Page 13 of Master of Pleasure (Lessons From the Rack 3)

“I’m just saying something isn’t adding up.”

“You’re probably doing your math wrong,” Andie told her husband. “I can’t believe for one second Lennox orchestrated this entire thing.”

“When are they coming to visit?” Terrence asked. He wouldn’t mind asking his old friend a pointed question or two about Ronnie. Lennox and Mariela had always visited the island at least once during the summer. He expected this summer would be no different, and when Lennox arrived, he’d find out if he’d had anything to do with Ronnie showing up.

Andie caught his gaze and he nodded. At least the two of them were on the same page.

“Last time we spoke,” Fulton said, “he said something about the middle of June, so maybe two or three weeks?”

That was a bit longer of a wait than Terrence would have liked, but as long as Lennox showed up at some point and answered questions, he could live with it.

“Good,” Andie said. “Then we can get to the bottom of this.”

Fulton rested his hand on top of hers. “I think it might be for the best for you to sit this one out, love.”

“What do you mean, sit it out?”

“I mean it has nothing to do with you.” Fulton tilted his head toward Terrence but kept his eyes firmly on Andie’s. “Let Terrence handle it. And Veronica if she chooses. But I want you out of it.”

“You do, do you?” Andie asked, and they hadn’t been apart for so long that Terrence couldn’t tell when she was approaching pissed as hell, level five. Surely Fulton, being her husband, could tell as well.

“I know you like to be involved. To help. Give advice.” Fulton seemed to be doing his best to defuse Andie before she went off, but Terrence didn’t think he was doing a very good job at the moment. “I’m just saying to let it go this time.”

“Let it go?” She pulled her hand out from under his. “Do you think Lennox and Mariela would be together today if I’d just let it go when he had his head up his ass about how he felt about her?”

Even as Fulton continued talking with Andie, Terrence replayed their conversation. He leaned toward the couple as he realized what they had been discussing.

“Andie,” Terrence said. “Please tell me you have no intention of doing anything to try to get me and Ronnie together.”

“I guarantee you she has more than intentions,” Fulton answered. “She probably has a game plan with several different possible scenarios already worked out in her head.”

To her credit, Andie didn’t confirm or deny the allegation, choosing instead to throw an icy glare at her husband.

“Seriously, Andie?” Terrence asked. “Ronnie was nineteen. Barely.”

“Five years ago.” Andie rolled her eyes. “And she goes by Veronica now.”

Andie endedup leaving the table shortly thereafter, telling Terrence she’d pick up his keys from Ronnie. For some reason, he couldn’t call her Veronica. In his mind, she was Ronnie.

He hadn’t traveled with a lot of bags. Almost everything he needed for his summer stay had been shipped to the island ahead of his arrival, and the boxes had been placed by someone—Terrence assumed Fulton—in the middle of the living room floor.

Terrence took his time unpacking. Over the years, it had become almost ritual-like. As he emptied boxes and settled in, he stripped away the Terrence everyone thought they knew. Little by little, Hollywood’s golden boy reverted back to the Terrence relatively few people saw. Every summer, without fail, he saw it as a cleansing process. As much as he talked about how he detested the fakeness of the film industry, he’d be a foolish hypocrite to think himself blameless or unstained. But on this island, for the short amount of time he stayed, he didn’t have to be anyone other than who he was. That freedom brought along with it a peaceful quiet. A quiet he’d never found off the island.

It pained him to realize that in the aftermath of that notable night, he hadn’t given two seconds thought to how Ronnie handled everything. The knowledge chilled him. As bad as it was for Senator Lewis to know who he was, at least he wasn’t related to the man. What had Ronnie gone through?

Based on what he remembered being shown on the news stations, which Terrence knew was biased, the senator didn’t appear to be a happy man, or even someone who was pleasant to be around. Of course it was possible he wasn’t anything at all the way the media portrayed him. Terrence himself had beenthe subject of more than one erroneous article. It didn’t matter that the paparazzi were the ones responsible for those. In his mind, 99 percent of any news articles were nothing more than clickbait.

He placed the box he’d been emptying on the floor, rubbed his head, and looked out a window over the academy’s grounds. At the moment, there was no peaceful quiet to be found, only the heavy weight of guilt. Guilt that Ronnie had been right earlier—he hadn’t been there for her after that night. Instead of doing what was needed and what was right, he’d concerned himself with saving his own skin.

In short, he’d failed at being a Dom.

Looking back on that time, it didn’t matter that Ken advised him not to make any contact with Ronnie. There was no way his agent could have stopped him from doing that very thing if he wanted.

Likewise, it didn’t count that he’d picked up his phone numerous times to call or text her. Didn’t count because he’d never gone through with any of them. His half-hearted, half-assed attempts had done nothing to help Ronnie.

His fallback comment about her young age only underscored how royally he’d fucked up. Knowing how young she was made his oversight even worse.

A movement outside captured his attention. Ronnie. She was walking toward the dock with a book in her hand, obviously taking advantage of afternoon’s rare sunny weather. Without giving it further thought, he turned and hurried out the door.

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