I could see Clarissa’s point. Sort of. Trent wasn’t the sort to dwell on what anyone thought of him. “But have they ever claimed he was gay?”
She giggled. “Not that I’ve heard, no.”
“See? So this is—”
“It’s harmless is what it is.” Trent’s deep voice boomed as he stepped into the room. “What I choose to do in the privacy of… Well, what I choose to do is no one’s business but mine and those who are willing to do it with me.”
I glanced up to see he was carrying a bottle of wine and three glasses.
“I really should go to my … room,” I told him, getting to my feet. “Crap. I should really find another place to—”
He nudged me right back down onto my ass. “Don’t move.”
While I did exactly as he instructed—practically frozen in place—Trent proceeded to pour wine in each of the glasses.
“Look, Trent. I know this isn’t what you signed on for, so…”
As he handed one over to me, our eyes met.
“Does it bother you that they’ve claimed we’re in a relationship?” he questioned, a smirk curving the corner of his mouth.
“It’s not me I’m worried about,” I admitted.
“Good. Then neither of us is worried. So, for the rest of the night, I refuse to allow you to think about it. And if you do, then…” He took a sip of wine, then grinned back at me. “You’ll be punished.”
“Punished?”
“Yes.”
Warmth slammed into me at the thought. I knew he was referring to his BDSM-type punishment and for whatever reason, that was enough to erase the past few minutes from my mind.
Mostly.
I turned my attention to Clarissa. “I apologize for how I’ve acted. I should’ve been showing you around.”
“We’ll get to that,” Trent stated, then angled his body toward Clarissa. “Tell me how Troy did.”
A small groove split her forehead and I could see she was confused by the request.
“When he arrived at your house,” he explained. “Was he pleasant?”
“Oh, yes,” she said immediately, her gaze snapping to mine. “Quite pleasant.”
I could tell she was nervous, but she was handling herself well. From the moment I’d stepped into her house, she’d been fidgety. Not that I blamed her. Being summoned by Trent was likely not the most soothing thing in the world. Not to mention, she’d been forced to spend the past twenty-four hours with a bodyguard invading her space. I was sure she was as shaken by the turn of events as I was. Although, she was hiding it much better than me.
Yet I realized she hadn’t complained once. No excuses, no reasons she couldn’t come over. In fact, Clarissa had been a little too compliant.
“Did you manage to talk?” he asked her.
“We did.” Her smile widened. “I explained some things on the limit list he’s filling out.”
“Did you now?” Trent grinned as he glanced between the two of us before his eyes came to a stop on me. “And how’s that coming along?”
I held his gaze. “I’m working on it.”
“Good. And thank you for picking her up,” Trent stated.
“You’re welcome.” I took a big gulp of wine. “That’s what you pay me for.”
“Actually, I don’t,” he said, his voice dropping an octave. “I pay you to do plenty of things for me but being my errand boy isn’t one of them. However, in this instance, I had an ulterior motive.”
Clarissa and I glanced at one another briefly, then my attention went back to Trent. “What ulterior motive?”
“I wanted to see how well the two of you would get along.”
It was my turn to frown. “Why?”
“Because I intend to spend a lot of time with both of you.” His attention bounced between us. “Together. And separately.”
I wasn’t sure if that required a comment, but I racked my brain for something to say. I felt as though he was setting something up, but I wasn’t sure what it could possibly be.
“But there is one thing I want to make very clear,” Trent continued.
I watched his face, admiring the chiseled lines. He was so in control of every move he made. He was the type of man who was comfortable in his own skin. Not that anyone could blame him. Looking like Trent … well, I wasn’t sure anyone would complain to look like him.
“It’s imperative our relationship remains as private as we can keep it.” His eyes locked with mine. “Not because I’m ashamed of the things I do, but as you can tell, it’s only going to invite attention. And my one and only priority is to keep the two of you safe.”
I was extremely confused. “By relationship, you mean me being your personal assistant and Clarissa being…” I wasn’t sure what Clarissa was to him. “Your girlfriend?”
Trent smirked, lifting his wineglass to his lips. “No, I’m actually referring to the two of you being my submissives.”
