The Flirtation

  Great! Will e-mail details.

  She logged in to her in-box to wait for Simon’s e-mail and noticed a new message from Abby. Lynne smiled as she read it.

  Abby talked about how the kids were doing and added that they all missed her and looked forward to her coming back in the fall. She told her about how Elizabeth decided to play school in order to show Henry what a teacher did. Lynne giggled as she read Abby’s account of Henry telling his sister to “Sit down. Not Lynne.”

  Abby ended by telling her that they were planning to come to the city the next Friday because they had meetings on Saturday. The kids would be staying with Nathaniel’s aunt but, if it wouldn’t be a bother, could she and Nathaniel stay in the penthouse Friday night?

  Lynne nearly laughed with the ridiculousness of it. Abby was asking if it was all right for them to stay in their own penthouse?

  She sent back a quick reply telling her that they could come whenever they wanted, that she looked forward to seeing them next weekend, and to give the kids hugs for her.

  Once she’d sent the e-mail off, she noticed Simon had sent the information. A quick look told her he’d included more than only the information; he’d also added his checklist.

  She took a deep breath, exhaled loudly, and began to read. When she finished, she read it again. The entire time, one thought kept repeating in her head: What had she gotten herself into?

  Chapter Five

  “You want me to what?” Nathaniel hadn’t snorted coffee out of his nose the way she thought he might, but only because he’d already swallowed before she asked her question.

  Thinking back, it probably wasn’t the best subject to bring up over Saturday morning breakfast. Especially since he and Abby were meeting with several potential donors for his nonprofit in a few hours. And though she probably thought she was being helpful, Lynne didn’t think Abby standing in the doorway saying, “Just listen to her, Nathaniel,” was helping her case.

  Lynne took a deep breath. “I want you to use a single tail on me. I want to know how it feels. And I’m asking you because out of all the Doms I know, I trust you the most.”

  “That’s what I thought you asked.” Nathaniel turned his cool blue eyes her way. “No.”

  “But—” she started.

  “No,” he repeated.

  “Nathaniel . . .” Abby said from the doorway, wearing a frown on her face and shaking her head.

  He pointed at his wife, which stopped her from walking farther into the room. “The answer is no. It is not open for discussion, and before you decide to argue with me, I’ll remind you I don’t have a problem using a single tail on you.”

  Abby didn’t flinch. Instead, she put her hands on her hips and gave him an evil look. “You can be such a fucking hardheaded ass at times.”

  Nathaniel silently stood up and made his way to his wife. He looked beyond angry as he invaded her space, but Lynne had to give Abby credit; she stood her ground.

  “Did you just curse at me, Abigail?” he asked in that low and dangerous voice of his.

  Abby didn’t back down, but Lynne saw her swallow hard as her husband towered over her. She noted Abby was wearing her submissive collar. Definitely not the time to call her husband an ass. Especially since she was in the room. Her stomach ached, because she knew Abby had done it for her. Lynne just wished she’d gone about it a different way.

  “Yes, Master,” Abby said, “I did, and I’m not sorry because it’s true.”

  Nathaniel stood still, watching her for several long seconds. It was only when Abby dropped her gaze that he spoke. “I appreciate your honesty, but it’s not enough to spare your ass a chastisement you won’t forget. You disrespected me, and you did it in front of Lynne. Go wait in the playroom while I contact our prospective donors and let them know we’ll be delayed.”

  Nathaniel and Abby had only recently had the playroom added to the penthouse. Lynne knew because they’d traveled to the city a few times during construction. Most of the time, when they came to the city, she’d remained in Wilmington because Nathaniel’s family had wanted to watch the kids. But there had been a weekend she came to the city with the Wests because the rest of the family had had the flu.

  She recalled Abby mentioning the playroom was soundproof, and Lynne had never been happier than she was at the moment. Whatever was happening between Nathaniel and Abby, she didn’t have to listen to it.

  But it was somewhat of an awkward position to be in. She couldn’t picture herself hanging out in the kitchen or living room while the two of them were locked away. She finally decided to go to her room to study. Besides, she wanted to see if Simon had sent her a message.

  Her in-box was empty, so she settled in to her favorite reading chair and studied for an upcoming exam.

  She was so engrossed in the material, she jumped when Nathaniel cleared his throat.

  “Sorry,” he said. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “It’s okay,” she said. He didn’t look like a scary Dom anymore, standing there in her doorway. He was back to the Nathaniel West she knew. The one who gave piggyback rides to his son and played princess teatime with his daughter.

  “Abby’s in the shower,” he said. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

  “Sure.” She stood up so they could walk into the living room. She’d been his employee long enough to know he would never cross the threshold to her room while she was in it alone. She’d thought he was crazy at first but had come to realize it was just one of his boundaries, and she actually grew to appreciate the gesture. It made her feel even safer with him.

