But he and Arabella were never going to work and there was no reason for him to hang around mooning after her forever. He had other options if he chose to pursue them. Sometimes he forgot that. She tended to make him forget other women even existed. Every date he’d been on since he and Dex had been together had ended at the front door, because he just couldn’t bring himself to sleep with a woman while he was thinking of Arabella. It would be disrespectful.
Maybe it was time to let go of his obsession with her, and find someone who wanted the same things he did.
Arabella chose that moment to appear at his elbow.
Typical.
“Sarah, huh? Nice girl. Hot too. You could do worse.” The quiet challenge in her voice set his teeth on edge, so he avoided turning to look at her. “You going to bang her?”
“Maybe.” The conversation felt weirdly strained, even though they’d talked to each other like this all the time, back in the day. It had been a long time since they’d shared those sorts of confidences.
“She doesn’t seem the one-night stand type.”
“I’ve played with her at the club a few times. She likes being a good girl.” He tried to stop himself from saying it, but the words had come out anyway. It sounded innocuous enough, considering how they used to talk to each other, but he was all too aware that he’d said it hoping to make Arabella jealous. He was careful not to look for a reaction because then she’d know he cared.
Then again, maybe there was no point in playing it cool with a woman who knew damned well he was obsessed with her.
“So what then?” she asked, her tone mocking. “Are you going to offer her a collar?”
He wasn’t sure what to say. The truth was it was unlikely Sarah would even accept a collar from him if he was interested. He wasn’t the kind of guy women got serious about. Hell, she was here with Tarka tonight. Grant had been the slightly less interesting, American version of Tak for years now. He wasn’t quite as charming as the Australian either, he didn’t have the accent, he wasn’t a pilot, and he was fucking moody.
“Who knows?” he said, opting for a bit of bravado. “She gave me her number so maybe that scenario isn’t as unlikely as you think. She’s not the type who flirts just to get laid, so . . .” He shrugged. “Did you come over here to call dibs on her?”
He hadn’t seen the two of them together, but with Arabella one never knew.
“I think she might actually be straight.”
“Straight? I didn’t realize there was such a thing as a completely straight kinkster.”
“I know, right?”
“Obviously you haven’t tried very hard.”
She shrugged and grinned at him, biting the tip of her tongue and looking like a complete imp.
“I haven’t tried it at all.”
“Slacker.”
“What can I say? There’s no more room in my garage for all the toaster ovens I’ve earned converting straight girls over the years. If I convert anyone else I’ll have to rent a storage unit. Damned inconvenient.”
“It’s hard being Arabella Dexter.”
“You have no idea,” she joked, rolling her eyes theatrically.
He barked a laugh for the first time that day, feeling like maybe his life wasn’t over. “Maybe you can get the prize changed to fondue sets or microwaves.”
“For some reason I don’t think fondue sets are going to be any easier to sell off than toaster ovens. Microwaves, though . . . I could do something with microwaves.”
“You could retire.”
“Maybe, but I’d have to step up the number of conversions I do in a month.”
“You can do it. I believe in you.”
“This is why you’re my best friend. You’ve always been so supportive of my goals.”
“I do what I can.”
They were both grinning now, and from across the room Grant caught Will giving them a smile, as though he couldn’t be more pleased. He hadn’t realized his feud with Arabella had bothered his brother much. Will had been so wrapped up in his own situation with Beau and Juliet that Grant had assumed he’d barely noticed.
“I want to talk to you about what happened the other night,” she said, effectively butchering his briefly silly mood.
Grant tensed. “I had a weak moment. It won’t happen again.”
She sighed and ran a frustrated hand through her messy blue and purple hair. “What if I want it to happen again?”
That mad, lingering hope rose in him again. This was exactly why he’d never managed to move on. She kept saying she didn’t want a relationship and yet maybe she was wasn’t being completely honest with herself. It felt as though he was always on the verge of winning her over and he couldn’t just walk away. What if she came to her senses just after he’d collared someone else? Besides, he couldn’t exactly offer someone a collar while he was still in love with her. It wouldn’t be fair to the other woman—it would be even less fair than just sleeping with someone and comparing her to Arabella in his head the entire time.
“If you want it to happen again, you know the price.”
“How am I supposed to know if I want what you’re offering if I haven’t sampled you at least a few times?” She gave him a cheeky smile, her dark eyes narrowed in challenge.
“I’m not interested in being your Costco, woman. You don’t get to stroll in for samples so you can skip lunch. I’m on to you.”
“I’d like you to be onto me,” she said, her gaze mischievous. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about.”
“I thought we were talking about you sampling my wares.”
“I was trying to sample your wares the other night. You’re the one who pushed me away, remember?”
They were facing each other now, both of them with one shoulder propped against the wall, their faces not close enough to kiss but the thought did cross his mind. He also desperately wanted to spank her. How was it possible for a woman to make him this unsettled? It wasn’t like he was a goofy teenager anymore, and yet he always felt like Arabella was one step ahead of him. It pissed him off and turned him on. That pretty much summed up his frustration with her in a nutshell.
