Suddenly that didn’t seem like something she would likely do. Only the night before she’d been lying in bed thinking about the fact that she might be attracted to her training Dom and they might agree to sleep together for the training period. Just have a good time and explore the lifestyle. It wouldn’t be a big deal. It wouldn’t be some crazy love affair. It would be sex and fun and mutual interest.
How could she possibly entertain the idea of sleeping with a guy when she was interested in another man? Or maybe she should realize that feeling this close to a man in such a ridiculously short period of time was a big old red flag.
Hadn’t her dad known pretty quickly he was crazy about Lila Daley? It hadn’t taken more than a couple of weeks for him to ask Lila to marry him. Shouldn’t she give that a chance?
Or she should accept that she was lonely and he was lovely and kind and he made her feel safe when she’d so recently found out she was in danger.
She couldn’t trust this feeling. Not at all.
“So you’re not going to tell him?” Kyle’s question reminded her she wasn’t alone.
“He’ll find out soon enough.” Or maybe he didn’t have to at all. “Why does he have to go with me? If you’re there he doesn’t have to. I certainly don’t expect him to spend every minute with me. He should have a life.”
“I think he’s going to want to go.”
The door came open and Hutch walked in carrying a large pizza. “All right we’ve got half meat lovers, and half sausage with peppers and onions. There’s a salad in the fridge. The chicken will keep until tomorrow night. There’s wine, too. I didn’t know if you would like red or white. Unless you don’t drink.”
Kyle groaned and pushed himself out of her comfy chair. “I’ll drink whatever she doesn’t.”
She could use some wine. She stood and her back seized up. Before she could fall to her seat, Hutch was there.
“Hey, you okay?” He balanced her, one hand in hers and the other on her back.
She was being ridiculous. She should have gotten in her chair the minute they’d made it home, but she’d pushed it because she didn’t want him to see her in it. That was stupid. She needed a wheelchair from time to time. It made her life easier, and she was grateful for it. A few hours off her feet and a couple of days with her braces and she would be fine with the cane again. Anyone who didn’t like it could bite her butt.
“I should use my wheelchair for the rest of the night. I have to rest my muscles when they get like this.” Tight, painful, but the pain reminded her that once she hadn’t felt anything at all. If she had to spend some time in a wheelchair, she was cool with that.
“It’s in her bedroom against the east wall,” Hutch said.
“I’m on it.” Kyle strode off.
“It’s weird that you know that.”
“I had to go over the place with a fine-tooth comb.” Hutch showed no signs of stepping away. He stayed right there with her. “Listening devices can be anywhere. They’re tricky suckers.”
“You went through my place?”
“That’s what I meant when I said I was going to make sure it was secure.”
“I thought you would check my locks.” She hadn’t considered the fact that he would look for listening devices. “I mean, you looked on the walls and stuff, right? Maybe checked the lighting fixtures?”
A slow smile creased his face. “Are you asking me if I found your body wand?”
She wasn’t going to be ashamed of that either, but she still flushed and was absolutely certain she was a bright shade of red. “You honestly thought there could be a listening device in my nightstand?”
“I’m a thorough guy. And it’s pretty standard. I think every woman I know has one. Here you go.” He turned her toward Kyle.
Silly man. He absolutely shouldn’t have looked in her nightstand. Also, she was a bit resentful about the “standard” comment. Did he think she couldn’t be kinky, too?
Would he be surprised when she changed into her fet wear on Thursday?
He helped her ease down into the small chair she used around the house. Once she’d been in a much bigger one, but this one was easy to maneuver. It was the speedster of wheelchairs. She strapped in and backed up, giving Hutch her sauciest grin. “Well, then I’ll have to hope you didn’t get into the tote bag in my closet because that’s where I keep the fun stuff.”
The sexiest grin lit his face. “I sense a secondary search coming on.”
Kyle sighed. “Can I eat before you two do the sexual tension thing? It’s upsetting my stomach. Sorry. I’ve spent a lot of time with Big Tag lately.”