Page 2 of Primary Seduction
The apartment wasn’t huge and came unfurnished, but it had two bedrooms and an open plan kitchen, dining room and living room. It was all he needed although he was sure the kids wouldn’t approve of having to share a bedroom. He came up with a contingency plan of a sofa bed for the living area so he could sleep there if they really did kick up a fuss. He’d managed to get some furniture from friends and some from charity shops so at least he had the basics.
“Have you come to your senses yet, Trent?” Trish’s disdain about her surroundings was evident on her face. “There is no need to take itthisfar.” Trish didn’t keep her voice low, yet again making it clear that his opinion wasn’t valued, and she didn’t care who knew it.
Trent had told the kids that their relationship wasn’t working, and they had decided they would be better off apart. Trish hadn’t acknowledged the separation at all to the kids, still talking as if Trent was just at work or away for a holiday. She didn’t seem to understand that he wasn’t going back. So Trent kept talking to the kids, reminding them that they loved them, and it wasn’t their fault. Harper had taken it well so far; Jocelyn was a little more reticent about it all.
Trent answered her question quietly. “Trish, enough now, okay. I’m not coming back. You need to get over it.” He’d been gone for two weeks, and he was finally finding his way back to being himself. He hadn’t realised how much he’d been putting up with from Trish until she wasn’t there every day. Now, he could think and figure out what his own thoughts were saying instead of having them interrupted by her voicing her own demands—which he usually caved to.
“You’re making a big mistake.” Trish pinned him with her gaze, and he saw fury blazing. She turned without a goodbye to the kids and slammed the door behind her, rattling the shelves next to it.
Trent blew out a breath and shook his head, catching Jocelyn looking in the direction of the door.
“Shall I show you around, kiddo?” He purposefully called her that, so she’d focus on that rather than her mother leaving.
“I’m not a kid, Dad,” she said in exasperation. “Where’s my room?”
Trent braced himself for the onslaught. “This way.” He took her through to their bedroom and, as he expected, when they realised, their voices rose dramatically.
“No way am I sharing with her!”
“Not a chance!”
“Let’s go for some dinner, shall we? Romano’s?” He said the magic word. They loved that place and didn’t go very often because Trish hated it. He had organised a small cake for Jocelyn too. Hopefully that will delay the arguments until they got home later. “Come on.”
As they left the apartment, Trent looked back surveying what he’d thought was an empty life until he saw Harper’s bag, and then a smile grew across his face. He had done it. He was free.
****
Three years ago
Max
Max scrolled through the search engine results, seeing nothing new. He rolled his head back on his shoulders, staring at the ceiling for a moment. He was fed up with the same places and people all the time. There had to be something new,somewherenew. There had to be. He had visited so many BDSM clubs in the last six months, nothing clicked with him. Nothing felt right.
He stared at the screen, deciding to change his search terms one more time. He blew out a breath, readying to scroll through the same websites and links as before. He got halfway down the first page when an advert on the right-hand side caught his eye.
A white ‘A’ and a red ‘N’ on a black filigree background stood out from the usual. There was nothing else there except that: no name, no description, nothing. He clicked it hoping it wasn’t a virus, but he was at his wits end, there had to be something out there.
The logo expanded to fill his screen before fading into the top right corner, leaving behind a black background and the word ‘Anonymity’. As he waited, a white button appeared beneath the word telling him to ‘click for membership details.’ He wasn’t one hundred percent sure what this was and considered exiting, but something held him back.
He stared at it for a moment longer, then clicked. As he read the terms and conditions, he became more and more excited about it. He had to wait for his checks to come back, which they had warned could take several weeks, but everything seemed right. He completed the application form, paid the membership fee and submitted his details. Now all he had to do was wait.
Seven weeks later, he received his confirmation email containing his login details. He didn’t postpone it, just logged in right there and then.
It turned out to be one of the best decisions he ever made.
****
One year ago
Trent
Trent drank heavily from his beer bottle, almost draining it. It was his third and they’d only been at Crush for an hour. He didn’t usually drink so quickly, but Trish was wearing him out. She constantly asked for money for the kids—as if he wasn’t already paying for the whole of the kids’ university funds. She’d asked for money again today to pay for the extra uniform Harper needed, saying she had grown out of it already. He didn’t know what happened to her own money, but he could only think it paid for the house that she’d decided to stay in after their break-up. It was a large house, and he’d been surprised when she said she could afford it on her own, but then she did have her parents to help her.
“What’s wrong, Trent?” Asher asked when Logan went up to the bar for more drinks. Logan was just about matching Trent drink for drink when usually it was the other way around.
“Trish. Need I say more.” He sighed. Trent didn’t know what to do about finding the money, but he wasn’t going to burden Asher or Logan with his problems more than he already did.
“She’s a bloody nightmare. She was while you were married, and she still is now that you’re divorced.” Asher shook his head. “If it wasn’t for your kids…” He left the rest of the sentence silent, but they both knew what he meant. Trent would do anything for those kids, and the problem was, Trish knew it.
