A Shot in the Dark Read online

  “Okay, I’m sorry. You’re superwoman.”

  “And don’t you forget it.”

  He tightened his hold around her. “What are we going to do about Rick?”

  “We?” Rolling her head to the side, she dug her chin further into his chest and ignored his wince. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to even lay eyes on him.”

  “I know assholes like him. Now that he knows you’re trying to get back into the scene, he’ll do whatever he can to get to you. You pissed him off by walking away. He’s not going to let you forget him while you go off with another Dom.” He shifted, letting his fingers trace down her back. “If you decide that’s even what you want to do.”

  Until she’d run into Carter, Paige hadn’t considered dating anyone else. She’d been tempted to try an anonymous club, but the idea of being surrounded by strangers, letting someone tie her up and push her limits, hadn’t held an appeal. Then again, Carter had been a stranger until recently, and she felt like she’d known him for years.

  Resting her cheek against his chest, Paige was beginning to think she could be happy if she could deal with Rick once and for all.

  “If I met the right person, I might be convinced.”

  “The right person?”

  “He would have to be a good listener, but someone who knows when to push my buttons. He also needs to have an active imagination so I can try weird and wonderful new things.”

  Her head was jostled as he chuckled. “You liked that, huh?”

  “Yup.” She kissed his chest. “Unexpected too.”

  “You were too.”

  “Not a bad thing, I hope.”

  Weaving his fingers through her hair, he placed a kiss to the top of her head. “Not even a little. In fact, I think it might be one of the better things to have ever happened to me.”

  The sudden tightness in her throat choked off any response she could verbalize. Silently, she promised herself she would deal with Rick, say goodbye to him once and for all and move on with her life.

  Because for the first time in years, Paige had something and someone to look forward to.

  Chapter Seven

  Mavericks was packed tighter than Paige ever remembered seeing. The throng of people pulsed with the beat of the music, writhing and grinding together on the dance floor. There was a never-ending parade of people to the various stations Josh had set up around the main room. Spanking benches, leather cuffs hanging from chains along the wall, the St. Andrew’s Cross, all were being used.

  Paige would have preferred to be flogged.

  Her call to Rick’s cell phone had been the most nerve-racking one of her life, made all the worse by his calm, almost smug reaction. He’d agreed too easily to her suggestion to meet at the club, and the idea of needing to dress the part knowing he’d be here to see her had her skin crawling.

  Carter had wanted to come with her when she’d suggested the meeting a few days ago, but she’d said no.

  “I need to do this on my own if he’s ever going to listen to me.”

  She could tell by his expression he was less than pleased.

  “Paige, you don’t know what he’ll do once he gets you alone.”

  “Then I won’t let him get me alone.” She took his hand and squeezed his fingers hard. “I don’t know where we’re going yet, but if I don’t work this out, I know I’ll always have this lingering doubt about our relationship. Let me handle Rick.”

  “I don’t like this.”

  Carter’s intentions were pure, but she needed to do this her way. It was the reason she’d arranged to meet Rick on a night Carter was working at the station. The well-meaning bastard would try and show up otherwise.

  Josh kept circling around her table but made no move to approach her. He probably assumed she was meeting Carter and for once wasn’t going to interfere. Lucky her.

  Paige swallowed down the last of her rye and ginger, scanning the crowd once more for Rick. It was typical, him keeping her waiting like this. It had always made her feel uncomfortable, doubting both the information he’d given her and her own resolve to stay for him. She’d never dared get up and leave when they were in a relationship—tonight she was tempted to see what would happen.

  At ten minutes to midnight, she finally caught sight of Rick pushing his way through the crowd toward her. Smoothing her hands down across her leather-clad thighs, Paige sat up straight.

  “You’re late,” she said as soon as he reached the side of the table.

  “I was busy.” He didn’t sit down, instead crossed his arms and looked down at her. “Let’s go somewhere private.”

  “No.” There was no way she’d fall for that. “We do this here or we don’t do it at all.”

  Rick stared for several long seconds before grinning. “I see you’ve grown a backbone over the years.”

  “I’ve learned what my rights are and where the line is. Something I don’t think you’ve figured out yet.”

  Rick fell into the seat beside her and propped his feet up on the table. “Bitchy little Paige. Your bark was always stronger than your bite.” He licked his lips as his gaze roamed over her body. “You wanted to talk. I’m here to talk.”

  Still, after all this time, it was a challenge to meet his gaze directly and speak. The years had been kind to him, his good looks now being augmented by the slightly graying hair at his temples. He was every bit as cool and confident as he’d been when they’d first met.

  Taking a breath, Paige steadied herself. “I know you’ve come back to town to work. I know you are aware that I came here last week and I met someone.”

  “I heard he took you upstairs too. How did that work out for you, little girl? Did he press all your buttons the way that you liked? Did you keep comparing him to me?”

  The memory of Carter, his face buried between her legs, making her scream, only to refuse to fuck her because he wanted to get to know her, sprang to mind. “I can honestly say I didn’t think of you once after I got up there.”

