
She’s grown so much in confidence over the last few weeks and my heartbeat goes double time for a moment as I thinkabout how far she’s come. She’s owning her sexuality for what seems to be the first time and that courage and self-assurance is bleeding over into her general demeanour.
It’s pure joy to watch, and my absolute kryptonite. She’s blossoming before my eyes, becoming bolder, brighter, more herself. And every step she takes pulls me deeper and makes the heartbreak I’m risking feel more and more inevitable.
“Hello,” I reply, gripping her by the hips and tugging her into me. She laughs as I deepen the kiss, our tongues dancing as she rakes her fingers through my hair. I bite her bottom lip and she moans, waking up my cock. She breaks off the kiss, glancing over to the array of toys on the bed.
“You’ve got quite the toy box, Mr Pullman,” she teases, stepping over to the bed and picking up a paddle.
“Oh you have no idea,” I reply, as I step behind her and slide one of the straps of her dress down. She leans back into me and I slide a hand into the top of her dress. She’s not wearing a bra and I groan as my fingers meet only warm skin.
“Tell me about these,” she says, a little breathlessly as I pinch her nipple and roll it lightly between my thumb and forefinger.
