Thank you so much for the lovely reviews! And to Mel, and my girls. I love you

Isabella

"Bells?" Long tresses of cool gold caress the door post, black fingernails long and perfectly manicured curl around her phone as she steps inside the office we share. "Bella, please." Rose sighs before she sits down opposite me, long legs crossing at the ankle. "You wanna tell me what's gotten into you, babe?" Rosalie discards her phone on the dark, oak desk. It vibrates a couple more times before she groans and turns it off.

"Nothing, why?" I lie. I never lie to Rose, but I can't bring myself to tell her about the night at the hotel.

"Fucking bullshit… You're a shit liar, Havoc. You always start twitching and biting the inside of your cheek when you do."

"You're way too observant," I note.

"I ought to be. I'm your best friend, after all." She scratches the back of her neck before throwing her mane of hair over one shoulder. Rose looks like an angel today, white jeans and white lace top that fits her like a glove. She's the queen of monochromatic looks. I never get further than black on black, but she does it so well. "Besides, you know my brother is a gossip whore," she continues. Rose arches a brow my way, and from the way she's staring at me, I can tell she sees right through my pretty little lies. "Tell me what happened after I left. Because I know Jas rented you a hotel room. And you weren't alone…"

Crap.

"Rose, come on… I am buried under a pile of paperwork."

"You're a drama queen, Bella. You know I don't judge. Tell me, I deserve to know."

"Fine." I get up and check my watch. It's just after nine at night, so I grabbed my bag. "Come, we're having cocktails."

I'm aware of the stares Jared gives me from behind his bar. He's been after me for ages, but he's so vanilla and sweet that the thought of him makes my teeth ache. Jared would be a safe option, no triggers at all, but there would be no passion, either. Not the kind I crave, anyway.

"Jared still pining after you?" Rose chuckles. She tucks a strand of hair behind her heavily pierced ear as she looks at the blond bartender. He's cute, tall, and can mix a mean cocktail, but I don't think it would ever work. All this does is make me think of him—of Ginger—and the way he made my body ache for more. It's the way the rush hits when you're with someone who gets it—gets you. Although I've been avoiding him for a full week, and I didn't go to the club this weekend, I can't seem to get his vibrant green eyes out of my head; can't let go of the way he made me feel. "You gonna strap him to a wall and have your way with him?" my gorgeous friend asks.

"He's as vanilla as they come, sweetheart," I tell her, cringing at the way I snort.

"You like them a little less blond, too. Don't you?" Rose smiles mischievously before she snaps her fingers in the air when Leah passes us by. I'm glad Rose dropped the subject before she mentioned a certain someone.

"Hey girls." She smiles. "Bloody Mary and a Bombay Sapphire?"

Rose winks at our thoughtful waitress. "You're a godsend," she remarks. It doesn't take Leah long to come back with our order. She's the best, but we also tip well.

"So," I start. "You really want to keep badgering me about last week?" I ask my friend, fingers curled over the long-stemmed glass in front of me.

"Fucking duh," Rose breathes. "Tell me, Havoc. Did you take my advice? Did you switch with the hot new Dom? Or is Jasper just pulling monkeys out of his perky ass?"

I laugh at her directness. "I—I don't exactly…" I stop talking, taking another sip as I try to gather my thoughts. "I tried," I mutter. "But I broke down… I didn't catch the triggers in time." It's all I have to say before Rosalie knows what I'm talking about. She slides her hand over to mine, bracing hers on top of mine before she squeezes. She knows. My Viper knows everything.

"Babe…" She sighs. "Why didn't you call me? You're supposed to, you know? Remember what the doc said?"

I nod, staring into her deep eyes, feeling the love and trust radiate from them.

"He knows, Rose."

"What do you mean?" she asks, a frown marring her forehead.

"He knew how to calm me back down," I start. "It's like he's done this before." I shrug and take a large sip of my gin and tonic.

"What happened then?"

"I got dressed and left." I lick my lips, tasting the gin and the salt from the complimentary nuts on the table.

"What triggered you? What happened? Did you scene?" She blinks furiously, her lashes fluttering as she tries to figure out what went down.

"We just… fucked. I was blowing him, as he topped me. It was great, but he used his nails on my tits, and I suddenly saw red. I—I panicked; I fled and hurt him… badly." I confess. Rose smiles sympathetically before her thumb continues stroking the back of my hand gently. "I scratched open his thigh, and I screamed in his face while he didn't even do anything wrong." I sigh. "I mean… he'd been the biggest, most arrogant prick ever to me, but it was like something clicked and he flew back to earth from the giant ego cloud he was floating on."

Rose frowned again. "Sounds like he's full of red flags, Bells."

"I know. He is," I mutter. "But…" I bite the side of my thumb, remembering his words.

"What is it? Because I heard he asked around about you, babe. I was at the club with Emm on Friday night, and he'd been talking to Jas, as well."

"And you're just telling me this now?" I wonder, chuckling.

"Yeah, Jas didn't tell me much. But Emm heard your Ginger talking to him."

"He's not my Ginger…"

"You know what I mean, Bella. Now tell me what you were going to say, please."

"I told him I couldn't give up control… and he said maybe he could. That he could try," I say quietly.

"Then why the fuck are you avoiding him? You haven't had sex in ages. The fact you let him fuck you means a lot as it is. Let him try, Bella. See where it takes you." She smiles. "You're a strong fucking woman. One of the best Dommes I know. He'd be lucky to have you show him the ropes, sweetheart."

"He's so dominant, Rose. I don't know if he can." Just thinking about his offer might disappoint me. I might expect too much, get too little in return. But I don't know that. It's a gamble. Ginger is a gamble, and it would require me to go all-in to win back what I've lost in the past. Trust.

"Hell, he wants to try… that gives you one advantage," she starts. "You can mold him to whatever the fuck you want. If he wants to sub—let him, play with him. Show him how it's done in our world and see what you can build with him." Rose shrugs, her words echoing through my mind for the rest of the evening.