The ’...Into You’ 2-Book Collection: Crash Into You, Melt Into You

He shrugged. “It’s a way to make sure you’re serious. Some members of the club are pretty important people. If a reporter or private investigator tried to sneak in, they’d have to really want to get a story to go through public submission. Grant will be there looking for that kind of thing, so that’s why you have to make sure you’re absolutely convincing.”

Her knuckles turned white against the bottle. “And what exactly does public submission involve?”

“Whatever the hell your dom wants.”

She nodded slowly, then glanced up at him. “I’m kind of freaked out about the whole thing. What if I can’t convince that Grant guy?”

He smiled and stepped closer to her, placing a warm hand on her shoulder. “I have faith in you. All you need to do is channel whoever you were back when you were Reid’s sub. You have it in you. The key is going to be to not focus on anything but your own personal reasons for being there. Give yourself over to the experience. Once you’re past initiation, you can worry about tracking down your sister.”

“Right,” she said, trying to convince herself.

“You’ll be fine. I bet after a few days there, the sub role will become second nature to you again.”

“Wait? A few days?” she asked, her voice coming out too high.

He stepped over to his desk and grabbed a few papers. “The Ranch is a retreat, not a drop-in club. You can’t sign up for anything less than a three-day stay.”

“Shit.”

“I had to pull some strings to get you in this quickly.” He handed her the documents. “Fill these out and fax them back to me by tomorrow morning, and I can get you in for the retreat starting on Wednesday. There is also a rule sheet in there for you to go over.”

She set her beer on the side table and took the pages from him. A hopeful thought hit her. “Are you going to be there?”

He gave her a rueful smile. “Doll, I’d love to take you on as my sub for a while, if you’d have me, but I can’t bail on the store without more notice.”

Her shoulders sagged.

He sighed and kissed the top of her head. “You’re going to be fine. Just trust your instincts and don’t be afraid to use your safe word if someone pushes you too far.”

She managed a shaky smile and stood. Now she needed to make sure she pulled off this ruse to the nth degree for yet another reason. She definitely didn’t want to get Jace in any trouble with the club or screw with whatever business dealings he had with The Ranch.

“Thanks, Jace. I really appreciate you risking your hide to help me.”

“You’re welcome, doll.” He pulled her in for one last bear hug. “Make sure you call me and let me know how it goes. And don’t be a stranger. I can get you discounts on all kinds of naughty stuff.”

She laughed. “It’s good to have friends in high places.”

“No doubt.”

Jace sank into his desk chair with a groan. He’d been looking forward to seeing Brynn again, but he hadn’t anticipated the raging hard-on she would inspire. The hopeful look on her face when she’d thought he might be able to go to The Ranch with her had sent him over the edge. God, he’d love to be the guy who got to experience the sweet submission he knew she was capable of. But he was under strict orders.

He adjusted the crotch of his jeans, then picked up the phone to dial a familiar number.

“How’d it go?”

Jace tilted his chair back and closed his eyes. “It’s done. She’ll be there on Wednesday.”

“Thanks, man.”

“Dude, are you sure you want to do it this way? I kind of feel like a dick.”

Reid sighed. “Trust me. I know what she needs even if she doesn’t.”

Jace snorted. If he were a betting man, he’d put his money on Reid’s balls getting handed to him on a plate, but he’d learned long ago not to try to change his friend’s mind once he had it set on something. “I hope you’re right. For both your sakes.”

EIGHT (#ulink_0cc18f95-61f1-544a-bba4-daf06fa703d7)

then

Brynn rolled her wrist, her hand aching from all the notes she’d taken during her boss Davis’s staff meeting, and sank back into the conference room chair. She glanced around the oval table and noticed everyone’s eyes had glazed over. Davis stepped around the whiteboard he’d been scribbling on and stood behind Brynn. “Any questions, people?”

Most shook their heads.

Davis’s hands settled on Brynn’s ­shoulders and squeezed, the unexpected touch jolting her from her daze. “Did you get all of that, Brynn?”

She cleared her throat and tried not to squirm beneath the unwanted touch. The man didn’t like her, so his ­seemingly friendly gesture was all for the benefit of the other workers. “Uh, yes, sir, of course.”

“Excellent. So Brynn will type up the notes for everyone and e-mail them to you before the end of the day,” he said, patting her shoulder one last time before heading to the door and swinging it open. “Thanks for all your attention this afternoon.”

Brynn gathered her things and followed everyone out. She’d hoped to pin down Reid earlier in the day to discuss the previous night’s disaster of a make-out session, but they’d all been so busy it’d been impossible to say more than a few passing words. So she was happy to see him veer toward her desk instead of his own as they trailed out of the meeting.

As she slipped into her seat, Reid sank into the chair at the front of her desk, his customary grin noticeably absent. “Hey.”

“Hey, yourself,” she said, dropping her legal pad and pen on her desk. “I was beginning to wonder if you were avoiding me.”

He frowned. “Course not, just been busy. But I do have to confess, I’m here to deliver a bit of good and bad news.”

“Uh-oh, why don’t you start with the good?”

He dug in his pocket, then tossed a key onto her desk. She picked it up and examined it. “What’s this?”

“It’s for a rental car. I have a friend whose dad owns a repair shop. He owes me a favor, so they’re going to try to fix your car for free. If it can be fixed, that is. In the meantime, he was able to hook me up with a loaner for you, so you don’t have to take the bus.”

“Oh, wow, you didn’t have to do that,” she said, stunned by his gesture.

“No problem, and hopefully, it will make you less mad at me for the bad news.”

She sighed. “Lay it on me.”

He sagged in the seat and blew out a haggard breath. “Something’s come up, and I’m going to have to move our date to tomorrow night.”

“Is everything all right?”

He nodded, but his frown lines didn’t match his assurance. “Yeah, it’s fine. I’d forgotten I’d promised to go to this thing tonight. I don’t want to back out.”

Brynn kept her expression smooth, though her chest tightened. She’d seen more people bail when they found out about her mother than stick around, and Reid’s change of plans sounded suspiciously like the warning shot before the classic cut-and-run. Maybe fixing her car was her consolation prize. “What kind of thing?”

He shrugged. “Nothing you’d be interested in. Otherwise, I’d bring you along.”