  Rick dropped his feet to the floor with a thud and leaned into her. “You were mine for two years. I know you better than you know yourself. Better than some jackass who followed you home one night and spanked your ass. He did spank you, didn’t he, Paige? You always liked that.”

  “What we did is none of your goddamn business. That’s why I wanted to meet you here tonight. We were through the night you punched me. I will never get back with you. You have nothing to offer me. I originally stopped coming here because I didn’t want any reminders of you. But no more.”

  Pushing away from him, Paige rose to her feet. “You don’t scare me, Rick. I don’t need you to be happy. You don’t make me unhappy either. You’re no longer a blip in my life that impacts me one way or the other. I’ve moved on and I suggest you do too.”

  She tried to step away only to have Rick grab her arm.

  “We’re not done talking.”

  “Yes, we are. I plan to continue coming here to play and spend time with my friends. If I’m lucky, I’ll be here with someone who I hope will become serious about me. But even if that doesn’t happen, he’s helped me realize that I’m not going to let you have control over my life anymore. Goodbye, Rick. I hope you have a happy life, but stay the hell out of mine.”

  Jerking her arm free, Paige managed to keep the smile from her face as she walked past him toward the door. She’d nearly escaped when Josh caught her.

  “Everything okay?” He nodded toward Rick. “I’d be more than happy to throw his ass out if he’s giving you a hard time.”

  Paige knew she should have done this ages ago, but admitting the truth was far harder than she ever thought possible. “Remember when I stopped coming?”

  Josh nodded.

  “Rick punched me in the back of the head. I went to the hospital, but there was no permanent damage. I left him shortly after that.”

  Josh closed his eyes and for a split second, Paige knew he would kill Rick if she gave her blessing. “Why didn�
��t you say anything?”

  “Before I didn’t realize he was crossing a line. When he went too far, I was embarrassed. I should have known it wasn’t normal, some of the things he was doing to me, but I was too new to the scene and he kept me pretty isolated when it came to talking to other people. I figured it was me, that I had the problem.”

  “You won’t have to worry about him bothering you at Mavericks again. His membership will be revoked tonight and his money returned. If he did that to you, chances are he’ll do it to someone else.”

  Paige knew she shouldn’t feel thankful, but she did. “I’m going to head home and call Carter. I know he’ll be fuming when he finds out I did this alone.”

  “I think he would surprise you. Carter cares about you and doesn’t want to see you get hurt. He won’t care that you did things on your own, only that you’re safe. Which you are.” Josh glanced behind her, but Paige didn’t want to turn and see. Chances were he was glaring at Rick, and he was the last person she wanted to see.

  “I’m going to catch a cab. I’m sure we’ll see you next week.”

  “Let me get it for—”

  “Josh, I’m fine. It’s a cab out front.” She rolled her eyes for good measure. “I’m not going to be walking anywhere far dressed like this.”

  “Only if you’re sure?”

  “I am. Thanks.”

  The early autumn air had turned cool, making her shiver as she waited for a cab. It wouldn’t be long before one would eventually show. The laughter from people going in and out of the club brought a smile to her face. Finally, after a long time sleepwalking, she was awake and feeling more like herself.

  Thoughts of what she and Carter could do together, everything from scenes they could act out, to things she’d like to do with him around the city, filled her head. He had a slightly evil streak too. The other morning he’d threatened to slip in her bullet vibrator with the wireless remote and tease her with it all day long.

  The scary thing was she was hoping he would do it.

  A cab turned the corner and started toward her when a hand fell heavily on her shoulder. Rick pulled her a step away from the curb and into the shadow of the building.

  “What the fuck, Rick? Let me go.”

  “I wasn’t done talking to you.” Pressing her to the brick wall, Rick kept his grip tight on her shoulder, cutting off her leverage.

  “What you don’t seem to understand is that I’m done with you. You can’t control my life and there’s no way you’re getting back into it. Now let me go or else you’re going to learn the hard way that I’m not someone you can screw around with anymore.”

  Paige was shaking, but it wasn’t from fear. Anger had her focus narrowed down to Rick, her body growing numb as she tried to get herself under control. Something must have shown on her face because in the next moment, Rick was pulling back from her, frowning.

  “What the hell has gotten into you?”

  “I’ve grown up and figured out more than a few things about my life.” She pushed his hand away and this time he didn’t stop her. “I’m not the fucked-up girl who was dealing with her mom’s death and a dad who didn’t want much to do with his kids. I figured if I hurt enough on the outside, then the inside wouldn’t matter. But I clued in that what you were doing to me and what I was doing to myself wasn’t helping.”

  “You needed it. Everything I did to you.”

  Paige pushed his shoulder. “No, jackass. I get aroused by someone else being in control. For those moments I get to set the rules, but someone else is taking care of me for a change. It wasn’t about the pain. Not the way you thought it was.” She pushed him again and this time he stepped away. “And it certainly didn’t give you the right to punch me in the head!”

  Rick shook his head but didn’t say anything else. Relief washed through her when she realized he wasn’t going to do anything. Taking a breath, she stepped past him out into the streetlight once more.

  “I’m going home. I’m tired. You are not invited. You’re not invited back to the club or my life, in fact, anyplace near me. There is no us. There won’t be an us again. Please, for once listen to me and leave me alone.”

