Page 16 of Enthrall Climax

I stepped back and ripped off my mask.

He ripped off his. “Concentrate.”

I shook my head, trying to clear this fog.

His frown deepened. “Let’s call it for today.”

Knowing he was right, I threw my épée down and it bounced along the hardwood floor of the penthouse—no doubt leaving marks. Strolling over to the window to regain my composure, I drew in a steadying breath and stared out at the sprawling metropolis.

We’d had this room customized to accommodate my need to improve my swordsmanship. Along with personalizing this and the other rooms, we’d made living here bearable after the space we’d enjoyed in L.A. The Walker Tower offered a cozy Art Deco style, with its Venetian ceilings and massive windows, which provided welcoming panoramic views of the city. This was a glamorous, yet low-key, home.

Anywhere was home if Mia was there.

“Hey, Buddy. You okay?”

I threw him a reassuring glance.

Shay stepped closer and his expression morphed to one of concern. This man knew me better than anyone. We’d gotten to the point where words were no longer needed. The kind of place where only a shared history of devastation could provide such an unbreakable bond.

I’d personally witnessed this ex-navy SEAL in the heat of battle displaying only steely calmness. As soon as he was ready to hang up his Glock I’d claimed him, making sure he didn’t say no to asix-figure salary.

Though I’d sealed the deal when I’d thrown in his very own submissive right out of Chrysalis. A sexy vixen so mesmerizing that his balls had made the decision for him. Agreeably manipulative on my part, but he was the best there was—and to prove his accessibility here we were sparring at dawn.

Hell, after he’d helped rescue my older brother from the clutches of terrorists in that nightmare of a desert, I’d have given him anything. Henry was home safe because of this man. So why was my gut telling me something was off with him?

This inner knowing had never failed me.

The psychiatric degree I’d nabbed at Harvard had helped refine these instincts into a razor-sharp insight. I garnered intelligence from everyone around me, every flicker of an eyelid, every revelation provided by either the dilation or constriction of a pupil, the pause in an intake of breath, the twitch of a mouth, even words not spoken delivered more for my intuition to draw from.

I see it all.

Shay had a secret.

And I didn’t need this complication.

I had to remain laser-focused so I could maintain the business I’d dragged out of its freefall and prevent it from ever faltering again.

My gaze broke from Shay’s. He had the kind of look that terrified the subs back in Chrysalis, the BDSM club I once owned and had to give up because…well, owning a sex club didn’t exactly pair well with my meteoric rise as a business mogul, even if the place offered therapeutic benefits that equaled those of renowned Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung himself.

I’d brought along to my new life these killer instincts that intimidated the hell out of everyone. I was done feigning I was no threat. Now more than ever this alpha status served me well.

I’d given up everything I’d once enjoyed, but on my terms. The one part of my past I refused to relinquish was Mia Lauren. My submissive was so blindingly beautiful that she messed with my head. Maybe this was about her? My brain playing tricks? Maybe this had nothing to do with Shay at all.

Fencing was meant to be fought in the present moment. Yet I couldn’t get myself into the game.

I turned my back on the distracting city view.

It was rare for me to lose a bout with Shay. He’d taught me everything he knew until the student became the master. Like all areas of my life, I had excelled and then took control.

My relationship with Mia was no different, and yet her free spirit touched a part of me I was only now beginning to comprehend. Before her, action never preceded thought, timing was never left to fate, and spontaneity was the sport of fools.

She was both a blessing and a curse.

Having her work five floors down from mine at Cole Tower was pure torment, especially since she’d banned me from entering her office space. Last night she’d made the promise that she’d move to my floor in two weeks—or as I liked to call it, an eternity.

Shay joined me by the window. “Prenup bothering you?”

“Signed and sealed.”