It did.
“Are you not speaking at all?”
“Sorry,” she mumbled, her head dropping. “I—” But nothing else came out.
He sighed. “I haven’t given you the reinforcement you need. I can’t explain why that is, but I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. Are you free tonight?”
“Why?” Was he asking her out on a date?
“We have another scene to do, pet. If you pass this one, I promise not to leave you hanging after.” He chuckled. “Pun not intended.”
She didn’t understand his comment, but it answered the question that these scenes wouldn’t just be on Fridays. She licked her lips, the authority in his voice turning her on in ways it shouldn’t. Yeah, she missed his power. Whether she’d crave the same domination from another man was yet to be determined. She had weeks before she’d be forced to analyze that. “I’m free.”
“Good. Meet me at the club at seven. Oh, and Shelby? This time, you do not get to leave when you want to. If the scene goes well, I plan on keeping you all night long.”
“Y-yes, Sir.”
“Master,” he corrected. “But we’ll work on that more later. I look forward to seeing you, pet.”
He disconnected without her replying, and she stared blankly at her phone as his words clicked in… All. Night. Along. Holy—
“So what did he say? When are you seeing him again?” Viola asked, leaning in.
“That’s none of your business,” Shelby whispered heatedly.
One of Viola’s eyebrows arched. “Actually, it is. It’s bureau business.”
Shelby squeezed her eyes shut. “I know that. Jeez. I’m still trying to process the conversation.” That much was true, but this was still her job. That was the part that mattered here. She looked at her friend and sighed. “Tonight. He wants to see me tonight.”
“At the club or at his house?”
Shelby glared at her. “That was the first time I’ve spoken to him since I saw him. I think you know the answer to that.”
“Quit being so defensive. I’m in your corner here.”
Shelby groaned and rubbed her face. “Sorry. Just feeling a little out of my element.”
“I think you need a latte or a bitch slap. My treat either way.” Shelby looked up and Viola snickered. “Though I’d be pissed if option number two ruins my mani.” She glanced at her red French tips before winking at Shelby.
“I think I need something stronger than coffee,” Shelby muttered.
“Right. Let me finish up some paperwork, and we can grab lunch. I won’t tell Rick about having a margarita with my chips and salsa if you won’t.”
“Don’t worry. My lips are sealed.” Keeping things from her boss was becoming second nature.
Chapter Seven
Mason ended the call with Shelby and stared at his phone. What the hell was he doing? He hadn’t planned on seeing her tonight. Hell, he’d spent the last several days trying to ignore the fact that his thoughts trailed to her when he wasn’t forcing himself to focus on work and this clusterfuck he was in. He hadn’t lied to Shelby about being swamped—just not with his assigned duties. Even this morning, when he kept trying to prep for his meeting with William, he couldn’t concentrate, and the fault lay with one dark-headed beauty.
He’d called her before he’d even realized he’d picked up his phone.
“Shit,” he breathed as he searched for Jedrek’s number and called his business partner.
“What?” Jedrek said in way of greeting him. He hadn’t barked it. No, that would require more emotion than the solemn man was capable of. Jedrek was more machine on autopilot than the average person. Not that Mason considered himself average. But the only time he noticed life spark in Jedrek’s eyes was whenever he conducted a scene. And even then that spark was tightly leashed. The guy had more secrets than Mason did, and that was saying something.
“Hey, man. You busy tonight?”
“Depends. Where’ve you been?”
“Had to take care of some stuff with F and B.” That was an understatement, but he couldn’t really go into any details at the moment. “I need you at the club tonight.”
“This a date?”
“I’m working with a new sub. I want her bound and you to do it,” he said, ignoring his friend’s attempt at sarcasm.
“If you’re training her, why aren’t you doing it?”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. God, he wanted to be the one to tie her up, which was exactly why he wouldn’t. “You’re the best at it. Besides, I think it’s a good idea to expose her to different Doms. She’s new. I don’t want her getting comfortable with me.” Liar.
“Gotcha. All right, I’ll do it. Does she have any hard no’s?”
“You can’t touch her sexually. She’s agreed to work with various Doms, but only wants me to be the one to stimulate her should it come to that.”
“Should it come to that? You’re going to be there, too?”
“Yes.”
There was silence before Jedrek continued. “Forget it. I’m not interested in being your bitch. Ask someone else.”
“C’mon, man. You know how it is, and it’s not like that. Rafe helped me with a spanking scene, and I’m going to ask Emory to help with whipping. Your knots are a work of art.”
“I’m dominating for a reason, Mason. I don’t like having other Doms tell me what I can and can’t do to a sub.”
“Just think of her as belonging to another Dom. You’re always respectful of the rules in those relationships.”
“Do you two have an arrangement?” he asked, almost disinterested. “I didn’t think you were interested in taking on a sub full-time.”
“No. She came to me because of a mutual friend.” He wasn’t touching the comment about him taking on a sub.
He sighed. “Fine. I’ll be there when I get off work.”
Mason’s door opened, and William walked in. What the hell? He looked at his watch as he replied to Jedrek. “Thanks.
