Adored: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella (1001 Dark Nights) (6 page)

He’d warned her. He’d told her he wasn’t good enough for her. She could see now all the times he’d practically begged her to leave well enough alone. He’d told her he was too old for her, too damaged, and she hadn’t listened. Even tonight he’d given her shot after shot of leaving well enough alone, but she had to poke the beast.

She’d learned her lesson.

“I’m fine, Mitch. I just want to get home and take a shower.” Her voice sounded hollow even to her own ears. Devoid of emotion, which was a complete joke because she was weeping inside.

Please hold it together. Don’t let him see you cry. Don’t. Don’t make a bigger fool of yourself than you already have.

“Laurel, I didn’t use anything.”

She was not having this conversation with him. “It’s fine. It’s not a problem.”

For the first time she heard some relief in his voice. “Good. That’s good. The last thing we need…”

She was out the door before he could finish that sentence. Yes, she’d been an idiot. There wasn’t some soft Mitchell Bradford waiting under the surface. All of that had been spent on his two ex-wives, and all that was left for Laurel was a man who meant it when he said he didn’t want another commitment, didn’t want to even try to love her.

Or maybe he simply couldn’t. He sure as hell had never lied to her about wanting marriage and kids. He’d been plain about that. He’d never lied.

She’d lied to herself.

She grabbed her purse and her computer bag. “I’m going to take tomorrow off.”

He was standing in his doorway, his shirt untucked and his eyes grave. “All right.”

“I’ll call and cancel the glass on my way home.”

“Why? I thought it would stop the natural light or something.”

She shook her head. “It’s your office. You’re the boss. I’ll cancel it and you do what you like.”

“Laurel, why don’t we have a drink? I’ve got some Scotch. We fucked up. We should talk about it. Please, I’ll let you handle the glass and stuff. You’re better at that than I am. Come and sit with me and we’ll talk about it.”

He sounded so lost, like a little boy who didn’t know what he wanted but he knew he didn’t want to be alone.

She forced herself to turn away. “No. I need to go.”

He followed her out the door and down the stairs. She didn’t argue. He’d always walked her to her car. He wasn’t going to change. Mitchell Bradford didn’t change and it would do her well to remember that one rule of the universe.

She waited for him to shut off the alarm and then stepped out and into the parking lot. Her Honda was sitting next to his massive SUV. Even his car could rip hers apart.

“Laurel?”

She unlocked her car and turned to see him standing in front of the building. “What do you want, Mitchell?”

It was the question she should have asked before. She’d gone into her whole relationship with him asking what she wanted and having one answer—him. She’d never asked him what he wanted for the simple fact that she knew. He didn’t want her.

He stared at her. “I’m so sorry, Laurel.”

She nodded and got into her car. When she looked in the rearview mirror, he was still standing there.

She drove off, determined to never make the same mistake again.

Chapter Three

Two weeks later Mitch stared at her through the big bay windows of The Legal Defense Aid office. Laurel was talking to some kid, probably right out of law school. He was tall and lanky, with a handsome face and stylish clothes. He probably didn’t wear the same white shirt and black slacks day in and day out. Laurel smiled at him, her face vibrant. And then she turned to her sisters, obviously introducing them to the man. Lisa smiled and gave Laurel a wink that let Mitch know she liked the new guy.

Laurel was good. She was happy.

“Mitch? Are you going to go in?”

He took a deep breath before turning and facing the one person he didn’t want to face. He’d been ducking Will Daley’s calls for ten days, ever since he’d gotten back from Chicago. The demise of his relationship with Laurel was almost certainly the end of his friendship with Will, and damn but he would miss the guy. He turned and shook his head. “No. I was just checking in. I won’t bother her.”

He’d tried to bother her. He’d called and sent her e-mails, and all he’d gotten back was one terse reply.

Thank you for you concern, Mr. Bradford. I’m quite well, but under the circumstances, I think it would be best for both of us if I quit. I’m attaching the resumes of two paralegals who would do quite well in my place. Please know I don’t blame you. You were never anything less than honest with me. I was only fooling myself. I beg your forgiveness for quitting in such a cowardly way, but find I can’t meet with you again. Also, you don’t have to worry about meeting up with me again in a social fashion. I’ve let Mr. Taggart know I’m no longer interested in his club.

