Chapter 179: Machala
PART SIX
I looked up from my computer screen when Danny walked through the office door.
"Ms. Winters, there's someone here to see you who doesn't have an appointment." It was obvious he spoke for the benefit of the person waiting to see me.
Danny then closed the door behind him, which was as surprising as the clipped, "Ms. Winters," when he normally called me Machala. I watched my assistant closely. "Do you have any intention of informing me who it is?"
He gritted his teeth and said, "Mr. Luke Isaak."
What the hell? I did everything I could to keep the shock from my face, but, as usual, Danny saw through it.
"I'd be happy to show him out, or call security, or kick his ass. Your call, Machala." The gleam in his eyes was pure evil.
It almost had me laughing. Danny was five eight and weighed about one-forty. He had as much chance of kicking Luke's ass as I did. More than anything, I wanted to bury my head in my arms and refuse to see him. It had been six months since our final goodbye, if you could call it that. Pain, sex, and humiliation were a more apt description. All of which pretty much encompassed our entire relationship. Those were the best parts actually. The prying, pseudo-psychology into what made me tick was what destroyed the best D/s relationship I'd ever had. I thought I knew exactly what I'd signed on for when I became his submissive. At the time, I had no intention of falling in love. Now, I hated myself for my weakness. Hated him for digging into my secrets and destroying everything.
With a blink of my eyes, I snapped out of my before thoughts. "Give me two minutes and show him in."
Danny's voice went soft. "Machala?"
"I'll handle this. You can buy me a drink later."
"I may be in jail," he muttered under his breath as he turned and left the large room.
I looked around at the lavishly designed space that represented the wealth I'd accumulated. This was my office; I owned the building and presided over my kingdom. I'd built this company from the ground up. I was in charge, and Luke would not intimidate me here. I refused to check my hair, straighten my skirt and jacket, or stand. Of course, my legs were shaking, so standing wasn't a good idea anyway. I just needed a minute to catch my breath and mentally prepare.
My phone buzzed.
"May I send Mr. Isaak in now, Ms. Winters?"
"Yes, Danny, please send him in." My voice was singsong and sickeningly sweet. I knew Luke could hear the conversation.
Five seconds later the doorknob turned and he walked through, filling the room with his undeniable presence. It didn't help that I hadn't expected the suit-clad man in front of me. Luke never wore suits. Faded jeans and a t-shirt, or no shirt at all, was more like it when he was in full Dom mode or on stage in front of a sellout crowd playing drums for Blood Rights.
He walked farther into the room closer to my desk and invaded my space even though the large chunk of furniture separated us.
"May I?" He nodded to one of two chairs in front of the desk.
For a split second I was afraid my voice wouldn't work. "Will you be here long enough to need a chair?" Please say no.
His upper lip rose in the sadistic quirk that I was very familiar with, and my heart pounded faster.
"That's up to you. I can stand if you feel more comfortable."
I didn't want him standing over me and he knew it. This wasn't that type of situation. I was in charge here. "Please sit. You're not on my schedule for the day, so we need to make this quick." I waved my hand at the chair. "You might as well be comfortable."
Now his full, rare grin flashed. Luke Isaak was completely in his element standing over a quivering sub. I realized a little too late that he asked to sit so we would be on more even terms. Ever the bastard, but he thought of those small details and saw straight through me. He pulled out the chair, unbuttoned his suit jacket like a pro, and sat. It made no difference. He continued to dominate the room and me.
I thought of all my sleepless nights after I left his home for the last time.
The tears. The heartache.
If it wasn't for Danny, I don't know if I'd have survived. Taking a deep breath, I pulled my invisible force field around me. Silly, but a business tactic that I'd learned long ago. It's one of the reasons I was known as the ice queen of books; the ice queen of Winters' Publishing to be exact. I'd taken my biological father's last name, built my publishing house from the ground up, and now competed with the big boys. And the one person I thought I'd never see again, who made my heart slide into my stomach and made me want to go to my knees and lay my head in his lap one last time, was sitting across from me.
Waiting for God knows what.
I don't know how I managed to keep my voice even. "I believe there must be a reason for this visit, but you don't seem to appreciate my busy schedule."
The almost imperceptible shake of Luke's head threw me for a second. I refused to lower my eyes. It went against everything we had had together. He hadn't given me permission to look him in the eyes.
"I have a situation and I need your help."
What. The. Fuck?
I was completely stumped. No way in hell could I help him with anything. "Have you decided to write your life story and come out of the sadistic closet?" It was all I could think of.
The quirk was back in his upper lip. "Frankly, publicizing my sexual idiosyncrasies is something that will never happen. You and I both know I protect the woman I'm with by keeping my proclivities discreet."
He was right, I did know that. "So, what the hell, Luke?"
I saw his hand twitch on the chair's arm and I almost laughed aloud. Six months ago, my use of profanity would have had me screaming in about five seconds flat with his own special version of a cane striping my bare ass. I realized for the first time since Danny said Luke's name that I was in control. And for the first time the dominant Luke Isaak looked uncomfortable. I'd never seen this side of him. I would actually swear it didn't exist.
This time... I waited.
He looked away before his eyes snapped back to mine. "There's an important dinner Saturday night and I would like you to accompany me."
I sat in complete shock having no idea what to say.
He spoke first, "Fuck." He ran his fingers through his gorgeous, curly, sandy-blond hair before focusing his incredible dark eyes completely on me. "I'm not doing this very well. I miss you, and I'm asking you out on a date."
My head spun. Luke and I didn't do dates. We had an arrangement for four months, which only lasted three. I resided at his feet, he punished me, and in equal measures fucked my brains out. That was it. I refused to think of the emotional attachment I would never get over. The two of us didn't work. Luke Isaak crossed the line.
His smile was back. "I'd like you to think about it before giving me your answer."
My brain wasn't working, but my lips finally managed to form words. "You are out of your fucking mind."
The movement in his hand was more noticeable this time. "Yeah, probably."
"The answer is no."
He didn't bat an eye or give up. "Are you currently in a D/s relationship?"
There lay the problem. Since Luke, no one else would do. I needed him like I needed oxygen, or at least my body thought so. My brain, slowly coming out of a Luke Isaak-induced coma, was telling me to run and never stop. This was too much. I wasn't as unaffected by him as I hoped to be, and all at once a cloud of defeat settled over me. "This won't work, Luke."
He stood, and my stomach clenched painfully because he was leaving. Slowly, he stalked around my desk until he was inches in front of me and I was looking up at him. His hair fell forward as he gazed down. With slow measured purpose, his hand went to the back of my neck, his fingers threading through my hair, pulling on the loose bun I'd placed it in that morning. He drew me up from my chair, his other hand going to my jaw.
"I've missed you, girl." His lips came down, his breath taking mine. His unique taste blending into something special that had me instantly wet. Luke rarely kissed; during the months we were together, it had happened exactly twice. But I knew this kiss was so I would acquiesce to his plan. There was no way in hell I could put myself through another pseudo-relationship with him. And even though I wanted him, I wasn't that much of a masochist.
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