  Paige would never be certain if Rick would have agreed with her or not. Before the words barely had a chance to leave her mouth, a shout from behind her had them both spinning.

  “Hey!”

  The expression of rage on Carter’s face was terrifying. He was dressed in an old gray T-shirt and his uniform pants. The loud echo of his boot-clad feet on the sidewalk sent Paige into a panic.

  “Carter?” Shit, shit, shit.

  “Is that your new fucking boyfriend? Yeah, sure you’ve changed, Paige.”

  “He was supposed to be working tonight.”

  Carter reached for her and pulled Paige to his side before she could stop him. “Did he touch you? If you’ve laid as much as a finger on her—”

  “Carter, I’m fine—”

  Rick jerked Paige out of Carter’s grasp and shoved her aside. “And who the fuck are you to tell me what I can and can’t do? We were having a conversation before you showed up to play asshole.”

  “Boys, stop it—”

  “Conversation? It looked like she was trying to get away from you, and you weren’t taking no for an answer. Big man picking on a lady. Does that turn you on, asshole?”

  “Carter!”

  He jerked his head around to start at her. “What?”

  “I’m fine. I want to go home.”

  Every emotion running through her was bound to be on her face. Dammit, this was the reason she’d done this on a night he’d been working. The confrontation wasn’t worth the payoff. Rick would never back down from something like this. Doing her best to silently beg him, Paige held her breath and hoped Carter understood.

  Please walk away.

  Carter ran a hand across the back of his neck. “I don’t like him giving you a hard time.”

  “He’s not and he won’t be coming around here anymore. Will you?”

  Rick stared at her before letting his gaze shift to Carter. “She’s not worth my fucking time.”

  All the tension from the past three years lifted. “Good. Now, Carter, since you no longer appear to be working, please take me—”

  “The little cunt is all used up now anyway.”

  The next few seconds slowed down to next to nothing. Carter stepped around her, without touching her coat, to slip between her and Rick. He grabbed Rick by the collar of his shirt and pulled back his fist before letting it fly into Rick’s face. She could only watch helplessly as Rick crashed to the ground in a heap. He rolled on the ground, moaning and clutching his chin.

  Time came rushing back, along with her ability to think. “What the hell, Carter!”

  Within a matter of seconds, the bouncers from Mavericks were out on the street with them, bringing Josh not far behind. He scooped Paige and Carter up in his arms and directed them away from the mess that was Rick.

  “I suggest the two of you go for a walk. I’ll clean this up.”

  Carter jerked out of his grasp. “I don’t need you doing anything, Josh. I’ll take care of this asshole once and for all.”

  “Carter, get yourself under control,” Josh said, keeping his distance. “Go for a walk and cool down. I don’t want to see you back here tonight.”

  Paige left the two men behind her and made her way toward the coffee shop.

  “Paige!”

  “I don’t believe you.” Paige increased her pace. Who the hell did he think he was, punching Rick and generally stepping in where he wasn’t invited? She hadn’t asked him to do anything—shit, she wasn’t sure Carter was even the man she wanted to date, let alone have him running around defending her honor.

  “Paige!”

  She stopped dead and spun around to face him, not caring who else was around to witness their impending fight. “What?”

  “Will you talk to me?” His face was strangely shadowed in the dim overhead light from
the street lamp. “Are you hurt? Did he do anything?”

  “You think it would have been too much trouble for you to have asked that before you knocked him unconscious?”

  “He called you a cunt. What the hell did you expect me to do?”

  “Maybe trust that I had things under control and was dealing with him in my own way.”

  “You tell me he punched you in the back of the head and put you in the hospital, and you want me to trust him enough to be around you alone? Everything else aside, does that sound even remotely reasonable to you?”

  “Of course it doesn’t sound reasonable. If it was Sadie or Ian doing something like that I would have kicked their asses.” Paige turned and continued her trek to the shop, acutely aware of Carter’s presence half a step behind her. “But I also know myself. It may have taken me a few years to figure it out, but I have. If I hadn’t done that on my own, I would never feel like I was free from him.”

  Carter’s hand on her shoulder had her slowing down until she stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, her gaze locked on the store ahead of her.

  “Paige, I’m not him.”

  The seemingly out-from-left-field statement made complete and utter sense to her. “I can’t know that. Rick wasn’t like that when I first met him either. You’re…you do things that make me question myself. Sure it feels amazing at the time, but I could easily find myself going too far and getting hurt again. If I hadn’t dealt with Rick once and for all, how could I trust myself to deal with…?” She swallowed hard, suddenly feeling guilty.

  “How could you deal with me?” Carter’s hand disappeared. “I guess you’re right. How could you ever trust yourself with a man who wants to push you to your limits and help you get over them? How could you let yourself go and be happy when you’re always second-guessing the other person’s motivations?”

  “Carter, I—” She turned to face him, but he was already backing away from her.

  “It’s fine, Paige. I guess we did things a bit on the fast side. I’m glad you’ve worked things out in your head and dealt with Rick.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “Back to work.”