Whether Adam didn’t want to be in the close quarters of a small car with Dare, or he just didn’t want to come all the way back here afterward to pick up his car, Dare didn’t know, but it was probably just as well. Being that close to Adam would definitely be a strain on him.
Ten minutes later, Dare parked his car behind Adam’s grey sedan in front of the upscale bar and got out. Adam waited for him at the door then they went inside.
“A quiet booth,” Dare told the hostess.
“Of course, sir.” She led them to a booth on a quiet side of the place.
* * *
Adam slid into the booth across from Dare. No wonder Ash was so taken by him. His dark, almost black hair was cropped short on the sides but long enough on top to showcase the thick waves. His square jaw was shadowed with coarse whiskers and his smoldering deep blue eyes were even sexier than he remembered. Maybe the extra years had added an even stronger sense of authority behind them.
“You still like gin and tonic?” Dare asked.
Adam shook his head. “Heineken,” he told the waitress.
“Same,” Dare said.
“So are you going to ask why I left five years ago? And why I never looked you up since then?” Dare asked.
The waitress approached the table with a round tray holding two green beer bottles and two tall glasses. She placed them on the table, then poured each beer into a glass.
Once she’d gone, Dare leaned toward Adam. “I never meant to hurt you.”
At Dare’s words, pain vibrated through every cell of Adam’s being, but he wouldn’t let himself be dragged down that road.
“I don’t care about that. I’m here to talk about what’s happening between you and Ashley.”
Adam watched Dare sip from his tall glass. His expression barely changed—the man had almost perfect control over his expression at all times—but Adam had gotten to know Dare better than most people and could see the caution there.
“My impression was that you know what’s happening with Ash and me. You’re her boss so you know she’s coming to me for research on an article.” He stared at his glass. “I’m the real-life Christian Grey, right?”
“But you’ve taken it past research with her. You’ve made her your sub. You’re having sex with her.” Adam clenched his teeth at the thought, anger vibrating through him. “You don’t seem to care that she’s going to get hurt.”
“I’m not beating her, you know?”
“What?” Adam couldn’t help but think about Ashley bent over, her lovely round ass bare and exposed, then the flat of Dare’s strong hand smacking it. Then the creamy flesh turning pink.
“Like Christian Grey. I’m not flogging Ashley.”
“You’ve read the books?” Adam asked in surprise.
“No. But I saw the movie.” Dare shrugged. “Curiosity.”
Adam’s lips compressed. “Whatever. That’s not what I’m talking about. You’re going to hurt Ashley when you walk away. But I guess you’ve never cared before, so why start now?”
“Look, Adam, what happened between you and me—”
“I said I don’t want to talk about that,” Adam said through gritted teeth.
“Fine.” Dare sighed. “The point is, I don’t intend to walk away from Ashley.”
“Then what about me and my feelings?” Adam leaned forward. “I’m in love with her.”
“And how does she feel about you?”
“She says she loves me, too.”
Dare’s eyes narrowed. “If she told you that, and she’s not here breaking up with me, then I bet she also confessed she’s in love with me, too.”
Adam frowned. “The decent thing for you to do would be to walk away right now.”
“And hurt Ash exactly the way you’ve been accusing me of?”
“She’ll get over it.”
“You mean, she’ll get over you when she chooses me.”
Adam arched a brow. “You’re very sure of yourself.”
“Of course. And that’s exactly why she’ll pick me over you. I know you’ve told her you can dominate her just as well as me, but we both know that’s not true.”
Adam couldn’t deny that. The man had six years on him and ran a huge corporation. He was used to making multimillion-dollar decisions that could make or break whole companies, and people’s lives. He also had a lot more practice being a Dom. If it came down to sheer ability to dominate, Dare would win hands down.
“Maybe. But Ash and I have friendship. And a deep caring for each other. We could build a long and happy life together.”