Page 46 of Mine

I shook my head. “They’re both very gay and very happy together. It’s hard to see sometimes.”

She pressed her lips in understanding. “Okay… so?”

I chewed my bottom lip. I wasn’t going to tell her the whole truth. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to keep everything from her, though. “I ran into someone young and hot. He ended up going home with me.”

She hummed, studying me. “And how was it?”

“I think he broke me,” I whispered.

Her cackle rang through the office. “Okay. I want all the details.”

I didn’t tell hereverything. I skipped over the parts where I begged for Salt to fuck me. I also skipped over the part where the young, hot stranger was a potential artist Rosethorn was signing. And that he was going to be here on Friday.

By the time I finished explaining—very awkwardly—my previous Friday night, Ellen’s jaw had nearly unhinged.

“Damn,” she said.

I reached for my coffee and took a long sip. God, I couldn’t even think about coffee without thinking about him now. The tension I’d felt in the coffee shop last Thursday was a drop in the bucket compared to the tension that burned us alive Friday night. I didn’t think that sort of connection could exist in real life.

“You went from nothing to all,” she said.

“Well, you know me,” I sighed. “I don’t half-ass anything.”

She nodded and reached for my muffin, splitting it for us. Our rule was that any baked goods we had were always fair game.

“So. When do you see him again?”

I blew out a breath. “Never.”

Her eyes widened. “You didn’t get his number?”

“I did, but I can’t see him again.”

“What? Why not? You have his number. Just text him.”

“I can’t,” I said.

I wanted to. I wanted every night of the rest of my life to be like Friday night. And now that I’d read up on BDSM, I was eager to try more things.

But it couldn’t be with Salt.

“If you’re not gonna text him, then give me his number,” she said. “I want whatever that is.”

“Ellen.” I laughed, but then an ugly streak of jealousy bloomed in my chest. What if he was with someone else? Why wouldn’t he be? Why did I hate that idea so much? “Just go out with Tommy and Dan. I’m sure you’ll meet someone.”

She smirked. “I don’t know. We should go out together.”

“We should,” I said, surprising both of us enough that I stared at her, and she stared at me.

“Damn,” she said, shaking her head as she stood. “He must have been something else. You’re buying an arsenal of sex toys and are willing to get out of your apartment.”

“I told you,” I said, fighting a smile. “I think he broke me.”

“Mm-hmm. Well, enjoy your coffee. I’ll go keep an eye on Jeff. Also, you have about fifty emails to get through and a meeting at noon with Kendra and Lee. Sounds like they cracked the case on Jenna Hart, but need your approval. And I think you have an afternoon meeting for financial overviews.”

“Thanks.”

Ellen winked and left the office, leaving the door open. I finished my coffee as I bought all the toys in my cart, including some I wouldn’t be able to use alone. Like a flogger. And bondage tape. And anything else that sounded interesting.

---