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Until now.
He pushed open the door at the bottom of the stairs and charged out of the stairwell, crashing straight into Ryan Summerlin.
“Whoa,” Ryan said, grabbing Caelan’s arm as they both struggled to remain upright. “Where’s the fire?”
Embarrassed, Caelan replied, “I’m so sorry, Ryan. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”
“No problem,” Ryan said with a laugh, rubbing his shoulder. “Fortunately, it’s not my whip arm.” As Caelan tried to smile, Ryan peered more closely into his face. “Hey, what’s up, bro? You look like you’re the bearer of some very bad news. Is everything okay?”
Caelan blew out a breath. “Not really,” he admitted. “I was just on my way to Ella’s office. I have a problem I need to discuss.”
“A problem?” Ryan queried, looking concerned. “Don’t tell me you’re leaving? Please, anything but that. Business is really picking up. We need to add trainers, not subtract them.”
“No, no,” Caelan said quickly. “It’s nothing like that. It’s…”—he paused, trying to find the right words—“it’s something that happened with my new trainee. With Skylar.”
“I’ve got a few minutes before my next session. You can tell us both all about it. I’m sure we can find a resolution to whatever the issue is.”
What the hell—he’d tell them both at once. If they decided to fire him, then so be it. He might fire himself if he couldn’t get his head on straight.
“Okay,” he agreed. “Thanks.”
They walked together down the hallway that contained the business offices. Just as they entered Ella’s empty office, she came into the room, her distinctive brand of perfume preceding her. “Now, what’s this—oh, Ryan. Hi. I didn’t realize you’d be here, too.”
“We ran into each other in the lobby,” Ryan said with a smirk, rubbing his shoulder.
“So,” Ella said, gliding into her office chair as the two men sat on either end of the leather couch facing her desk. “What’s this all about, Caelan? Let’s see if we can’t put our heads together and solve whatever the issue is.”
Caelan drew in a deep breath, trying to think how to begin. As experienced trainers themselves, they were both familiar with the intense dynamic that could emerge between trainer and trainee, even within the first few hours of an interaction. Hopefully, they’d help him to understand what was going on and give him some advice on how to proceed.
“First things first. Where is Skylar now?” Ryan asked, glancing at his watch.
“She’s on free time with Abbie. I asked Abbie to take care of her while I tried to pull myself together.”
“What happened, Caelan?” Ella asked gently, leaning forward. “You can talk to us. Odds are we’ve both been there, done that, whatever it is.”
“Thanks,” Caelan said gratefully, reminded yet again how much he liked living and working on Desire Island, and how much he’d miss it if he had to leave.
Okay. Out with it, he ordered himself.
“Here’s the thing,” he finally began. “I behaved inappropriately with Skylar this morning during a session. I had to excuse myself before I went too far. I’m-I’m not sure I can continue to work with her.”
“Whoa,” Ryan said, frowning. “What the hell happened?”
“Why don’t you start from the beginning, Caelan?” Ella added. “Just tell us exactly what occurred. Don’t worry about being politically correct or anything like that. Know that Ryan and I think very highly of you, and we’re so glad you’re here helping us bring our vision to life. We’re all friends, and we can figure this out together.”
Caelan rubbed a hand over his face. “Okay. We’d just completed a successful water torture session and I had her get into the hot tub to take the chill off. I… She…”
Shit. How did he say this?
“I think I’m attracted to her,” he said in a rush before he lost his nerve. “Okay. That’s a lie. I know I’m attracted to her. As a result, I did something wholly inappropriate. With no reason other than my own lust, I took off my clothes and climbed into the tub with her. I pulled her onto my lap. I very nearly…” he trailed off, heat blazing into his face as he looked away from Ella’s kind, earnest gaze. “I was going to take it to a very personal level,” he finished lamely. “I ended up basically fleeing the scene and sending in Abbie to clean up my mess. I behaved unethically and frankly I’m not sure I should continue as her trainer.”
He looked up, startled to see the knowing expression the pair exchanged with each other, both of them grinning like Cheshire cats. What the hell was funny about what he was saying?
“What?” he demanded, confused and a little affronted.
“Ask Ella how she and Maya hooked up,” Ryan said.
Caelan fixed his gaze on Ella, cocking an eyebrow. “Well?”
“In a very similar situation to yours,” she said with a laugh. “I was conducting a training seminar at the BDSM facility Ryan and I used to work at just outside of Asheville. She was one of the submissive volunteers from the audience. The sparks started to fly almost instantly. It was all I could do to get through the demonstration before I took her back to my private dungeon.”
