Awaken (9 page)

I knew Penelope was right, and it was time to stop feeling sorry for myself. I told her and Nico to go upstairs and have fun. When they left, Savannah walked into the room. When she saw me, she smiled and headed in my direction. She joined me at the bar and ordered a drink.

“Miss Winters, I haven't seen you at the club recently.”

I shrugged. “I know. I met somebody.” I paused then admitted, “But it didn't work out.”

“Because you told him about Nectar?” she asked.

I shook my head. “It never got that far. He wasn't comfortable being honest with me, so he just broke it off.”

Savannah took a sip from her Cosmo and leaned in. “Were you honest with him?”

I shrugged. “I guess not. It was still early in the relationship.”

Savannah looked at me with sympathy. “Do you mind if I offer you some advice, from my own experience?” She touched my arm. “If you want a relationship to work I think it’s important to be honest – about who you are and what you want, from the beginning. Trust me.”

After my conversation with Savannah I came home. Her advice really resonated with me. Maybe things with Cooper could have been different if I had been more open with him. I know there was a real connection developing between us. He said he really liked me. It wasn’t my imagination. But in the car, after the gallery opening, he wanted to reveal something but decided not to. What did he mean when he said ‘Sex with me is complicated’?

I just had a crazy idea. What if I’m totally honest with him? I mean completely honest. It sounds foolish, but after everything I've been through, I realize I need to take risks to be happy. What if I tell Cooper about my experience at Nectar? Maybe his issues with sex won’t seem as complicated. He might not approve, but at least he'll know I'm not holding back. I’m willing to expose myself to see if this relationship has a chance. And in return, I hope he’ll be honest with me.

I think I'm going to do it. It sounds crazy, but it's the right thing to do. But I can't tell him this face-to-face. I can't imagine giving him a detailed depiction of everything I've experienced at the club, especially with the Master. I just had another idea: What if I give him my diary?

Cooper West closed the book. He looked out the window. It was getting dark. He had spent all day in the coffee shop reading Lacey Winter's diary. He asked the waitress for the bill. As he walked home, he wondered what he should do. He had never met a woman like Lacey. He admired her courage and honesty, and he couldn’t stop thinking about her. But was he willing to risk
everything
just for her?

When she gave Cooper West her diary, Lacey Winters had bared her soul…but Cooper West didn't seem to care. He never called her. Lacey felt like a fool and decided to move on. She had a life to live. A few weeks later she went back to Club Nectar.

She stood by the bar, admiring the sexy people mingling in the room. A curvaceous woman with large breasts, in a short, black-lace sheath dress walked toward her. She appeared to be in her early thirties. Lacey noticed two handsome, well-built men dressed in black Armani suits standing behind her. The woman asked Lacey if she wanted to join her and her two lovers, in one of the private rooms upstairs. Lacey took a nervous sip from her martini.

“I've never had sex with more than one person,” she confessed.

“You won't be disappointed.” The woman assured her with a smile.

Lacey was about to say yes to her proposal when someone touched her shoulder. She turned and was surprised to see the Master's assistant standing behind her. She was wearing her sexy chain-linked lingerie.

The assistant whispered into Lacey’s ear, “The Master wants to see you.”

Lacey took a sip from her drink. It was nice to be wanted by so many people. But then she realized a meeting with the Master could not be passed up, so she told the woman she wouldn't join them.

“I don't blame you,” the woman said with a smirk. “When the Master calls, you go running. Some other time, perhaps.” The curvaceous woman and her two lovers walked toward another person in the bar.

“Follow me,” said the assistant.

Lacey nodded and put down her drink. As she followed the assistant out of the room, she prepared herself for another mind-blowing session with the Master. They took the elevator up two flights, onto a floor Lacey had never been on.

“Aren’t we going to the other room?” asked Lacey, somewhat concerned.

The assistant ignored her and continued walking down the hall. She stopped when they approached a closed door. With an icy glance, she looked at Lacey and knocked on the door before opening it. She motioned for Lacey to step inside.

Lacey entered and was startled when the door closed behind her. She looked around the room, nervous. It was dark – almost too dark to see. At the far end of the room there was a lit fireplace. Lacey gulped when she noticed the muscular frame of a man standing next to it: It was the Master. Lacey took a deep breath. It was just the two of them in the room. She watched as he slowly turned and faced her. He stared at her through his mask. Lacey felt a nervous rush through her body, as his penetrating gaze locked in on her. Then she noticed a book in his hands. She was shocked when she realized it was her diary. Her heart began racing, as the Master slowly stepped forward and handed it to her.

“I don’t understand,” she muttered.

She watched in disbelief, as the Master slowly raised his arms and reached behind his head. He unzipped his mask. Lacey’s pulse quickened as he slipped it off. She finally knew the identity of the man who had unlocked the voice between her legs.
 

It was Cooper West!

Lacey gripped her diary, completely shocked. “I don’t understand. You’ve
 
been the Master from the very beginning?”

With a hint of a smile, Cooper West slowly nodded.

Lacey couldn’t believe it. The man who had unlocked her sexual desires was the same man she wanted a relationship with. A jumble of thoughts raced through her mind. She began to piece them together, like a puzzle, slowly realizing what it all meant.

