Bind (23 page)

“It’d be different if you were in there with me.”

Her pussy tingled at the thought.

Five minutes later, they were walking side-by-side down the street. This was the kind of relationship she’d been looking for, something easy, where two people were working toward the same goals, passion…

She looked over at him. Sunglasses shaded his eyes. A dark golf shirt showed off his biceps and his lean torso. His pants conformed to his muscular thighs. He hadn’t taken the time to shave, and the shadow on his jaw appealed to her. Connor Donovan was a mouth-wateringly handsome man.

This weekend, she’d had a glimpse of what a life together might be like, waking up in his bed, having coffee together, watching him work out, sharing breakfast, spending time together. If this were real, it would be so good.

As he held open the door to the coffee shop, she shook off her melancholy. This whole thing had been her idea, and she had to deal with the consequences.

He selected a healthy power bagel, loaded with nuts, fruits and seeds. She went straight for the maple scone iced with maple frosting.

“The biscotti should have clued me in to your sweet tooth,” he said.

“Not only that, but I don’t share.” She broke off a piece and popped it into her mouth, savoring the bite.

The barista called out their order and he went to claim it before returning to the table with the drinks.

“I think your definition of submission is different from what I expected,” she told him after she’d taken a sip.

“How so?”

“I guess I thought you would have expected me to go get the drinks. Maybe to have brewed the coffee this morning.” She shrugged. “I’m not sure. It seems like you’re always doing little things for me.”

“First of all, it makes sense that the first person out of bed would make the coffee.”

She shook her head. “It makes more sense to set it up the night before, put it on a timer and have it waiting when you get out of bed.”

“I forgot I was dealing with an expert. We should do that.” He took a drink from his smoothie. “Back to your question. Some relationships include that, certainly, just like many vanilla relationships do. But we’re both busy executives. Working together will make our lives together easier. To me, the most important part of the D/s dynamic is the respect. When something matters to me, I want you to very carefully consider what I say. And sexually…” He looked at her.

She felt the full force of his personality.

“I think you know what I expect.”

“To be in charge.”

“That has enormous responsibilities with it. I take them seriously. Your safety and well-being are paramount.”

She’d already seen the proof of that.

“But if you ever feel the overwhelming urge to get up before me, after I work out, I have coffee and an omelet, three eggs, fresh veggies, including onions and green peppers. Red ones are nice for color. Heat them in olive oil before adding the eggs.”

“I keep telling you that you have the wrong woman.”

He took the final bite of his bagel. “Couldn’t hurt to ask.”

Her phone rang and she checked the caller identification. “Erin,” she said.

“Surprised she waited this long.”

“Uhm…”

“Go ahead and take it. I’m sure I have email, and I’ve got newspapers to read.” He pulled out his own phone.

She left the coffee shop and moved to a shady area beneath a tree, away from potential eavesdroppers.

“What the hell?”

“Good morning to you too, Erin.”

“Are you kidding me? You’re marrying my brother and I have to find out from him? And I’ve been waiting twenty-four hours to hear from you. Isn’t that cruel and unusual punishment? What about chicks before dicks? Hmm? I’m not waiting another minute. Spill it. Now. Every detail.”

She stood and began to pace. “Nothing much to tell. There’s been no decision yet, and I’m not sure we’ll be able to come to terms.”

“What, did you two sign a blood oath to stick to the same story?”

Lara laughed. “It’s the truth.”

“Okay, fine. I’ll pry. Who proposed?”

“I did.”

“What? Did you at least buy him dinner first before frying his male mind?”

She shook her head. No matter what was happening, Erin kept her outrageous attitude. Lara was reminded of their times in college where Erin would dramatically enter their dorm room, throw herself on the bed, hug a pillow and regale her with stories. “Nothing like that. After I met with you—”

“So you weren’t playing it cool on Wednesday night? It was my idea all along?”

“I went back to the office after I had dinner with you. I ran into Connor. He was getting on the elevator as I was exiting.”

“So you knew he visited your dad?”

Her breath froze. “You knew?”

“No! Are you kidding me? Me? Keep a secret? Come on, Lara.”

