Bound to be Tempted: Emergence, Book 4 Read Free Page A

afternoon. No one paid any attention to him. It was what he preferred. The anonymity was what allowed him to keep coming.
    He’d never attended a service. In fact he wasn’t even Catholic, but that wasn’t why he came.
    Karen had been Catholic. She’d gone to church every Saturday night with her parents. She’d insisted it was peaceful.
    Carlton had laughed at her at the time. Karen hadn’t ever been a peaceful sort of woman. She’d always been running at full speed. The idea that she took an hour a week to relax and reboot had made him chuckle. But it was serious for her. And he’d respected that.
    Since her death, he’d felt the urge to come on her behalf, light a candle in her memory, sit and attempt to absorb the peace the church had given her.
    Carlton had chosen St. Vincent’s for its size. It looked like the church Karen had attended years ago in their hometown. He’d never been inside that one, but he assumed they were all similar.
    The crazy thing was it brought Carlton some level of peace. He felt closer to Karen when he was inside a space she had loved. He sort of spoke to her in his mind.
    He closed his eyes and pictured her giant smile, her eyes wide with mirth, her belly laughter. She’d been bigger than life, too much for this world.
    What would she think of the choices he’d made since she’d left him alone on this earth, extinguishing the tinkle of her voice for all time? Would she be proud of his decisions? He doubted it. If she could see him now, she would probably admonish him for remaining so aloof for twelve years. She would have wanted him to move on and be happy. She couldn’t have known how deeply he felt about her, still did.
    He wasn’t a hermit. He’d gone out with several women over the years. He’d had many different submissives under him at Emergence. But none had been long-term. None had made his heart pound like the memory of Karen did. And it had been a long time since he’d brought someone to his home.
    And now Maggie had stepped into his life.
    Carlton didn’t trust his feelings for Maggie. She was the spitting image of what he imagined Karen would have looked like had she lived to be twenty-seven. It wasn’t Maggie’s fault, and she didn’t know anything about his demons, but every time Carlton saw her, it gave him pause. He’d known her for a long time, and every time he saw her, he did a double take.
    Did he want to Dom for her? Fuck yes, he did. He wanted to bring her to her knees in front of him and watch her eyes glaze over with need while he made her squirm. But he never had relationships that were more than casual with any woman for a reason. He never wanted to hurt like he still did for Karen.
    And Carlton knew instinctively if he took Maggie as a submissive, it wouldn’t be casual. She made his dick pulse and his heart pulse harder. As much as he wished he could Dom for her, and perhaps in doing so purge himself of his demons, he feared the opposite would occur, and he would instead be lured into her web.
    He was chicken. He admitted it, if only to himself. Jason had made him think about something he’d never considered. Did Maggie need him? He couldn’t stand the thought of her submitting to another Dom in order to get her feet wet. When he’d watched her submit to Steve the other night, he’d gritted his teeth. It had nothing to do with his feelings toward her. Hell, he cared about her. She was a friend. He’d known her for over a year. If she wanted to experiment with male Doms, he didn’t want to see her hurt.
    She’d never once come on to him in any way that would make him question her motives. But the woman needed a firm Dom. Not a newbie. Not a dabbler. She needed more, and Carlton knew he could be the man for that job.
    But could he guard his heart in the meantime?
    Jason had insinuated he was into her. Carlton knew better. He was into Karen. And Maggie looked like Karen. Was she as wild and risky and carefree as Karen? He didn’t know yet.