Page 91 of Training His Pet

Fuck!

“Dax, that’s not what you think it is,” she said in a hurry as he stepped past her.

He scoffed but didn’t stop until he reached her bedroom. Grabbing his boots and socks from the floor, he sat on the edge of the bed.

“Dax, listen.”

“You were collecting information on my friends. My friends, Erika. People who took us in when we needed a safe place to stay. People who trusted me not to bring someone into their lives that could hurt them.”

“I wouldn’t hurt them, Dax. I swear—”

He shoved his feet into his boots once his socks were on. “You were just going to write some puff piece on a BDSM resort?” He tied the boots in sharp jerky movements.

“I—no—at first yes, I was looking into the bigger story. Dax, listen!” She put the mugs down on her dresser and moved to block the door.

He clenched his jaw. “What?” he barked.

Her throat constricted when he glared down at her.

“I wasn’t going to print it, I swear. At first... when I realized who Addison was, yes, it was interesting. Then Danny found information on her father’s corruption, then he found Devin’s name, and Kara’s connection back here... it just...” She put her hands out, pushing against his chest when he tried to move forward. “No! I was not going to print it. I swear it.”

He stopped trying to get past her and stood still, looking down at her. Tears sat on the edges of her lids, her face a mixture of pale and red blotches. He could practically taste the panic rolling off of her.

“I didn’t get a chance to read the full article, but you had a pretty interesting piece there. For someone who wasn’t going to do anything with it, you sure put a lot of effort into it.” He inhaled deeply, commanding the anger to even off. Bellowing in her face wouldn’t get anything accomplished. “You had it opened on your computer, Erika. You were working on it recently. When was the last time you touched it?” he asked.

Her eyes widened, then she moved her gaze down to his chest.

“When, Erika?” He took a small step back, letting her hands fall from his chest. “When is the last time you typed on that document?”

She swallowed hard, then raised her teary eyes to his. Several fat tears fell, running down her cheeks. “Yesterday, while you were gone,” she said in a shaky whisper.

Nausea rolled through him.

“You’ll never give up looking for that big story. It means too much to you, it’s your goal, your passion.” He cleared his throat. “And I’m not going to stand in your way. Print or don’t print the story. It doesn’t matter.”

“Dax, please. I—”

“You have nothing to say that’s going to make this better. I knew who you were when I met you—an eager journalist willing to risk life and limb for a story. I never should have thought you weren’t willing to risk someone else’s life or heart, that’s my mistake. That’s on me.” He rolled his shoulders back. “Now, get out of my way so I can go. I have things to do.”

Her bottom lip trembled; her brow lowered. After a long beat, she stepped back into the hall and pressed herself to the wall.

“Thank you,” he muttered and stomped away. She followed him, he could sense her, feel her hurt and fear as he grabbed the front door handle.

“Please, Dax, please,” she whispered. The sniffle broke him.

He opened the door and paused, turning to look at her one more time.

“No, Erika. You’ll always be chasing that story, and I’m not willing to go on that ride with you.” He stepped into the hall and pulled the door shut behind him. Clenching his eyes closed and taking a deep breath. The will to move, to get away from her apartment seemed lost.

She had been using him to get what she wanted. Just like Sarah had used him for the stable life she wanted.

He’d been so foolish.

Opening his eyes, he hardened himself against the broken sound of her sob coming from the other side of the door and pushed himself into motion.

He never should have thought what they had at the cabin was anything more than fun. Games.

And he’d lost.

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