As they sat down, Abbie pulled a can of sunscreen from her beach bag. “I don’t tan,” she said with a laugh. “I just turn into a lobster.” She sprayed herself liberally with the sunscreen and then held it out to Skylar. Skylar sprayed her body but not her legs, which she stuck out from the umbrella, hoping for a little tan. Lifting up on her elbows, she dug her toes in the sand as she stared out at the vast ocean.
“Something happened in there,” she said, her eyes still on the water. “Something…strange.”
“I was wondering,” Abbie said. “I’ve never seen Master Caelan stop in the middle of training. He’s usually super focused, no matter what might be happening around here.” She turned to Skylar, who met her concerned gaze. “What happened? Are you okay?”
“I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure it out.”
Abbie looked worried. “Did he demand something of you that you weren’t ready or able to give?”
“No. It wasn’t that. He…I…” Skylar trailed off. What she really wanted was to talk to him—not as trainee to trainer, but just as two people who might be falling into something neither had expected.
“You can tell me,” Abbie said gently. “This is a very unusual place, Skylar. We live in a different, special world here. Sometimes things can get super intense. When you add in a mutual attraction between trainer and trainee, things can get really, uh, complicated.”
Skylar glanced sharply at Abbie, her heart doing a somersault in her chest. “What do you mean mutual attraction?” she asked, unable to disguise the eagerness in her tone. “Did he say something to you?”
Abbie laughed. “He didn’t have to. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. In the three months he’s been here, he’s worked with…”—she looked upward while apparently doing some calculations in her head—“oh, easily ten other trainees, but I’ve never seen him worked up like this. Whatever happened just now between you, it’s shaken him up as much as it has you.”
She placed her hand lightly over Skylar’s. “What is it, hon? I won’t do anything with the information unless you want me to.”
Skylar looked gratefully at Abbie. She was definitely someone she could be good friends with, she could already tell. She told her what had just transpired, haltingly at first and then just getting it all out there. Abbie listened without a word.
“I don’t know what to think,” Skylar finally said. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say we slipped for a moment to something definitely more than trainer and trainee. But that can’t be, right? I mean, don’t get me wrong—it was amazing. I wanted it to continue—not stop.” Suddenly worried she’d said too much, Skylar asked, “He won’t get in trouble, will he?”
Abbie shook her head. “No. There’s no rule in place that says he can’t get naked with you. In fact, part of your training, as I’m sure you were told, includes learning proper oral skills. Sometimes, trainers use a male sub for you to practice with so they can more objectively observe, but some use their own cocks to control the process more.” She rolled over to her stomach and rested her face on her folded hands. “Sounds like you’re telling me things started to get, uh, personal, and you liked it and he did too, but then he freaked out and brought everything to an abrupt halt.”
“Yep,” Skylar agreed with a laugh. “I think that about sums it up. But here’s the question—what the hell happens now?”
Chapter 9
Caelan paced in his suite like a caged lion, unable to stop his brain from whirring. What was happening to him? How had he lost control like that? He had to talk to someone. Now.
Grabbing his cell phone from the desk, he shot a quick text to Ella. “I’m having something of a crisis. Do you have a moment to talk?”
He plopped down in a chair, his phone in his hand, and stared out the window while waiting for a response. He never tired of the beautiful beach view. Thankfully, after only about thirty seconds, the wiggling ellipsis on his screen indicated she was responding.
“Just finishing a session. Meet me in my office in ten minutes?”
“Perfect. Thanks.”
Caelan jumped to his feet and hurried out of the suite. He strode down the hallway, bypassing the elevators in favor of the stairs. As he pounded down the four flights, he thought about what he’d say to Ella.
He was so confused, a condition he wasn’t at all used to. Normally, he knew just what to do in any given situation. It had made him the go-to guy during his emergency room rotation, and it had suited his naturally dominant personality and his chosen career as a trainer.
He’d never—not once—lost control like he had this morning. He’d had any number of trainees think they were falling for him, when all they were really falling for was what he offered. And he’d been attracted to a number of his clients over the years, but he’d never let it affect his behavior.