by Avery Gale
“Do. Not. Come. Paris.” Trin emphasized the command with a stinging swat before setting his spitting-mad future mate on her feet. The defiance glittering in her blue eyes was so easy to read, it was almost laughable. If he left her alone for thirty seconds, she would get herself off without thinking twice. “Kneel and thank your Master for the lesson.” He should have known when he saw amusement flash in her expression, a split second before she masked it, the little hellion wasn’t going to play it straight. Kneeling in near perfect form, she gave him the phoniest look of contrition Trinity had ever seen.
“Your humble servant thanks Master for the lesson. She understands now, he views her as too inept to take care of herself. She also appreciates the insight into how Doms use sex as a weapon. Sadly, the D/s lifestyle seems to have lost its appeal.” Trinity was so stunned, he barely registered Paris rolling back onto her feet and stomping into the ensuite. By the time he recovered enough to move to the door, Paris had already closed it so quietly, the sound seemed to reverberate through the room. Before he could reach for the knob, he heard the distinctive click of the lock engaging.
What the ever-loving fuck? She isn’t going to be able to sit for a week.
Chapter Ten
Paris stared into the beveled edged mirror, wondering who the stranger was looking back at her. The woman in the mirror was naked, flushed from arousal and anger, her hair in such disarray, she looked like some of her bulbs weren’t screwed in all the way. Feeling the telltale burn at the back of her eyes, Paris watched tears streak down her flushed cheeks. Wiping them away with the back of her hand, she straightened her spine.
“I will not cry. Not getting a damned orgasm is not the end of the world. Get the hell out of here, then you play all you want. I should be able to find some guy willing to give me what I want.” The pep talk she was giving herself wasn’t working, so she gave up and moved to the shower. She’d get cleaned up, then try to rest. “Suck it up, Paris. You’ve got a safe place to sleep, plenty to eat, and the promise of a job you know is perfect for you. Be grateful and stop expecting tall, dark, and bossy to worship the ground you walk on.”
By the time she’d finished her shower and dried her hair, Paris was ready to crash. She wrapped herself in the soft terry robe she found in a vanity drawer before opening the door. Stepping out of the bathroom, Paris wasn’t surprised to see Trinity leaning against the fireplace mantel, ankles crossed in a deceptively casual pose. She might have misjudged his interest in her, but she wasn’t without any people skills. He was wound tight. Not my problem.
“What are you doing, Sprite?”
“I’m exhausted. I’m going to sleep… alone. Go away.” Paris could have sworn she heard him growl. He could blow that scary wolf routine up somebody else’s ass, she didn’t have the time or inclination to play his little mind games tonight. Turning out all the lights but the small lamp on the bedside table, Paris looked down at the robe before looking up at the man staring at her from across the room. Fucking hell, she wanted to change into something she’d be more comfortable sleeping in. Paris loved her sexy nightgowns, but she wasn’t about to change in front of him. Damn and double-damn.
Crawling between the sheets wrapped in a thick robe wasn’t easy, but she managed it without losing too much dignity. She hesitated when reaching for the small lamp. Since the night David broke into her apartment, she hadn’t been able to sleep in the dark… until Trinity. Paris slept like a baby wrapped in his arms. Frack she dreaded having the nightmares return. Don’t let him know your weakness. You’re an Adler and Adlers don’t fold.
Switching off the light, Paris settled into the bed and sighed. Closing her eyes, she tried to pretend tonight had never happened. Everything had been fine until she’d realized people were watching the compound. Trinity and his band of merry spies might not have considered her competent enough to share the information until an hour ago, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t sensed them. Damn, she hated being treated like a child. She’d dealt with this same bullshit her entire life and was over it. Despite her best efforts, she felt the first tear trickle silently from the corner of her eye.
Trinity watched Paris hesitate to turn off the light, the anxiety pulsing around her was the only thing keeping him in place. The stunt she’d pulled before locking herself in the bathroom was over the top, but once he’d calmed down, Trin tried to put himself in her position. While they were in the Caribbean, he’d known she was skating on the edge—hell, it was the reason he’d started snooping. Now, he worried he’d tripped enough internet alerts to give her stalker a place to start looking after she vacated her California condo in the middle of the night.
Paris turned her back to where he was standing, but with his enhanced night vision, he could still see her clearly. When he saw her breathing change from carefully controlled and measured to shuddering, he silently shifted positions. Shifters were known for their ability to move soundlessly when they were in wolf form, and for most of them, it was a skill easily transferred to their human side. Watching over her felt right, and the longer he stood beside her, the harder it was to maintain the distance. The second time her shoulders shook, he heard her small hiccup as her tears continued to fall. Fuck giving her space.
“No, baby. Don’t cry.” He was on the bed beside her before she’d even known he was close. Smoothing his hand over the side of her face, Trin wanted to kick himself for the way the evening had gone down. Despite knowing she was going to run, he felt guilty about setting her up to fail. He’d scared her out of her mind when it hadn’t been necessary. There wasn’t a chance in hell she could have gotten her car out of the garage, and the point he’d been trying to make had been completely lost in her panic.
