“Well, it wasn’t me. She never looked at me that way, and, regardless of caring for her, I wouldn’t cross that line, especially not with a friend. I have to go.”

  “You did with Rachel,” Adrian reminded him.

  “And I’m already regretting that lapse even though…” He shook his head, his face turning wistful for one brief moment before he said, “I have to go.”

  Another stab of guilt cut through him, yet he continued to harden himself against believing anyone’s denials. If he changed his mind about Rachel, he could also have done the same with Nicole. “You’re not driving. Go to the house and sleep it off.”

  “Aww, gee, you do care,” he drawled with obvious sarcasm. “Since I don’t want to embarrass you in front of your clients, I’ll be gone before they arrive.”

  Adrian watched him go into the house, confused as to where to go from here with getting vindication for both himself and his wife.

  Chapter Ten

  Sophie witnessed a different side to both Adrian and Ashe that evening at dinner. They must have shelved their differences because they were as friendly with each other as they were with the couple buying the fillies. The young pair were housed separate from their mother, so she’d only gotten a glimpse of them these past weeks, just enough to endear them to her. When watching the hands with them, she could tell they were also enamored of the mischievous twins, and they would be missed.

  The hardest part about sitting through dinner with Adrian close enough their arms would brush was keeping still every time her pulse fluttered with his smile and her blood heated hearing his deep rumbling laugh. For the first time since she’d met him, his eyes were clear of shadows, and she questioned whether it was all an act. If so, he should consider a new career. She would rather believe he was second-guessing the guilt of one of his friends or his cousin.

  Ashe set his fork down and pushed his dessert plate away, smiling at her. “Sophie, that was the best pie I’ve eaten in a long time. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. I’m glad you liked it. Why don’t I clean up while you finish your business?” She stood, picking up her plate and reaching for Adrian’s next to her.

  He stopped her with a light grip on her wrist, the scratch of his rough palm producing a quiver of remembered pleasure from his restraints. “Thank you, Sophie. We won’t be long then I’ll walk you up.”

  Unsure about his reason for such a statement, she shook her head. “Take your time,” was all she said, leaving it at that since she had no intention of hanging around for no reason. Maybe he thought she was still skittish from last night. If so, that was on her, but she suspected he was exerting a touch of his dominance to ensure her safety from his cousin. If she thought for a second he was interested in sleeping with her again, she would do anything he insisted on. Frustrated with him and the drama surrounding the people in this household, not to mention her own plight-induced anxiety attacks, she shored up her resolve to get over her quirks and stay out of theirs.

  “It was nice meeting you,” she told the McCrorys. “I envy you. The fillies are adorable and beautiful.”

  “We’ll take good care of them,” Rick McCrory replied.

  Twenty minutes later, Sophie heard their low voices coming from the office as she started up the stairs after searching for Tink again. She’d grown attached to the cat and missed her company today when she never came around. With luck, she would return sooner rather than later if she was doing one of her disappearing acts. She glanced toward the narrow stairwell leading to Adrian’s room, a sudden ache for a repeat performance consuming her, the urge to go back downstairs and wait for him difficult to suppress. But, no, she refused to put him on the spot, and considering how much she longed to stay on here despite the theatrics, returning to employer/employee status was the practical choice.

  Practical or not, that decision didn’t keep her body from turning into a heated mass of raging hormones when he rapped on her door sometime later and she opened it to his scowling face. Standing there with his black dress shirt unbuttoned far enough to reveal a mouth-watering glimpse of the dark curls decorating his muscled chest, hair scooped back and falling in disheveled waves around his neck, not even his glower could keep her pussy from going damp. With his hands fisted on his hips, his forearms rippling below his rolled-up sleeves, he leaned forward, his intent to intimidate clear. Maybe he couldn’t read her as well as she’d thought if he hadn’t figured out how much she benefitted from his control.

  “You should have waited. Lock your door.”

