“Look! Over there. Do you see it?” Jesse said from the wooden platform at the top of Lookout Point, where locals and tourists came and watched the whales during migration season. He had a pair of binoculars in his hand, the ones I’d given him this morning, and a bright smile on his face even as a light mist fell from the sky.

When I’d picked him up Thursday evening, I’d told him to pack enough clothes for a couple of nights. I wanted to get him away from all that was familiar. His place, his work, and yes, Brayden. I didn’t like that that little fucker had managed to plant a seed of doubt in Jesse’s head, and had decided a trip away with just the two of us was exactly what was needed to get him back in the mindset I wanted him in. The look on Jesse’s face told me that my plan to isolate him wasn’t unwanted. Not because he suspected I was taking him there to reestablish I was the most important person to him, but because he thought I was taking him away somewhere romantic for a few days to get closer to him. I supposed I was, in my own warped way—and for that reason, I’d let him believe his romanticized notions, because they worked in my favor.

“Come here,” Jesse said, waving to me, and I walked up to stand beside him. Jesse leaned in close, handed me the binoculars, and pointed ahead. “Do you see? Directly ahead, there’s four of them.”

I brought the binoculars up and looked out across the Puget Sound, not really caring about the whales cresting the waves. Having lived in the Pacific Northwest all my life, I’d seen dozens of whales. What I was interested in was the man beside me and what made him tick, and apparently whisking Jesse Clark across the sound to Hidden Cove Island for an “intimate” weekend had been spot-on—he was glowing.

“This is so awesome,” he said, bouncing up on his toes to kiss my cheek as he slid his hand through the crook of my elbow, hugging into my side. I lowered the binoculars and turned to look down at his dewy skin and rosy lips, and while I had specific reasons for bringing him out here with me, one of the perks was most certainly having that face staring up at me. A face that was so familiar and yet so very different all at once.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself,” I said, and brushed my thumb across his lips.

“Are you kidding me? This place is”—he looked back out across the water—“I don’t know, magical. It’s so quiet out here and peaceful. So untouched.”

Quiet…

Untouched…

Isolated…

Yes…it’s all of those things.

“I’m so glad you brought me here,” Jesse said as he rested his head on my shoulder. “It’s exactly what I needed.”

“Tough first week?” I asked, shifting around to face him, and when our eyes caught, Jesse looked away from me. I’d been watching Jesse long enough now that I was intimately attuned to every subtle nuance of his facial and body language, and over the last couple of days I had noticed something had been eating away at him. That had been another reason I’d decided to bring him here. I needed Jesse to trust me. To come to me when he had an issue. To see me as the one who could fix it. I wanted him to put his problems in my hands so I could crush them.

“Tougher than I expected,” he said, but then he flashed a bright smile at me. “But I don’t want to talk about that right now. It’s beautiful here. I want to enjoy it.”

I reached out and ran my hand over his damp hair to the back of his neck, and dug my fingers into the supple skin there, directing him to face me, and when Jesse turned his head, I said, “If you have a problem, I want to know about it.”

He licked at the moisture on his lips and stepped in close to me, then he arched his head back into my grip as if he enjoyed the hold I had over him. An invitation to my dark side if ever there was one.

“I just want to enjoy being here with you,” Jesse said. “You’re never this relaxed. Jeans, sneakers, and a windbreaker. Let’s just be for now.”

Though he was right about my attire, he was dead wrong on my being relaxed. His immediate responsiveness to every touch I gave to him made me want to drag him into the thick wooded area surrounding us and strip him bare—among other more depraved things—and the thought wouldn’t leave me.

I knew it was dangerous for Jesse to be around me when I was like this. That the reason he was up on this lookout by himself with me was because I’d orchestrated the perfect situation to make Jesse want to be there. I’d known from the first moment I’d seen him at the den that he’d bring to the surface desires I’d buried long ago for good reasons. Yet I’d been unable to stay away, and now here we were a whisper away from something I was desperately trying not to give in to.

“Be careful what you wish for, little lamb,” I told him, and when he merely grinned at me, I knew he wasn’t grasping the gravity of his situation. But then again, why would he? I played my part to perfection.

“Too late,” Jesse whispered, and moved up to his toes to skim his lips over mine. “You’re already here.”

When he was about to pull away, I backed him up against the rail and tightened my fingers at the back of his neck before I crushed my lips down on top of his and took his groan of pleasure deep inside my mouth, tasting his desire on my tongue as he tangled his with mine.

