Playing Hard to Master (Masters Unleashed 2)

“Because you’re a gentleman, even when you’re drunk.”

He laughed too loudly. “I’m no gentleman.”

Looking him in the eye, she told him honestly, “I trust you.” And she did. Though she hadn’t known him that long, she trusted him not to harm her. Because under the gruff exterior and sadism, he was a good person.

For a long moment, he just stared at her, his expression thoughtful. She wondered if he’d forgotten the question, but then he sighed. “Her name was Shae. We were engaged. Then she left. It was sudden, and she didn’t even say good-bye.” His gaze fell and he added, in a soft voice, “I wasn’t the same after that.”

Well, that certainly answered a lot. His pain was written clearly on his face. How long ago was this? It must have been at least a year or two, but he didn’t look like he was over it. What did that mean for them? She didn’t want a fixer-upper, and he’d promised he wasn’t one, but clearly, he still had issues. What had she gotten herself into?

“Until you,” he said.

“What?”

“I haven’t been the same until you.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “If you haven’t noticed, I like you very much, Everly.”

For all his Domliness, there were times he was simply adorable. A man who’d had his heart crushed but still opened up to her. He played with her, giving her what she needed, treated her like a kitten during aftercare, and had called himself smitten. Maybe he was a little broken, but she wasn’t exactly perfect either. In his drunken smolder, she saw a piece of truth. She wasn’t the only one falling head over heels this time. And he would definitely be there to catch her.

“I like you a lot too.”

He slapped his hands on his thighs then stood up. “Come on. I’m putting you to bed.”

He’d forgotten about the shirt thing? Jeez. He really was drunk. She rose, too, but snorted and arched a brow at him. “I think I’m putting you to bed.”

His brow furrowed. “If I sleep here, will it mess up your work schedule tomorrow?”

“No.” She stretched and started for the bedroom. “You’ll be too hungover to be in my way.”

Waking up to Ambrose in her bed, she’d be hard-pressed to ever leave, so it was a good thing he was drunk. She’d slip out while he was still asleep then try to make it back during lunch to check on him.

But now she was exhausted. Processing everything that’d happened would have to wait. And if Ambrose thought he was off the hook for lying about the work party, he was sorely mistaken.

Chapter Ten

He rubbed her cold, red nose with his own.

“Don’t do that!” Everly laughed. “You’re going to make my nose run.” People in parkas and big winter boots shouldn’t, as a rule, look sexy, but somehow the woman was making it work for her.

Ambrose moved back to his place behind her, holding the placard she’d thrust into his hands when he’d gotten there. A typical crisis at work had held him up, but she didn’t look the least bit annoyed. Now he was her backdrop while she handed out pamphlets and talked to holiday shoppers about the need for another shelter in town. Apparently, the two that already existed were always full, and there weren’t enough beds. Or food.

His woman wasn’t wealthy, but here she was freezing her ass off to make the world a better place, where up until today, he’d sat all cozy in his big house and bur

ned money. Not literally, but that didn’t make him any less ashamed.

The blue knit hat she wore and her rosy red cheeks made her look livelier than ever, and her passion about her cause lit a fire inside her that was like a beacon. A lot of people instinctually tried to ignore the protesters, but when they caught sight of Everly, they were drawn in. Her passion paired with her friendly and approachable demeanor made them stay to listen.

As for Ambrose, he just tried not to scare people away. He stood back and watched because every time he tried to give people information, they looked terrified. Everly and her friends had noticed, too, and Everly had told him to stand back and hold a placard before someone called the cops on them for intimidation.

Standing in the mall parking lot wasn’t his idea of a good time. His toes were cold, and he was worried about Everly catching a chill. When he got home, he was going to make some calls and see if he couldn’t fix this problem so they wouldn’t have to do another education demonstration until, say, midsummer. Sometime when they could relax in the sun and have a barbecue instead of sacrificing themselves to the elements as an act of penance for having money.

Had he really just thought that?

Shallow, self-absorbed idiot.

He hadn’t grown up with money. There were charities that he and his company gave to regularly, but he’d never actually put himself out to make life better for people who hadn’t gotten as many breaks as he had. Treating employees well didn’t really count, since that made the business run better, and most of them had become his buddies. What Everly did—sacrificing her time and comfort for complete strangers—was more altruistic than anything he’d ever considered doing. Listening to her talk about social responsibility had opened a door in his mind that he’d never noticed before. Amassing wealth and helping your friends was all well and good, but while he was wasting time and money on diversions, there were people suffering right under his nose.

It made him uncomfortable.

Was he supposed to give away everything he owned to even things out? If he were a cutthroat bastard, he’d be a lot wealthier than he was, but he tried to make sure he didn’t screw other people over. They all moved forward together.