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“I’m asking for you to give me a shot. Give us a shot. Do you have any idea how great we could be together?”
“William, you don’t even know what you’re asking. I’m married with three children! You have no idea what that’s like. We live completely different lives. Meeting up and having incredible, carefree sex doesn’t make a relationship.”
William looked her dead in the eye. “I never implied that it did.”
“Then what exactly are you implying?” She lifted her chin and placed her hands on her hips.
“I’m asking you to make a decision. Do you want to give this a shot or not? If you do, then great—give me your stipulations and I’ll give you mine. If you don’t, then fine, but let me know and we’ll end all of this incredible, carefree sex we’ve been having.”
Addie wanted to go to him and hold him. She wanted to ease the pain she saw written all over his face, but she couldn’t let herself. In the end, they would both wind up hurt. No matter how badly she wanted to utter the words and instantly make it all better, she wouldn’t. She thought of the boys and of Patrick and decided what she’d say. There were too many lives at stake here, too many people who’d get caught in the crossfire. Too many secrets to keep. So she mouthed the words that she knew would bring him to his knees and end it all. “I love my husband, William. I’m sorry.”
William visibly flinched. He stood for a second, staring out the window before quietly walking toward the door. When he got to the doorway, he paused, stood up a little straighter, and smiled. “Well then, I guess I’ll see you around, kid.”
It took everything in Addie’s power not to go to him, not to tell him the truth. That he’d made her happier in these past few weeks that she’d ever been. But she didn’t. Instead she just smiled and watched as he turned and walked away.
Fuck Addison Greyer. He’d show her. William decided to call up every woman in his contact list that he’d ever slept with and make arrangements. Hell, he’d already gone through three of them in the last twenty-four hours alone. The best plan he could come up with was to sleep her right off his mind.
After a week in a sex-fueled haze, William felt better, though a little worse for the wear. He had used his anger to fuel a few major business deals, and nothing made him happier than money. Nothing except Addison Greyer. Damn. He had to get her off of his mind.
William threw himself into his work. After a week or so when that didn’t work, he called up one of his favorite girls and flew them out to Vegas. Sin City would do the trick; he was sure of it.
Patrick knew he’d have to head back to China a week after lying to Michele, telling her that one of the boys was sick. Luckily, he’d been able to push his trip out to two weeks, and, quite frankly, he wasn’t ready to leave even then.
First off, things between him and Addie were going so well. There was something about her that had changed while he was away. She was stronger, more opinionated, and even more beautiful than before, which was funny because, even though he hadn’t thought he would, he liked her that way.
Second, while his mother swore that something was going on, that his wife was falling apart, into drugs, or, worse yet, having an affair, Patrick hadn’t seen any evidence of it. In fact, it was just the opposite. She had been holding everything together perfectly, which made Patrick fall in love with her all over again. That said, he told Penny to keep an eye out. Just in case.
The two weeks he was home, he threw himself into fatherhood, making up for lost time. Patrick realized how much he missed his kids, and that made him determined to convince Addie to move to China. He knew that he’d have to end things with Michele but decided he needed more time. After all, tomorrow he was headed back and needed someone waiting to comfort him while he was away.
Things for Addie had been hectic over the last two weeks with her Domme training and having Patrick home. It was nice to have her family all together, but if she were honest with herself, she would admit that it would also be nice to see him go too. She needed a reprieve from all of the lying and the hiding. She loved seeing the boys so happy to have their Daddy home, but Addie wanted to throw herself into her work. In many ways, Patrick reminded her of a fourth child. She was being selfish, she told herself.
Then there was the matter of William. She wanted to see him. Not that she would. But she wanted to. There was so much she needed to say, so much she needed to process on her own. With everything going on, there hadn’t been the time. Addie used her hurt and anger to fuel her work as a Domme. She bottled it up and used it on the men who called her Mistress. Thankfully, it seemed to be working; Sondra was getting stellar reviews.
The night before Patrick left, he and Addie lay awake in bed for a long while, talking about the future: their plans, their hopes, and their dreams. But later, when they made love, it was William’s face she saw as she closed her eyes. It was William she dreamed of that night. Addie saw William surrounded by flames, calling her name. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t reach him. She couldn’t save him. All she could do was stand and watch as the flames engulfed his body. She awoke in the dark, panting and covered in sweat.
Addie grabbed her iPhone, climbed out of bed, went into the bathroom, and sat on the edge of the tub. She typed “William Hartman” in her Google search. The headline that popped up made her smile, though just a little.
BILLIONAIRE PLAYBOY GAMBLES
AWAY MILLIONS IN VEGAS.
The article was complete with pictures, which infuriated Addie. They showed an incredibly handsome William, complete with his signature shit-eating grin, surrounded by women and liquor. Addie gritted her teeth. Okay, so he wasn’t burning to death in a fiery hellhole. The fucker was in Vegas. Addie slammed her phone down. Same difference, asshole.
William was sitting in the office of the penthouse suite of Caesar’s Palace when Carl came in wielding a file, thrusting it his way.
“I think it’s time to go home, sir.”
William looked at Carl, confused. What had gotten into him? “I think I’ll be the judge of that. Thank you, Carl.”
Carl spoke, his tone serious. “You need to have a look at what’s in the file. Enough is enough.”
William opened the folder and pulled the contents out, spilling them on the desk. There were photos of a man and woman together intimately. William looked at Carl and shook his head. “What is this?”
“Sir, this is Patrick Greyer and his boss. He’s been seeing her for quite some time.”
William leaned back in his chair, running his fingers through his hair. Shit. “Where did you get this?”
“May I?” Carl sat down in the chair adjacent to the desk. “Research.”
