Page 71 of His to Teach
“What’s wrong?”
Her smile falters a little. “Nothing. I’m happy to see you.”
I narrow my eyes at her, but don’t respond as I turn my attention to the road and pull out into traffic. A heavy silence settles over the car, tension radiating between the two of us.
Harper finally breaks the silence with a trembling voice. “Are you mad at me?”
“What? No. Of course not.” I glance over at her to see that she’s staring out the window, eyes red. “Why would you ask me that?”
She shrugs, still not looking at me. “You seem…upset.”
“I am upset,” I confirm.I’m upset because I can’t seem to control myself around you and I’m terrified it’s going to get you into trouble.But that’s the least of my worries right now. What I’m really worried about in this moment is whatever it is that’s bothering her. I reach across the gear shift and take her hand in mine. “I’m upset because I know you’re not okay and you aren’t talking to me.”
She sucks in a deep breath. “It’s nothing?—”
“Bullshit,” I snap. “Don’t give me that, Harper.”
She releases a breath that sounds shaky to my ears. “I’m just tired, Nate. That’s all. It was a long day.”
I watch her out of the corner of my eye as I drive, trying to determine if she’s telling the truth. I’m pretty sure there’s more to it, but maybe she is just tired. She’s been exposed to a lot these past few weeks—it must be overwhelming.
It would be a hell of a lot easier to believe her if I could look into her eyes. “Fuck it,” I mutter, pulling into the fire lane and putting the car into park.
“What can I do to make you feel better?”
She finally meets my eyes, hers wide and pained even as she smiles. “Just be with me,” she whispers. “That always makes me feel better.”
I blow out a breath, trying to push my doubts away. “What would you like to do? Shall we have dinner? Or we could do something relaxing, watch a movie or?—”
“The club,” she interrupts, and I can see the fire of desire in her eyes. It barely covers the pain I’ve been seeing there all day. “I want to go to the club with you.”
I study her face, considering that. The club has some particular advantages if I want to get the truth out of her. I’ve been in similar positions before, trying to get a sub to admit something or open up. In every previous case, I took the sub to Club Wyld where I would tie them up. The promise of pain could be a powerful motivator. Or, if I was feeling particularly devious, I might employ orgasm denial, keeping the sub right on the perimeter of pleasure until they finally gave in.
I could do that with Harper. I could take her to my playroom at Wyld and manipulate her body and her desires until I had what I wanted. She would enjoy it, too. I was sure she asked me to take her there in the hopes that she could escape again.
And that’s what makes me decide against it. Because I already did that once for her today, let her escape into pleasure and role play so she didn’t have to face whatever was bothering her. It might have worked for a while, but she’s obviously still upset. I’m not going to let her hide again.
“Is Emma home?”
She blinks at me in confusion. “I don’t think so. She usually works late on Wednesday.”
I nod once, releasing her hand so I can put the car back into drive.
“Nate, what are we?—”
“We’re going to your place,” I tell her firmly. I want her somewhere I know she’ll be comfortable. I want her to feel safe, at home. And that means she needs to be in her own bed when we have this conversation.
“I don’t want to go to my place.” She sounds frustrated now. “I want to go to the club.”
I let my voice drop into a commanding rasp. “Last I checked, you’re not the one in charge here, angel.”
She clears her throat but doesn’t respond. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her tracing her collarbone, agitated.
We make the drive in silence, Harper’s attention on the window while I try to figure out the best way to get her talking. I find a spot in front of her building and tell her to wait so I can come around and open her door. I’m pretty sure I see her roll her eyes, but I ignore it. I need to feel like I’m taking care of her right now. This wall she’s put between us is fucking killing me.
Inside, I find a space that defies my expectations. The apartment is much larger than I would have guessed, the furnishings clearly expensive, the kitchen top of the line. It doesn’t look at all like a college student’s place. “Mason,” she says, watching me as I look around. “He picked it out, he pays my rent.” She shrugs, embarrassed. “He wanted to make sure I was somewhere safe.”
The words send a pang through my chest. Of course he would insist on that—Mason, my old friend, cares about his sister more than anything in the world.
