Shayla Black - Their Virgin Secretary

He should be walking out. There was no reason to stay. He’d sealed his fate the minute he’d broken her heart. So why wasn’t he packing up and moving down the line the way he always did? Because he owed his friends some honesty.

“I still do.”

“All right then, you’re lying to yourself if you think you don’t love her.”

What did he feel for Belle? Kell really wasn’t sure. He wanted her so badly, but it went beyond her body, beyond her lovely face. Of course he liked her. In fact, he loved to talk to her, loved to just sit in her presence. He found an odd peace when they were in the same room. They didn’t even have to be speaking, just going about their business. She often hummed a little as she worked. He always looked forward to the moment she inevitably turned to ask if he wanted coffee, showing her submissive, nurturing side. He’d loved to fantasize that she might go down on her knees and ask how else she might please him.

The idea of never having those quiet afternoons with her again pierced his heart.

Fuck, did he even know what love was? Would he know if it bit him in the ass?

“I don’t know, man. I just know I can’t get married again.”

Eric regarded him with a serious expression. “When you weren’t thinking at all, you were setting up a D/s relationship with her. You take that seriously. You were more than willing to initiate her into Dominance and submission, but you won’t teach her about sex? Look, I was shocked, too. I have no idea how a woman that hot manages to stay a virgin, but I don’t care how many lovers she has—or hasn’t—had as long I get to be one of them. The last of them. Can you stand the thought of her kneeling for another Master?”

Eric’s words made him see red all over again. His pal might not be a good liar, but he was a fucking master of manipulation. He’d known exactly where to strike. “Of course I don’t, but I just broke her.”

“So help us put her back together.”

Eric made it sound so simple, but Kell didn’t see how. Belle would never forgive him. Would she?

“I’ll see her tomorrow, but only to apologize.” He would make sure she understood that her virginity wasn’t the problem, just his scarred heart. He would swear to her that if he was half the man he should be, he would give her everything he owned, share every day and night with her. He would love her.

But that was a stupid-ass pipe dream. So even if it killed him, he would leave and let her find the love she deserved.

Belle looked through the peephole of her hotel room door, praying that she wouldn’t see Tate or Eric standing in the hall. Even an hour after she’d been utterly humiliated, she was still shaking a little. A shower had soothed her, but she couldn’t seem to stop crying.

She sighed in relief when she saw a blonde with a puppy in her arms, grinning like a loon and waving at the peephole.

It was Kinley’s big day. Belle couldn’t bring herself to ruin the closest thing her friend would have to a wedding. Wincing, she stepped back. Maybe Kinley would think she wasn’t in.

Another knock. “Belle? Belle, I know you’re in there. Open up or I’ll convince the desk manager that I think you’re dead in there and I need to collect your body.”

Annabelle groaned and reached for the bolt because Kinley would do it. The woman would march right back here with the manager and persuade him to open the door.

With a sigh, Belle saved her friend the trouble.

Kinley’s grin faded as she took in Belle’s appearance. “Oh, honey. Who do I kill?”

Belle sniffled as the door shut, but she let Kinley hug her tight as the puppy in her arm used the proximity to lick her cheek. Belle was just about to scold the dog when she really looked at the little thing. Okay, so it wasn’t the most attractive canine, but there was a well of sympathy in its dark eyes that had her tears welling again. The puppy stared at her, then rubbed its face against her cheek as though it knew she needed comfort.

Reaching out, Belle gathered the pup into her arms. It looked to be the runt of the litter, possibly the ugliest of the three, but in that moment, the dog seemed so sweet, she couldn’t help but cuddle the wiggly little thing against her robe.

“I’m serious, Annabelle.” Kinley locked the bolt and followed her into the room. “I want to know who to murder horribly. Well, I want to know who to get Law to murder horribly. He used to be Special Forces. He told me he misses killing rat bastards sometimes, so you would be helping him out.”

Annabelle shook her head and sank onto the edge of the bed. Her room wasn’t anywhere near as opulent as Eric and Tate’s, but it was comfortable. “No murder, Kinley. I’m fine.”

