“I don’t know what you mean.”

He turned and spoke to Daniel. “Since Dena doesn’t want the police involved and planned on hiring me Monday for security detail, I’ve decided to respect her wishes. Assuming, of course, she moves in with me until the threat has passed.”

Daniel and Dena both spoke at once.

“So you aren’t going to—”

“Have you lost—”

Jeff held his hand up and addressed Daniel first. “No, I’m not. I’ll be staying for the foreseeable future.”

Then he turned to Dena. “I assure you I have full control of my mind. You may not agree, but your apartment is a security nightmare. You don’t want to call the police, fine, but you play by my rules, and that means staying with me. I know my place is secure and safe. And the second thing is, you don’t tell your father about my involvement.”

She crossed her arms. “I hate it when you go all Dom on me outside the playroom. When you act like I can’t make my own decisions.”

“First of all, you love it when I go all Dom on you in the bedroom. And I don’t think you would have come to me if you didn’t trust me to take control of this situation, too. Say otherwise and I’ll make you lift that shirt, spread your legs, and say it again while I prove what a liar you are.”

She crossed her legs, and he forced himself not to smile.

“Second, I recognize you’re an intelligent woman, fully capable of making your own decisions. But the fact is, when it comes to security, I’m the expert, and if you don’t want me to call the police, we’ll go about this my way.”

“Just a minute,” Nathaniel said. “I know it’s not any of my business, but why wouldn’t you want the police called?”

“Because the media would get involved, and they’d drag my dad into it, making it an even bigger mess.” Dena sighed. “I worked my ass off for years to break the association with my father. Or as much as I could anyway.”

Nathaniel frowned. He didn’t appear to like Dena’s answer, but he glanced over to Jeff and his features relaxed. “I’ll leave it to you and Jeff, then.”

“That’s the …” Abby started and then stopped.

“That’s the what?” Nathaniel asked when it became clear she wasn’t going to finish her thought.

Abby’s gaze bounced between Jeff and Daniel. “I’ll tell you in the car.”

Nathaniel gave a curt nod. “We do need to be leaving. We’re meeting with the Realtor early tomorrow morning.”

They said their good-byes and left after promising to touch base with everyone the next day.

Dena ran her fingers through her hair. “I have a ton of stuff I’ll have to pack if I’m going to your house.”

“Not a problem,” Jeff assured her.

“I have a cat.”

“The dogs will look after it.”

“I still don’t cook.”

“I still do.”

“I’m scared.”

He knew she wasn’t just talking about the note. She was worried about moving back in with him. He understood and shared those worries. After all, he was the one who’d planned to move to the other side of the country in an attempt to escape the hold she had on him.

So what kind of fool was he to insist she move in with him?

He wasn’t sure he wanted to answer that.

Instead, he looked her straight in the eye and told her the truth. “I’m scared, too.”

Daniel sneaked out of the kitchen after Abby and Nathaniel left. He didn’t think Jeff and Dena would notice he’d left anytime soon. When they did realize he wasn’t in the room, they would show themselves out. They probably wouldn’t take him up on his offer to stay in the guest room. If he knew Jeff, he’d have Dena in his house tonight. Humming slightly, he jogged up the stairs, anxious to get to his bedroom. He’d come back downstairs and lock up in a bit.

He didn’t bother to knock, but swung the door open and closed it behind him after he stepped inside.

Julie rolled over in bed, propped up on an elbow, and gave him a seductive smile. “Well?”

He pointed to the floor. “Come greet your Master properly, kitten.”

She scurried out of bed and dropped to her knees before him. She was naked; the only thing she had on was his collar. He unbuttoned his jeans and kicked them and his boxer briefs off with a few shakes of his legs.

“I’ve had a hard-on for the last four hours. All I’ve been thinking about is fucking you.” He tapped her chin. “Open up.”

He slid inside her offered mouth, sighing in pleasure as her warmth enveloped him. He wasn’t going to last long, not after observing others for the last few hours. That paired with the barely contained tension between Jeff and Dena would have him climaxing within minutes.

Fuck.

Especially when Julie did that with her tongue.

Oh well. He’d come quickly this time, cuddle and talk with Julie, and then he’d have her again. Slower.

He fisted his hands in her hair. “Don’t miss a drop.”

She tightened her grip on his thighs, her nails digging into his skin, and the sharp pain pushed him over the edge.

“Fuck,” he said, releasing into her with a grunt.

Sated, he withdrew from her mouth and grinned when she dropped back to her heels and licked her bottom lip. A devilish smile danced on her expression.

“You aren’t going to throw up on me, are you?” he asked.

She laughed. “I can’t believe we pulled off that lie about me being sick.”

He stripped off his shirt and climbed into bed, holding up the sheet so she could scramble in beside him. Once she had her back to his chest, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the back of her head.

“No one had any reason to doubt me. I was always such an upstanding guy before you.”

She snorted. “Sure, blame it on me. The vomiting was your idea.”

“Stomach flu can strike anyone at any time. And because it’s so nasty and dreaded, no one’s going to examine it too closely.”

“Dena will kill me if she ever finds out.”

“Jeff will kick my ass.”

She ran a finger down his arm. “But if it goes the way we plan, they’ll be thanking us. All we did was work it out so they had to play together. It’s not like we tricked them into getting married or something.”