  He sat down on one of the couches, and she took a seat in a nearby chair. As she would’ve expected, he got straight to the point.

  “Why the sudden interest in single tails?” he asked.

  She almost told him to forget about it, that she wasn’t interested anymore. But she couldn’t bring herself to lie to him. Besides that, he would see right through her. She took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eye.

  “I’ve met someone online. He’s doing a demo, and I asked him if I could help,” she said.

  “And you’ve never met him? In person?”

  “No.” She wondered if she should tell him it was Simon. Would knowing make it better or worse? “But there’s no need to worry. I’ve checked his references and talked with others who have played with him before.”

  “I don’t like the sound of this. At all.” He was frowning. “There’s so much that could go wrong.”

  She knew all too well. And though she might be able to ease his mind by telling him who the Dom was, something told her not to.

  “How about this?” she asked, as an idea came to her mind. “I can’t tell you his name because that would break confidentiality. But I can tell you that he’s a member at Luke’s club. He’s been vetted there.”

  It was then that Nathaniel studied her. Really studied her. She didn’t know how Abby dealt with it. After just a few seconds under that intense stare, she was ready to spill all her secrets and make up a few, too.

  “That means I probably know him.” Nathaniel’s voice was very calm and even, but she had a feeling he was anything but.

  “That’s why I don’t want to give you his name.” She hoped she sounded firm, and she forced herself to look in his eyes. “Confidentiality.”

  Yes, working for Nathaniel, she had learned a lot about him. His love for his family, his integrity in business, and, along with those, the fierce belief that their lifestyle remained confidential. And she knew that what he requested of others, he also gave.

  He leaned back in his seat, obviously not happy with the way the conversation was going. He slapped his hands on his upper thighs. “Unfortunately, I can’t argue with that.”

  She breathed a sigh of relief.

  “However,” he said, “you do need somebody to work with you before you do a demo. And I don’t feel comfortable doing that.”

  She dropped her eyes. Dammit. Now what was she
going to do?

  “I happen to have a good friend who is somewhat of an expert with single tails. You may have met him. Daniel Covington?”

  Yes, she knew Daniel. She knew his submissive, Julie, better, though. She hadn’t been aware that Daniel was an expert with the single tail. She liked him. He was a lot more easygoing than Nathaniel, and Julie was really sweet, too. Lynne thought she could work with Daniel.

  “Yes, I know him and Julie.”

  “The only thing is,” Nathaniel said, and Lynne had the suspicious feeling she had just been backed into a corner, “I know Julie just about as well as I know Daniel, and while I don’t think she’ll mind if he practices his single-tail skills on you, I’m fairly certain she would want to be there in the room watching during the scene.”

  She thought that was okay. It would actually be better, she thought, for Julie to be in the room. Maybe it would take away any awkwardness.

  “I wouldn’t have a problem with that,” she told Nathaniel.

  “Good. She had a friend who was injured once in a bullwhip scene. She’s trying to overcome her fear, but Daniel is going very slowly. Right now he’s only letting her watch.”

  Sasha. That was the friend, Lynne thought. She had met her not too long ago. And though she was injured, it didn’t seem to have had a lasting effect on her. She was now wearing the collar of one of the Delaware members.

  Nathaniel stood up. “If it’s okay with you, then, I’ll give Daniel a call and set something up. I’m not sure if you want them to come here, or if you should travel back to Delaware.”

  “I’m open to whatever Daniel would like to do.”

  He nodded. “I’ll call you and let you know what he says.”

  • • •

  As it turned out, Nathaniel and Abby ended up staying until Sunday night. They’d planned to head back to Delaware on Saturday afternoon, but apparently, the kids were having so much fun with their cousins, they extended the weekend.

  Since they were staying longer, Nathaniel scheduled a business dinner with several of his executives for Saturday night. As soon as she heard his plans, Lynne turned to Abby.

  “Are you doing anything?” she asked. “Because if not, I have a few things I want to talk to you about. Girl things,” she added with a quick look at Nathaniel.

  Abby covered her shock nicely, she thought. “Oh? Okay. Sure.” She exchanged a look with Nathaniel. Lynne ducked her head and tried not to be jealous, but man, she wanted to have a relationship like that, where you could communicate without saying a word. When a lifted eyebrow and a slight upward curve of a lip said more than words ever could.

  “And ‘girl things’ means it’s time for me to leave,” Nathaniel said. He kissed Abby, whispered something in her ear, and nodded toward Lynne. “Have a good evening.”

  Abby waited until he left before she started her inquisition. “Tell me everything. I want his name, what he looks like, how you met him. Everything.”

