Yes, Sirs (Book 1 of Desire's Den)

Chapter 101 - Mateo

I was falling for her.

This arrangement of ours was meant to be strictly about domination and submission. Still, somehow, Emma managed to sneak into my heart and carve a comfortable space for her there. What was insane was how it all had happened so fast—crazy fucking fast, but it didn't surprise me. She was too special not to like, or in this case, love. I just...I wasn't prepared for it. I hadn't been looking for it, but I guess feelings would occur whether you were ready for it or not.

The knowledge that this woman had my heart in her hands wasn't a good feeling. If I knew she would stay with us, that she would become our submissive permanently, then I wouldn't have felt my stomach twist and turn like it was doing now.

It was frightening, the thought that she might leave us. After all, wasn't that what we had agreed upon? A temporary arrangement until either of us found what we had been looking for. I mean, come on, we fucking said we would help her find a dominant for her. How fucked up wasn't that? I couldn't possibly give her away. I might've tricked myself into believing that when the time came, it would be easy—okay, maybe not easy, but not impossible either.

Would she be willing to stay with us? If we all agreed to have her as a submissive rather than as a slave? I needed to talk to the guys about that. All I knew was that I didn't want to lose her. Not now, and not ever. If I had to give a part of myself up for that to happen, so fucking be it. She was worth all of that and more. I just hoped my friends felt the same.

At dinner after the bowling match, we'd asked her what she wanted from us, seeing as that sneaky little girl won our game. Emma had been smart, telling us she would save it for whenever she felt like using them. She'd called us her own personal genie, complete with her three wishes, making us laugh—well, I could definitely see the corner of Gideon's lips twitch just a little.

It had been two days since we dropped her off at her place. It had been two days too long. I already missed that girl of ours.

Huh. Ours. When I first thought about sharing her with my friends, I had a bit of doubt that it would work out. I felt a little jealous that she wouldn't only ever be mine. But this past week showed me that it couldn't have gone any better. It was almost comforting, knowing my friends were taking care of her—that she would never be alone if she needed someone by her side. Not only that, but the way I'd seen her with both of them...it made me happy. I'd never seen Callan or even Gideon be so at peace. She was bringing out the best in all of us.

My briefcase weighed me down as I entered NYU. There wasn't much in it, but that thin letter of resignation felt heavy. Not one part of me wanted to do this, but I felt I didn't have a choice. Rebecca meant everything to me. If I could spare her some hurt, I would do it—even if it meant quitting my job to make sure our father's business stayed in the family. I knew that if she could, she'd take over the company in a heartbeat, but she didn't know how to run a business. Not yet, anyway.

I started working as a professor straight after I was done with my Ph.D. as a twenty-seven-year-old. Yeah, I was a young professor, but it had been done by others many times before. I was stricter than most, wanting my students to respect me despite my age.

For seven years, I've worked at New York University. And for seven years, there hadn't been one time I hadn't wanted to go to work. Father wanted me to work in business, but I found my job learning it to others instead. This was my passion, and I was going to leave it all behind.

Maybe I could come back to this at one point. I knew Rebecca wanted to get a business degree and work at Wright enterprise in between her studies. But still, it would take at least a few years to get it done, and I'd be stuck there until then.