Page 153 of For the Sub

The people who mattered.

No longer mired in the past, he vowed to make the most of the future.

If Brandy Hess would still have him…

Chapter Twenty-Two

Life sucked.

It didn’t matter how Brandy looked at it, she’d never been more bored and restless, or damn it, lonely.

As she turned over her car to the Den’s valet, she automatically scanned the parking area for Master Niles’s luxury SUV.

As usual, she exhaled in relief when she didn’t see it.

Brandy reminded herself it was still early.

There were only a handful of vehicles in sight, and they belonged to staff members. It had become a habit to look, though, each time she arrived.

If she was going to run into him, she wanted to be prepared.

Dozens of times over the last month, she’d told herself that walking away from Master Niles had been the prudent—and only—choice.

On the endless drive home to Granby, she’d taken off the necklace he’d given her and dropped it in her purse.

That last morning together on his patio, when he’d taken her notepad and added his ideas to hers, creating something unique, she’d realized he was beginning to matter to her. She’d liked the blending of their thoughts. It had energized her, made her feel vibrant.

After breakfast, she’d carried their dishes back into the kitchen. As always, she’d been amazed by how natural hanging out together seemed to be.

When she’d wiped down the counter, she’d caught him looking at her. She’d read the desire in his eyes, and that had stoked a flame inside her.

The haunted expression that had defined him over the years had vanished from his eyes. He was no longer the same Dom she’d witnessed sitting outside at the Den’s private party, looking so formidable that she’d debated whether or not to approach him.

That fateful night, she had.

But, with the ache of knowing him intimately gnawing at her heart, she wished she’d never invited him to scene.

During the time at her home and at his, she had seen how deep he was, laughed with him, met his aunt, learned about his businesses, been cared for by him, been spoiled and pampered like a princess.

And damn it, he’d even sent a rubber foot to her nasty little wiener dog.

As much as she hated to admit it, in retrospect, Gregorio had been right. Master Niles was a man she should have stayed away from.

The hurt she’d been through with Reyes couldn’t compare to the loss she was now experiencing over Master Niles.

She’d been accurate when she’d told him there were too many miles between them—and she’d meant it literally as well as figuratively.

Brandy enjoyed a humble, unassuming life in a small mountain town. He had his fingers in five or six different businesses and a lifestyle to match.

From the beginning, he’d been clear that he didn’t intend to get involved in another relationship.

So she’d had to end it before it was too late.

If she’d continued to see him, she would have ended up losing herself in the powerful, commanding man.

But still, he wasn’t making it easy for her to keep her distance.

He’d approved her website design. Every few days, he sent a polite request for an update. Like the coward she was, she’d moved his project to one side while she worked on other things, like his aunt’s marketing campaign.

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