A good, submissive girl would never hold his interest like this.
“You were drunk.”
“So were you, but I’m not now. You?”
“I haven’t had a drop. But that doesn’t matter. This”—he gestured between the two of them—“isn’t happening.”
“No, because you’re going to go back to the club to hook up with sweet, obedient little Sarah. That’s the real issue even if you don’t want to admit it to yourself.”
“What’s the real issue?” he asked, his frustration going from zero to eighty faster than it should have.
“You won’t sleep with me again because you can’t handle me.”
“Oh, you’d love to think that, wouldn’t you?” he growled. “How the hell does such a little girl end up with such a huge ego?” She was such a fucking button pusher when it came to him, and only him. He just wanted to tear her pants off and smack her ass until she howled.
“You know why I have a huge ego—maybe better than anyone else does,” she snapped.
“Because you’re hard to handle?” he mocked, glaring at her. “You weren’t so hard to handle when we were together.”
“Fuck that. You didn’t get submission from me until you fucking earned it, you lazy ass. You really want a woman who submits to you just because you exist? And here I thought you liked a challenge.”
She stalked away from him, full of herself, and he tried to let her go but just couldn’t. He followed her down the hall toward the restrooms, expecting to have to drag her out of one to finish their argument. Instead, she passed the restrooms entirely and headed for the building’s rear exit.
She was leaving?
Oh hel
l no.
Practically stomping in her shiny wing tips, she burst out the back door into the parking lot.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going? You can’t just ditch the wedding.”
“Don’t tell me what to do, baby boy,” she growled back at him. “Besides, if one of us is socially stunted it’s you, not me. I wouldn’t dream of leaving without saying good-bye, and I wouldn’t dream of leaving without checking to make sure they didn’t need help cleaning up. I just need some air. Your face is making me sick.”
“Real mature,” he said, rolling his eyes at her back.
“See, that’s the problem. I have no difficulties with being mature around other people. There’s something about you that brings out the worst in me.”
“At one point you told me I brought out the best in you,” he shot back, stung even though he shouldn’t have let her bother him.
“You bring out the best and the worst. Everything is like a roller coaster with you. I never know if I want to seduce you or slap your pretty face.”
Chapter Five
This whole conversation was stupid.
Dex had seen Grant talking to Sarah—a woman who was completely her opposite—and she’d been fucking beside herself with jealousy. She had no right to be jealous, and yet watching the sweet little submissive programming her number into Grant’s phone had made her want to claw the unsuspecting woman’s eyes out.
They’d been very careful not to let people know that anything was going on between them, so there was no way Sarah could have any idea that Dex thought of Grant as hers. Well, they were each other’s, even though Dex didn’t technically want him, want him. Sure, she wanted to sleep with him and wanted him to dominate her again, it was just the rest of it she couldn’t handle.
She knew he’d been playing with other women and going on dates since they’d been together, but for some reason it didn’t feel like Sarah was going to be yet another fling. Sarah was the kind of woman Grant could get serious about and be happy with.
She didn’t want fucking Grant fucking serious and fucking happy!
At least not with someone else.
Not because she wanted a relationship with him herself, or anything, but Grant getting a submissive of his own would mean the end of their already tattered friendship.
What were the chances that Sarah would approve of Grant hanging out with Dex? He’d tell Sarah that he’d slept with her and that would be the end of that. She’d already basically lost one of her two best friends over the past few months, and she wasn’t about to lose the other one. If Grant ended their friendship entirely, that would leave Dexter with no close friends other than Andromeda, and Andromeda had a busy work and social calendar. She wasn’t a hanging-out kind of friend.
For a fleeting moment, she let herself acknowledge how much she missed Mia, but then promptly pushed thoughts of her away. Some things couldn’t be salvaged. Some people weren’t worth the heartache.
Will and Grant, though—they were different. They hadn’t betrayed her the way Mia had. They were worth fighting for.
That sweet little Sarah bitch was not allowed to steal her BFF.
Every time Grant went on a date it made her stupid jealous, and then she’d have to find someone to go on a date with herself. That was always a debacle. A woman just didn’t find a funny asshole like Grant every day. The two of them just . . . clicked, and other guys always paled in comparison.
She stopped next to one of Stride Design’s trucks and glared up at him. He was glaring back.
“What’s your problem, Arabella? You don’t want me, but you don’t want me to see other people?”
“I never said I didn’t want you, you idiot! I said I’m not interested in being collared.”
“Well I’m not interested in letting you bounce on my dick whenever the mood strikes you.”
“When did you turn into such a prissy little debutante, Grant?” she seethed, then decided to ask the real question. “Why will you whore around with pretty much anyone except me?”
He grit his teeth. “You’re so fucking clueless sometimes, you know that? Fuck, you piss me off.”
“Ditto, buddy.”
“If you were mine,” he went on, as though she hadn’t spoken, “I’d turn you over my knee and spank that attitude out of you every goddamn day. You’re so fucking impossible.”