Pulling his shirt over his head, Trin settled on top of the bed covers with his back against the headboard. Pulling her onto his lap, he opened the robe enough they would be skin to skin. As a Dom, he understood the importance of maintaining constant physical contact with a submissive, and as Paris’ mate, he wanted her as close as possible.
“I’ve got you, sweetness. Let it out, baby.” Her deep sobs were heart-wrenching, and Trinity worried if he didn’t get her calmed down, she’d make herself sick. Pressing her against his bare chest seemed to be calming the storm, but he could still sense an overwhelming sadness Paris seemed barely keeping under wraps.
“Contrary to the way it might look, I’m actually a good listener, baby.” She didn’t answer except to shake her head. Sighing to himself, Trinity knew he’d brought this on himself. Instead of sitting down and listening to her, the first time they were alone, he’d punished her. Fuck, she’d had the spanking coming, but the timing sucked. “Okay, let me put this another way. It makes it very difficult for me to protect you if I don’t have all the information. I’m sure your brother, Israel, would tell you the same thing.”
Paris slowly settled down, and Trinity breathed out a sigh of relief when he felt her relax against his chest. Within seconds, her breathing leveled out, and he knew she’d finally fallen asleep. Exhaustion had won the battle. He’d hold her all night if it meant she was well rested for their conversation tomorrow. Trinity mentally prepared for what was shaping up to be a long night. He knew he needed to check in with his office and update London’s family. It was possible one of them knew more about what happened in California. Thankfully his phone was within reach, and he was able to do everything without waking Paris.
As he was setting his phone on the nightstand, he saw a message from one of his deputies. It seemed one of the men watching the clinic compound had gotten too close to the electrified portion of the fence. Trinity was barely able to contain his laughter—served the bastard right. Messaging back, Trinity asked, Is he all right? His deputy’s response was accompanied by several laughing face emojis.
Hope he is being well paid.
Israel Adler glared at the string of messages on his phone. It never paid to be off the grid for any length of time because he inevitably returned to a mess
. Israel needed to either cut back on the number of cases he accepted or hire help. Neither option held much appeal, but he’d seen investigators burn-out and was starting to recognize some of those same symptoms in himself. Scrolling through the messages, Israel zeroed in on one from Ian McGregor, mentioning the tracking bracelet he’d made for Paris. What the fuck? Paris? My sister, Paris?
Wading through the slew of messages, Israel felt his blood pressure spike when he thought about his youngest sister dealing with a stalker. Adding insult to fucking injury, the man was her closest friend. The urge to shift and run off his anger was so overwhelming, Israel had to stand and walk it off. Shifting into his wolf on an airport concourse wasn’t anything he even wanted to think about. Moving to the airline counter, Israel started the arduous task of changing his flight itinerary. Once he landed in New York, he’d head to Boston instead of flying on to Houston.
Fucking hell, my life has turned into a sappy country western song.
Chapter Eleven
Paris sat straight up in bed, gasping for breath. Something was wrong. Something had changed. “Who’s there?” She barely recognized her own voice it sounded shrill and panicked.
“It’s just me, Sprite. Trinity. I’m the only one here. I just left the room to shower. Are you all right?” His voice came from behind her, causing Paris to turn so quickly, she nearly fell off the bed.
“Why is it so dark in here? It wasn’t this dark when I went to sleep. Oh, my Goddess, I’ve overslept and missed my meeting with Elijah.” Scrambling to untangle herself from the sheet, she tipped precariously over the edge of the bed again before she felt strong fingers grasp her upper arms.
“It’s dark in here because I pulled the shades and closed the drapes so you could sleep a while longer. You needed the rest, baby. I’ll take you to Eli’s office after you’ve eaten, he’s expecting you in one hour. We’ll talk while we eat. Now, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t fall out of bed. Evan and Elijah would skin me alive if I showed up with you battered and bruised.”
“I think you are exaggerating the level of affection my new brothers-in-law feel for me. We barely know each other. Almost all of our interaction has been related to either Brooklyn’s hospitalization or them hooking up with London.”
“Hooking up? I can promise you they would take exception to that particular phrase. It implies their relationship with their lovely mate is something tawdry.”
“Oh. My. Heavenly. Goddess. And. Goat. Balls. Did you just say tawdry? Holy hell, I didn’t know anyone used that word anymore. How old are you anyway?” Paris saw Trinity stiffen for just a moment before he grinned at her.
“Old enough to know your pretty ass is probably too sore for another paddling, so you better stop stalling. You have twenty minutes to shower, dress, and get down to the kitchen.” Picking her up and setting her on her feet, he gave her bare ass—hey, what happened to my robe—a swat that sent her up on her toes. Paris turned once she was out of reach, looking for her phone, her gaze swept over the bedside table and dresser.
“If you are looking for your phone, I took it downstairs. The damn thing was about to vibrate itself off the table. You’ll have time to return all those messages after your meeting with Eli, which you are going to miss if you don’t get a move on.”
A lot of messages could only mean one thing—her siblings knew about David. Dandy. She was tempted to start a betting pool on which one of them would be the most pissed off she hadn’t told them what was happening. The pool is out because you don’t know enough people here to fleece… you’d do better to bet on how long until someone drops a net over you for talking to yourself.
