Always (Follow Me #6)

Chapter Thirty-Four

I rise once more and snuff out all the candles. Now the only light visible is what shines in from the Boston Harbor through the massive windows.

The scent of candle wax drifts toward me.

“Braden?”

“Yes?”

“Why isn’t candle play a hard limit for you?”

A valid question. I don’t keep candles in my home. I stay away from open flames. Anyone who’s been through a housefire no doubt feels the same way.

But I trust myself with candles. The fire during my childhood wasn’t my fault. It was my father’s.

I don’t fear candles because I know the damage wasn’t mine to bear. I was just a child.

Breath play, on the other hand…

“Because I’m very careful,” I say. “It’s not play that I engage in frequently.”

“You don’t allow it in the club, though.”

I nod. “I don’t allow fire play in the club. Because it can lead to significant damage if not done properly. No insurance policy would cover it.”

“Is fire play different from candle play?”

“In my mind, yes. Taper candles made from soy wax—which doesn’t burn nearly as hot as paraffin or beeswax—don’t cause much risk if handled properly.”

“Would you, then?”

“Would I what?”

“Do it for me?”

I lift my eyebrows. “You’re interested in candle play?”

“The idea of hot wax on my nipples excites me.”

“All right, Skye. For you. I’ll do it for you.”

“But not here,” she says. “At the club.”

“I agree. My bedroom isn’t set up for candle play.”

She smiles at me. “I’ve never seen a candle here before tonight.”

“I got them especially for you. To give you the romantic atmosphere you deserve.”

“And it was perfect, Braden. The whole thing was absolutely perfect.”

“Yes, it was. You were a trouper, too. I know you experienced some pain, but you relaxed and worked through it.”

“A little. I mean, yeah, it was painful. Quite sharp at first, but… I don’t know. The pain was always there, but it turned into pleasure. Kind of like when you spanked me. It was perfect in its pain. If that makes any sense.”

“You like pain,” I say.

“No. Not really. I’m not a masochist. But I like pain when it brings me closer to you.”

God, her words…

In this moment, we are one, breathing together, in our own little universe of pain and pleasure.

“When will we go back to New York?” she asks.

“I don’t know. I want to give you some time to continue to work through things before we go back to the club.”

“Oh, I wasn’t even talking about the club. Eugenie wants to meet with me again about a new social media campaign built around some of my hashtags. I need to talk to you about—” A yawn splits her face.

“You’re exhausted, and frankly, so am I. You can tell me all about Eugenie’s new brainchild in the morning. After our soak in the tub.”

“A bath?”

I nod. “A soak will help ease your soreness.”

“I’m not sore down there. Really.”

“Not now. You’re still on a high from the orgasm. You will be sore in the morning. Trust me.” I brush my lips over hers. “Now go to sleep.”

“Mmm. Deal.” She closes her eyes—

Only to shoot them open again when her phone buzzes.

“Ignore it,” I say.

“Ha! You know I can’t do that any more than you can.”

I chuckle. “I know.”

She rummages the phone out of her purse on the nightstand. “Hey, Tess,” she says into the phone, stifling another yawn.

Tessa. A good sign. Skye and her best friend have been having issues, and I’m happy they’re working it all out.

Then…

“Yeah? Are you okay?” Skye jerks upward, eyes wide. “What’s the matter? Why are you crying?”

Fuck.

This can’t be good.

“Okay, okay. Calm down. What do you need?” Skye asks.

Pause .

“Okay.”

Pause .

“Tess, I—”

Pause .

“Okay, okay. Calm down. Where are you? I’ll come to you.”

Pause .

“Did you ask him to stay?”

And a longer pause.

“Are you drinking?” Skye asks.

Pause .

“Tell me you didn’t take anything else. Please.”

Uh-oh .

That can’t be good.

I don’t know Tessa Logan well. She’s Skye’s best friend, and they’ve been struggling lately.

But Tessa adores Skye. Would do anything for her. When Skye bonded with her pup, Penny, it was Tessa who called and asked me to adopt the dog for Skye, since Skye’s place doesn’t allow pets.

Penny and my dog, Sasha, are at an overnight dog spa. I didn’t want any potential interruptions tonight.

But I didn’t count on Tessa Logan being one.

“Yeah. Sure,” Skye says. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Hang in there, okay?”

I hate the thought of Skye leaving my bed, but she won’t let her best friend down. I wouldn’t want her to.

“No need to thank me. Get a hold of yourself, and I’ll be there soon.” Skye shoves the phone into her purse. “Braden, I need to leave. Tessa’s in a bad way.”

“I’ll drive you.”

“You don’t have to. I’ll call an Uber. Besides, you gave Christopher the night off.”

“I can drive, you know.”

She smiles weakly. “Thank you. This means a lot to me. I’m so sorry. After our wonderful night.”

I dress, adding shoes to my jeans and button-down while Skye heads to her bedroom at my place. When she descends in a comfy cotton T-shirt and fleece joggers, I’m waiting for her at the elevator.

