Friends with Benefits (Club Risqué Book 5)

Chapter 24

It was beginning to feel a little like the movie, Groundhog Day. Once again, evening had fallen, once again Trinity was sitting in her office, and once again she was waiting for Christian to turn up and hoping for a different outcome this time around.

She still couldn”t believe that Micah had been so chilled about yesterday”s faux pas. He”d been far easier on her than she”d been on herself, a fact that he”d acknowledged when he”d commented that there was no point in him castigating her when she was doing such a good job of it, herself.

Just as Christian had suggested, Micah was well aware of everything that was going on and had a handle on it all, and Trinity knew there was very little that got past the man.

Still, that didn”t make it right… although she’d stopped short of accepting the public punishment in the dungeon, which Micah had finally offered when she wouldn”t stop criticising herself.

It was one thing to accept responsibility for her wrong doings; it was quite another to accept a public humiliation that might undermine her authority in her job. So, that had been the end of it—as Micah had no doubt intended. The man was scarily intuitive, even for a shrink.

Now Trinity was back to feeling awkward, and uncomfortable, and excited.

Yeah, she could admit it to herself. The thought of seeing Christian tonight had her wound up as tight as a coiled spring that was flexing under pressure, ready to violently release. Things could get quite combustible tonight if she didn”t watch herself.

Trinity had already made up her mind that she was not going to agree to intercourse with Christian…yet. It would muddy the water too much at this early stage.

She wanted to enjoy having him as her Dom without that additional dynamic drawing her focus away from the direct enjoyment of a scene with him.

Maybe she was just being selfish, but she knew that as soon as sex was added to the equation, there would be a whole new dimension added into the mix.

While they were initially getting to know each other in these new roles, she wanted to enjoy the simplicity of scening without all of the baggage that intercourse would bring with it.

Because it would. No matter how much they both insisted they could keep things in the present, sex would change everything.

Trinity was resolute. She also knew she was teetering on a fine line between cool, logical rationale and hot, sweaty desire. She was going to have to put her cards on the table as soon as Christian set foot through that door…before he had a chance to change her mind.

Not that she suspected him of being manipulative. Far from it, in fact.

It was herself she didn’t trust.

She might not know exactly how she felt about Christian as a person, especially the person—and the Dom—he was now, but even five years hadn”t dampened any of the desire she felt for him.

She knew her own limitations and weaknesses. Unless she told him at the outset and trusted in Christian”s innate integrity to endorse her wishes, she would cave in, fall at the first hurdle and be begging him to consummate their new covenant.

There was a distinct possibility she might do that anyway. Trinity wasn”t good at denying herself anything she really wanted. It just happened that she rarely ”really” wanted anything …except where Christian was concerned, obviously.

But she did trust him to hold things back if that”s what she asked him to do before they got started.

When she did have sex with him—and she would; she knew that right down to the tips of her red painted toes—she had just one condition.

And that was one she would discuss with him tonight.