Green Broke Woman (6 page)

Master Hugh's crooked smile was genuine this
time before his expression turned grave again. “This one looks like the
youngest.”

She nodded when she saw the sandy-haired
hottie
her Master pointed to. “Yeah, he is. That's Keith.”

“What is he like?”

She felt a stirring in her chest when she
looked at the picture and spoke of each Langley brother. “He's part dreamer,
part bad-boy, and part sweetheart.”

Master Hugh looked down at him for a long
moment in silence. “Is he happy?”

She thought back. “Yes and no. Sometimes he
seems lost like he doesn't know what he wants out of life.”

“Or maybe he does know, but is miserable because
he can't ever have it,” Master said quietly. He shook himself out of his tragic
trance and pointed to the cowboy with long brown hair. “This one looks like the
oldest.”

Kayla smiled big, feeling her chest
constrict. She'd been in the middle with their arms around her as they posed
for the picture the
Langleys
’ mother had taken that
day. Kayla had done her absolute best to behave normally and not faint in their
arms or make out with them like a boy-crazy fiend.

“That's Travis. He's the oldest and my best
friend.”

Master Hugh studied the photograph for a
minute in silence. “He probably has a good head on his shoulders and a good
heart in his chest.”

His keen observation of each man surprised
her. “He does. I envy the woman he marries.”

She searched Master's eyes for jealousy. Hugh
handed her the picture again. “Don't. That woman can be you if you get on that
plane in time.”

He clicked the button so the locks popped up.
A feeling of desolation set in. “Will you kiss me goodbye?”

His eyes squeezed shut. “That's not a good
idea.”

Tearstains soaked her cheeks.
“Why not?”

He looked around the parking lot before
sighing. “It just isn't. You'll never get on that plane if I do.”

She ran her fingers through her hair, digging
into her scalp in tearful aggravation. “Damn it, Master. This doesn't make any
sense.”

“Don't swear at me.”

“I'll fucking swear if I want to!” She
pounded the dashboard and glared at him, though her air quickly turned back to
begging. “I gave you my virginity and two years of my life in perfect obedience
to your will, and now you're sending me away.”

“We agreed from the beginning that this was
only temporary.”

“But I thought things had changed between
us.” The tears froze as she grappled for his hand, cursing her desperation.
“Last night the way you looked at me, the way you held me and the things you
said…” She couldn't stop the tears from falling faster as she took a napkin
from the glove compartment and wiped her fogged up glasses clean before putting
them back on. “No, I don't believe it. If this was only about sex to you, you
would have taken me sooner, but you didn't. You gave me everything last night.
I felt it.”

He looked as depressed as she felt. “We had a
deal, remember? Now do the honorable thing and hand over your training collar.”

Her eyes burned, and her jaw clenched in
anger. She lightly touched her black collar, feeling a dull ache in her throat
at the thought of relinquishing it. “No.”

“It would be disrespectful of you to keep it
when our relationship is over.”

“And whose fault is that?” she shrieked,
storming out of the car.

“Kayla.”

“What?” she growled, yanking her luggage from
the backseat and slamming the back door shut.

He waited until she lowered her head near the
rolled down passenger's side window.
“Pick Travis.
He's more husband material than the other two. He's stubborn, but he'll stand
by what he believes in and he'll always do what's right by you. Jake needs to
learn to commit before he settles down, and Keith probably needs therapy before
he can learn to take care of a woman.”

His insight was mind-boggling, but she was
still ticked at him. “How would you know?”

“I'm good at reading people, remember?”

“Well, read this, you bastard!” She flipped
him off and lugged her suitcase away, cursing its weight that inhibited her
from storming away in an epic, kick-ass manner.

“Kayla!” Master Hugh yelled for her.

Curse her submissive body for turning and
going back to him. “What?”

His voice lowered to the tender hush she was
starving for. “You were always my favorite, cinnamon.”

Kayla's throat ached, and a fresh wave of
tears streamed down her face at the beloved pet name he'd coined her with once
he'd started training her. He'd always likened her hair to the fragrant spice.
“Your favorite slave or lover?”

He started the engine and gave her a loving
smile as he began to pull forward. “Both.”

She choked on a sob as he drove away, leaving
her standing there alone. He loved her. She knew he had to. It was there in
those magnificent eyes of his. They wouldn't lie to her even if his mouth had.
Her Master loved her.

Then why did he leave her?

Chapter
Two: Down
On
Her Luck

Hugh took a casual, inconspicuous glance
around him as he approached the messenger at their rendezvous. It was a public
place, so the odds of him getting shot in the back in broad daylight were
pretty slim.

“Did you bring the money?” the man asked.

“You'll get your money,” Hugh snapped. “First
tell me what I want to know.”

“Master!”

He tried to remain calm as he looked over his
shoulder and saw Kayla Sanders wave at him and pick up her pace.

The man next to him looked pissed and
nervous. “I told you to come alone.”

“I did. She's just the hooker I nailed last
night. She probably wants more money. Excuse me. I'll get rid of her.”

Hugh's heart galloped furiously in his chest
as he strode swiftly toward his foolish, happy-go-lucky slave. She had no
clue
what kind of danger she was in coming back to him like
this, and he'd never been more afraid for anyone in his life. If anything
happened to her…

She was beaming when he reached her. “I
couldn't get on the plane. I need to tell you something.”

