Page 197 of Dirty Discipline, Vol. 2

Everyone sat at the table in silence for a moment. Caine looked fiercely at Sara, and Sara refused to look in his direction. I looked at Caine and was happy I wasn’t on the receiving end of his glare. He looked pissed. He obviously saw what Sara was trying to do. I was happy he wasn’t blind to her manipulation.

Coley clapped her hands and stated, “That’s because you don’t need a boy. You need a man! And tomorrow night, my dear friend, we’re going to hunt until we find one.”

I laughed with Coley and hoped it would be as easy as that. But Coley was right about one thing, I wasn’t interested in anyone who wasn’t strong enough to handle me. I didn’t want a weak-minded yes man. I was looking for a real man.

Sara cleared her throat and spoke again. “Well, if you were so awful and cruel to him, then why wouldn’t you work on yourself rather than divorce?”

“Sara, that’s enough,” Caine warned.

Sara refused to look at Caine. “I’m just saying, that it sounds like you were the problem. So who is to say that you wouldn’t treat another man the same way? How are you going to change your behavior?” She paused long enough to look into Caine’s angry eyes and started to squirm in her chair. “I hope I didn’t insult you. I was just trying to help,” she added, for Caine’s sake rather than mine.

“Sara, this is something you know nothing about,” Coley inserted, obviously holding back her anger.

Sara smiled sweetly at Coley. “Well in my opinion—”

Caine shoved back his chair and stood up. He grabbed Sara by the arm and leaned down to whisper, “Up now! You and I need to have a talk.”

Sara sighed and stood up with the upmost grace. She allowed Caine to lead her into the house and down the hall to their room.

I turned to Coley who was obviously angry. “Wow, was she for real? Amazing how she can insult someone without even losing her smile.”

Coley took a sip of her wine. “I’m sorry, Neely. Don’t let what she said get to you.”

“I won’t.”

But truthfully, what she said hurt. Sara only stated what I had been battling with for a while. How did I know I wouldn’t be uncaring and hurtful to whomever I dated? I disliked Sara immensely, but her questions rang true. Why did I act the way I did? And was it really realistic to think divorce would change the way I behaved?

As if Coley was reading my mind, she reached for my hand and squeezed gently. “Hey, you are a wonderful person. The past is the past, and it’s time to move on. Learn from your mistakes, but don’t think you’re doomed to repeat them. And don’t let that bitch succeed in her mind games, all right?”

I nodded and smiled. “Thanks, Coley. You’re always able to cheer me up.” I looked back to the house. “Where did they go? Do you think they’re fighting?” I paused to see if I could hear any shouting.

Coley shrugged and avoided making eye contact. “I’m sure they’ll be out soon, and Sara will be a whole new person.”

“Yeah right. Sara can act like a new person, but deep down she’ll always be a loon,” I said with a laugh.

Coley chuckled and stood. “Let’s get our swimsuits on and relax in the hot tub. I’m sure they’ll be out to join us soon.”

Moments later, Coley and I were drinking our wine and enjoying the comfort of the hot tub. I was listening to Coley describe Prague and all her romantic adventures. She was in the middle of describing a sexual encounter when she shut her mouth mid sentence. I looked over my shoulder to see Caine and Sara standing with suits on and a bottle of wine. Both of them seemed like all was forgotten. There was no anger, or sulking, or even a sign that they were fighting. In fact, Sara seemed calmer, and more at ease. She looked like a model in her revealing bikini. I couldn’t help but feel gigantic compared to her. My insecurities were quickly replaced with pure lust. Caine was absolutely stunning standing before us. He was tan, and muscular, and just plain delicious. Had I not noticed this before? I felt a shiver work its way between my legs. I tried not to make it obvious as I took in his firm biceps and imagined them around me. I took a sip of my wine and somehow managed to look at the glass. It had to be the wine…the wine and the fact that it had been a long time since I last had sex. It had to be that.

Caine raised an eyebrow at Coley. “Are we interrupting something?”

Coley blushed and took a sip of her drink to try and hide her smile. “No. It’s about time you two joined us.”

They both climbed in, and Caine took the bottle of wine and refilled all of our glasses. His leg brushed mine under the water, and I felt my heart stutter. I tried my best to look at my surroundings and ignore the fact that I suddenly wanted to straddle his lap. My mouth felt dry, and the lump forming in the back of my throat was growing larger by the minute.

Caine was absolutely gorgeous! When did this happen? I closed my eyes and took a long steady breath to regain my composure. We all sat in silence for a few moments before Caine broke the silence.

“Now this is heaven! I have my favorite women all around me,” he exclaimed as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back.

From the corner of my eye I caught Sara’s expression change from relaxed to anger. She obviously didn’t like being categorized in the same company as Coley and me. She crossed her arms and glared in my direction. Most likely because of the wine, I had the courage to confront her, rather than ignore, like I had been doing all night long.

“Is something on your mind, Sara?” I asked.

She sat up straight as if she was preparing herself for battle. “Not really.”

I decided to press on. “Are you sure? You’re staring at me like you want to say something.”

Sara moved herself closer to Caine’s side. She snuggled herself under his arm. Oddly making me feel jealous. “I was just wondering what it felt like not to have any family.”

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