  Though she was smiling when she asked, Lynne knew Abby was completely serious about getting all the details. She stood up.

  “Wine first,” Lynne said, making her way to the kitchen.

  “Of course.” Abby followed. “What was I thinking?”

  “Clearly, you weren’t.”

  Once they each had a glass, they went back into the living room. Lynne sat on the couch and tucked her legs underneath her. “Before I tell you anything, I have to know, how much of what I tell you will you tell Nathaniel?”

  Abby took a sip of wine, sitting beside her. “I don’t have to tell him anything if I don’t want to. But if you’re doing something dangerous or illegal, I’ll tell him, for your sake.”

  Lynne nodded. She would expect nothing less. “I promise it’s nothing illegal and the only danger is to my heart.”

  Abby looked a bit worried. “Who is it, Lynne? Because I have a feeling it’s not a stranger.”

  Lynne could no longer keep her secret. It was time to share. “Simon.”

  Abby went completely pale and didn’t say anything for several long seconds. Or at least Lynne thought they were only seconds. It felt like hours, but surely it hadn’t been that long.

  “Holy fucking shit,” Abby finally said.

  Lynne didn’t think she could breathe, much less speak. Out of all the ways she imagined Abby reacting, that wasn’t one. She’d thought maybe she’d be shocked, but only slightly. More than anything, she thought Abby would be happy.

  Abby had seen her upset when Simon had first broken up with her. Hell, they had gone to Luke’s book debut party at the club not too long ago and Simon had been there. Abby had been the one to come to her that night when they had gotten home to make sure she was okay.

  It had been to Abby that she’d first mentioned rejoining the BDSM community. Looking back, Lynne could see her desire to get into it for what it was. An attempt to get back into the lifestyle, yes, but more than that, a longing for Simon.

  Not only did Abby’s reaction shock her, but it hurt.

  She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them tight. “I don’t know what the big deal is. You know I still have feelings for him.”

  “Has Simon said anything about Nathaniel?” Abby finally asked.

  The question stumped her until she realized that of course Simon wouldn’t have said anything about Nathaniel. “No.” She shook her head. “He doesn’t know it’s me.”

  Abby’s eyes narrowed. “I think you need to explain to me what exactly is happening.”

  Lynne took a deep breath and gave her a quick rundown of the last few weeks. By the time she’d finished, Abby had a look of total horror on her face.

  “What?” Lynne finally asked.

  “This is a mess and a half.”

  Lynne knew she was in a bit of a pickle, but surely it wasn’t as bad as Abby was making it out to be.

  Abby drained the remainder of her wine. “I should have poured us something stronger.”

  “I don’t know what the big deal is.” Lynne shrugged, trying to play it off like it was nothing. Maybe if she could get Abby to agree it was okay, she could start to believe it herself. “I mean, I get that I should have been up front about who I am, but if he gets to know Faye, what’s it going to matter that her name is really Lynne?”

  “It’ll matter when Nathaniel finds out. He went to Simon’s the weekend you moved in and told him you were off-limits. That if he so much as thought about contacting you, he’d have him kicked out of Luke’s.”

  “He did what?” Lynne remembered how Nathaniel had disappeared in the middle of moving her in. She’d wondered where he’d gone. Wondered what could have been so important that he had to go right then and couldn’t wait another minute. She didn’t give Abby a chance to reply to her first question before asking her second. “Why?”

  “Why?” Abby rolled her eyes in what was the first halfway humorous thing she’d done in almost an hour. “You have lived in his house for almost a year, right? I mean, you get that he has the most asinine and broad definition of protection known to man. And I mean that in the most loving way possible. His behavior can be infuriating.”

  “But why would he care about me and Simon? I’m his nanny.”

  Abby made a tsk noise and patted her knee. “Oh, honey, you really don’t know him, do you? Yes, you are his nanny. You live in his house and take care of his children. You’re family, whether you like it or not. And as part of his family, you get to be on the receiving end of his innate determination to protect you.”

  Lynne still didn’t get it.

  Abby must have sensed her confusion. “Nathaniel saw how upset you were when Simon broke things off with you. As your protector, he will do anything in his power to keep you from experiencing that again. And if that meant threatening Simon, that’s what he’ll do.”

  The enormity of what Nathaniel had done was starting to sink in. “Shit. And here I thought my biggest problem was going to be a slightly pissed Simon.” Now she was going to have to dea
l with Nathaniel as well.

  “Have you given any thought to telling Simon who you really are?”

  “Yes. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you tonight. I was thinking about telling him before we did the demo, but now . . .” She bit her lip. “Now I think I’ll leave my mask on. He told me I could, and there’s really no reason to tell him.”

  “I disagree.”

  Lynne turned her head sharply to look at her. “Why?”