“We had a deal.” Hugh raised his voice so the
nearby man would hear him. He hoped he couldn't hear Kayla talk as well. “You
gave me sex, and I gave you money. Now quit harassing me for more.”

Her eyes bugged out, and her jaw dropped.
“That's what the five hundred dollars was for? Is that how you see me—as a whore?”

This charade killed him, but it was the only
way to protect her … from
him.
“That's
exactly what you are. Look, it was fun, but I'm done with you, so buzz off.”

Her eyes welled. “You don't mean that.
Master, I ... I lo—”

“Here.” He raised his volume in faux
aggravation, scared to death that the other man would hear Kayla's confession.
Hugh rummaged through his wallet and handed her some bills. “That's more than
we agreed to, but it's worth it if I never see you again. I have to at least
try to keep face, you know.”

The words ate him alive. He hated himself for
saying them to her, but it was the only way to get rid of her and consequently,
to protect her.

Tears dribbled down her face. “Master, you're
breaking my heart. Please, just listen to what I have to say. I think it will
make a difference.”

“It won't,” he growled and turned his back to
her, fighting the natural expression of devastation that threatened to invade
his countenance as he made his way back toward the man.

Hugh turned when he heard a
clink
on the cement. His slave had taken
off her black training collar and thrown it on the ground. The gesture ripped
his heart in two. He met her saturated hazel eyes and watched in anguish as she
stomped off with tears pouring down her pretty face. God, he wanted to go after
her, but that would put her in danger.

He turned back to face the man seated on a
bench, observing all of this. Hugh threw up his arms in a feigned act of
frustration.
“Hookers.
Nothing like
a tramp threatening to ruin your reputation unless you give her more money.”

The man tilted his head sideways, looking
past him to the place where Kayla had thrown down her collar. “She looked
upset. Why did she throw her choker on the ground?”

“Like you said, she was upset. Don't tell me
you're the rocket scientist of the bunch.”

The man still appeared suspicious as he
stroked his chin, deep in thought. “It looked like a collar to me.”

“Is that what that was? Well, she is a bit of
a Gothic freak.”

The
lech
smiled.
“A freak, huh?
Perhaps I should call on her.”

“Go right ahead if you want to be stalked and
blackmailed into emptying your bank account on her. She's a decent lay, but not
worth the price. I've had better for free.”

He'd never fully understood the logic behind
love making sex better, but last night he'd learned the meaning fully. His
precious cinnamon-haired slave was young and inexperienced, but she had his
heart in her hands in a way no one else ever had. A cautious night of gentle
lovemaking from her meant more to him than the rowdy romps of his past.

And she was the one woman he could never
have. Well, that just figured.

Kayla could be in danger now that she'd been
seen with him in such a critical moment. Why hadn't she had the good sense to
board the damned plane? He couldn't stay with her or she'd likely end up dead,
but she needed protection now more than ever. He wouldn't leave her hanging. If
he couldn't be her protector, then he'd find someone else to do the job for
him.

****

Travis Langley answered the ringing phone.
“Hello?”

No answer.

“Hello?”

Silence continued from the other end. Only
“Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum played on the other person's side. Who the
hell was it that kept ringing their number every once in a while and not
answering?

He hung up and got ready for his date, knotting
the tie around his neck, but his thoughts weren't on Veronica. They were on
another woman.

Kayla Sanders had been his best friend since
they were kids. He was about eight years older than she was, but he'd always
looked after her like a big brother when her father was too busy with ranch work
and trying to pay the never ending pile of bills. Her mother had died when she
was little.

Then Kayla turned eighteen, and he finally
admitted that everything had changed. He realized he loved her, but she'd been
so young at the time.

Travis still smiled at the night she'd
climbed up a ladder and into his bedroom window a few months after she turned
eighteen. She was always pestering him late at night, climbing up his window to
chat about something or other. She reminded him of a little cricket in that
sense, doing most of her talking at night when he was trying to sleep. On that
particular night a few months after her eighteenth birthday, he'd woken up
ready to shoot the intruder's head off, but her sweet voice had stopped him.
She'd climbed onto the bed with him and professed her longstanding love for
him, offering to give him her purity.

As much as he cared for her and as tempted as
he'd been, her youth and innocence had given him cause for reserve. He was deeply
into BDSM, and the little virgin sitting doe-eyed and innocent on his bed with
him hadn't had a clue the sort of things that he'd need from her.

Moreover she had dreams, dreams of an acting
career in California. She'd always told everyone how she'd shake the dust from
her cowgirl boots and leave the country behind for good. She wanted to see the
bright lights and make a name for herself.

All he'd wanted was to be her everything, to
make a life with her and raise their kids on the ranch. But their dreams had
been conflicting. He wouldn't hold her back only to have her resent him or
leave him and their kids later in life. He had let her go, and he'd regretted
it ever since.

He hummed while he readied himself for his
date. Not bad looking for thirty-two. He paused for a moment with a smile,
realizing he had that song he’d heard on the phone in his head. It always made
him think of Kayla. She'd been on his mind since the day he discovered that he
loved her. No woman would ever be her.

He pulled the small box containing Veronica's
engagement ring out of his suit pocket. She was a nice girl. Vanilla, but that
was fine by him now. Maybe his expectations had just been too high in the past.
She was attractive and enjoyed some things he did, but somehow it wasn't enough.
He needed more. He needed Kayla, but he hadn't seen or heard from her in six
years.

Her father didn't even know where she was
since they'd parted on less than satisfactory terms.