Free Elemental Pleasure by Mari Carr Page B

hands down on one section of the desk. It popped down, then slid sideways. She walked over to a shiny black cabinet, then brought him a cold bottle of water before returning to her desk.
    Lance shook his head. People liked to say that DARPA had some of the best toys and most advanced technology on the planet, but clearly the private sector had better—and cooler—resources.
    They waited almost twenty minutes before the secretary lifted her head. “She’ll see you now.”
    The woman led them to one of the many doors in the wall of the round room. She opened it and motioned them in.
    Carly was there, though for a moment Lance didn’t recognize her. The woman who leaned against the desk was gorgeous, but in a completely different way from the ultra-feminine, polished woman he’d met in Boston.
    She wore dark je ans, riding low on her hips, and a tank top printed with the image of a pixilated video game character. Expensive headphones hung around her neck, the high-gloss white finish mirroring the gloss on her lips. Her hair was up in a simple ponytail that fell in soft waves down her back. She wore bracelets on both wrists, and they clacked as she unfolded her arms, bracing her palms on the edge of her glass desk.
    Lance positioned himself so he could see both her and the door. Now that he was here, he had no idea what to do or say. The woman standing before him radiated power and control. Either he hadn’t noticed that when they were in Boston, or he’d been too aroused to see much beyond the end of his dick.
    “Gentlemen.” She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. She wasn’t happy to see them. Her eyes were wary and her posture was tight, on guard. Had they done this to her? Given her a reason to fear them? “What can I help you with?”
    “You left us.” Lance wasn’t sure where the words came from or why it hurt so much to think about. His gut had been tied in knots ever since he and Preston woke to find her gone two days ago.
    “Yes. I left.” Her gaze focused on him. Lance wanted to grab her and kiss her, but he didn’t think that was wise. He couldn’ t be sure, but he suspected the look on her face—eyes narrowed, lips curled—meant she’d as soon bite him as kiss him back.
    “Carly, you need to talk to us, not just walk away.” Preston slid one hand into the pocket of his suit pants.
    “I’m sorry, but I can’t be a part of this.” Carly’s words were cool. “I plan to ask the Grand Master for different partners. You two shouldn’t suffer any repercussions.”
    “So that’s it? You’re backing out?” Lance felt as if she’d punched him in the stomach. What the hell had they done to make her so angry?
    Her cool blue gaze settled on him. “You’re damn right I am. I won’t be some plaything the two of you use to mediate your interactions. I told you I didn’t want that and you ignored me.”
    “We didn’t,” Preston insisted, “or at least we didn’t mean to.”
    “That woman…the woman I was in Boston is not who I really am, not who I want to be.” She licked her lips and looked away. She took a deep breath. “I’m not weak.”
    “That’s not what I, we, thoug ht you were.” Jesus. Weak? Is that how they’d made her feel? Lance ran a frustrated hand through his hair. One of the biggest perks of the Trinity Masters was that he didn’t have to think about this relationship shit. Math was black or white, right or wrong. Anything like th is—that fell into the gray area—left Lance at a loss for answers.
    “I’m sorry if we went too fast. I think we were caught up in the moment,” Preston said.
    Luckily for Lance, he had Preston. Right now , he needed to fall back and trust t hat Preston could get them on solid ground with her.
    “Exactly. And in that moment , I became some mindless sex toy who couldn’t think or speak for herself.” She shook her head. “All I cared about was the sex, the pleasure.”
    “I don’t understand why that’s a bad thing.”