Page 264 of Theirs to Desire (Club M: Boxed Set)

THEO

T he sun streams through the window. I get out of bed, pour myself a cup of coffee, and confront the thought that’s been echoing through my mind since our negotiation with Addie last night.

I’ve made a mistake.

She didn’t want to go to dinner. We’re not dating, she said, her voice hard. You don’t have to feed me. You don’t have to pretend.

I wouldn’t have been pretending.

I like Addie. Fine, yes—I recognize I don’t know her, but I’ve read her book, and I really enjoyed it. Conceited though it sounds, I thought it gave me some insight into the woman.

Wrong.

What did I think would happen last night?

Did I really think the moment Addie met us, she’d instantly take a liking to us?

God, I sound like I have my head stuck up my arse.

Did I really believe that sex would lead to dating?

Yes. Call me a fucking fool, but yes, I did think that.

I don’t do sex without emotions—I can’t compartmentalize that way.

I want to get to know Addie better, but she doesn’t want that. She’s made it explicitly clear what she wants. Domination and sex.

And I have to respect her limits.

Shane is better at keeping his emotions in check. I’m not surprised. He doesn’t talk about his childhood, but every once in a while, he'll say something that makes me realize it wasn’t easy. The assholes at Weddell Burke didn’t help. Shane doesn’t have walls around his heart; he has a fortress.

Addie, too.

If I had any sense of self-preservation, I would walk away.

Except I’m doing no such thing. My stupid cock is in charge, and it has zero interest in disengaging.

All it remembers is the curve of her ass.

The unyielding black straps digging into her soft skin.

The sound of her moans. The look of unmistakable pleasure on her face.

Fuck.