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“Yes.”
“Why, because I fucked you?”
Sighing, I knew the strong connection we’d shared had an obvious break. “No, sweet Lark. Because you told me something very personal and hurtful to you, letting your guard down. In other words, I trust that you’ll return to this house as soon as you’ve finished your tasks. Now, you’ll need to learn to trust me.”
CHAPTER12
Lark
Trust.
The fact the man wanted me to trust him was almost hysterical. How could I trust Lachlan when I couldn’t trust myself? I’d allowed the man to seduce me with his brogue voice that dripped of sin and his brooding eyes that sparkled like sunlight casting a warm glow over a dense forest.
I’d relished the feel of his cock buried inside, driving me to the point of surreal ecstasy as well as exhaustion. I’d begged him to fuck me, for God’s sake. Then I’d told him about Michael. No, there was no way I could place my trust in the savage man.
I was ashamed of myself for falling so easily into his trap. Enough so I sat in the back of a café still wearing my sunglasses, trying to disguise my identity. It felt like I had a huge crimson ‘A’ embroidered on the front of my dress. The ugly feeling must have merit. At least six different customers were shifting from the blasphemous early afternoon news coverage of the auction plastered on the three televisions in the eatery to my table.
I crouched down lower in my seat, sulking. Maybe I’d made a bad decision asking Jackie to meet me here with the few items I’d need to continue working on the case. At. His. House. Geez. I found it difficult to say his name, let alone acknowledging he bought and paid for me.
My nerves were shot, my desire for the man so thick I couldn’t think clearly. Why I’d thought having a glass of wine in the afternoon would help clear my foggy mind, I wasn’t certain. Then again, at this point it couldn’t hurt either. I was essentially in dead stop mode with my career and my life for seven days. While it might not seem like long for most people, for me it was a lifetime. As I sipped on my wine, I couldn’t help but overhear the anchors laughing about the event.
Yep. I’d managed to become the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons. When I noticed Jackie entering the small restaurant, searching the crowd, I started to feel a little better.
Until she sat down.
“Tell me what it’s like to fuck that stud.” Jackie’s voice had a way of carrying itself across an expansive distance, today no exception. In addition to the six customers already staring at me, I counted another four. Great. Another fun-filled day of humiliation.
“First of all, lower your voice or I’m going to strangle you. Second, that’s not what the contract entailed.”
“Uh-huh,” she drawled, tapping her fingers next to my wineglass. “I know you too well. What other reason would you indulge in a glass of wine in the middle of the day if you weren’t attempting in your crazy way to atone for your sins? Why not just go to confession?”
While I knew she was teasing me, she did know me well enough to catch me in every little white lie. “Fine. Maybe I am atoning.” I looked away, taking a deep breath.
“That’s fabulous. I knew you two would get along.”
“Why? Because we’re like oil and water?”
“No, sugar. Because he’s a dominating man, which is exactly what you’ve wanted. Michael was a wuss. My God. And the man called you an ice queen.”
I truly loved Jackie to death, but her mouth would eventually get her in so much trouble. Or she’d have my foot in it one day. Another wave of heat made my cheeks feel electrified but only part of the reason was due to my utter embarrassment. She was right. She’d heard enough of my rambling during wine events to know I’d been unhappy in a traditional vanilla lifestyle my entire adult life.
I just hadn’t expected such a strong reaction by being around Lachlan.
She flagged the waiter before I had a chance to rebut, taking the wind out of my sails.
“So why didn’t you come to the office?” she asked, thankfully changing the subject.
“I don’t know. I didn’t want a million questions.” I’d wanted to lock myself in my apartment, pretending I’d left town, but Lachlan’s statement about trusting me had yanked at the inner good girl. He’d seemed sincere. If there was such a thing with the brute. I’d even stolen a few minutes, searching the internet for any juicy information from his past that I could use against him. Maybe I’d been hoping to find a criminal history, which would provide a decent excuse to break the contract.
My search had taken me down another rabbit hole, reading everything I could find on Carnal Sins. By all accounts, they were considered one of the best kink clubs in the country. Now they wanted to expand to other parts of the world. Eager investors were waiting in the wings. Maybe I was more curious about their success than I’d intended on being. I’d also seen him in dozens of pictures as the man about the town, always with another woman on his arm.
“Don’t worry,” she said, laughing as the wine arrived. “I handled them. All ten thousand of them.”
“Are you kidding?”
She gave me a sour look. “Yes, I’m kidding. I had maybe ten, but mostly the girls in paralegal wanted to know he was like up close and personal.”
“And what did you tell them exactly?”
