Page 26 of Training His Pet

“How long is a few days?”

“I don’t know, a week maybe?” Corbin’s voice was strained.

“You sure everything’s okay there—for you I mean?” Dax asked.

“Yeah, man, fine. The club’s fine, everything’s fine here.” That was a lot of fines for a situation involving the Persuccio family.

“If it gets not fine, you call me right away, and I’ll get home.” Dax glanced back at the cabin, hearing soft voices.

“It’s better for that girl if you stay wherever you are. If it gets hot here, I’ll call,” Corbin said, but Dax felt the distance in his words.

“Okay, I’ll check in a few days.” Dax started walking back to the cabin.

“Got it. Have fun,” Corbin laughed and clicked off the phone. Dax scowled at the cell in his hand then shoved it in his back pocket. Why everyone felt they needed to push him toward Erika didn’t register with him, and he wasn’t in the mood to evaluate it. He had no intentions of taking this little trip any further than platonic roommates. As soon as Joey got his panties un-bunched, they’d head home, and Erika would go back to chasing stories.

The fact that her chasing trouble would come with those stories needled the back of his mind.

“No way! That’s so funny!” Erika’s laughter flowed out of the back screen door. Who was she talking to?

Dax walked through the kitchen down the hall to the living room, toward Erika’s voice. She paced the room with her phone pressed to her right ear.

“No, I don’t think I’ll be back in time.” She turned slightly and settled her gaze on Dax. Cupping the cell with her other hand, she quietly asked him, “When do you think I’ll be home?”

Her aloofness about their situation stiffened his muscles.

“A few days to a week. Who are you talking to?” he asked, stepping in her direction.

She held up a finger and gave him her back while she went back to the phone conversation.

“I’d say probably next Saturday. Maybe we can get coffee on Sunday. And if you find anything else, Danny, just email it to me, okay? And I’ll work on stuff up here.”

Who the fuck was Danny?

“No, this story will be good...Yes... a BDSM resort... I haven’t gotten the owner’s permission yet to run the... yes, of course I want his permission... don’t worry... it will be good... okay, thanks, bye.”

She clicked off the call, sighed with contentment then turned back to Dax with a soft smile dancing on her lips. Her gaze locked with his glare and her shoulders sagged.

“What’s wrong?”

“Who was that?” He jerked a pointed finger at the phone in her left hand.

“Danny. He does info digs for me sometimes.”

“You’re doing a story about this resort?” he asked, lowering his chin. The journalist in her raged hard, even when she was in danger. Didn’t the woman understand this wasn’t just a little holiday away from the city? Her snooping habits had gotten her into this situation—made him her protector. And instead of seeing the predicament for what it was, she was going to use it to write another story. About his friends? Obviously, he’d given her too much freedom.

“Might as well, right? I mean you just said I’m stuck here for a week. Not sure I can get much done on the Persuccio story from up here, so this will be good. I’m just waiting for the full okay from Andrew, he’s my boss, then I can really start.”

She dropped her phone onto the coffee table. “I think I’ll head up to the dungeon and see if I can find some guests to talk to, or at least watch some play scenes.”

He put his hand out. “No. You won’t.” He rounded the couch and crowded her. “You are not going to take advantage of these people. They are not your story.”

She had to take a small step back in order to look up at him. “You can’t dictate what I do, Dax. I get that you’re in like hero mode or something, and your friend owns this place, but I still have a job to do. I can’t just stay cooped up in this cabin for a week.”

“I thought you wanted to be more than a tabloid writer?” he shot at her.

“I’m not a tabloid—what the hell does that mean?”

“You want this story because it’s sensational. Because it’s sex, and sex sells, right?”

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