Page 84 of Lesson In Honesty
Sierra was who she was, and he loved her for it. The frustration that came along with her insecurities was his problem, not hers, and he tolerated it because loving her outweighed the annoyance of frustration, exasperation, irritation.
He showed her he loved her; she just didn’t see it.
Felt it, yes. Knew it, yes.
Seeit? In that respect, she was blind.
An idea began to form. A little bit twisted, even for him, but the more he thought about it, pieces began to slide into place, slotting together into what might be a stroke of genius or an absolute clusterfuck.
It was still early, he mused. There was time to organize a different kind of evening to the one he originally planned. If he wanted to achieve maximum impact on her weakest spots, tonight was the deal opportunity.
Where the hell was Mack when he needed him? The guy was smart—ten minutes into a conversation on computers and tech innovations was proof of that—but he lacked a sense of direction sometimes.
“I want to try something, Sierra. You’ll either love it or hate it, but I want to give it a shot. Will you trust me?”
“Always.” She rubbed her cheek against his thigh.
At least that never faltered. No matter how much she doubted herself, her appeal, her faith in him was set in stone. On occasion, it unnerved him to think how far she’d let him push her, even though he’d never betray her trust.
“Thank you.” Giving her one last stroke, he urged her to sit up, pressing an open bottle of water into her hands. “Drink this, Sierra. All of it. Crying that hard for so long, you’ll be dehydrated.” He leaned forward, kissing her sweetly. “I need to set some things in motion. Stay here.”
“Yes, Sir.” Obediently, she took a slow sip.
“Good girl.” Liam stood and wandered over to the doorway of the quiet area, searching the room beyond for Mack. The rigging bays were empty aside from one couple just setting up; no sign of a tall, handsome Dom.
Pulling his phone from his back pocket, Liam thought about who he needed to pull this off, and which order to contact them. Scrolling through numbers, he selected the first of many.
“What can I do for you, Liam?” Levi answered almost immediately.
Straight to the point; Liam liked that about him. “I need a favor, Levi.”
“Hmmm. Color me intrigued.”
“Are you booked tonight?”
“Actually, my appointment for the evening cancelled not long ago. Someone got slightly overenthusiastic with a knotted flogger and ruined the canvas. We’ve had to reschedule.”
Liam frowned. “Is the sub okay?”
“Yes. Her Dom was very contrite and immediately sought medical attention. She’s fine, just bruised and a bit sore. Unfortunately, the bruising isn’t what we were going for in this particular shoot.” His voice was so casual, it might as well havebeen shrugging. “So in answer to your question, me and my camera are free.”
Check one off the list. “Perfect. Do you have rigging available?”
“Dude, I have everything. My studio is a one-stop photography empire, ready to capture whatever fantasy dirty little minds can conjure.”
“This is what I need.” Liam proceeded to lay it all out, flying by the seat of his pants. The basic bones of the plan were solid, he just had to flesh it out—preferably before he dropped Sierra in the middle of it. “Is that doable?”
Levi snorted. “I’ve had stranger requests. Give me thirty to set up?”
“That’ll work. Thanks.”
“Anytime.”
Liam ended the call and dove straight into the next. With each conversation, the idea became tangible, finally making sense. He was halfway through the third and final call when the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, alerting him to a familiar presence.
Mack strode toward him, long legs eating up the distance. An air of violence followed in his wake, reflecting in those mercurial blue-gray eyes.
Fuck, he was sexy.