Yours,

LD

An e-mail. He’d gotten an e-mail from her. He had to guess that was better than the divorce papers he’d gotten from his last two women.

“I’m having lunch with my sisters, but I can call and tell them I’m running later than usual if you need to talk. I could buy you a drink.” Will gestured to the bar across the street. It looked like exactly the type of seedy place that fit in this part of town. Legal Defense Aid wasn’t exactly a money-making venture, so their building wasn’t in an upscale neighborhood.

He didn’t like to think about Laurel here at night, but he doubted she would care that he was worried. And Will didn’t have to worry either. “No need, buddy. I should get back to the office. She looks like she’s settling in nicely. Like I said, I won’t bother her again.”

He turned to go, but Will stuck to his side like glue. “Yes, you said that. Tell me something. Did she finally push you too far and you fired her? What did she do? Go behind your back and change your lunch order? Because she’s so good at that.”

He’d had two weeks of getting to eat whatever he wanted. Two weeks of no one bugging him about his cholesterol or working too long.

It kind of sucked.

“She quit. She decided I was too surly to deal with.” He was surprised she hadn’t told her brother, but now that he thought about it, maybe he shouldn’t be. She wouldn’t want him to know any more than Mitch did. He wasn’t about to tell his best friend that Laurel had taken exception to his lack of romantic tendencies.

He definitely wasn’t going to tell anyone that he’d shown up on Monday morning and placed a dozen red roses and a box of her favorite Danishes on her desk.

And then waited. And waited. And at ten o’clock, he finally found her letter of resignation in his inbox.

No. He’d go to the grave with that information.

“Did something happen between the two of you?” Will asked. His voice was deceptively soft.

Mitch knew him well enough though. “I told you I didn’t think a relationship between Laurel and I would work. I think she finally understood that I was serious and she chose to cut her losses.”

And he would go to his grave remembering the feel of her wrapped around him. He would remember that for a moment he’d been bigger than himself, larger than he’d been before he’d taken her. For that one moment he’d been a part of her, and it had been the single most intimate episode of his life.

It had terrified him.

Will put a hand on his back as they made it to Mitch’s SUV. “I told you she could be tenacious but once she’s done, she’s done. So you shouldn’t have to worry about her any more.”

“I like your sister, Will. I’m going to miss her.” He already did. He felt alone without her. He was a man who craved solitude, but over the months Laurel had taught him he wanted a partner in his self-imposed bubble. He wanted her.

He simply shouldn’t.

“Laurel is amazing, but she’s so young. She’s just starting out. I think you made the right choice. Mitch, you’ve done so much for her. She never would have gone back to school if it hadn’t been for you. She’s found a real passion and it shows. I don’t think she ever would have found out how much she loves legal work without you.”

“She would be a good lawyer. Encourage her to give law school a try.” He had his keys in hand, ready to make a swift getaway, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. “Are they paying her at the new place?”

Will chuckled. “Not much, but she’s one of the few paid positions. She’s doing a ton of the up-front work so the lawyers who are working pro bono don’t have to.”

A good paralegal like Laurel could do a lot of legal work all on her own. “That’s good. If she ever wants to move back into a more lucrative position I can ask around, maybe find her a job.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. So where have you been hiding? You going to Sanctum tonight? It’s the last weekend before the big reveal. I don’t know if you’ve been working on it lately, but Big Tag has got some crazy shit in the new Sanctum. Did you know he put in a human hamster wheel? I’m a little afraid that’s not for subs. I heard him saying something about shoving Adam Miles in it when he pisses Big Tag off.”

He was certain the new Sanctum was going to be a mind trip. “I’m actually taking some time off. I’m buried in work over this solar deal.”

He was working on the sale of the company Harvey Dixon had taken such exception to. It was one good thing that had come from Laurel quitting. He no longer had to worry about her getting in his line of fire.