That much was true.

“I didn’t find out he had any interest in BHI until Thursday when we had our monthly meeting. I’ve missed some updates, so I wasn’t in the loop. Your dad kicked Connor out, right? My big brother wouldn’t have liked that much.”

“I started thinking about what you’d said.”

“And…? Give me the details. Where are the negotiations stalled?”

Lara remembered what he’d said about loyalty and protecting their relationship. Keeping it from Erin was a huge test. She settled for telling parts of the truth. “He wants me to live with him.”

“He’s a neat freak, but other than that, he doesn’t do anything weird like leave toenail clippings in the bathtub.”

Erin had had a boyfriend in college who’d done that. After she’d seen it, she’d been unable to shower. After putting her clothes back on at two a.m., she’d called Lara to pick her up. Since then, they’d judged all men by that standard.

“So why can’t you live with him?”

“The marriage will have an end date.”

There was so much silence that Lara thought the call had dropped.

“So you don’t mean for this to be a long-term thing?”

“No. I never did. He’s okay with that. But I thought we’d live separately.”

“He wants the appearances. Shit, Lara.”

Erin understood. Over the years, they’d shared their frustrations. Erin knew her better than anyone else did.

“I was hoping you’d cracked his shell, that he wanted to have a real marriage.”

“No. He was clear that there’s no love involved. But he wants me to move in.”

“This is kind of like putting your life in limbo, isn’t it? You can’t date anyone else, and you have to be with a man who doesn’t love you but acts like he does.”

“That’s a good way to explain it.”

“Well, crap. So you’re thinking about BHI and nothing else.”

“And it will be good for Donovan Worldwide. Connor will buy the communications division, at a more than fair price. And the patents.”

“You know, Lara, you’ve made a lot of choices in your life because they were the best for your dad. Maybe you should start making ones that are the best for you. There’s a whole world out there. You don’t have to do this. Don’t set yourself up to be miserable.”

“On the other hand, it’s only for a few years,” Lara replied, serving as her own devil’s advocate. “Fewer years than college.”

“But no spring breaks,” Erin quipped.

“It’s not like I’ve been dating much anyway.”

“So? That doesn’t mean you should put your life on hold. This didn’t work out the way I envisioned it,” she said. “I’m not happy.”

Lara agreed with that. Then she saw Connor coming in her direction. “I need to go.”

“I’ll see you at my mom’s later. Oh, by the way, did you know your mother called my mother? This is getting really weird.”

“Yeah. Sorry about that.”

“It’s your fault?”

“Not intentionally.” She paced beneath some shade trees as she explained about the Friday Afternoon Soirée and the fact her mother was spearheading membership growth.

“If she gets Mom out of the house and ripped-ass drunk, that would be great.”

“I’m not even sure how to say this, but they’re planning to invite men to future events.”

“Even better.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. Mom needs to stop hanging around the house. The more incentive, the better. Before she gets a yippy dog and a Prada to put it in.”

“Ouch,” Lara said.

“Yes,” Erin said unapologetically. “I was talking about your mother’s pampered princess.”

Lara was pretty sure princesses weren’t treated as well as Diva. To be fair, Erin didn’t dislike all small dogs, just Diva. She’d babysat the animal one time when the regular nanny had been unavailable. Erin had shown up to pick her up, and Diva had bitten her toe. After sending her sincere apologies to Erin through Lara, Helene had taken Diva to the veterinarian to make sure her teeth hadn’t been injured.

They said goodbye, and she ended the call.

“I thought my sister was going to keep you into the next century. I read three newspapers and responded to six hundred emails.”

“Six hundred?”

“At least.”

“Was that another joke, Mr. Donovan?”

“I don’t joke, Ms. Bertrand.”

“Um-hmm,” she replied.

They walked home and got ready for the drive across town. Last night, she’d taken off the necklace and put it on top of her dresser. It was a pretty piece, more expensive than it should have been. She considered wearing it again since it would look nice with the dress she’d brought. But to him, it had meaning that she didn’t want to encourage.

She met him near the door.