Cooper is the Master,
she thought, still in disbelief.
The entire time I’ve been with him, he knew the truth about me and about Nectar.

Lacey’s head began to spin like a category three hurricane. She lowered her gaze toward the floor, still trying to process it all.
 

When I met Cooper in his office for the photo shoot, he was so obnoxious and rude. He acted like I was a stranger, as if we were meeting for the first time. But, in reality, we knew each other extremely well. He had already navigated his way around each curve of my naked body. We hadn’t just had sex. We fucked!

Lacey looked at Cooper, into his penetrating eyes. The extent of his deception came into focus.
 

“We had sex and you acted like you didn’t even know me,” she said, anguish in her voice. “Why? Not only that, but you were such a jerk.” The truths kept hitting Lacey like slaps in the face. “I gave you my diary…and then you didn’t even call me.”

A heated rage began burning inside her. Cooper West had played her like a fool.

When Cooper saw the anger flickering in Lacey’s eyes, he took a step forward. But Lacey quickly stepped back.
 

“You may be gorgeous and the fuck of the century,” she told him. “But you’re also a lying, deceitful prick.”

“Lacey, let me explain,” Cooper insisted.

He tried to place his hand on Lacey’s shoulder, but she quickly shrugged it off. She glared at him with fury.

“You’re a fucking asshole! I don’t want to hear any explanations. It’s crystal clear,” she yelled at him.
 

She turned abruptly and hurried to the door.
 

“Lacey, wait! You don’t understand,” Cooper shouted.

But Lacey didn’t need or want to understand. What she felt was all that mattered.
 

She yanked the door to the room open and was surprised to see the Master’s Assistant — Cooper’s Assistant! — staring at her, wide-eyed. Feeling humiliated, Lacey darted past her. Clutching her diary to her chest, she ran through the hall and scurried down the stairs.
 

After grabbing her coat, Lacey rushed out of Club Nectar and hailed a taxi home. Once inside her apartment, she stripped off her sexy outfit and threw on a tank top. She crawled into bed. Under the comfort of her covers, she began to cry. The well of tears she held back began to pour out of her.

“I bared my soul to him,”
she muttered.
“How could I have been so stupid?”

Cooper sighed deeply. He turned and walked toward the fireplace, still clutching the Master’s mask in his hand. He stared into the flickering flames, attempting to gather his thoughts.
 

I didn’t expect her to be so angry.
He sighed once more as he pondered his predicament.
I thought Lacey might be the one. The one I could finally trust, after all these years. The one I could have a relationship with…but I was wrong. I got caught up in my emotions – in kissing her, looking deep into her eyes, being in her company. It’s been so long since I’ve been in that comfortable place. I let it get the better of me. A relationship is something I miss, but I have to accept that I can’t be in one.
 

Cooper’s grip on the mask tightened.
I should have known better. Now, I have to protect myself. I’ve risked too much by telling her I am the Master.
 

“What did you do?”
 

Cooper turned and saw his assistant, Mimi, standing in the doorway, staring at him in disbelief. She stepped into the room, the light from the fire shimmering off the chains of her lingerie.
 

Cooper cringed. The last person he wanted to talk to was Mimi. Not now. He needed to figure out what to do about Lacey.

“You took your mask off for her?
 
Why?” Mimi approached him, a look of confusion and shock in her eyes.

“This doesn’t concern you, Mimi,” Cooper said with a sharp edge to his voice.

An astonished look swept over Mimi’s face. “Of course it does. I’m the only one who knows the truth about you, Cooper. Who is this girl? Why would you put your identity at risk?”

Cooper wasn’t about to explain his actions to Mimi. His relationship with Lacey was none of her business, although he knew Mimi thought otherwise.
 

He repeated, the tone in his voice hard and flat, “Like I said Mimi, this is none of your business.”

Cooper moved to walk past her, but Mimi grabbed his forearm. He jerked his head and glared at her. Mimi stared back at him, wide-eyed.
 

“How do you know this girl can be trusted, Cooper? Everything you’ve created could be ruined.” She placed a hand on his chest and looked up to his face. “I’m the
only
one you
can trust. I hope you realize that. By telling this girl the truth about who you are, you’ve opened up pandora’s box. Nothing good will come of it.”

Cooper stared Mimi down. Although he hated to admit it, Mimi was right. He had risked too much by being honest with Lacey. He swore long ago to keep this part of himself hidden. Now he was exposed. But, he wasn’t about to have Mimi tell him what to do.

“Mimi, let go of me,” he growled.
 

Mimi finally got the message. She removed her hand and took a step back. She dropped her eyes to the ground. “I’m just looking out for you,” she said softly.

“Go home,” Cooper said flatly.

Cooper turned and was about to leave the room but stopped. He wasn’t wearing his mask. Nobody at Nectar knew who he was, besides Mimi… and because of his stupidity, now Lacey Winters. Angry with himself, he raised his arms in frustration and put his mask on before stepping into the hallway.
 

He needed to make sure Lacey kept his secret.
 

He clenched his hands into fists as he hurried toward the locker room to change. The whole time he cursed himself for the mistake he had just made.