Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
The Ferguson Clinic was next door to Sanctum. It provided an array of mental health services, and Kai Ferguson and his partners also evaluated anyone who wanted to play at Sanctum.
Kori nodded. “Yes, but they’ll accept another therapist’s eval. Kyle sat down with the therapist attached to The Club, where his actual membership is going to be. He’s only training at Sanctum because The Club doesn’t have a training program right now. They send all their people to us. So Leo Meyer cleared Kyle for play. He’s starting the program soon. We’ve got an interesting group coming in. Besides Kyle, there are a couple of doctors and a chemist. I don’t even know exactly what she does with chemicals, but she sounds smart.”
Would that incredibly smart woman end up being Kyle’s partner? There would be at least a couple of nights he would spend playing at Sanctum as part of his class. She would get the schedule and avoid those nights. It wouldn’t be hard. Mistress Lea ran the class, and MaeBe always came in and did the maintenance on the computers in the club. She made sure the Mistress’s system was running at optimal speed, and in exchange she pretty much got away with murder.
It could be handy to be seen as harmless and helpful.
Sometimes it was hard to be the only person around who wasn’t a walking weapon. Oh, sure, some of the support staff at the office hadn’t been in the military and/or intelligence agencies, but even the accountant Tag watched like a hawk had done his time in the Coast Guard.
It was pretty much her and Yasmin and Genny. There were actual protocols in place to protect the three of them in case of a paramilitary team invading the office. She was supposed to run and hide and not engage.
“She sounds like fun, but like I said, I don’t have anything to do with Kyle. I hope he has a blast with training and enjoys The Club.”
Kori stared at her like she was looking for a crack to shimmy through. “You know he watches you when you’re not looking.”
MaeBe didn’t intend to leave any holes open. She knew how gossip worked with this group. She loved watching the people around her get into all kinds of crazy adventures. But she wasn’t one of them. “I know, but I don’t think that’s about being attracted to me.”
“I think it is,” Kori argued. “I think he’s a scaredy cat and can’t figure out how to go for it. Or if he should go for it. I’ve talked to him a little, and I’ve been married long enough to pick up some of my husband’s skills. Kyle knows what he wants but he doesn’t think he deserves it. It being you in this case.”
She didn’t buy it. Kyle seemed like a man who would go after what he wanted with ruthless will. “I don’t know about that. I’ve been pretty open that I’m attracted to him, and he’s brushed me off.”
“And then when you’re not looking he devours you with his eyes. He’s one of those guys. I’m sure he’s got a big bad past that makes him far too dangerous to ever come close to a beautiful, innocent woman.”
“Oh, are we talking about Kyle?” Hutch had a plate from the dessert buffet in his hand. “Because that dude is like walking crack for women. They look at him and think they can fix him. My ex came up to throw my old laptop at me, and Katy took one look at him from afar and asked why I couldn’t have been more like that guy. I asked her what part? The crazy eyes? Or the part that looks like it’s going to commit murder at any moment?”
There was a reason Hutch and his girlfriend hadn’t worked out, and she would do well to remember that. Katy also wasn’t interested in board games or fantasy and science fiction. They hadn’t had much in common beyond they’d both thought they were ready for a longer-term relationship. MaeBe had been Hutch’s friend for over a year, and she’d only met Katy a handful of times. They’d been a mismatch.
Like she and Kyle Hawthorne were a mismatch.
Why did that make her sad? “She was a crazy person who did not deserve you, Hutch. I think you should let Charlotte set you up.”
There was nothing more certain to get them off her love life than talking about Hutch’s.
“There’s a whole new crop of subs coming in,” Kori teased. “I think you might like a couple of them. In a few short weeks they’ll be released into the wilds of Sanctum where all the Doms will lick their chops.”
Hutch frowned. “I don’t have chops, and I do not need a girlfriend. I will murder the first person who suggests to Charlotte that I do. The last one broke all my dishes. I bought a house and I don’t have any dishes to go in it. Or lots of other stuff. It turns out most of the stuff I had was actually hers.”