  So, he was back to being mistrustful again. She sighed in regret and fought to ignore her pulsing body. “There’s only you and Ashe in the house, Adrian.”

  “Exactly. Me, and Ashe. I have the only other key, so lock your door,” he insisted, not budging.

  Sophie was too tired and disappointed to try and reason with him. He was her boss, and if she wished to keep her job, she would have to stay out of the mess he’d created with everyone else.

  “Yes, Sir,” she returned with a smart-alecky two-fingered salute before closing the door and turning the lock.

  Stripping off her jeans and top, she reached for her nightshirt lying on the bed, thinking she would be better off right now if she’d changed earlier and answered the door almost naked.

  Tink was a no-show all day Tuesday, which didn’t help Sophie’s sour mood after suffering a long, restless, sleepless night, longing for the same sweet oblivion from Adrian’s fucking as the night before. She hadn’t slept that well in a year, not since hearing Kasey’s diagnosis. They were already into the second week of December, and she dreaded the holidays, her first Christmas without family to share it with. Her grandmother lived long enough to put her grandfather in an Alzheimer’s home, passing away six months later from a stroke. Neither of them were still living when she had gotten pregnant, another regret she was forced to live with. They would have loved their only great-grandchild as much as they loved Sophie.

  By the time she had put in her half day on Wednesday, her spirits were again low, and she blamed Adrian and Tink. She supposed it was unfair for her to criticize Adrian since she’d gone out of her way to avoid him after the other night, but grief did strange things to a person. Telling herself Tink was fine, that the cat often took off and always returned unharmed, didn’t help. She still worried and missed her company around the big, quiet house while she worked.

  She was courteous enough to leave a note telling Adrian she would be gone the rest of the day, but that was all. Once she joined Nora and Rachel for lunch, she planned to explore Boise, maybe visit the old mining town nearby and play tourist. The weather was turning cooler, and soon she would be stuck on the ranch for long periods. She hoped to have control over her need for Adrian’s brand of forgetfulness by then.

  A text from Nora gave her instructions to the Watering Hole where they were headed for lunch, and Sophie found it with no problem. Similar to the pubs in New Orleans, the bar and restaurant boasted a decent crowd for lunch with almost half the tables occupied when she entered. Rachel waved her over to a booth where she sat with Nora and Skye, the author she had met last time. The other two she didn’t know, but both welcomed her with warm smiles when she slid in next to the brunette and Nora introduced her.

  “Sophie, that’s Amie soon-to-be Wilkins and this” — she elbowed the redhead sitting next to her on the other side of the booth — “is Poppy Smith. Sophie just hired on at the Coultrane ranch.”

  “Nice to meet you both, and thanks again, for letting me join you. I really needed to get out today.”

  “Would that have anything to do with you ending up in Adrian’s room last weekend?” Rachel asked with a gleam in her dark eyes.

  Unprepared for that knowledge to have reached their ears, she blurted, “How’d you know that?”

  “Aha, so it is true!” Nora exclaimed with way too much glee. “Tell us everything.”

  “Adrian Coultrane?” Poppy sent Skye a questioning look. “Didn’t we meet him at Spurs on Saturday? Big guy, like all of them, dark, brooding in a sexy, cream-your-panties kind of way, just like my Dakota?”

  “I was blindfolded when Ben introduced us,” Amie said. “He was the one with the deep voice who was talking to Ben during our scene.”

  Skye nodded. “That was him.” Her grin widened as she glanced at Sophie. “Do tell. We love to gossip about the guys.”

  The interruption from the waitress gave Sophie time to decide how much she should say and get her mind off picturing Adrian at that club with someone else. “What do you recommend?” she asked the girl, glancing down at the menu.

  “The buffalo burger and elk burger are our most popular choices. Both come with fries and coleslaw,” she replied with pen and pad ready.

  “Huh, I’ve never eaten either one.” And Sophie couldn’t say she wanted to until Amie said, “Me, either, but now the elk burger is my favorite. That’s what I’ll have.”

