“I wouldn’t have violated your space, Miss Alix, if it wasn’t that I had to tell you something important,” Rita replied. She was still wearing her emerald green robe, although her hair hung wet and pulled back over her shoulder. “Please, only two or three minutes.”
There was something in her voice and eyes that said I needed to listen to what she had to say. “Did Kade ask you to come in here?”
“No, he doesn’t know I’m in here. He enjoys long showers, you know; it helps him relax.”
I nodded, only somewhat surprised. “You’ve known Kade a long time, I take it.”
“We went to high school together,” she said simply, “but despite what you saw, he and I have never had a deep emotional relationship. We’ve offered each other a different type of support and comfort over the years as we need it.”
“You’re his FWB,” I replied. “I’d heard of that sort of thing before, but never met anyone like that.”
“We’re a bit more than that, but it’s better to show you than tell you,” Rita replied. She turned and lifted the hem of her robe, showing me a very pert and very pink backside. “When we play over at my place it can be quite a bit more, but he was so shaken after yesterday I had to come to him. He’s a good Dom though, and I had no problems about it. This is the first time in the Laguna house. Last time I had to come to him was when you all lived in Beverly Hills.”
“You’re . . . you and him are into . . . ?” I asked, trying to get my mind wrapped around everything.
“We prefer to say Dom and sub, but some people use BDSM,” Rita informed me. “And yes, I love to sub to Kade. I’m a switch though, I don’t sub to just anyone. But Kade . . . from the beginning I’ve subbed for him. He’s not strong enough to sub yet.”
“Wait . . . what?” I asked. “Explain, please.”
Rita shook her head, smiling. “I don’t have time. Maybe if you give me your phone number we can talk sometime. What I’m telling you, Alix, is that Kade only calls me when you’re around. Sweetheart, that man has you on the mind constantly, and despite everything he says to himself or to anyone else, he’s head over heels for you.”
“You mean . . . but why’d he run away yesterday?” I said. “His face said he was disgusted with me.”
“He was disgusted with himself,” Rita replied. “Kade Prescott is only happy when he’s controlling himself. I’ve never known a man, even back when we went to high school together, who kept himself under such iron-willed control. How do you think he’s been able to get through law school and then get established in law so quickly? He’s twenty-six and has a law office like someone who’s ten years his senior. It’s his strength and his weakness.”
“So when he asked ‘what the fuck were you thinking’ . . . he was talking to himself?” I asked, surprised. It made sense.
Rita nodded and came over, sitting next to me on the bed. She reached out and cupped my face, stroking a thumb over my still fading bruise. “You have so much potential, Alix. You’re a natural sub too, you know. But you have to be strong enough to sub for a man like Kade. I can see in your eyes that you feel for him too.”
There was no denying it. “How?”
“We can talk later, not now. I need to get back to Kade’s room and change to go home. Besides, you two need to talk, I know that for sure. But it was good meeting you this time. If you ever do want to talk, I’ll leave my phone number by the door. I assume the sound I heard when you came in was a bag being tossed to the side.” Rita got off my bed and checked the knot on her robe before smiling sadly. “It’s going to hurt losing him.”
“What do you mean?” I said.
She chuckled and looked at me. “I know the way he feels about you, and I think you’re coming around too. That sort of relationship, it’s exclusive. There was a time I thought I might have been able to bring Kade around to becoming my exclusive Master, but that’s not going to happen, I can see that now. But damn, am I going to miss subbing for that man, he really pushed me to my limits at times.”
She paused at the door and looked back. “Please don’t tell Kade I told you though. It’s part of his personality—he needs to show you first. Remember, he needs control to feel safe.”
Rita disappeared through the door, closing it quietly behind her, and I listened as her soft footsteps disappeared down the hall. I could hear Kade’s shower still running, and I sat there, pondering what the hell I’d just heard.
Chapter 8
Kade
I came out of the shower and made sure to change clothes into something that would in no way show myself off to Alix.
I noticed that Rita was gone when I came out, a note on my pillow.