Near Perfection [Aspire 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (8 page)

“I can’t, Gordon. I won’t mess things up any further. I’ll go apartment hunting tomorrow, and then maybe I can see things more objectively. Please.”

Gordon reluctantly released her, and she ran up to her room, locking the door behind her. She wasn’t worried that Gordon would come to her. She was worried that she would go to him. If it had been one day earlier, that kind of action would have been for all the right reasons, even if was too quick. Now, it smacked of avoidance, or worse, a way to keep Warren away at Gordon’s expense. She was a total mess and a perfectly horrible person. If only Iris wasn’t gallivanting on some sort of walking tour in Scotland. She could use her sister’s ear right now, even if Iris had looked askance at her lifestyle. Iris never judged her, but worried a little about it. Iris was so practical and would help her figure out the best way out of her dilemma. Haley quit her soul-searching and got ready for bed. She would find a place to live, maybe even by tomorrow afternoon, and Warren would be none the wiser that his friend had harbored her. Wonderful. Now she had put Gordon in a position of keeping secrets from his friend. Well, it was the best solution she could come up with. On that thought, Haley closed her eyes and sought sleep.

* * * *

Warren figured out that Haley had given him the slip when the damned waiter poured him his eighth cup of coffee. It really hadn’t occurred to him that Haley wouldn’t do his bidding, and he realized he had just learned another lesson. He expected she would be teaching him for some time to come, and he looked forward to it, just as he thought he might be teaching her a few lessons of his own. He paid his bill and tipped heavily. He admired loyalty, even if it interfered with his plans for Haley. Now that he knew where she worked, he would come every day for a meal and a chat with the chef. He would get to know her on her own turf and convince her that he was the man for her. Probably threatening to buy the place hadn’t been the best way back into her life, but at least he had shown her how serious he was.

Wherever she was living must be adequate. Haley looked quite well, if a little tired, and he wished she hadn’t cut her hair. He had managed not to share his disappointment with her over that and thought it might be worth some brownie points at a later date. Warren hadn’t missed how her breathing had become shallow and how her eyes had dilated when she saw him. He would bet her panties had gotten wet. He idly wondered if she still wore the same sexy lingerie she’d worn for him. She was still attracted to him, and it gave him hope. God knew that he had wanted to pull her to him and kiss her senseless. He wanted to fuck her, too, but found that he was more interested in holding her close and kissing her, talking with her and telling her how he had thought some things through and figured some things out. Warren wanted to impress a woman for the first time in his life. It felt like if he didn’t reach her, then his life wouldn’t be worth living. Like that saying in that ridiculous children’s film he had caught Haley watching with both the gardener and Madeline,
change is good, donkey
.
He
certainly had been a jackass.

Gordon stared out his office window. He was good at his job and could expect to run the company within the next few years and head it up into his retirement.

He didn’t want to think that far down the road. He was forty-two, and some people would say he was too old for Haley, but he didn’t want anyone else. And he certainly didn’t feel too old. Warren was his friend and they got along well, and Warren was only thirty-four. When Gordon and Alice had parted ways, amicably for sure, it had been because she recognized he wasn’t going to be able to commit fully to her. She wanted a family, and he hadn’t seen himself with her in that way, because he had already seen Haley, and, after spending some casual time with her, had lost his heart. At that time though, she had wanted only Warren. Gordon knew himself well and didn’t kid himself or question the depth of his feelings for Haley, trying to explain them away. Life was too short for that. He had fallen in love with her, head over heels.

She had been hanging around the fringes of the Club, learning the lifestyle, just as she had reminded him. She followed protocol to the letter, connecting only with single Doms and avoiding any hint of interest in those connected with other subs. Gordon had tried to dismiss his initial interest because of her evident youth. Being thirty-seven hadn’t seemed very old to him at the time, but Haley was barely legal. It was just that he had noticed her and been so very attracted.

However, when he had begun to extricate himself from his relationship with Alice in order to pursue her, it was too late. Haley had noticed Warren and had eyes for no one else. He had tried, albeit with considerable subtlety, to better get to know the girl. She was full of life. She did tend to ramble and get off track, but he found it charming and endearing. She had such enthusiasm for life, and the people who knew her liked her very well. She already had a reputation as an up-and-coming chef. Haley was bright and cheerful and beautiful, inside and out. She was loyal and compassionate. Gordon saw how she coped with her mother’s illness and subsequent death with dignity and maturity, despite her youth. Warren probably didn’t know about Haley’s mom because he had been involved with another sub at that time in his life. Gordon had thought Haley would be wasted on Warren, although also appreciated that his friend might just grow under her influence.

Gordon hadn’t been able to distract her or attract her, although he thought that there had been a few times that she had been tempted. Gordon knew women, and if Haley hadn’t decided that her future was Warren, she would have been in his bed and he would have seen to it that she never left it. The night he shared her with Warren felt like coming home. He had simply forgotten that other members were present and also forgotten his Dom role. He had made love to Haley that night, not simply fucked her as part of the scene, and Warren probably felt it, too, considering how he had whisked Haley away for himself afterward. He was conflicted. Warren was his friend. Gordon had known Warren forever and knew why he could act like such an asshole. He also knew that Warren was essentially a good person behind those cold defenses. His steadfast loyalty to his parents’ elderly employees was just an example of that. He had been an invaluable friend to Gordon all those years. Gordon knew about Warren’s charitable donations to a wide variety of causes, but in particular, children’s charities, and was willing to bet very few others knew. But Warren’s family dynamic had shaped him, made him demanding and so insistent on impossible standards.