  “Okay, when in Rome and all that. I’ll try the elk burger, but I already know I’ll need a to-go box.” Closing the menu, she handed it to the waitress.

  “No problem.” She jotted down the rest of the orders and refilled their water glasses before leaving Sophie to answer the girls’ continued questioning about her and Adrian.

  Poppy leaned forward with her elbows on the table. “Okay, give, Sophie.”

  A perverse part of her wanted to pin them down to even the score in putting her on the spot. She didn’t expect their laughter when she asked, “What the heck is with spanking grown women?”

  Nora brushed the tears of mirth from her eyes, gasping, “You were with him!”

  Skye continued giggling when she admitted, “I can remember my first reaction to going over Clayton’s lap.” She sighed with a look of wistfulness. “I still love it.”

  “So, I’m not the only pervert around here,” Sophie returned ruefully, not worried the term would offend them given their sense of humor.

  “Oh, heavens no.” Amie shook her head. “The guys have a way about them that knocks down all defenses and preconceived notions without even trying.”

  In Sophie’s case, it was more her seeking something, anything to help her cope with her grief. Her disconcertment with the subject of her and Adrian dissipated, and a warm fuzzy filled her chest at the way they included in their comradery.

  “How did you do it?” Rachel inquired, her eyes reflecting curiosity. “He’s been so focused on finding proof one of us had something to do with Nicole’s fall, he’s refused to consider getting involved with anyone else.”

  Sophie appreciated their friendship so much, she didn’t hesitate to tell the truth. “It wasn’t too difficult. All I had to do was run to him like a scared rabbit during the storm.”

  “Ah.” Poppy smirked, her eyes twinkling. “They can’t resist a damsel in distress. Lucky you.”

  “That night, yes. We’ve avoided each other since, so don’t read more into it than a one-night stand because I’m not.” At least, she was trying not to do that.

  Their lunch arrived, and talk paused while they ate, Sophie’s thoughts centered on the unique taste of her first elk burger. She loved it but couldn’t finish the thick sandwich or the homemade fries, figuring it was cool enough today the leftovers would keep in the car while she played tourist.

  “If Adrian won’t bring you to Spurs as his guest, one of us will,” Nora told her as they walked out to their vehicles. “I want to reinstate my membership anyway.”

  “You’ll have fun whether you participate in a scene or stick to socializing,” Skye added, opening the door of a new SUV.

  Sophie thought such a place could work second best in distracting her from missing her daughter but doubted anything or anyone would be as effective as putting herself in Adrian’s hands. “I’d like to visit the club. It sounds interesting. I enjoyed lunch and meeting you all.”

  “Same here,” they each called out as they went their separate ways.

  A tug of loneliness hit Sophie as she drove toward Boise facing the rest of the afternoon alone. Back home, before she’d had Kasey, she never minded spending her days off by herself. Working in the hospitality business in a vacation destination city meant spending ten to twelve hours a day dealing with people, most often with unhappy guests or lazy employees. She lived for alone time in those days, and then for Kasey.

  Regardless of the tension Adrian’s suspicions caused between him and his friends, their unique bond was as obvious as that between Skye, Poppy, and Amie. Maybe there was more to the alternative lifestyle and Dom men than an enjoyment of kinky sex. If she planned to stay here, she would find out, if for no other reason than to get over lusting for her boss.

  She spent the remainder of the afternoon exploring a few Boise shops the girls had recommended and then touring the quaint, historic mining town along the river. The old-fashioned root beer she bought went well with the leftovers she finished in her car before heading back to the ranch. The loneliness plaguing her all afternoon remained, her down mood the only thing dampening the outing by the time she parked in front of the manor at dusk.

