Page 130 of Their Famous Dominant (Office Intrigue Duet 4)
“Hurt?”
“Not even a little,” I whispered. It felt so fucking good.
“This is my time to explore, boy. Give me that.”
“Yes, Master.” I would give him anything he asked.
Any damn thing at all.
TWENTY-FOUR
Clarissa
“I DON’T UNDERSTAND,” MY MOTHER stated firmly.
“I’m not sure how else I can explain it, Mom.”
We’d been sitting at her kitchen table talking about the reporters who were camped out in front of my house for the past half hour. I had yet to mention the break-in for fear she would freak out. Hell, I was still freaking out about it. Someone had violated me. They’d come into my home, gone through my things, searching for God only knew what. From what I could tell, they hadn’t taken anything, but that didn’t matter. The first thought I’d had when I’d learned of the intrusion was regarding Tank. What if he’d been at the house? What if they had hurt him?
I scratched the top of Tank’s head as it rested in my lap. I wasn’t sure he knew what had happened, but he obviously sensed I was stressed. That and Zeke had gone outside to do a walk of the property, so we were keeping each other company while his master was gone.
“If you and Trent are only friends,” she said, her head tilting slightly to the right, “then why are the reporters so eager to talk to you?”
Okay, so maybe I hadn’t been entirely forthcoming in my explanation.
“I don’t know. Maybe they think we’re more than friends.”
“Are you?”
“No.” While the word rang with self-assuredness, I didn’t feel it. What Trent and I had was not mere friendship. Even though I was upset with him, I couldn’t deny it. However, I wasn’t about to tell my mother that. She would likely tell me all the reasons I shouldn’t date him.
My eyes continued to dart toward the front door. I was waiting for Zeke to come back inside. For whatever reason, the man made me feel safe. Without him here, I feared someone would rush through the door and … I wasn’t sure what I expected them to do, but it left me with a queasy feeling.
“Clarissa?”
“Hmm?” I replied absently, continuing to watch the door.
“What’s going on, honey?”
My gaze swung to my mother. “Nothing. I told you. Some reporters got wind of me hanging around with a friend of mine and now they’re stalking me for a story. It’s no big deal.”
“Oh, it’s a big deal,” she countered before sipping her coffee. “While I love you with my whole heart, you don’t show up here unannounced. Ever.”
She was right. I didn’t. Usually.
Unfortunately, I didn’t know where else to go. Zeke had informed me of the paparazzo they’d found lurking around Xander’s building and he said it wasn’t safe for me to be there right now. He suggested I find somewhere to hide out from the media while they could look into the intruder. Since I’d pretty much packed up everything, Xander was having my things transferred to Mercedes’s condo at that very moment. I wouldn’t have to go back to my house unless I absolutely wanted to.
And I didn’t.
Someone had been there. Someone I didn’t know.
My hands still trembled.
What I really wanted to do was to run to Trent and Troy and let them shelter me from this storm. However, I’d never been the sort of girl who ran and hid from anything, so I wasn’t sure why I was compelled to now.
“He must care about you if he’s got a bodyguard on you twenty-four seven,” my mother said, clearly trying to probe further.
“It’s just standard operating procedure, Mom. Zeke is doing him a favor. It won’t last forever.”
“Well, at least the bodyguard’s cute.”
“Mom!” I couldn’t believe she said that.
“What? I might be old, but I’m not dead.”
Gag me.
“Is he single?” She winked. “Not for me, dear. I’m thinking you and he would make a cute couple.”
“Mom, no. Just … no. Zeke is my friend. Nothing more. But it doesn’t matter. The last thing I’m worried about is a man.” Technically, I was too preoccupied with two men to be worried about another.
“How’s work?” she asked, clearly catching on to the fact that I was avoiding the other subject.
“It’s slow right now.” I wrapped my hands around my coffee mug. “But I was offered a job.”
Her face lit up. “Really? Doing what?”
I knew if I wanted to get out of this job in Chicago, my mother would be the one to back me up on it. Figuring I had nothing to lose by telling her, I blurted it out. “It’s with a firm in Chicago. I’d be their in-house legal counsel for their contracts.”
“Oh, my God, honey!” Her eyes widened.
Here it comes. She’s going to tell me there’s no way I can up and move to another state.
“That’s fantastic, Clarissa.”
I nearly snorted coffee through my nose. “What?” I couldn’t believe my ears.