He was sweet. And that was the addiction here. That would be his undoing. I was drawn to that. I was lured by the side of Jesse that I had never possessed—it had been the same way with Lee.

“You need to work on your wishes. Don’t you know you’re supposed to wish for good things?”

“And you aren’t good?” Jesse asked, his eyes glazed over and a beatific smile playing across his lips.

I nipped at his lower lip and then sucked it into my mouth as I thrust my hips up against his, and when he whimpered, I shook my head. “I’m anything but good.”

“Then maybe I wished for something a little bit…bad.”

I chuckled and made myself step back from him, knowing if this continued there’d be nothing little about how bad I could get. I held out my hand to him. “Have you seen enough for today?”

Jesse slipped his hand into mine, and that gesture of trust, that immediate acceptance that I would lead him down a path to somewhere glorious, sent a rush of elation straight up my spine.

“Yes. And I’m a bit wet from the rain. Maybe you could take me back to the B&B and help me rectify that problem.”

Yes, it sent a thrill up my spine because Jesse had no idea how wrong he was.

* * *

“Are you sure we can’t stay another night?” I said later that evening, as I lounged across Tor’s bare chest. I made languid strokes up and down the ridges of his abs, running my fingers down the dark trail of hair that led beneath the sheet covering his hips. This quick getaway had been exactly what I’d needed, though I hadn’t let on to Tor about any of it. Not the reality check I’d gotten about what interns actually did, and I definitely hadn’t mentioned anything about my encounter with King, or the fact that he’d just happened to turn up at random times the rest of the week. He wasn’t exactly hiding the fact that he was watching me now, and I knew I’d eventually have to tell Tor. But for now, I was completely blissed out in his arms in the king-size bed we had for another handful of hours.

“I wish we could, but I’ve got some things to handle at the den tomorrow, since Trinity is off.”

“Who’s Trinity?”

“My right hand at the den.”

“Oh.” I planted a kiss on one of his pecs. “That’s okay. I should probably see what Brayden’s up to anyway, since I’ve skipped out on our movie nights.”

The arm Tor had around me tightened, and when I lifted my head, I saw his jaw clench.

“That’s okay, right?” I said, sitting up on my elbow.

Tor gave me a close-lipped smile. “Of course.”

“He’s just my friend. No benefits.” I winked, hoping to lighten the sudden tension I felt radiating off him.

He took a hold of my chin and brought my head down to his, kissing away my worries. “I know.”

“Good.” I pushed off the sheet and sat on the edge of the bed to pull back on my briefs. “Do you want a soda?”

Tor’s eyes glimmered in the darkness as they traveled down my body. “Did I say you could put those back on?”

A smile twisted my lips. “No, you didn’t.”

“Take them off.”

“Hmm.” I fingered the edge of the elastic band and backed away slowly. “I guess if you want them off, you’ll have to come make me.” Then I turned and ran out of the room, and even if I hadn’t heard Tor leaping out of the bed, I would’ve known he’d follow. He couldn’t resist a chase.

I skidded into the kitchen, barely reaching the fridge before I felt Tor behind me, and as I went to open the door, his hand shot out and slapped it shut. Then he grabbed my wrist and spun me around to face him, shoving in close so that my back pressed against the cold door, and I gasped.

“You think it’s fun to disobey an order, do you?” he growled as his hands rested on the top of the door to barricade me in.

I was breathless as I looked up at him. The ferocious scowl on Tor’s face should’ve been intimidating, and it was, but it also aroused me in a way I didn’t fully understand. Which was why instead of cowering, I smiled. “Yes,” I said, and I could tell that wasn’t the answer Tor wanted to hear, because his naked hips jammed into mine, his cock rock hard and ready to teach me a lesson. I responded by lifting my hips, and a strangled groan left him.

“You have no idea the trouble you invite, little lamb.”

He’d warned me before, told me he was into things that might scare me, that I wouldn’t understand. But I’d thought a lot about it over the last few days, and I’d come to a decision. “I want to know,” I said, leaning forward to kiss his collarbone. “Whatever you’re into, whatever I can do to please you… I want to.”

Tor’s head fell back as my lips moved down his chest, and he sighed. “You think you’re ready for that, do you?”

“Yes.”

Quick as a flash, Tor’s hands were in my hair, pulling my head back to look up at him, and he searched my eyes. I had no hesitation in opening up to him, and I hoped that whatever he saw there would show him that. His forehead creased as he said, “If I tell you what you want to know, that means you have to reciprocate.”

