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she was ready to go beyond this session.
    “Permission
to answer honestly?” she asked.
    “Of course. You don’t have to hide anything. You’ve been a
perfect sub tonight and I’d like to take it further.”
    “I— Thank you. It’s very flattering to be asked. But I— There’s someone…”
    “Someone
special?” he asked.
    “Yes.”
    She
pushed back the sadness.
    “I
enjoyed tonight very much, but I don’t think I’m ready to step into this again
with a stranger.”
    “How about with me?”
    The
blindfold was whipped off, a slide of silk against her skin. She blinked
against the sudden, dim light. And she found herself staring into Sean Murphy’s
eyes. Shock speared through her, paralyzing her at first. For a moment she was
so stunned she could do nothing but look at him. All the feelings of anger and
betrayal swept through her again with such force she could barely breathe.
    Once
she caught her breath she intently studied him. This wasn’t the Sean Murphy
she’d last seen. His eyes were older, as if they’d seen things in the pit of
Hell. A thin scar ran from his right eyebrow to his cheekbone and a light beard
covered his jawline. She glanced down his body and saw scars everywhere, some
thin, others thicker. She couldn’t imagine what terrible things had happened to
him to cause them.
    He
brought one hand up to caress her cheek.
    “You
have every right to hate me, Jo. I can imagine what you thought when I left.
What you still think.”
    Something
snapped inside her. She wanted to scream, to rage, to pour out all the pain
she’d stored up for four years. She beat at him with her fists.
    “Damn
you, Sean. Where did you go? Why did you disappear? Do you know how hurt I was? How sick with betrayal?”
    Sorrow
clouded his eyes.
    “I
know. At least, I can imagine.”
    “And
your stupid boss wouldn’t tell me anything. He said you’d been transferred to
another office and if you wanted to get in touch with me you would.”
    She
pounded on his chest again.
    “Damn
you to hell.”
    “You
got your wish. That’s exactly where I was.” He shifted his gaze away from her.
    Her
heartbeat stuttered at the look in his eyes.
    “I
don’t understand. What do you mean?”
    “Let
me fix that tea for you. Then I’ll tell you my story.”
    He
handed her the mug with the hot liquid, wrapped a quilt around her, and sat in
a large chair with her on his lap. He kept touching her. Her
hair. Her cheek. The line of
her neck. And his raspy, gravelly voice told her what he really did for
a living and what had happened to him.
    By
the time he was finished nausea bubbled in her belly while her throat tightened
and her heart ached for what he’d endured. She burrowed against him— chilled
despite the hot tea and quilt. The horrors he described, the years of torture,
were almost too much for her to hear.
    “But
after they found you and rescued you, why didn’t you call me?”
    “Jo,
I didn’t want you to see me the way I was. I could barely stand up on two feet.
I had wounds that had become infected. I was dehydrated.”
    He
closed his eyes.
    “For
a while the docs weren’t even sure I’d make it.”
    She
leaned against him, her head on his shoulder.
    “You
don’t know how glad I am you did.”
    “And you don’t know how scared I was when I contacted Kira. She hung up on me
when I called. I went to see her and literally forced her to talk to me. I
wanted to do this on your birthday, for obvious reasons.”
    “She
must have believed you, if she went to all the trouble of helping you arrange tonight.”
    He
grinned at her.
    “So,
did I make up for all the lost celebrations? Was this a good birthday present?”
    “The best.”
    She
snuggled into him.
    “You
know, I kept thinking to myself that Kira and Jason must have really prepped
the Dom because he knew all the things I liked.”
    “I
might have something else for you if you’re my good girl.”
    “Always.”
    She
paused.
    “So
what happens now? Do you