All's Fair in Love and Mastery (Masters Unleashed 5)

“This is why you’re my best friend. You’ve always been so supportive of my goals.”

“I do what I can.”

They were both grinning now, and from across the room Grant caught Will giving them a smile, as though he couldn’t be more pleased. He hadn’t realized his feud with Arabella had bothered his brother much. Will had been so wrapped up in his own situation with Beau and Juliet that Grant had assumed he’d barely noticed.

“I want to talk to you about what happened the other night,” she said, effectively butchering his briefly silly mood.

Grant tensed. “I had a weak moment. It won’t happen again.”

She sighed and ran a frustrated hand through her messy blue and purple hair. “What if I want it to happen again?”

That mad, lingering hope rose in him again. This was exactly why he’d never managed to move on. She kept saying she didn’t want a relationship and yet maybe she was wasn’t being completely honest with herself. It felt as though he was always on the verge of winning her over and he couldn’t just walk away. What if she came to her senses just after he’d collared someone else? Besides, he couldn’t exactly offer someone a collar while he was still in love with her. It wouldn’t be fair to the other woman—it would be even less fair than just sleeping with someone and comparing her to Arabella in his head the entire time.

“If you want it to happen again, you know the price.”

“How am I supposed to know if I want what you’re offering if I haven’t sampled you at least a few times?” She gave him a cheeky smile, her dark eyes narrowed in challenge.

“I’m not interested in being your Costco, woman. You don’t get to stroll in for samples so you can skip lunch. I’m on to you.”

“I’d like you to be onto me,” she said, her gaze mischievous. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about.”

“I thought we were talking about you sampling my wares.”

“I was trying to sample your wares the other night. You’re the one who pushed me away, remember?”

They were facing each other now, both of them with one shoulder propped against the wall, their faces not close enough to kiss but the thought did cross his mind. He also desperately wanted to spank her. How was it possible for a woman to make him this unsettled? It wasn’t like he was a goofy teenager anymore, and yet he always felt like Arabella was one step ahead of him. It pissed him off and turned him on. That pretty much summed up his frustration with her in a nutshell.

A good, submissive girl would never hold his interest like this.

“You were drunk.”

“So were you, but I’m not now. You?”

“I haven’t had a drop. But that doesn’t matter. This”—he gestured between the two of them—“isn’t happening.”

“No, because you’re going to go back to the club to hook up with sweet, obedient little Sarah. That’s the real issue even if you don’t want to admit it to yourself.”

“What’s the real issue?” he asked, his frustration going from zero to eighty faster than it should have.

“You won’t sleep with me again because you can’t handle me.”

“Oh, you’d love to think that, wouldn’t you?” he growled. “How the hell does such a little girl end up with such a huge ego?” She was such a fucking button pusher when it came to him, and only him. He just wanted to tear her pants off and smack her ass until she howled.

“You know why I have a huge ego—maybe better than anyone else does,” she snapped.

“Because you’re hard to handle?” he mocked, glaring at her. “You weren’t so hard to handle when we were together.”

“Fuck that. You didn’t get submission from me until you fucking earned it, you lazy ass. You really want a woman who submits to you just because you exist? And here I thought you liked a challenge.”

She stalked away from him, full of herself, and he tried to let her go but just couldn’t. He followed her down the hall toward the restrooms, expecting to have to drag her out of one to finish their argument. Instead, she passed the restrooms entirely and headed for the building’s rear exit.

She was leaving?

Oh hel

l no.

Practically stomping in her shiny wing tips, she burst out the back door into the parking lot.