  Quiet greeted her as Sophie got out into the gathering darkness that cast shadows around the buildings. Instead of going inside, she decided to take a quick search of the stable for Tink, hoping to find the cat in there mousing. At least then she could quit imagining her as prey to some critter. She didn’t pay attention to the time or the meager remainder of light disappearing out the windows as she looked in every stall and behind every corner, calling Tink’s name while pausing to run a hand down a horse’s neck or nose. Before coming here, she never thought of animals as company, but spending time around them soothed the desolate pangs of missing Kasey by the time she gave up seeking the cat’s whereabouts for tonight.

  Walking back to the house in the pitch dark put her on edge, the only light guiding her way coming from the porch lamps. Not wanting to draw attention from either Adrian or Ashe, especially since all she could think about was how much she yearned for Adrian to ease the depression weighing on her, she veered toward the side door off the kitchen. A smaller, overhead light above helped her find the knob, and she breathed a sigh of relief when it opened that lasted until she closed it behind her and found herself facing Adrian’s wrath.

  Sophie’s stomach somersaulted, her hands turning clammy as a surge of needy adrenaline shot through her veins in a fiery, molten flow. The conflicting responses confused and excited her, the desperate need to lose herself in his rough possession again and again too strong to fight, question, or ignore. Not that she cared to do any of those things when remembering the effectiveness of his sexual control in temporarily freeing her from the oppressing sadness she couldn’t shake on her own.

  “Where have you been?” he snapped, his gray eyes stormy with a myriad of emotions she couldn’t define.

  God help her, she didn’t want to appease him, craving his hard hand followed by his harder body, her pussy swelling, dampening in preparing to welcome him inside her again. “I left you a note,” she answered with a touch of deliberate belligerence, her pulse beating a static tattoo of combined lust and apprehension over his mood.

  “And you returned near nightfall, so I repeat, where have you been that was so important for you to disobey my rule about wandering around after dark?”

  His guttural tone washed over her, as did the worry she could detect and now see reflected in his turbulent gaze. She shook her head, understanding the necessity for his rules yet yearning for what he could do to her, what he could give her too much to try and appease his concern.

  Adrian’s hands went to his belt buckle, his eyes never straying from her face as he tossed out an ultimatum in the face of her silence. “Fine, then you have two choices. Go upstairs or face the consequences, and decide fast before I cross a line and go against everything that is right and decent and decide for you.”

  Sophie didn’t care that others might think this was wrong, or kinky with a capital K. She needed what he could do for her, needed him in a way she’d never ached for anyone else. Her reply came with heart-pounding expectation that heated her from the inside out and a decidedly lack of hesitation.

  “I’ll take the consequences.”

  Surprise flared on his face before his shadowed jaw went rigid, and she could tell he’d expected her to run away from his threat. Still trying to do the right thing, he issued a dare she accepted with trembling mortification.

  “Fine. Pull down your pants and bend over the counter,” he instructed without an ounce of tenderness as he loosened his belt.

  Her abdomen knotted but that didn’t keep her lust from skyrocketing when she shoved her jeans down and leaned over, bracing on her elbows. The slide of his belt from the pant loops caused her buttocks to clench, and she held her breath waiting for the first blow. The vulnerable exposure of her butt to the cooler air did little to tamp down her rising temperature.

  “Red is your safety net,” he said right before snapping the leather across both quivering cheeks.

  Sophie embraced the slice of hot pain licking her skin like a drowning person would hug a life preserver. Each agonizing stroke hummed through her bloodstream, the building pulsations and numbness taking her to that plane where nothing else mattered except enduring the punishment she deserved and needed more than her next gasp of air.

  Laying her head down, she pushed her hips out and lifted for more lashes, more of the decadent, flesh-searing torment sure to grant a respite tonight from bemoaning a fate she couldn’t ever change. Her buttocks swelled and throbbed, the heat traveling to include her pussy, the longing for his cock to fill her again taking hold.

  “Please,” Sophie begged without lifting her head, shifting her butt away from the swats, more than ready for the euphoric pleasure to ease her suffering.

  “Five more,” was all he said, and she winced as the next strike hit the tender undercurve of her cheeks. The last two stung her thighs before she could take a relieved, steady breath again.