Dixon was still in rehab, but weird things had started happening. His tires had been slashed three nights before. He’d called Derek, but there wasn’t much he could do. He’d checked in on Dixon and then explained that three other vehicles had been vandalized in the area that very night. Kids?

He was paranoid, but that didn’t mean someone wasn’t out to get him. At least he no longer had to worry about Laurel.

Except he did. Every single night.

“Is there something I’m not getting here, Mitch?” Will was staring at him suspiciously.

Mitch shook his head and put his best game face on. “Nope. This is a very complex contract and I stand to make an enormous amount of money off it. Once this deal goes through, I might think about retiring, maybe go down to the coast and do some fishing.”

Will’s eyes had gone wide. “You don’t fish.”

He shrugged. “Just because I haven’t before doesn’t mean I won’t in the future. This deal should set me up for a good long while as long as I’m not stupid enough to get married again. Hence the fishing.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Will said with a smile. “I hope you’ll change your mind. I haven’t seen you in weeks. Kai says he hasn’t either. At least come to poker night if you don’t want to play. Though I have heard there are a couple of new sub trainees.”

And that was something he took exception to. “Including your sisters.”

Will had the good grace to blush. His face screwed up as he winced. “That was so not my idea. Laurel and Lisa got interested because of Bridget. They have very romantic notions about D/s. I almost had a heart attack when I found out they’d tried another club. Despite the fact that it’s weird to see my sisters there, I’m happier having them at Sanctum. Thank god, Lila has a boyfriend and neither of them seem to have any interest in kink at all. Although now it seems Laurel has lost interest, too. She turned down her further training but asked if she could keep working there. I guess she likes babies more than Doms.”

But she wouldn’t always. He intended to leave Dallas in a few months after this deal was done and then everything would be open to her. Her one night with him would be nothing but a much-regretted mistake that would fade away once she found her soul mate. “I think she’ll want to try eventually, but don’t let Taggart put her with someone cold like Smith. Talk to Kai. Get involved. She needs a softer hand. Try someone her age.”

Will was back to looking suspicious. “For someone who’s not interested in my sister, you seem to have thought this through.”

He shrugged. There wasn’t much else to do. “She was my employee for…well, for longer than most. I’ve got to get going. I’ve got a couple of interviews this afternoon.”

“You having a hard time replacing her?” Will asked.

“I’ll never replace her.” That was a stupid thing to say. “You know. I’ll never find anyone as willing to argue with me. See you around.”

He didn’t like the way Will stared at him as he drove away. As though he was a puzzle. Will liked to solve puzzles.

It didn’t matter. He had things to do and plans to make. Plans that didn’t involve her.

* * * *

“Will’s late. It’s the doctor thing,” Lila said with a frown on her pretty face. “They think they’re all gods and we mere mortals should wait at their leisure.”

Laurel thought Lila had been a nurse for way too long. “Or he’s stuck in traffic.”

Laurel kind of wished her brother would get here. She thought she’d seen his car pull up a few minutes before, but he hadn’t walked in yet. She’d skipped breakfast and now she was shaky. She was totally ready for her neurologist brother and trauma nurse sister to pay for lunch. Especially since she’d taken a pay cut in order to salvage her pride.

“Where are we going?” Lisa asked as she stepped up, settling her purse on her shoulder. Her little sister was a senior in college, and she’d done it the hard way. She’d been working part time and going to school full time for most of her adult life, and it was all going to pay off in a few months. Baby sis was graduating with an MBA, and she was already in talks with Bridget’s sister, Amy, about going to work for Slaten Industries.

“Mexican, please,” Laurel said. She was totally willing to beg. “I’ve been dreaming about enchiladas all day.”

“Is that why you didn’t eat breakfast this morning?” Lila asked with a judgmental eye.

Yeah, it was awesome to live in the same apartment complex with her two sisters. Lila would show up randomly to make sure she was eating right. They’d had to watch out for each other growing up due to their mom’s preference for drugs over parenting, and it seemed her older sister hadn’t gotten out of the habit.