She dropped the receiver in the cradle and moved her neck in a circle to get the kinks out.
“You really need to invest in a wireless headset,” Molly said from the doorway.
Amery looked up. “I know. But the number of choices overwhelms me and I always end up walking out of the store without buying anything.”
“Do me a favor. Next time, let me come with you.”
“Deal. Did you need something?”
Molly glanced over her shoulder. “There’s someone here to see you.”
Ronin.
Her face heated. Since their “break” she’d kept herself occupied from the moment she woke up until her head hit the pillow in an attempt to stop thinking about him. It hadn’t worked, which annoyed her to no appreciable end. They’d been involved for three weeks. Three weeks. She shouldn’t have such a . . . bond with him. She’d certainly never missed Tyler the way she missed the sexy sensei. But she honestly didn’t know what she’d say to Ronin when she saw him, or why the prospect of seeing him made her heart race.
“Will you be disappointed that your visitor isn’t Ronin?”
The way her stomach plummeted, the answer to that would be a resounding yes. “Then who is it?”
“Shihan Knox from the dojo. Do you want me to tell him you’re on a client call?”
“No. Send him back.” Amery barely had time to clear off a place for him to sit before all six feet four inches sauntered into the room.
He smiled at her before he closed the door.
“I usually leave my door open.”
“I figured you’d want it closed for this conversation.” He plopped in the chair and cocked his head. “Unless you already told your office mates what happened between you and Ronin Saturday night?”
“It’d be hard to tell them when I’m not exactly sure what happened myself.”
“I can guess exactly what happened.”
She frowned. “Ronin didn’t tell you?”
“Nope. In fact, he doesn’t know I’m here.”
That startled her.
“I’m betting you freaked out after Master Black broke out the ropes.”
Amery blushed.
“Did he show you his practice room?”
“That’s what he calls it?”
“What else would he call it?” Knox’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe the question is, what did you call it?”
She blushed harder, if possible when she admitted, “Nothing I care to repeat because I said it out of shock and fear.”
“Understood.” Knox leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “Look, Amery, I don’t know you, but I’d like this to be an honest conversation, okay? Whatever you tell me won’t get back to Ronin. But I need to know where you’re at right now.”
“You think I should tell you before I tell the man himself?”
“Yes.”
“Why? So you can break it to him gently that I’m walking away? Bullshit. Ronin Black doesn’t sugarcoat anything, so I doubt he’d expect that in return from me or you.”
Knox grinned. “You’re right. Which is why I’m here.” His smile faded. “You really walking away from him?”
“If you had asked me Saturday night, I’d have said more like I was running away.” Amery twisted a section of hair. “But now? After I’ve calmed down and gotten some perspective from doing research, I don’t know.”
“At least that’s not a flat-out no.”
“If it was no, would you still try to sway me?”
He shook his head. “I have a proposition for you. Master Black is highly regarded for his rope skills. He’s considered a shibari and kinbaku rope master. He gives demonstrations at a local club, and I think it’d be beneficial for you—for both of you actually—to see him showcasing his rope-tying expertise.”
“What kind of club?”
“A private club. Some call it a sex club, but that’s a simplistic description.”
Her jaw dropped. “There’s a sex club in Denver?”
“Lady, there are a dozen different underground private sex clubs in Denver.”
“Oh. You can tell I don’t get out much.”
“It’s not like they’re advertised.”
The conversation she’d overheard between Ronin and Knox at the dojo, where Knox asked if Amery was the reason Ronin hadn’t shown up at the club, made more sense. “So you’re offering to take me to this sex club?”
“Yes.”
“Will you tell Ronin if I decide to go?”
“Not sure. I’d hate to tell him you’ll be there and then you get cold feet and pull a no-show.”
Amery started to protest that she wouldn’t do that, but she couldn’t guarantee it. There was a huge chance she would chicken out.
“Ronin hasn’t said anything about what went down between you two. Not that I’m surprised; he’s the most private man I’ve ever met. I’ve worked for him for years and still only know parts of him.”
“That drives me crazy.”
He shrugged. “It is what it is and that’s the way he prefers it. What I do know of him I respect the hell out of, so it makes it easier to accept the walls he’s built around himself to maintain that privacy.”
No doubt Knox had Ronin’s number.
“The other reason I know something unpleasant happened is that Sensei has been a f**king taskmaster the past three days. His training regimen for advanced students is difficult, but he’s kicked it up a notch to brutal. And that’s with all his classes, not just the higher-ranking belts and the MMA trainees. He’s been equally brutal on himself—driving harder than usual during his workouts.”