God, the woman was so screwed up. Woman? Actually, she had acted more like a spoiled teenager. A teenager who would do anything for attention.

Dare had his work cut out for him straightening her out. Ashley wondered if she should go back in there. Maybe she could help.

Should she really leave Dare alone with Helen when she might throw herself at him?

No, she was being silly. Dare would never succumb to Helen’s strange and disturbing bid for attention. He was strong and always in control.

But now Ashley felt rejected. If it hadn’t been for Helen, Ash would probably be curled up in Dare’s arms in bed. But he’d chosen Helen over her.

She knew she shouldn’t let that bother her, but she couldn’t help it.

*   *   *

Dare raked his hand through his hair as he paced the living room, phone to his ear. The answering machine picked up on the other end, so he disconnected then dialed again. Sometimes Ann would pick up after several tries.

The third time dialing, he heard a click on the other end.

“Hello?” Ann’s voice sounded short.

“It’s Dare.”

“What do you want?” she asked. Same Ann. Short and to the point.

“You should come and get Helen.”

“She’s with you in New York?”

He strode to the armchair and sat down.

“No, Autumn’s Ridge. I’m here on business for a few weeks. You didn’t know where she was?”

“Why should I? I don’t keep track of her.”

“Well, she’s having a problem. I think she could use her mother.”

“Is she sick or injured?”

He glanced down the hall toward the bedrooms, knowing Helen was in the guest room, probably passed out.

“No, but she got stinking drunk.”

“Of course she did.” At her tone, he imagined Ann rolling her eyes. “If she made a mess of things, then it’s up to her to clean it up. I’m not babysitting her.”

Good old Ann. She didn’t care about her daughter, or the fact Helen might have caused problems for him. Ann lived in her own selfish little world, looking out for number one and no one else. No wonder Helen was so screwed up.

No wonder Helen felt so unwanted.

“That’s pretty callous, Ann.”

“Look, she’s an adult now, which means she’d not my problem anymore. She has to learn to take care of herself.” Then she hung up the phone.

Dare jabbed the End button then dropped the phone in its dock.

Fuck! The way Helen was acting, he should toss her out on her ass, but he couldn’t do that to her. He knew that her behavior was a cry for help and he couldn’t just abandon her, no matter how much she might mess up his life.

And his relationship with Ashley.

God, he wished Ashley hadn’t seen that. Helen calling her names, then coming on to him like that. And touching Ash inappropriately. It must have been horrendous for her.

And after he’d marched Helen to her room, he’d gone back and continued the fuck session with Ash, still so turned on by what they’d been doing he couldn’t help himself.

After the stunningly erotic sex, the blood flow had returned to his brain, and he’d begun to worry about Helen again.

The expression on Ashley’s face when he’d rushed her out of the house still haunted him. She’d looked so rejected.

He gritted his teeth, knowing he couldn’t think about that now. He’d find a way to make it up to her. Somehow. But right now, he had to make some arrangements for Helen. He picked up the phone. He wouldn’t abandon Helen like her mother seemed perfectly content to do.

As the phone rang on the other end, his thoughts turned back to Ashley. He loved being with her and regretted that this time with her would be interrupted by Helen’s issues. He knew Ash probably wouldn’t be open to a long-term relationship with him. He wouldn’t mistake her excitement at being dominated with real feelings for him, especially given their age difference and the fact he’d been her friend’s stepfather, but he had looked forward to a solid few weeks of enjoying her ongoing discovery of her submissive side.

Now he realized that as much as they both enjoyed him mentoring her, she’d probably be better off if they ended it now.

*   *   *

Ashley’s phone chimed, signaling a text. She finished the e-mail she was working on then picked it up, hoping it was from Dare.

Just finished with a client near your office. Want to grab a coffee?

It was from Jessica.

Yeah, sure, Ashley responded.

She’d be happy to get out of the office for a little while. Since what happened between her and Adam the other evening, he’d been keeping his distance, not wanting to make her uncomfortable in the workplace, but she was still on edge.

She grabbed her purse and headed to the Starbucks on the corner where Jess said she’d be waiting for her.

“Hey, there you are,” Jess said as Ashley dropped her purse on a spare chair and sat down.

There were already two coffees sitting on the table.

“My treat,” Jess said. “It’s that new latte you tried the other day and liked so much.”

Ashley smiled and took a sip. “Thanks. So you’re pretty chipper this morning.”

“Yeah, well, things are going pretty well with Eric.”

“That’s great,” Ashley said, glad her friend’s love life was going smoother than her own right now. “So are you going to kiss and tell?”

Jess laughed. “Well there’s not much to tell except that we did kiss. It was a first date.” She grinned. “But talk to me after our second date and we’ll see.”

Ashley smiled. “He asked you out again. That’s great.”

Jessica had been so nervous about how things would go, because she really liked this guy. Ashley was happy that things seemed to be heading off to a good start.

“It may not be as exciting as you seeing a billionaire Dom who makes you surrender to his every sexual whim”—she grinned—“but you never know.”

“Well, not everyone’s as lucky as me.” Ashley had meant it to sound lighthearted, but her words came across with an edge that caught Jessica’s attention and she frowned.

“Hey, what’s up?”

Ashley shook her head. “Oh, no, nothing.” She didn’t want to bring Jessica down from her euphoria of starting a relationship with someone special.

“Don’t do that. I can see it in your eyes. What happened?”

Ashley frowned, her hand tightening around the warm coffee cup in front of her.

“When I was at Dare’s last time, it got a bit … tense. Not between him and me but…” She shook her head, her cheeks heating. “Helen showed up.”

“Showed up? So she caught you at Dare’s house again?”

Ashley sucked in a breath. “She caught Dare and I … together.” She hadn’t intended to tell Jessica that. It had just slipped out. But Jess was her best friend and she knew if anyone could make her feel less crappy about the situation—less mortified—it would be her.

“Oh, God, that’s … awkward.”

Ashley nodded. “You have no idea.”

“What did she do?”

Okay, there was no way Ashley was going to give her details.

“Well, she didn’t just leave. She was just…” A shiver raced through Ashley as she remembered. “I don’t know. I don’t really want to talk about that, but…” She stared at her coffee cup. “I think she’d been drinking.”

Jessica nodded. “Did you know she used to drink in high school?”

Ashley gazed at her friend. “Well, sure, we all used to sneak one sometimes.”

“No, I mean, she used to drink in school. She carried a flask around in her purse.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I caught her one day and she made me swear to secrecy. Her parents—well, her mom and Dare—were going through some rough times, leading up to the divorce. They didn’t tell her they were getting divorced until after graduation, but I suspect Helen knew it was coming, or was afraid it was anyway.”

“And you didn’t tell me?” Ashley felt a little hurt.

Jess shrugged. “I wouldn’t have told her if you had told me something sensitive and swore me to silence.”