I stopped instantly. “Did you cook?”
He grinned sheepishly. “If you tell anyone, I’ll deny it.”
For the first time since I realized Trent had left us without so much as a good-bye, I smiled.
I stared in awe at the eggs, bacon, and biscuits that sat on a plate waiting for me.
“I promise, I won’t say a word if I can have coffee to go with it.”
A mug appeared before me.
“Your phone rang while you were in the shower,” Zeke informed me.
I peered over at my purse sitting on the bar but chose to ignore it. I didn’t want to talk to Trent right now. The man deserved my wrath for disappearing.
Not that I should’ve been surprised. It was exactly what he’d done the night he stayed here.
“What’s your plan for today?” Zeke asked.
I wanted to tell him I was going to crawl into bed and pull the blankets over my head so I could sulk in peace. But that wasn’t who I was, so I didn’t bother.
“Not sure yet. I need to take more boxes to storage.”
“Can’t today.”
As I forked eggs into my mouth, I nodded. “I figured that much.”
I doubted Zeke was going to let me do anything that would draw attention from the people camped out in front of my house.
“We’re going to the club tonight,” he informed me.
“Yeah. Not sure I’m gonna do that.”
Zeke joined me at the table, a smirk on his face. “I’ll let you be the one to tell boss man that.”
“Well, boss man shouldn’t have pulled his disappearing act this morning.”
“Yeah?” He bit into a biscuit. “What about Troy? If I recall, you snuck out on him. Wasn’t he still asleep?”
Shame washed over me at the truth in his words. I had slipped out without bothering to tell Troy. I was sure he was as disappointed as I was. If he’d woken up, that was.
My phone rang from my purse and I considered ignoring it.
“You can’t hide from him forever.”
“I know.” I got to my feet and stomped over to the bar. I pulled my phone out to see Troy’s number on the screen and I felt like an asshole. He was probably the one who’d called while I was in the shower. “Hello?”
“Hey.” Troy sounded somewhat distraught. “You okay? I didn’t know you left.”
With Zeke watching me, I turned and headed toward my bedroom for a bit of privacy. “Sorry about that. I needed a shower.”
Troy sighed. “You left because Master did.”
I cringed at the name. Troy didn’t seem at all bothered by the fact Trent had disappeared on both of us. He was still calling him Master. The man didn’t deserve it as far as I was concerned.
“Are you coming to Dichotomy tonight, Clarissa?”
“I doubt it. I’ve got things to do.”
“Please.”
That single word wrenched my chest, making me feel like shit. This wasn’t only about Trent right now. Something had transpired between Troy and me in the short time we’d known each other and I wasn’t sure I could turn my back on him.
“Please, Clarissa. I don’t like how things ended. Not after last night.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize,” he said firmly. “Just tell me you’ll come tonight. I really want you to be there.”
“And why are you going?” I asked, feeling jilted that he was still willing to do Trent’s bidding.
“Because Master asked me to. And because I want to see what it’s like.”
I forgot Troy hadn’t been to a club before.
I took a deep breath and flopped onto my bed. “Fine. I’ll go. But only because you asked.”
“Thank you, baby. I look forward to seeing you.”
My heart swelled at his words.
I wondered why I felt the urge to cry at the same time.
Trent
“CARE TO TELL ME WHY you got here so early?” Sarah asked when she joined me in the conference room at Dichotomy.
I’d been hiding out here since I arrived, hoping not to have to answer stupid questions such as that one.
“Shit to do,” I grumbled.
“Yeah? Or maybe you’re running away from something?”
I didn’t dignify that with an answer. Perhaps because she was right.
Last night…
I couldn’t stop thinking about last night, about the way I’d lost control with Clarissa and Troy. I could’ve possibly handled it if it had been the first time it’d happened. Unfortunately, it seemed to be the direction I was headed and I damn sure didn’t like it. If my submissives couldn’t trust me to remain in control, what the fuck was the point?
“Trent?” Sarah’s voice had softened, causing me to look her way.
I didn’t know what to say.
“I promise, I won’t lecture you,” she said kindly. “But whatever has that grimace on your face, I hope you’ll take a few minutes to breathe before you do something really stupid.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. The woman had a way with words, I would give her that.
“Did you need something, Sarah?”
