Page 22 of The Master

“You’re starting to be.”

I didn’t have anything to say to that. The call ended without much else said, and then I turned to face Ashlee. If she ended up hating me because of this, I didn’t know what I’d do.

“Just say it straight out,” she said, her fingers tightening around mine. “Don’t try to pull punches or soften anything. I can take it.”

“I have no doubt.” I managed a weak smile before I told her everything, hating myself every second. When I got to the end, I added, “I am so sorry for this,le soleil. I didn’t see this coming.”

“It’s not your fault,” she assured me. “I learned a long time ago that cruel people will do whatever they want, regardless of circumstances.”

“Still,” I said as I leaned toward her and kissed her forehead. “I hate that they dragged you into this.”

“They dragged me because I’m with you, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. I would put up with worse if it meant I could be with you.”

I swallowed hard, a sudden lump in my throat. “I don’t deserve you.”

She stood and kissed the top of my head. “I know.” I tipped my head back, and she brushed her lips across mine. “Now, what’s the plan? Are we discrediting them, or do I need to cut a bitch?”

I stared at her for a moment and then burst into laughter. She grinned at me, but the humor didn’t take away from the fury I saw in her eyes. The trio had made a serious mistake including Ashlee in their petty vendetta. Because she was so soft-spoken most of the time, most people would assume she was weak, but when it came to the important things, she was stronger than anyone I’d ever known.

“I need to spend some time online, finding out exactly what they said and who they said it to.” I stood and wrapped my arms around her, the contact as much for me as it was for her. “I wanted this weekend to be all about us getting a fresh start.”

She rested her cheek against my chest. “It’s not your fault.”

I wanted to argue but didn’t. It would just make her feel worse.

“You do your research thing while I call my mom,” she said. “Once we’ve done what we can from here, we’ll turn off our phones and have a night just about the two of us before we head back to the city, ready to kick some ass.”

Damn.

Who would’ve guessed a tough little sub like her would be the one to work her way into this Dom’s heart?

Fourteen

Ashlee

We talkedwhile we ate dinner outside, filling each other in on the phone calls made and information discovered so that, by the time we were finishing off our drinks, we were both caught up and as prepared for tomorrow as we could be. Now, we just needed to relax and get some rest, because as soon as we got back to the city, we had to start dealing.

At least nature was cooperating with us. The sun had just started to dip below the horizon, casting all the orange and red brilliance we could’ve wished for. The air had a bit of a chill now, but without a breeze, Nate’s arm around my shoulders and a light blanket draped over my lap kept me warm enough. His property was large enough that any man-made sounds were too distant to overpower the frogs and crickets or the last few birds still out.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” Nate said, breaking the comfortable silence between us. I stiffened, and he kissed my temple. “It’s all right,le soleil.”

The nickname made me relax. If it was something bad, he wouldn’t have used it. “Okay.”

“I don’t want us to go back to the city with anything unsaid.”

My heart gave a nervous flutter, and I sincerely hoped I wasn’t about to pass out. Did he somehow know that I’d been thinking about how my feelings for him had grown? Was he trying to give me a “let’s slow down and enjoy the journey” speech to keep me from blurting out those three words and getting my heart broken?

“Hey, none of that,” he chided as he pulled me onto his lap. “I want those beautiful turquoise eyes looking at me and that beautiful brain thinking only about me.”

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. He must’ve understood why I didn’t give my expected response because he didn’t force the issue. Instead, he ran the pad of his thumb across my bottom lip and continued talking.

“Nothing in my life has ever been as unexpected as you.” His large hand palmed my cheek, and I leaned into the touch. “I was completely and irrevocably changed from the moment I first laid eyes on you. It sounds like a line, I know, but I swear to you that it’s not.”

I could only dumbly nod, my power of speech suddenly absent. I’d never in a million years would’ve guessedthiswas what he’d wanted to say to me.

“You mean so much to me that it scares me sometimes, but I’m not ready to say…certainthings.” He shifted, looking uncomfortable but powering through it. “But you need to know that I’ve never said that to any woman. Ever. And I want you to know that when I am ready to say it, you can believe it.”

Some women might’ve been upset if their boyfriend had flat-out said they weren’t ready to use the wordlove, but I understood not only what he’d just said butwhyhe’d said it. Without me having to ask it, he’d told me where he stood, and where he saw us going. He’d saidwhen, notif, and I knew him well enough to know that he hadn’t chosen that word lightly.

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