Maddie’s jaw had dropped. “He can’t… Deke, I’m not involving him in this.”
“What do you mean? If he’s your boyfriend, he’s not going to take kindly to another man touching you. I can pose as his mentor. A lot of D/s couples have mentors, especially in the beginning.” It would kill him to train another man to top her, but he would do it if he had to. Her safety was more important than what he wanted.
He’d taken one look at her and been fifteen fucking years old and head over heels in love. They weren’t kids anymore. Time and distance and life itself had seasoned them in different ways, and if she had a man she cared for, he wouldn’t shove himself back into her life.
He’d sacrificed his needs for her once before. If she was in love, he could do it again.
But if she was being a scaredy cat lying coward, then all bets were off.
“Dan doesn’t know,” Maddie admitted. “I haven’t told him about any of this.”
“You haven’t told the man you’re sleeping with that you’re going to try to catch your boss doing something that could affect national security?” How the fuck close could they be if she hadn’t mentioned she was in trouble? “Where does he think you are right now?”
“I didn’t exactly tell him. We’re not at a place in our relationship where I feel like I need to tell him everything. It’s a new relationship.”
Every instinct inside him flared. “But you are sleeping with him.”
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”
“If I’m running this op, everything about you is my business.”
“You’re not really running it for my good, are you?” Her shoulders squared, a sure sign she was ready for an argument. There was nothing she liked more than a good argument, and he used to never give her one. Back in the day, he let her walk those pretty feet all over him. “You’re here because your boss wants to know who my boss is meeting with.”
He’d explained that his goal would be twofold—help her find out what Byrne was doing and identify the woman he was meeting with. She had an appointment with Adam Miles tomorrow morning to tell him everything she could remember about the mysterious lady. “I would have gone back with you either way. I wouldn’t have left you alone.”
That seemed to deflate some of her bravado. “And I appreciate that, but I meant what I said. I didn’t come back for a reunion. That was over a long time ago, and it’s best left in the past. I think we need to keep things as professional as possible, and that means I’m not going to talk about my relationship with Dan. I will tell you that we haven’t been dating long, but it’s something I’m pursuing. I’ll let him know I’ve got to keep my head down for a couple of weeks and it should be fine.”
“So you’re not sleeping with him.”
She groaned, a deeply frustrated sound. “No. No, we haven’t gotten to that part yet. I don’t just fall into bed with a guy. We’ve been on a couple of dates and he’s nice. He’s also patient, so he won’t be involved in this op. You are my subject matter expert. I think I’ve studied enough that I don’t need this training, but if you do then I’ll give it a go. If you think we need to be a bit on the touchy-feely side, then we’ll go that way, too. I want this to work. If my boss believes we’re a D/s couple and we can get him into The Reef, he’ll lower his guard around me.”
She was once again trying to logic her way through. In the distance, he saw a familiar car turning into the parking lot. The sleek Mercedes pulled into the parking space next to Deke’s SUV, and Adam Miles hopped out of the backseat and immediately went to open the passenger side door.
He waved Deke’s way even as he held a hand out for his wife. “Hey, sorry we’re late. I had to finish up a phone call. We heard you needed someone to come open the club and maybe help with some training.”
Jacob Dean shut the driver’s side door with a smirk. “He thought we could get some fun time in on the company dime.”
Serena Dean-Miles was a pretty brunette with a smile a mile wide, but then she had two husbands who adored her and a couple of kids she loved. “And I heard someone say the new girl knows about satellites. I thought I could ask some questions. Hi, I’m Serena, long-time sub. I have two Doms, so I’ve pretty much been through it all. What do you know about lasers in space?”
Oh, boy. “Serena, this is my friend Madeline Hill. Maddie, how much did you really read up on D/s? Any fiction?”