“My cars are all in the garage in the basement of the building.”

“Cars?” she asks, and then, “Of course, cars. You’re Braden Black. You have more than one car.”

I have ten, to be exact, but that doesn’t matter when her friend is in potential trouble.

I lead her toward my forest green Jaguar and open the door for her.

Once I’m in the car, Skye gives me Tessa’s address, and I plug it into the GPS. Then I turn to her. “It will help if you tell me what’s going on.”

She nods, swallowing. “I’ll tell you on the way.”

I turn on the engine and pull out of the parking space. I’ll give her a minute.

Finally, she says, “I made a mistake.”

“How so?”

“I was selfish. I…” She sighs. “Tessa wanted me to go to dinner tonight with her and Garrett.”

“Ramirez? They’re back together?”

“I guess. I don’t know. He seems to have some kind of spell over her. Tessa is never this silly over a man.”

I have my own feelings about Garrett Ramirez and the architecture firm he works for, and Skye knows all about them. But I stay silent and let her continue.

“Please don’t tell her I told you this, but she slept with him tonight.”

I raise my eyebrows.

“That’s why she wanted me to go to dinner with them. She didn’t think she could control herself around him, and she didn’t want to sleep with him.” She shakes her head. “This isn’t like Tessa at all. She’s always been able to handle men. She usually has them eating out of her hands. You know how gorgeous she is.”

Tessa Logan is indeed supermodel gorgeous, with an olive complexion, deep brown eyes, and flowing onyx hair. Not to mention her model-perfect body. But I’ve had my fill of the vapid celebrity type. Not that Tessa is vapid. I don’t know her well enough to have an impression. Not being able to control herself with Garrett Ramirez, though?

I smell a rat.

A big fucking rat.

“Anyway, she was crying on the phone. She said he screwed her and then left. Said he had a meeting in the morning. But tomorrow’s Sunday, Braden. Who has a meeting on a Sunday morning?”

I let out a slight huff without meaning to.

“Sorry,” she says with sarcasm. “I forgot who I was talking to.”

“Just go on,” I say.

“She’s been drinking, but that’s not what concerns me.”

“What does concern you, then?”

“The last time she and Garrett had a falling out, she…” Skye bites on her lower lip.

“You may as well tell me, Skye,” I say. “I’m in this now. I need to know what we’re dealing with.”

“She took ecstasy,” Skye says. “And that surprised the hell out of me. Tessa doesn’t do drugs.”

“Did she seem high to you?”

“She certainly wasn’t herself,” Skye says. “But how would I even know? She and I have had some rough patches, and this is all my fault, Braden.”

“How can it possibly be your fault?”

“Because she asked me to have dinner, and I said no. I said no because I didn’t want to cancel on you.”

“Skye…”

“She misses me. She thinks I’ve been absent from her life because I’m so taken with you. And she’s partly right, Braden.” Skye sniffles.

“This isn’t your fault, Skye. Tessa is a grown woman. She doesn’t need a babysitter. If she was that worried about not being able to resist Garrett, she could have broken the date herself.”

“I know. I just feel terrible. I put you over her again. I… I wanted to be with you tonight, Braden. You and I went through a rough patch, too, and I was ready for tonight. I yearned for it. I can’t bring myself to be sorry it happened.”

“No one is asking you to be. Not even Tessa.”

“She kind of is. She said she needed me tonight. And I wasn’t there for her.”

Before I can reply, we arrive at Tessa’s building.

“You may as well go home,” Skye says. “I should stay with her tonight.”

I nod. “I’ll walk you up. It’s late.”

She kisses my cheek. “I’ll be okay.”

“I’m walking you up, Skye. It’s not up for debate.” I slide out of the car and open the passenger door for her.

A few minutes later, Skye knocks on Tessa’s door. Tessa opens it, her face streaked with tears, and her eyes…strange, like one is looking the other way or something, but not quite.

Damn. I’ve seen that look.

She’s on something.

“Hey,” Tessa says weakly. “Hi, Braden.”

“Hello, Tessa.” I walk straight into her apartment, taking command. “What can we do for you?”

“Braden…” Skye begins.

Does she expect me to walk in here and not take charge? That’s not how I’m wired. Tessa needs help, and I’m wired to find solutions.

“Have you eaten?” I ask Tessa.

“I had dinner with Garrett.”

I look around. A nearly empty bottle of vodka sits on the coffee table. I pick it up. “How much of this have you had?”

“Braden…” Skye says again.

“A few shots,” Tessa replies.

A few shots? It could be the truth, if the bottle was two thirds of the way gone before this evening.

Skye grabs my arm and steers me out the door. “She doesn’t need to be interrogated,” she whispers. “Please, just go.”

Leaving goes against all my instinct, but Tessa is Skye’s friend, not mine. I don’t want to come between their friendship any more than I already have.

I cup her cheek. “Call me if you need anything.”

“I will.” She closes the door.