She grabbed his phone out of his hand and opened Sarah’s contact information while he growled out a few choice words, then handed the phone back to him.
“So call her, then. Obviously I’m not what you want so I don’t know why you’re so hell-bent on getting a collar around my neck. If you want a nice, biddable woman, she’s the one for you, not me.” She jabbed a finger at his phone, then gestured for him to make the call. “I’m so glad I never gave in.”
“You’re a nasty little viper when you’re jealous.”
She turned and strode away, wishing her strides were longer so she looked less ridiculous when she was pissed.
Wait. If she walked away, he was going to think he was right. Idiot.
She stopped again.
“And you only wish I was jealous!”
He caught up with her and tapped the tip of her nose, his expression having turned annoyingly smug. “That’s exactly what this is. We were fine all day until I talked to Sarah, and now you’re being a tool.”
“You’re the one who’s a tool for thinking we could ever be happy together long term. I am who I am. Apparently, you don’t even like brats and you’ve always wanted a good girl like Sarah, so go get her, dickwad.”
She turned her back on him again, heading for her car, but the jerk just didn’t give up. He dogged her all the way to the back of the lot, where she’d parked to leave space closer to the doors for some of Juliet’s elderly relatives and for people lugging kids.
By the time they reached her car they were both breathing heavily, but out of anger rather than exertion. The night air was cool, which helped take some of the heat from her cheeks. She felt like she was burning up from the inside, her anger giving her hot flashes as though she was going through menopause.
Being this pissed off all the time couldn’t be good for either of them.
She leaned back against her car and crossed her arms. “This wasn’t meant to be a group excursion, Ellis. You can take your ass back inside.”
“I’m not leaving you out here alone.”
“I came out here to get away from you and calm the fuck down. I don’t see either of those things happening if you stay.”
“I’d rather you be safe and pissed off.”
“I’m not a child. I know how to handle myself.” She gestured him away impatiently, but of course he didn’t move.
“You may not be a child, but you’re acting like one. It’s not safe out here. Juliet’s family seems nice enough, but there’s another hall in the building, and a lot of drunk men around.”
“Get the fuck out of my face, Grant.”
“Come inside.”
“I think someone forgot to put on his listening ears today,” she said mockingly, sounding like a preschool teacher.
For a moment he stared her down, teeth bared. She notched her chin up, damned if she was going to show any hint of weakness, even though he was big and imposing in the suit. The man was model gorgeous. It was impossible to stay mad at him when he was looking all sexy and sinister.
“Turn around and put your hands on the hood of the car,” he said harshly.
“What?” She frowned at him, his change of subject throwing her for a loop.
“You fucking heard me,” he said quietly, sounding dangerous.
For a moment all she could do was blink at him, then, before she could stop herself, she slowly turned and leaned her palms against the cool hood of her car. He reached around her waist and unbuckled her belt.
>
“What are you doing?”
“Helping you calm down. I’m not leaving you out here alone so it’s the least I can do.”
Fuuuck.
She should really try to stop him, but instead she let him unbutton and unzip her pants, standing quietly as they slid down to her ankles. A ridiculous arousal spiraled through her, and she found herself arching her back to present her bottom to him. He growled something under his breath, and then his hand drifted gently over the globes of her ass, as though he couldn’t help but touch it. The cheeky boy shorts she was wearing couldn’t be hiding much.
“Where on earth did you find underwear that say ‘make me behave’?”
“Andromeda bought them for me for Christmas.”
Grant grunted. “Figures.”
She snorted, trying to pretend she was full of bravado even though her guts were quaking. She wasn’t afraid of not being able to handle what he dished out, but his very presence affected her, and the feel of him standing behind her like this was overwhelming. She wasn’t sure what he had in mind—whether it was a spanking, or if he was going to fuck her—and not knowing was completely delicious.
“Getting bored here,” she grumbled. It was a lie, but she needed to rush him along and find out what he had planned. “Maybe I really should go back inside. I seem to be meeting sketchy, indecisive men out here tonight.”
His first smack came in so hard and fast it took her breath away. She hissed at the burn of it and went up on her toes, wanting to relax into the spanking and yet still angry at him for almost choosing Sarah. Dex had been waiting, hoping tonight would turn out like this ever since they’d walked out of the alley the night of the bachelor party.
Smack, smack, smack. Fire burned where he connected, hot and sharp. No warm-up for her tonight, apparently, but he seemed to have strict control over himself despite the fact they were pissed at each other. She lay belly down on the car, accepting that he’d won the battle even though he hadn’t won the war.
“You know, if this was all you wanted out here you could have just asked,” he spat, sounding annoyed.
He made it sound so simple, but the problem was she’d never be satisfied with a quick spanking from him. She wanted to sleep with him again, and having him spank her would just add to her frustration. It was a bit late to turn back now though. She’d never be able to bring herself to say ‘red’ . . . not when his broad hand felt so good.
All's Fair in Love and Mastery Page 6
