Sloane’s mouth screwed up into a grimace that would’ve been hilarious if we weren’t talking about a fuckwad.

“A few times. He rarely comes to the club.”

Before I could continue my questioning, the waitress stopped by our table to refill our coffees, reminding me Sloane hadn’t touched her breakfast.

“Eat, baby, we’ll finish our discussion later.”

She looked like she wanted to argue but instead, she nodded and tucked in.

My morning alone with Sloane hadn’t gone as I’d hoped, though it went as it should.

I had no business getting closer to her. It served no purpose.

Some questions were never meant to be answered—it would seem my unexpected connection to a virtual stranger was one of life’s mysteries that would go unsolved.

14

I didn’t question Asher when he told me he was taking me to the beach house to talk to Wyatt and Cameron whose real names were Wilson and Cole. I didn’t argue when he paid the bill and led me out to his shiny, black BMW, and helped me in. There was very little conversation as he navigated the streets of Encino to the one-oh-one and there was nothing beyond me making fun of him for driving like granny as he drove over Decker Canyon. If he hadn’t already told me he wasn’t a local his driving would’ve clued me in.

It wasn’t until Asher turned onto PCH that I found my voice.

“I take it this is a rental?”

“The car or the house?”

Right, the oceanfront beach house.

“Both, I suppose.”

“I don’t know why I bothered to ask for clarification.” He chuckled. “They’re both rentals and I’ll be damn happy to leave them both behind.”

His clipped statement was a great reminder he was leaving. I needed to get my head on straight and refocus on Elise. In the months she’d been missing I hadn’t had a single moment of distraction—until Asher showed up. Now I was lost in an attraction that would lead nowhere and finding every excuse to defend my lack of attention.

“How old are you?”

Dear Lord, why did I blurt that out?

“Forty.”

“Forty?”

“I’m not sure if I should be offended.”

“I thought you were younger than me,” I admitted.

“Hmm,” he hummed. “You sound disappointed. Do I detect a little cougar in you, Miss Ellis?”

I shifted in my seat to get a better look at him. But the moment I caught his beautiful smile in profile I wished I would’ve continued staring out my window. And when he turned his head to look at me briefly, I really wished I’d kept my trap shut and not asked him his age. That smile was going to be the death of me. It was going to haunt my dreams and break my heart.

“You’re joking, right?”

“I don’t know, am I? We all have our kinks, nothing to be ashamed of.”

I really wanted to know what Asher’s kinks were now that I knew I could check public sex, sharing, and voyeurism off his list.