Page 22 of F*ck You in My Head

"Why don't you just send her home? You can't seriously choose a woman over your best friend who could really use a little bit of help right now."

I inhaled sharply. If he had any idea who was on this side of the door with me, he would not have said that. None of it.

Although by now I felt the need to drop Audrey and see Matthew off at the door, I didn't move. Instead, I locked eyes with her.

For all I knew, she had been disappointed enough in the past few years. People had stabbed her in the back, failed to stand by her, and made her into something she was not. I would not put her in that category.

"She's not just any woman, Matt. So go home and talk to Naomi. And don't tell me where my attention should be right now." Or my loyalty.

He remained silent, and I half expected him to slam the door in my face the next moment. Finally, he sighed. "All right. Tomorrow then. It's just that I have no idea where my head is at right now. The current situation..."

Once again, my face fell. He really didn't make it easy for me. "Let's talk later, okay?"

"I'll call you." With that, I heard his footsteps disappear. Relieved, I closed my eyes before opening them again and shaking my head. A few hours and the sword of Damocles was already hanging over our heads. Weren't those wonderful prospects for the immediate future?

"Tell him not to worry later."

"After I gave you a good spanking for putting me in this situation in the first place? Sure."

Audrey narrowed her eyes. "I guess it always takes two people. You could have said no. Do you bring women here a lot?"

"No. And no, I couldn't have said it."

"Because I had such insanely convincing arguments? Cause you're weak? Because you have a taste for illicit sex?"

It was impossible not to notice that she was not serious and was trying to annoy me, and yet it made me want to answer all these questions.

"No rules, right?" I assured myself.

"No rules."

"Good." Without mincing words, I took a step back, letting her slide to the ground and getting out of her way. "Then run. If I catch you, there won't be much left of that dress."

She looked at me with wide eyes, pushed back a few inches into the rather open apartment.

I raised my eyebrows. "Do I need to repeat myself?"

I had certainly taken note of the one request she had made. No controlling games. But that didn't mean I couldn't test the limits, or find out where she was slipping through my fingers.

For half an eternity I had prevented myself from even allowing thoughts in that direction, now it was all handed to me on a silver platter and I didn't even know where to begin– and most of all, where to stop.

"Run, Audrey," I repeated. "Otherwise you'll lose the advantage I gave you."

Finally, she began to move, but not half as fast as I would have liked. I strolled leisurely into the kitchen, pulled open one of the drawers, and took out the leather pouch where I kept my knife.

It had recently been used in a club. It had eaten into the soft skin of a good friend's wife while we were having fun as a threesome. To this day, she had no idea that I had been the second man– which was better, since I had married them, and I wasn't sure if Nikau would still look me in the eye if she knew...

I tore my thoughts away from the memory. It might be true that the apartment was large and spacious, but the layout didn't leave much room for escape. One wrong decision and she would have to face me. Before I set out to find her, I tucked the knife into my waistband. Audrey wasn't the kind of woman I'd make a mistake with, even if part of me enjoyed instilling fear.

Even as I entered the bedroom, I knew this little game of chase would be over sooner than I had planned. She spun around to face me and I crossed my arms over my chest.

With a raised eyebrow, she pointed to the rack on the wall. The shackles. The whips. All the equipment I had accumulated over the years.

"You're even deeper into this than I am, aren't you?"

Smiling, I looked at her. "And you're about to find out just how deep."

Audrey lifted her dress. Then she jumped to the side, over my bed, and toward the door leading into the hallway. Not a second later, I was on the move, chasing after her. I was so close that I could almost taste her excitement, and her sharp scream made me break away from my half-hearted pursuit.