“Reciprocate how?”

“You’re hiding something from me,” he murmured, his hand moving down to massage the back of my neck. “Tell me what it is.”

Instinctively, my eyes left his so he wouldn’t see that he was right, but he steered me back to face him. His gaze penetrated, and if I didn’t open my mouth soon, he’d somehow find a way to see through my secret.

“I, um, ran into someone this week at work. This guy from the den—”

“Who?”

“He calls himself King.” I rolled my eyes. “I doubt that’s his real name, but he’s such a douchebag he tells everyone it is.”

The expression that crossed Tor’s face then was thunderous, and the grip on my neck turned painful. “What did he want?”

“To be annoying?”

“I’m serious. What did he want with you?”

I tried to move my neck, and Tor loosened his grip slightly. “He said he saw us at the gala. That if I was with you then I liked to play hard to get, and he was implying he could do a better job, I guess. He’s creepy as shit, and—” I stopped, not wanting to voice what I’d really been thinking in case Tor thought I was being delusional.

“And what?” he said through clenched teeth. “Tell me.”

Here goes nothin’. “This is gonna sound ridiculous, but…the past few weeks I’ve felt like someone’s been following me. Like I get this feeling in my gut that someone’s watching me, and it’s happened so many times. The night at the den, I felt it the whole way home. At the farmers’ market. Going to work. I thought I was imagining things, but I don’t think I am. I think King’s been following me. He even said he’d been watching me.”

I’d never truly believed Tor when he said he wasn’t a good man. I’d never believed he could hurt anyone, but right then, I was glad we weren’t in the same city as King, because with the way Tor’s nostrils flared and he took two steps back, fists clenching by his sides, he looked murderous.

“But it’s fine. It’s not a big deal, really. I can handle it,” I said, but he looked ready to hop on the nearest ferry and drive back to Westport.

“Did he touch you?” Tor asked, his voice so low and menacing that I could barely hear it.

“No. I mean, he grabbed my elbow once, but not, like, in a sexual way, no.”

Tor stared at me for a long moment, his chest heaving, and when I took a step toward him, he backed away before turning and sprinting back down the hallway.

“Wait…Tor. What are you doing?” I took off after him, and as I rounded the corner into the bedroom, I saw him pulling on his pants. “Where are you going? You’re not leaving.”

“I can’t be here right now.”

“Why? You told me to tell you—”

“And you were right for telling me.”

“But now you’re going to leave?” I blocked his path and put my hand on his chest. “Don’t be mad. Please, Tor. Don’t let him ruin our weekend.”

Tor grabbed my wrist, but didn’t pull my hand away from him. “I’m not mad at you. But I don’t like people touching what’s mine. And you’re fucking mine.”

The possessive tone sent a thrill through me, even as I worried about what he would do with this new information. He wouldn’t leave and go after him or anything, would he?

Okay, change the subject, calm him down…

I brushed my thumb across his chest, trying to soothe the rapid beat of his heart that I could feel against my hand.

“You promised,” I said. “I told you what you wanted to know, and now it’s my turn.”

“Now’s not a good time for that, Jesse.”

“I say it is.”

Tor’s eyes were so hard they could crack crystals. “You want to know what turns me on? The shit that gets me off? That’s what you want?”

“Yes.”

Tor’s fingers tightened around my wrist. “Fear,” he said, and then bent my arm behind my back and hauled me in until my body was flush to his.

“You’ve told me that, and I’m still here, so there has to be something more.” I shifted against him, loving the feel of his muscles pressed up against mine. “You said I needed to think about it then tell you if I was ready. I’m telling you that I am.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Then tell me.”

“Pain,” he said, and my eyes must’ve widened, because a sinister smile curved his lips, as though he thought he’d won this round and that I’d run away, but I didn’t. I stood there silently and waited for him to continue. “Specifically, your pain. If we do this, if you don’t let me walk the fuck out that door and calm down, then you need to be ready for what comes next.”

My entire body trembled under the power of his stare. He wasn’t letting me look anywhere but at him. Making sure I knew he wasn’t playing, and the violence shimmering off him in waves told me he wasn’t. He was serious. This was what he wanted, and as his short nails dug into my wrists to the point I knew he’d broken skin, my cock stiffened, because as jacked up as this was, Tor was teaching me things about myself I never knew, and one of those things was that I liked this side of him. I liked seeing him this wound up. And even though every logical part of my brain said walk away, I heard myself whisper, “I’m ready. Show me.”