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He didn’t know it yet, but that man needed more than mere hugs.
He needed the brilliant attention of a submissive who saw through his bullshit. She heard the sound of a newscast from the living room. She’d sent him off after dinner, accepting the simple job of cleaning for the both of them before prepping veg for breakfast omelets. He’d been a perfectly pleasant dinner companion, talking about plans for the new restaurant and politely answering the questions she asked him.
He’d put some distance between them again and that obviously made him comfortable. The trouble was she’d felt the way he sighed when he finally relaxed against her body. She’d heard him breathe in her scent and felt the way his fingers had played with the skin at the nape of her neck. She also noted the way he’d flushed at the end of their hug.
How long had it been since he’d had a woman offer him simple affection? Something had happened in his past, something that had nothing to do with losing his legs. Sebastian’s thorn was emotional, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t still pull it out.
Not that he wasn’t still all touchy about his legs. It was eight o’clock at night and he was still in slacks.
It was time to start getting him more comfortable with their situation. The Taggarts had dropped this miracle into her lap and she wasn’t about to waste it.
“Are you through with your wine, Sir?” There was still maybe half a glass in the bottle.
Sebastian looked down as though surprised to see his glass empty. He shook his head. “I’m finished. I don’t normally have more than a glass at night.”
Because he was twelve kinds of control freaky. They had to work on that.
“I’ll clean the glasses in a little while.” Normally she would leave them in the sink until she needed them again, but she was going to bend to his needs. He’d already started bending to hers. Having a clean kitchen might be nice for a change. She sank down beside him. “Should we talk about the morning schedule? There’s only one bathroom. Unless you take your shower at night.”
“No, I take it in the morning, but I’ll get up early so we have time.”
“How do you do it?” The question was a calculated risk, but one she felt like she had to take. They had to start talking about the elephant in the room. His legs. Or lack thereof. They would be living together. She didn’t want him hiding in his room like a shrinking virgin afraid she might see his shame.
It wasn’t freaking shame and she was going to make sure he damn well understood that.
“How do I shower? I turn on the water and use soap.”
It was the first time she’d heard him be really sarcastic. She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, not what I’m talking about. Are the old legs there waterproof? Can you surf in them?”
“I handle it.” His face had gone a polite blank. It was his usual expression, the one that told her he was on his guard. He was almost always on guard.
She wasn’t going to let that grumpy tone get her down. “I’m curious.”
“Be curious about something else.” He reached over and turned off the television. “We do have to talk however. I think we need a solid front when it comes to Milo Jaye. He’s coming by tonight to pick up the training contract and I don’t want to meet him without the two of us being on the same page.”
The chilly tone of his voice let her know she might not like his page. Touchy lion. “I think we can handle it. I’m quite good at going with the flow.”
He nodded, lips turned down in a grumpy frown. Somehow he managed to make it sexy. “Yes, that’s exactly what I want to avoid. I’ve thought this over a bit and realized that it’s important how we present ourselves to Jaye. Big Tag told us he was expecting a long-term D/s couple, but he didn’t state what kind of couple we should be.”
Oh, she knew exactly what was coming. He was going to try to maneuver them into a no-sex position, and that was not a part of her plan. If they were pretending to be a D/s couple, they would need to be a super-hot D/s couple. “He’s only coming by to pick up a contract, nothing more. We don’t have to decide on anything yet. We simply smile and be friendly.”
“I think that would be a mistake. Like I told you earlier, I prefer to begin as I mean to continue. I’ll explain our situation to him and he’ll understand.”
She was scrambling. Sometimes playing dumb was a good way to stall. “Our situation? I think that would defeat the point, right? Big Tag wants him to think we’ve been together for a long time.”
He sighed. “We can be together for a long time in several different ways. We need to talk about our backstory.”
Good. She could make a backstory talk last a long time. Anything to keep him from ordering her to pretend like they were some sterile, never-touch-for-anything-but-discipline couple. She couldn’t play dumb if she actually heard the words. “I was thinking we met in high school. You were the chess nerd and I was the super-cool head of the student council.”
He put a hand out. “I was not a nerd.”
“But you were in the chess club.” She’d noted that he hadn’t argued with that portion of her story.
“Chess is an intellectual pursuit,” he huffed. “It does not make one a nerd. And there are several problems with your story. First of all, I’m trying to imagine you running a student council. Exactly what kind of school was this?”
He was so right about that. She hadn’t been into student government. “I thought student government was better than explaining that I spent all my time skateboarding and working for the yearbook. I went through a photography phase, but mostly I made out with my boyfriend in the dark room. Besides, I was thinking we could have met when I needed a tutor for geometry. I bet you were good at geometry. That’s where you found your thirst for topping a pretty sub. You would spank me when I didn’t get a problem right and totally reward me when I did. I’m very reward based. It actually works better on me than punishment.”
He shook his head and the look on his face told her the diversion plan was working. “Okay, first of all, how are we going to explain the difference in our accents and ages? I’m older than you. I can’t be both a nerd tutor and have been obviously held back for several grades. Also, we will give ourselves away if anyone asks me about geometry. I was horrible at math. Tiffany, darlin’, let’s keep this simple.”