Even casual, he managed to look professional and…delicious. She couldn’t think of another word for it.

He wore a white shirt and lightweight blazer. He’d added a blue tie shot with pinstripes several shades lighter. He smelled of spice–laced mint, and he hadn’t shaved. The combination said urban sophistication, and it was all she could do not to run her fingers in his hair and ask him to take her back to bed.

Before they left the loft, he grabbed three bottles of champagne from the pantry. “For the mimosas,” he explained.

“My kind of party.”

“I figured it was.”

Once they were on the road, she asked, “What should I expect from your family?”

“That everyone will be polite. You’ll meet my grandparents, my Aunt Kathryn and my Mom. You already know Nathan, and we already talked about Erin. There will be lots of food. And plenty of mimosas.”

“Your grandmother’s name is Libby. Libby Sykes, if I remember?” In Texas, the Sykes name was legend and connected to the Texas Revolution.

“That’s correct.”

“And it was a great romance, like he wasn’t good enough for her, but Grandma Libby wouldn’t be dissuaded. Erin told me the story, but it was years ago.”

“I wouldn’t call it a big romance, but that doesn’t mean Erin wouldn’t,” he said dryly. “They met at a church dance when he was home on leave from the army. He was a lieutenant at the time. Rumor has it, she asked him to dance. They continued to see each other whenever he came home. He left the military when he was a captain.”

“I thought you called him the Colonel?”

“It’s a nickname, not a title.” He changed lanes to go around a slow-moving truck.

“But he worked hard and proved himself in the business or something?”

“He took over one of the shipping divisions. Once he’d doubled its worth, he was allowed to propose to my grandmother”—he shrugged—“I’m guessing it was during that time he earned the title of Colonel. I can imagine how disciplined he was, what a hard-ass.”

That part, at least, the man had passed down.

“My great-grandfather’s wedding gift was one of the divisions of the company the Colonel had built. Because of his own sense of pride, he renamed it Donovan, US. Over time, it’s grown. About ten years ago, he renamed it Donovan Worldwide. Humble beginnings, but my grandfather’s devotion and sense of obligation have made it what it is.”

“I think you’re underestimating your own contribution.”

He shrugged. “I have had a good example to follow.”

She was beginning to see a pattern with the Donovans and their easy humility.

They had to park down the street, and just before they entered the house, Erin opened the door and yanked her inside the house and into a big hug.

“I think you needed that,” Erin said.

No matter what, she’d always been able to count on her friend.

The party was better than she expected. Angela, Connor’s mother, was a wonderful hostess, even though the gathering was in her honor. She’d assigned each person to bring something, and it was a feast. Nathan had brought quiches from the local delicatessen, Erin had brought fresh-cut watermelon and honeydew, Kathryn had brought dozens of croissants from a local bakery.

Lara felt no more uncomfortable than she was at any business meeting. And it helped her to think about it in those terms.

No one asked about the contract details or wedding arrangements.

Erin mentioned that she’d decided to invest her own money into a friend’s corset shop in Kemah.

“I’m not surprised,” Nathan replied.

“We’re planning to open for the Fourth of July weekend.”

“Then spend September through May wondering how to pay the rent?” he replied.

Erin shook her head. “You’re forgetting Christmas. And all kinds of different events. Street festivals, that kind of thing.”

“If you have a good online presence, that will help, too,” Lara added. “Custom orders.”

“Who knew those things would come back in style?” Libby shook her head. “I remember celebrating their demise.”

“I’ll come to your grand opening,” Aunt Kathryn promised.

“It’s your trust fund,” Nathan replied.

The conversation ended, and the family worked together to clean the table, put away the leftovers and load the dishwasher.

She wandered over to Erin, who mixed them each a strong mimosa. “I was hoping to celebrate your engagement, but we can just as easily use it to forget your sorrows.”

“It’s not all that bad.”

“Call me anytime. Unlike you, I remember to keep chicks before dicks.”

“The dick in question is your brother. You realize that, right?”

Erin rolled her eyes. “And the chick is my best friend. If you need to complain about Conn, I’ll listen.”