Page 33 of Savoring Addison

Mason rolled his eyes. “That was all Zach. I thought the idea was absurd when he proposed it, but that shows what I know about marketing.” He sighed. “I guess I just didn’t want things to change, even for the better.”

“Not unless the change was under your control.”

The words hit him like a sucker punch to the gut, despite the kindness with which she said them. Was that it? The reason at the core of all his recent frustrations—that no one asked his permission, or even his opinion, before turning his world back upside down?

“I’m sorry if that was out of line,” Addison whispered.

He looked down to find her studying his face with a worried little frown. “Not at all,” he assured her. “You just gave me a lot to think about.”

Aiden and Olivia. Rafe and Nell, who might even be leaving Vermont altogether. Fuck, he didn’t even want to think about what they’d do if that happened. If Zach was right about their plans, the hole Rafe would leave at the Manor would be astronomical.

Then came the woman kneeling at his feet. A change he neither anticipated nor wanted—and one he tried to stop for the sole purpose of wresting back some control over the impetus of his life.

If he had succeeded inconvincing the others to send her away...

The very idea sat like a leaden weight in the center of his chest.

Maybe some changes could be good. Even if he didn’t choose them for himself.

“What about you?” he asked. “It seems like your whole life just changed.”

Her gaze skittered away, landing in the vicinity of the doorway. “Every time I get comfortable, it all gets ripped away. It’s happened so many times, I’ve just sort of learned to roll with it at this point.”

Questions raced through his mind, but he didn’t want to push her too far too fast. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She glanced at him for only a moment. “Not really.”

Nodding, he said, “All right. Do you give me your word you’ll tell me right away if anything else I do is a trigger for you?”

“Yes, Master.” She gave him a rueful smile. “Trust me, I don’t want that to happen again any more than you do.”

Mason cupped her cheek again, needing to touch her. “Good girl.”

CHAPTER 11

Addison

If Addison had to fill out a customer satisfaction survey about this morning so far, she’d put way too much talking, not nearly enough fucking in the comment box.

It wasn’t like she was in this for the stimulating conversation.

Was she?

As soon as that thought ticked its way through her mind, guilt formed a deep pit in her belly. How many frenemy fuckbuddies took the time to check on their partner’s mental well-being? And frankly, given how things ended last time, she should be glad they were still fuckbuddies at all.

When he asked if she wanted to talk about it—God, it felt like every single drop of her blood turned to ice. Of course she didn’t want to talk about it. She never talked about it.

Her granny taught her long ago that no one wants to hear you whine about how unfair your life is. At best, they’ll pity you and walk on eggshells around you. At worst? They’ll decide you’re too much work and stop returning your calls.

Time to do what she’d learned to do as a teenager—shove all that shit into a box in the back of her mind and pretend everything was fine.

As long as they stayed in well-lit rooms, she failed to see how anything could go wrong this time.

Standing, Mason hooked a single finger through the O-ring in her collar, his knuckle pressing against her windpipe. When he tugged, she lifted her bottom off her heels, kneeling up as straight as she could.

Holding her there, his knuckle making it hard to draw a full breath, he brushed her hair behind her ear with his other hand. “I have something very special in mind for you,” he said, gazing down at her with a look so hot it made her pussy clench. With another tug on her collar, he pulled her to her feet.

The last of her nerves drained out of her as he led her toward the largest wall of windows. Halting right in the center, he dug his phone out of his pocket and tapped on the screen several times. Before she could ask what he was doing, a soft scrape sounded above her.

---