She just had to be tough. So, it hadn’t worked out. Kell had wanted nothing to do with her. And in the end, Eric hadn’t seemed much more enthusiastic. Tate had been kinder, but he’d let her go, too. It was all right—or it would be once she figured out how to mend her broken heart. That might take a long while, but she’d bounce back. Somehow, she always did.

Belle scratched the puppy behind its ears and it immediately settled onto her lap, as if it belonged there.

Kinley sat down beside her. “I saw you leave the ballroom. All three of those lawyers stalked after you. I expected you to stay the night with them, but Jessa Lennox saw you fleeing their suite. I don’t guess you’re running back here to find some sexy lingerie, huh?”

How did she explain this to her best friend without sounding pathetic? “No. We tried. It didn’t work out.”

Kinley’s eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?”

She let her fingers sink into the puppy’s scraggly fur. “It means that we came to the conclusion that a sexual relationship between us wouldn’t work.”

Kinley’s delicate bow mouth dropped open. “That’s impossible, sweetie. No guy decides something can’t work sexually. Not if they’re attracted to you, and those three definitely are. Guys will usually just keep trying to please you so they can coax their way into your panties. Or they buy a ton of little blue pills.” She gasped. “Are you saying they…struggled?”

Not in any way, shape, or form. No, those were not men who needed any help—chemical or otherwise—to get hard. They’d all had massive erections…that had deflated the minute they found out she was a virgin. “Kinley, it doesn’t matter.”

Her bestie was like a dog with a bone. “It does. You’re hurt. You’ve been crying. Do you think I can’t tell? I want to know what happened.”

Kinley would twist her arm until she confessed. “They wanted someone with more experience.”

“More experience doing what exactly? Sex isn’t rocket science or brain surgery.”

“They just didn’t like that I was a virgin.” There. She couldn’t be freaking plainer.

The puppy’s tail thumped along her leg in time to the stroke of her hand petting its back. She found the rhythm soothing, enjoyed her connection to the little furry creature. Besides Kinley, she had no one else anymore.

“Unbelievable.” Kinley heaved a deep sigh. “God, sweetie. I’m so sorry. It’s inconceivable to me that they would be such assholes. But they’re men.”

A deep sense of weariness invaded her veins. They weren’t assholes, really. They were just men looking for something she didn’t have. “It’s fine. It was a mistake to think it could work anyway. The problem now is, what to do about the fact that I almost slept with my bosses.”

Almost, but not quite. God, she could still feel the heat of their bodies as they’d surrounded her. The pleasure of their touch had almost been too much to take. She’d been a different person when she’d lain across Kellan’s lap, offering herself up to all three of them, to their vision, their sensuality, their desire.

In the end, they hadn’t wanted what little she had to offer, so now she had to figure out where to go and what to do next.

Kinley stood and paced the room. “I just don’t understand.”

Of course she didn’t. She had three men who were crazy about her, who didn’t give a crap about anything except that she loved them. “It doesn’t matter. Just…please have my back when I say I can’t work there anymore.”

Her friend froze, her brows forming a confused V. “Of course you can’t work there anymore.” Her eyes narrowed, and Belle knew from experience that meant her friend was plotting something evil. “Unless you intend to very cleverly kill all three of them off. Again, I—with Law’s assistance—will totally help you.”

Annabelle couldn’t not laugh, and something deep inside her eased. Her best friend wouldn’t abandon her, no matter what. “I’ll be fine, hon. I’ll figure everything out. Shouldn’t you be with your husbands for your big ‘wedding’ night?”

“Not when you need me. They remember how you helped me.” Kinley glided across the room and dropped a gentle touch on her shoulder, her face soft with understanding. “Belle, you’re part of our family. We love you.”

Stupid tears. They were right there on the edge of her eyes again. “I love you all, too.”

They had been smart enough to love Kinley, to save her from a potentially murderous marriage. Belle had loathed Greg, Kinley’s fiancé. Dominic, Law, and Riley had stepped up to protect Kinley. So when Kellan, Eric, and Tate had formed a shield around Belle at the same time during all the danger, it had given her hope. They hadn’t allowed her to see or even talk to her friend while the threat was imminent. Kellan had put his whole career at risk to save Kinley, and it couldn’t be because he was such good friends with the Anders brothers and Dominic Anthony. So why had he gone out on such a limb?