She was in and out of the shower in record time. The last thing she wanted was to be late for her meeting with Eli. Most of the graduates she knew were frantically applying for jobs all over the country, so she knew how lucky she was to have secured the plum position setting up a new school. Getting in on the ground floor, helping design the curriculum to ensure the pack’s children had every possible educational advantage was going to be a dream come true.
Skidding around the corner a few minutes later, Paris skirted one wall only to run into another—the second one might be flesh and bone, but it was every bit as hard as the first.
“Damn, baby, where’s the fire?”
“Sorry, I’m hungry… and I tend to be pretty focused when it comes to food.” Trinity pulled her against his chest, his chuckle vibrating all the way to her empty stomach, which growled in response.
“Come on, I was just coming to get you—breakfast is ready.” Sitting down at the small table in the kitchen, Paris stared at the feast Trinity had set out. “Don’t look so surprised, Sprite. I’ve lived on my own for a long time—I had to learn to cook or starve.”
“I lived in a condo during college. Thanks to Austin’s negotiations and brilliant management skills, I didn’t have to share the space. Of course, if I’d had a roommate, maybe she would have taught me how to cook.” It was probably best to keep quiet about the visits the local fire department made to her condo.
Paris hadn’t been kidding about Austin’s negotiation skills… he’d gotten a phenomenal property for a reasonable price, and his regular donations to the homeowner’s association kept them from kicking her to the curb. Laughing to herself, she remembered her friends teasing her that the complex’s new splash park should be named after her big brother. Paris hadn’t made many friends in California and looking back, she realized it was in large part because David had monopolized her time.
“Talk to me, Paris.” Trinity’s soft entreaty pulled her back to the present, and the man sitting close enough, their knees were touching.
“I started thinking about cooking, and that led me to… well, it eventually led me to think about why I didn’t make a lot of friends in California. I met David at freshman orientation, and we became fast friends. Looking back, I can see a lot of things that should have tipped me off, but at the time, I was grateful for a friend when I felt so isolated from my family. It should have occurred to me it was too good to be true, but it didn’t.”
“What do you mean by too good to be true?”
“All my life, I’ve dealt with so-called friends who were more interested in gaining access to one of my brothers or sisters than they were in being pals with me. After Kenz became a household name, it was even worse.” Her famous brother was one of the reasons Paris had been happy to have a male friend after discovering most of her circle in high school had only befriended her in hopes of meeting her tall, dark, and handsome brother. Kensington Adler was a global superstar—movies, television, stage—the entire world was his for the taking. Waving her hands, trying to dismiss the unpleasant memories, Paris quickly ate a couple more bites, moaning in pleasure.
“Mercy, you are going to make someone a wonderful wife someday, Trinity.” The air around her seemed to crackle with electricity, making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Slowly raising her eyes to meet his, Paris realized the significance of her teasing words. “You know it’s just an expression, right?”
“I am a top. I will not ever be anyone’s wife. One of the hallmarks of the lifestyle is the understanding and acceptance of others’ kinks. What happens between consenting adults is between them. Safe, sane, and consensual is more than a slogan, baby—it’s the guiding tenet we all live by.” He paused for a moment before giving her a wicked grin. “Besides, I much prefer the term gourmet chef if you don’t mind.” She sighed in relief when the storm brewing seemed to pass, amusement taking its place.
The next several minutes passed in comfortable silence while they enjoyed their breakfast. By the time she finally pushed her plate away and leaned back sighing in sated bliss, Paris realized Trinity was studying her.
“Help me understand your reaction last night. It was extreme by anyone’s standard. Tell me what triggered it so we can avoid a repeat.” Pulling in a deep breath, Paris nodded her understanding. “If it helps, think of me as an investigat
ing officer, go that route.”
“I’ll try, but to be honest, I’m not sure I can…” disassociate myself from my personal feelings for you. Trinity’s knowing smile told her he’d understood her unspoken words.
And I’ll try to keep my rage concealed. Hiding his anger at what Paris had endured was harder than Trinity anticipated and knowing she’d been in the midst of this cluster the first time he’d stopped her for speeding made him wish he’d asked more questions during their encounter. He’d attributed her evasive answers to her desperation to keep him from calling her brother, but since the rental car was in Austin’s name, Trinity had called him anyway. Why didn’t I ask why the vehicle was in another name—especially since Austin’s address was Texas, and little Mario Adler had a California driver’s license?
“Everything started with notes and flowers. Looking back, I should have been more suspicious that the odd gifts were from someone who knew me because the flowers were always something I’d mentioned recently. It was the same with the gifts. If I admired something while strolling down the street with my friends, I’d return to my condo and find it waiting outside my door, which was pretty scary because some of the gifts were valuable.”
“The gifts were left outside your door rather than inside your home?”
“Yes… well, for the first six or seven months. Then I walked in late one night to find a small basket on my dining room table.”
Trinity watched her hands begin to shake but resisted the urge to wrap his long fingers around them, knowing any move on his part would break the flow of conversation, and her reaction told him this was a significant incident. Whatever she was about to share had been a big part of whatever triggered her over the top reaction last night.
