Out, out, out!

He got up and searched the apartment for his clothing, which was scattered in the most unlikely places, reminding him of when she’d brought her toys out for him. He almost groaned. Fuck, he had to leave.

Everly was deliberately avoiding his gaze, which made him feel guilty for panicking, but he couldn’t stop. Maybe she didn’t like him anyway. It wasn’t as though a girl like her would have trouble getting dates, right?

Everly handed him his shirt, and he tugged it on, but not before she trailed her fingers along the ridges of his chest. When he looked down at her, her lips were pressed together and her eyes sad.

He waited for her to ask if or when they’d see each other again, or when he’d call, but she didn’t say a thing.

Not knowing what else to do, he hugged her, then had trouble making himself let go.

Everly pulled away first, all of the spark gone from her eyes. “It’s been fun. See you around.”

When he stepped out into the hall, the lock immediately clicked behind him.

*   *   *

It was dark and damn cold, which suited him fine. He rang the bell then paced the well-lit walkway until he heard someone clear their throat. He turned. Anna was standing in the doorway.

“Oh, Banner. It’s you.”

“I’m Ambrose.”

The girl giggled. “Sorry, I keep forgetting which of you is which.”

With Anna it was hard to figure out whether the dumb thing was an act or not. Both she and Sindee seemed to delight in not knowing much about anything. How Konstantin could stand two of these was beyond him. Obviously, he didn’t keep them around for their scintillating conversational skills.

He stalked up the steps and into the imposing foyer. Although neither Konstantin nor Banner rang the bell at his place, he’d gotten to the point where he did with them because there was just no knowing what he’d walk in on nowadays. But years of growing up together, then more years of playing around each other, had led to having very few boundaries between them.

Anna, dressed in a backless red minidress and stripper heels, led him to Konstantin’s home office. Ambrose found Konstantin’s place cold and impersonal—modern, sleek lines with lots of glass and stainless steel. Kon was sitting at his desk, reading over some paperwork. As for Sindee, she was lying across the far edge of the desk, her dress up around her hips, masturbating. If she was looking for attention she was out of luck, because Kon was ignoring her completely.

He looked up at Ambrose, his gaze seeming to take note of his disheveled state. Ambrose hadn’t even bothered going home yet.

“Hey, zasranets. You big shithead. I called you twice. Why didn’t you call me back?”

“I was . . . busy.” Ambrose stood there for a moment, not sure why he was waiting for Kon to tell him to sit. They usually treated each other’s places like they lived there.

Konstantin quirked a dark brow at him.

“Girls, get out. Go get some takeout or something. There’s money in my wallet.”

Anna nodded and walked out, but Sindee crawled across the desk, her pussy and jewel-plugged ass on shameless display to Ambrose.

“Master, please let me suck your cock,” she whined. “You’ve been ignoring us all day, and I’m sooo horny.” Like a cat, she butted her head against his chest, then arched up and whispered something in his ear.

Konstantin frowned. “No. Out.” He swatted her butt, and she reluctantly got off the desk and headed out the door, giving him a series of long pouty looks over her shoulder.

When she was gone, he chuckled. “I really need to stop dating nymphos.”

“Yes, I can see how this would be horrible for you.”

“Yesterday, I had to lock them in the kennel, just so I could get through a one-page document.”

“If you hated it that much, you could always just work at your office.”

Konstantin sighed. “It’s more efficient to go downtown, I suppose, but when I want a blowjob I have to come all the way back here. It’s inconvenient.”

“You poor bastard.”

“Maybe I need a woman who plays hard to get.”

“You keep picking women who play hard to get rid of.”

He chuckled. “We all have our burdens.”

“Somewhere a man is playing a tiny violin in sympathy for your plight.”

“He’s a good man, whoever he is.” Konstantin sipped from the highball glass on his desk. “You want a drink?”

“It’s too early for that.”

Kon snorted. “In what time zone? It’s nine thirty at night in this one.”

Ambrose sat in the chair across from Kon and buried his face in his hands. All he kept seeing was Everly’s face, her body, a sassy expression, the depth of submission hiding behind the brattiness. Some sort of sound escaped him, but he wasn’t even sure what it was.

“What’s wrong with you?”

When Ambrose took his hands from his face, Konstantin was frowning at him.

“I think I’m in trouble.”

Kon stood and braced his hands on the desk. “What do you need? Money? I have most of mine tied up right now, but it won’t take long to liquidate some of my investments. Or do you need help kicking someone’s ass?”

Ambrose snorted. Typical Konstantin, ready to give him the shirt off his back. “Kicking ass? What, are we in high school again? We haven’t gotten in a scrap since that bar fight in Texas, like a million years ago.”

“I guess we should have just left when the bouncer said our IDs looked fake.” Kon grinned, settling back into his chair. “So what’s wrong?”

“It’s hard to explain.”

“Are you still moping around about Kate? You knew that wasn’t going to work out from the beginning. I don’t know why you let yourself get sucked into that mess.”

“If you trained her for a month, you wouldn’t be able to help yourself either.”

“I probably would have banged her in a million different ways so that when Banner regained his senses, I’d have her out of my system. Fair’s fair.” He smiled slyly. “Kate’s a doll, and superhot, but she’s not slutty enough for me. She’d never submit to half the stuff I’m into.”

Ambrose was sure Konstantin was wrong—with the right training, Kate would do almost anything, but she wasn’t his anymore and he shouldn’t even be thinking of her that way. Besides, he’d deliberately kept the feelings he’d developed for Kate stunted, knowing that eventually Banner would demand he give her back.

This thing with Everly was different. Other than the fact that she was allergic to his money, there was nothing to stop him from pursuing her. That and the fact that he couldn’t handle another relationship as intense as what he’d had with Shae. Playing at D/s was fine, but serious, long-term D/s was on his list of hard limits.

If he and Everly got close and she ditched him, too . . .

Fuck. He ran a hand over his face.

“It’s not about Kate—or Shae, before you ask. I did something I shouldn’t have done.” He thought of the look of betrayal on Everly’s face and groaned. “I don’t know if I can fix it. I don’t know if I even want to fix it.”

Konstantin looked at him expectantly. “What are you saying? Do I need to get a shovel? Do we need to find a remote location?” With his thick Russian accent, whenever he said things like that Kon sounded like a villain from an eighties action movie.

“No. It’s Everly.”

“Shit. She seemed perfect for you, from what I saw at the club the other night. What’s wrong? Your kinks don’t match up? She’s got a Dom? She’s into pegging? You know, you might want to keep an open mind there. Some guys love it.”

“Shut up. It’s too damn close to pegging every time we double-team a girl and your dick slips out of her. I swear my life flashes before my eyes.”

“You’re such a baby.”

“You have a big dick!”

They both laughed, which made Ambrose feel a bit better. It was good to have friends. Especially crazy ones.

“Did you fuck her?”