Warren had been an only child, and as such, perhaps couldn’t be expected to share very well, except his father had been harder on him because of it. Siblings might have mitigated the onus he placed on Warren, expecting him to excel at everything in his life, which tended to exclude frivolous things like friendships and downtime. If Warren’s father had shown him affection and fatherly attention rather than just the uncompromising expectation for perfection, Warren might have been more balanced in his outlook on life. His mother had clearly cared for her son, but Chalmers senior interfered in even that attachment. She had seemed a sad, reserved person in her husband’s presence, and Gordon could only imagine how conflicted a young Warren would have been, growing up in that environment. When the couple had perished in a train accident in Europe, Warren had simply picked up the reins of his father’s business and carried on. He never spoke about his parents, not even to Gordon, although he’d attended the funerals of both of Gordon’s parents, just two years apart, and stood by him stoically.

Gordon decided he had found a perfect solution to his dilemma. He would have both Haley and Warren. Oh, he wasn’t interested in Warren in a sexual way. He simply hoped that he could have the best of both worlds, the woman he loved
and
his best friend in his life, together and forever. Warren had shared all of his previous subs with Gordon often, just as Gordon had shared with Warren. They worked exceptionally well together to bring a woman the very best pleasure. The fact that Warren was so possessive of Haley, not even giving a thought to sharing until their one year anniversary, and then only because Gordon had asked him how he was planning on celebrating, told Gordon how much Warren had to come to care for Haley, even if Warren hadn’t recognized his feelings for what they were. Gordon hadn’t been too proud to hint at a threesome with Warren. And Gordon suspected that particular threesome at the Club had threatened Warren, both because of Haley’s response and because the sharing had made Warren recognize Haley was different and meant something to him other than a short-term relationship. Warren probably also knew, sensed on a different level, that Gordon was a very real threat.

Gordon knew that Haley had been good for Warren. His friend was now more relaxed and less prone to ride herd on his business interests, stepping out of that micromanaging role. People seemed to respect Warren more, rather than accept him out of nervousness or fear because of his business empire and wealth. Haley had smoothed his rough edges and given him comfort, warmed him up, all without Warren noticing. While he had yet to make many actual friends, aside from Gordon of course, Warren could claim more social acquaintances because of Haley’s charm and ability to have Warren included. Warren was lucky that he had joined the Club, or he probably would never have met even one woman to meet his needs, let alone lucked out by being chosen by Haley. Not that he had realized his luck! The man was a fool. Gordon cared about Warren, but he had been an idiot to push Haley away and he wasn’t getting another chance to hurt her. Gordon was going to see to that.

The whole situation was a fine mess, and Gordon realized that he shouldn’t have let Haley stay with him, except he hadn’t been able to resist. Warren was going to feel betrayed. They were all going to lose in the end unless Gordon figured out how to put his plan into motion, and quickly. He was frustrated because he knew that Haley would never be complete without Warren, and yet he was certain she had developed feelings for him. He hadn’t yet figured out a way to have them both consider a permanent ménage, but he would. He smiled ruefully. And Haley thought she had cornered the market on planning the future when she had decided to set her cap for Warren. She had yet to meet Gordon in his master manipulator role as the consummate salesman. But only if he could pull this off.

He decided to take some long overdue vacation time and get on it. Haley would be off now for four days, having worked straight through the past week and a half, and Warren was his own boss. He could take time off whenever he chose. Now that Warren had learned where Haley worked and had gone to see her there, time had run out. Gordon reached for the phone.

* * * *

“She’s living here? With you?” Warren’s voice was filled with incredulity.

Warren had barely stepped inside the front door of Gordon’s house before Gordon told him that Haley was living there. He thought for a moment that Warren would weep with relief before the outrage took over. It gave him heart.

Gordon shrugged. “And would you have had me put her on the street, man?” he asked. “She was wearing a coat, a pair of disreputable shoes, and had maybe ten dollars in her purse. And I made it clear to you that you had better treat her well if you remember. I never made any secret of how I felt about her.”

Warren’s face turned red. “We had a disagreement, and she walked out. How was I to know she wouldn’t take anything with her?”

“And why did she leave with nothing other than what she had of her own, Warren? Can you explain that? She told me only whores took payment. Whores! What the fuck did you say to her that a trained submissive felt like a whore?”

Warren’s fists clenched, and his flush deepened. “I might have insinuated that Madeline help her pack so that… Oh hell. I screwed up, Gordon. I admit it. But you moved her in here behind my back! You’ve wanted her forever, and she chose me. Haley is
my
submissive.”

“I think that you forfeited that right, Warren, when you let her know that you were planning to release her from the contract.”

“I wasn’t planning anything, goddamn it!” Warren’s fists were at chest level now, and Gordon resigned himself to at least one shot. “I couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on in my head, and in my fucking heart, if you must know, so I thought to take some time away from my distracting little sub and work things through. Haley circumvented me, the little vixen, and I’ve gone through hell trying to get my shit together. But know this, Gordon my friend, Haley is
my
submissive!”

“Haley is no one’s submissive at this point in her life,” Haley said, insinuating herself into the conversation.

Gordon whirled to face her, followed closely by Warren. She was standing just inside the study, her words echoing in the ensuing silence. Her eyes were dark with swirling emotions, and Gordon could see her shaking.

Warren took a step toward her but seemed to stop at the look on her face.

“I was worried about you, Haley,” he said. “I’d been looking everywhere for you.”

“Why?”

The simple question seemed to floor Warren. Gordon wanted to shake his friend for not taking the first opportunity to try and fix this. And then Warren opened right up and restored Gordon’s faith in Cupid.

“I miss you, Haley. Not just the sex and the play. You. I told you last night in the restaurant that I want you. Although I suspect there’s a whole lot more to you that I don’t know about. Yet. I apologize for how I acted. There’s no excuse, other than I’m an idiot.”