“I appreciate that, but we’re here to help and support you, and we can’t do that if you don’t tell us what’s going on. Now”—he gave her a knowing smile—“the next time something like this happens, you’re to let me or someone else know. But I have a feeling there won’t be a next time.”

“How can you be so sure?” Julie asked from her corner of the couch.

Daniel chuckled. “Let’s just say I wouldn’t want to be Peter’s mentor right now.”

•   •   •

Cole stepped out of the shower and tied a towel around his waist. Walking to the window, he peeked outside to see if Sasha’s car was parked at Daniel’s. She’d still been there when he returned from his jog. Now, it appeared as if no one was at the main house.

He finished drying off and slipped on a clean pair of jeans and long-sleeve T-shirt. He had a phone call to make, and he’d purposely waited until he’d finished his jog and shower before calling. Over the years he’d found that he rarely reacted out of anger, but for some reason, the thought of Peter calling Sasha made his blood boil.

Master Greene picked up on the third ring. “Hello.”

“William, it’s Cole Johnson.”

“Cole, hello. What’s going on?”

“I met with Sasha today. We started on her retraining.” There was nothing from the other end of the phone, so he continued, “The retraining that is only needed because of the actions of your mentee.”

“I’m acutely aware of the situation.” William sounded a little put off. “I would also remind you that he was not my mentee when the incident happened.”

“Incident. Such a neat and tidy word. Let’s call it what it really was, why don’t we? You were not Peter’s mentor the night he bound and gagged Sasha, then whipped her until she passed out.”

“Master Johnson, is there a reason you called me?”

“Of course. I would like to know if you have any additional plans for your mentee to call or in any other way make contact with Sasha?”

“I’m not sure what you mean by additional plans.”

“Peter called her to apologize. He said it was part of his mentorship.”

Soft curses were the only reply Cole received, and his suspicions concerning Peter were confirmed. “I take from your response that you didn’t ask him to call Sasha.”

“No, I didn’t ask him to call Sasha. I did say that something of the sort might be beneficial to both of them in the future. I made it very clear the timing wasn’t right just yet.”

“When she told me he’d called, I suspected he went behind your back.” Cole felt his anger rise at the thought of Peter’s disregard concerning Sasha’s well-being. “However, I still hold you partially responsible. You should have better control over your mentee.”

“I had no way of knowing he would go against me.”

“Be that as it may, I will be spending the foreseeable future trying to undo the damage the phone call created. Make sure Peter is aware that if he contacts her again, he’ll be on the receiving end of my bullwhip. And I’m nowhere near as nice as Daniel.”

“I’ll ensure it doesn’t come to that. I’ll handle it. There’s a way to work with fragile submissives.”

An image of Sasha kneeling in the sitting room fighting a panic attack flashed before him. He lowered his voice. “Master Greene, have you ever been whipped to the point of unconsciousness by someone you trusted to never hurt you? And then months later, returned to the same environment, willing to give that trust to another?”

“No, but—”

“Then you have no idea what’s it’s like for her. But let me assure you of one thing: Sasha isn’t fragile. She’s stronger than both of us put together.”

William was silent for a long moment before clearing his throat. “If you would allow me, I would like to offer her my apologies at the next meeting on behalf of Peter.”

“I’ll think about it and let you know.”

“Fair enough.”

Once he hung up, Cole put the phone on the table beside his chair and looked at the pile of papers he’d printed out to read in preparation for his next article. Somehow he couldn’t bring himself to be interested in the Indian caste system at the moment.

He felt listless, the dull ache of nothing looming before him. If he were still in India, he would have found a willing submissive to pass the time with. While he was there for his last assignment, he had never been without female companionship if he didn’t want to be.

And before India, there had been Kate. Her absence was probably the cause of his current melancholy, especially since it was a Sunday night. When they’d been together, they had a Sunday night routine. They would sit together in their sunroom and go over schedules for the coming week. If he thought there was something she needed to work on, he’d give her an assignment. It was also a time for her to voice any concerns she had, though she was at liberty to do so during the week as well.

Once they had talked, the evening could proceed in a few different ways. Sometimes they’d go to his playroom, sometimes he’d take her over his knee in the sunroom. Other times, he’d just take her. But she had left, and with her went more of himself than he’d realized the day she walked out the door. What nagged him, though, was he wasn’t certain if he missed her or what she symbolized.

He sighed and looked down to the floor, where hours before Sasha knelt.

Sasha.

He closed his eyes and allowed his mind to replace the image of Kate kneeling before him with Sasha at his feet. He imagined calling her name and how she’d look at him with those expressive green eyes.

“What do you want, little one?” he asked, running his fingers through her short dark hair.

“I want to serve you, Sir. However you wish.”

“And if I wish for you to sit in the next room and spend the evening by yourself?”

Her expression revealed nothing. “Then I will sit in the next room and spend the evening alone. But you will keep me company in my thoughts.”

“Unzip my trousers and take them off.”

She quickly had him naked from the waist down. He took his erection in his hand. “And if I tell you to stay on your knees and watch whilst I get myself off?”