Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Mal
I hadn’t been to one of these dinners in a while, but I’d forced myself to come tonight, even though Corrine couldn’t attend with me.
She was the one who introduced me to the group, since she worked with Devi.
I personally wouldn’t want to join a kinky group run by a coworker, but Corinne was a different person than I.
I said hello to a few people and got myself a plate of food, doing my best to keep it away from Boomer, who had to give me a thorough inspection as usual.
I felt several pairs of eyes on me and turned to find two people pretending they hadn’t been staring at me.
One had darker blonde hair with highlights that was cut in heavy bangs across her forehead and fell to her chin that had a dimple in it.
Gold-rimmed glasses perched on her upturned nose. Cute, but not really my type.
The other however…
Oh. Shit.
That was my neighbor. Didn’t know her name since I had never really spoken with her.
I couldn’t believe I didn’t clock her immediately.
I’d ridden the elevator with her just a day ago.
Most of the time when I was walking around the complex or taking out the trash, I kept my headphones on and my eyes to myself.
Not that I was anti-social, but I liked choosing my social situations.
She obviously recognized me and judging from the fact that her face was bright red, she was freaking out a little.
I mean, it wasn’t that big of a deal.
If this was a different kind of event, say, an orgy or a sex club, then it might be a little embarrassing. Maybe. But this was more like a book club.
Her friend said something in her ear, and she shook her head.
Deciding to just get this over with, I carried my plate over to them. Her eyes went wide as I approached them.
“Hey,” I said once I reached her. I hadn’t noticed that she was at least seven or eight inches shorter than me before. I liked that.
“H-hi,” she said. “Sorry, I don’t actually know your name.”
“Mal,” I said, pointing to my nametag. Most of the time I introduced myself as Mallory, but when I was with close friends, I was just Mal.
“Oh, sorry. Mal. And I’m Gray, in case you didn’t know that.” She was adorable and flustered and I was noticing. I was noticing quite a bit about her.
“Gray,” I said, just for the pleasure of seeing her cheeks go scarlet again. What a lovely name for her.
“Yup,” she said, her voice squeaking.
“I’m Tally,” her friend said, her voice cutting between us.
“Tally, nice to meet you,” I said, flicking my eyes over and nodding. I didn’t want to be rude, but I also didn’t care about Tally. I wanted to talk to Gray.
“Can I get you a drink?” I asked her. In addition to the food, Emily and Devi always had excellent drinks, both alcoholic and non.
“Oh, uh, sure?” She stared at her friend, her blue eyes wide. With her dark hair, they sparkled like cut sapphires. How the hell hadn’t I noticed how pretty she was before now? She’d been living next door to me looking like this?!
“Be right back.”
I filled a glass with one of the mocktails that Emily had whipped up, and also grabbed a glass of wine. I’d have whatever she didn’t want.
When I came back, Gray and her friend were furiously whispering to each other.
“I’m going to find the bathroom,” Tally said loudly, giving Gray a wink. “Be right backkkkk.” She sang the last part.
Gray watched her friend leave and then turned her panicked face on me.
I held up both glasses. “Wine? Or a mocktail? I can’t remember what’s in it, but Emily mixes the best drinks. Or I could get you something else.”
I’d get her whatever she wanted.
“Oh, wine is fine.” She reached for the glass and our fingers brushed for a few tiny moments, but those moments set my blood on fire.
“You sure?” I asked. I didn’t want her to take it just because I’d brought it to her. I wanted her to have what she wanted, not what she’d accept.
She met my eyes and I saw a flash of steel in her blue gaze. “Yes.”
Well then.
More people had gone out to the hot tub, but the kitchen was still packed and getting noisier as more people consumed drinks. A few people in a corner were sharing shibari tips with a length of rope.
“Come somewhere quieter with me,” I told her as she sipped her wine.
She looked up at me and nodded. “Okay.”
I think I fell in love just a tiny little bit as she followed me to the formal living room at the front of the house. It was warm and cozy with deep couches, a crackling fire, and a Christmas tree all lit up with lights that looked like candles.
“This house is gorgeous,” Gray said as we sat down together on one of the couches closest to the fire.
“I know. Pays to marry a doctor.”
“Which one is a doctor?” she asked.
I smiled. “They both are.”
She exhaled, impressed. “Damn.”
Gray looked into the fireplace while I looked at her.
“Guess I’m in the wrong line of work.”
“And what would that be?” I asked. I’d never wanted to know more about anyone I’d ever met before.
This attraction to Gray was immediate and intense and I couldn’t ignore it if I tried. Unless I was losing my touch, she was feeling the same way.
Leaning closer to her, I got a hit of her scent and wished I could bury my nose in her dark waves, but that would definitely be pushing things too far.
“Oh, I work for the museum, but I’m just an assistant. Not very exciting. I write a lot of emails and do a lot of scheduling and ordering food.” She shrugged.
“I bet that office would fall apart without you, though. I bet they beg you not to take a day off because you know everything.”
Her eyes went wide. “What makes you say that?”
I lifted one shoulder. “Just a hunch. I’m good at reading people.”
Her eyes narrowed and she pressed her lips together, as if she was holding something back. I wished she wouldn’t.
“And what do you do?” she asked.
“I teach English Lit at the community college. And I’m also a freelance fact checker.” I loved both of my jobs so much. I just wish my level of pay matched my level of passion.
“Oh, wow. I’ve never met a fact checker before. What’s that like?” While I didn’t mind talking about myself, I really did want to know more about her. So I told her a little bit about both my jobs and swung things back around to focus on her.
“Why did you decide to come to this tonight?” Why not cut through all the small talk and get right to the point?
I was rewarded with my boldness by another blush from her. God, I could make her blush all night. And into the next day.
“Oh, well. Uhhhhh, Tally invited me.” That was clear. Her friend was bolder than she was, which didn’t interest me. Gray was much more of a challenge. Things weren’t satisfying if they were just handed to you.
“And?” I asked, raising one eyebrow. I’d left my hair down and some of it fell over my shoulder. It hadn’t escaped my notice that her eyes had lingered on it. I would be lying if I said I didn’t use my hair to my advantage. Both in and outside of the bedroom.
“And…I don’t know.” There was that flush again. “I was curious.”
I bet she was.
Before I could dig further, she asked, “What about you? How did you end up here?”
I told her that my friend Corinne had been the one who originally invited me, and she’d met Devi because they worked together at the hospital.
“There’s actually a lot of medical professionals here, which doesn’t surprise me. And it means that if you have any questions about what limits you can push your body to, or what’s dangerous, they’re going to tell you the truth.”
More than once I had had to send Corinne a panicked message asking if I needed to see a doctor for my latest sex injury.
“Huh, that’s interesting. Kind of intimidating though.”
“Am I intimidating?” I asked her, leaning closer to watch the fire flicker in her eyes.
“Absolutely,” she breathed.