Rhia held back a groan but just barely, her head rolling back to rest on the couch pillow. “Three years and some odd months with now sex” she answered for her friend and immediately felt the burn of two wide eyes pinning her to the couch.
She shrugged. “What, I’ve been busy.”
“But not the right kind of busy. You don’t know the feeling of being worked by a DOM that knows how to handle a submissive in the right way. The utter bliss you slip into when you hand over control.” Maya reached over the end of the couch and pulled out her cell phone from a small purse abandoned on a table.
Wait. “What are you doing?”
“Calling a friend. I have the perfect DOM for you. He’s good with beginners. Knows how to ease them into the life. He’ll show you everything you need to know and more.” Maya paused and considered Rhia as if a perfect idea hit. “You, amiga, need an intervention before you die a craggy old cat lady with cobwebs in your lady parts.” Maya motioned in the general direction of her ‘lady parts’.
She couldn’t help it. Laughter bubbled from Rhia. “Oh my God, you are killing me. My vagina is doing just fine, thank you very much.”
Matteo and Sevastyan saw to that already.
Handing over control to someone else seemed counterproductive when it came to matters of the heart and body. She wondered what it would be like to have that much trust in someone else, but ultimately? Would or could she let someone have that much control over her?
Rhia swallowed back a healthy helping of margarita and refilled her glass.
“What are friends for if not to help their girl get some?” Maya patted her hand. “Plus, you obviously need some kind of help. Your phone keeps going off and you’ve hit the end button at least five times tonight.” Maya abandoned her phone on the couch cushion and grabbed Rhia’s from the coffee table.
“Never you mind.” Rhia snatched the phone and clutched it close to her chest before she stuffed it into the side of the couch. Panic sent her heart rate hitting the danger zone in record time.
For a moment Maya held her gaze, shocked.
Careful to keep her tone cool, Rhia shrugged. “A girl can have her secrets.”
Though they’d met under false pretenses and she was forced to continue the ruse, Rhia couldn’t help but feel a fierce bond with her newfound friend. Her insides ached to spill the truth. All of it.
Her false ID, the reasons behind it, and her time with her—their—powerful bosses.
But that would place her in unnecessary danger, and she couldn’t have that on her conscience.
Being an only girl among three overprotective brothers made her appreciate the bond girls formed, blood family or not. When this was all over, she hoped both her friend would forgive her.
Maya stuck her tongue out, and Rhia sighed with relief that she hadn’t offended her friend. Or at least she didn’t let on if she had.
To distract from an awkward exchange, Rhia changed the subject back to the booty call Maya wanted to make. “I love you; you know that right? But no late-night booty calls are needed.”
“Right backatcha.” Phone forgotten—thank God—Maya pulled her in for a tight hug.
Maya smiled and wrapped her arms around her. “Don’t worry, before the summer is up, we’ll find you a man that will turn your world upside down.”
Rhia groaned through a laugh and raised her glass. “To not putting out bad juju, to rebels by heart, love—”
“—a good spanking, handcuffs and a man—or two—who knows how to work a woman’s G-Spot.”
“Okay then, not even close to what I was about to say but that works too.” Rhia sighed from relief. When this was all over, she would personally see to giving her brothers a huge piece of her mind and for not trusting she knew how to handle herself. All their calls would eventually blow her cover.
Maya whipped her hair into a high bun and snagged the empty pitcher. Three hours later Rhia pulled a blanket over her sleeping friend. Though they’d nurse a hangover in a few hours, they would not go back to the club until late that evening. Rhia glanced at the clock. It was early morning and the sun barely touched the horizon.
Assured Maya wouldn’t be waking anytime soon, Rhia made her way through a mountain of pillows on the floor. Standing at the kitchen counter she flipped open her laptop, the cool floor countering the intense heat of the small apartment. In a couple of seconds, she had her cell phone hooked up and all the images from her investigation of Sevastyan’s office pulled up on the screen.
As the sun peaked over her neighboring roof, Rhia slipped into her room and closed the door, punching in a number on her phone from memory. “Adryan, it’s me.” Rhia popped open the lid to her laptop and lowered her voice. “Sorry for the early wake-up call. Look I don’t have much time but I found something. I think you’ll want—”
“It’s about time.”
She’d obviously woken her friend. Gruff from the early morning, Adryan cut her off.
“Your brothers have called nonstop. Something tells me it won’t take much longer for them to narrow down where you’re at, and those three can smell a lie.”