Chapter 5
Five
When Kate was in her last class of the afternoon she got a message from Nikki that a schedule change meant that she wouldn’t need to come in. To anyone who overheard the message, it would have seemed that she’d had a part time job that didn’t need her.
Kate worried, though, that the message meant more than it said. Had they learned that Master Rory had called her and that she’d asked him to phone again? She chewed on her lower lip. She wanted to ask him, but didn’t feel comfortable calling him.
To distract herself, she took her laptop to the library and threw herself into studying. When the phone rang at seven, she was hungry, thirsty, tired and worried.
Her heart leapt when she realized it was Rory.
“Hello,” she said softly.
“Why aren’t you here?”
“I was told not to come.”
“Where are you?”
“School. Studying at the library. You’re there? But you’re on your phone?”
“Yeah, I’m standing outside. I’m leaving here.”
Her heart raced. Master Rory was at the club, but he wasn’t staying because she wouldn’t be there? That was so exciting. She knew she shouldn’t read too much into it, but she was thrilled.
“Did you have a good day at school?”
“Yes. I’m trying to get ahead on my work so that if I get busy with extracurriculars I won’t get behind on school. I came right after class. I’ve gotten a lot done.”
“Good girl. Right after class, what time was that?”
“Around three.”
“You stopped to eat?’
“No, but I will now.”
“Can you get good food on campus?”
“Um, I think I’ll just have some noodles in my suite tonight.”
“Why?” he demanded.
“It’s no problem,” she said, thinking she shouldn’t have said that.
“Yeah, it is. Do not eat noodles. I’m coming to pick you up.”
“But—”
“Go back to your dorm and change clothes. I’ll call you when it’s time to come down.”
“Ok,” she said excitedly. She was going to get to see him! “What should I wear?”
“Something I’ll like,” he said. “I’ll call you back.”
Kate scooped up her laptop bags and hurried home.
She had no idea what to wear or what was even clean.
She wore jeans and sweaters to class, but she did not think Master Rory would want to see her in jeans or slacks.
She chose a green alligator print wrap dress that had been hanging in her closet for months without being worn.
It was sexy and sophisticated, but she wasn’t sure about it.
The style didn’t feel like her. She’d bought it because it was on sale and the most flattering of the things she’d tried on.
Still, she didn’t have a lot of dresses and wanted to wear one.
She added light pink lipstick, eyeliner, and mascara and a pair of buff suede booties.
When he arrived, she grabbed her little clutch and hurried downstairs. He leaned against a BMW convertible wearing jeans and a tight black knit shirt.
“Hello, Master Rory,” she whispered.
He caught her face in his hands, studying her and making her heart pound.
“I like that kitten eye makeup. Might have to get you a tail to go with it,” he said.
Her heart thumped. She’d read a blog by a girl kitten and knew what he meant. She’d been fascinated by the girl’s life and had wanted to try it.
“Okay,” she said softly.
“Been awhile since I had a kitten. I bet you’d make a good one,” he said, running a thumb over her lip.
She stood frozen in place, feeling overwhelmed as she often did when he got close.
He moved her aside and opened the door. She slid into the passenger’s seat and watched him circle the car. She loved his body. She really wanted to do a scene with him so she’d be able to see more or all of it.
When they were underway, she asked, “Is the dress okay?”
“No.”
Her eyes darted to his profile. He didn’t look angry; he was just stating a fact.
“Too sophisticated?”
“Too tough. You don’t belong in alligator or snakeskin. Kittens are soft.”
“You’re right,” she said, smoothing down the fabric. “I couldn’t put my finger on what made me hesitate to wear it. I don’t have a lot of dresses. I’ll make some time to shop and see what I can find.”
“I’ll take you,” he said.
Her eyes widened. She loved the way he looked and his style, but it was pretty minimalist. The black knit shirt was only amazing because it was stretched over his mouth-watering muscles. He was so tough-looking. She couldn’t picture him shopping in a woman’s clothing store.
“Do you like shopping?” she asked, surprised.
“No.”
“But you think you should supervise?”
“No, you’ve got good instincts. You just need to trust them. I’ll take you because I don’t want you eating boxed noodles so you can pay for new dresses.”
She blushed. “I don’t get myself in trouble with shopping or anything like that. I’m good at budgeting. It’s just sometimes…”
“You run out of money,” he said. “I wasn’t broke in college, but it took nonstop hustle to get ahead.
“I do a little freelance work, which helps, but the business side of things is time-consuming and tricky for me. I didn’t want it to interfere with school. I should get a part-time job—”
“No.”
“But you just said you worked all along.”
“I had the time. You don’t.”
“You didn’t go to class much, did you?
“I went to classes I liked.”
“But not because you had to. I think you read things and remember them. Better than other people do.”
He smiled.
“I bet a lot of people underestimated you when you were young.”
“They still do. I use it.”
“Do you not want people to know how smart you are?”
He shrugged. “I lived in a tough neighborhood growing up. That world respects strength.”
She stared at his profile. She felt so in awe of him that it was like being pulled underwater by a strong current. Just when she caught her breath, another wave came crashing over her. “Thank you for telling me,” she whispered.
“I didn’t tell you. You figured it out.”
“Do you mind?”
“No. Kittens are curious,” he said with a sly smile.
She laughed. “I’m glad it’s okay. I really want to know your secrets, so I can know you.”
“You’re going to find out plenty of my dirty secrets, I promise you that.”
“Good,” she said softly as they pulled up to a restaurant with white lights strung through the trees and a stone fire pit burning on the side patio. “Please don’t take me to places that are really expensive.”
“Why not?”
“It’s against club rules because money can be coercive. Also, I’m afraid it’ll get confusing.”
He pulled up to the valet station, got out and tossed the guy his keys. Then, he came around the car and opened the door for her.
Kate hesitated, glancing at the tiered landscaping, definitely expensive.
Finally, she slid from the passenger seat, and he led her to a corner of the deck. “Shouldn’t we tell them we’re here?”
“Sit,” he said.
She did, and he pulled a chair right next to hers. “No one tells me how to spend my money, Kate. I’ll take you where I want to take you and buy you what I want to buy you. And there’s not a damn thing wrong with that. Know why?”
She shook her head.
“You’re not with me for my money, kitten. If I want to coerce you into doing something, I won’t use money to do it. I’ll just whisper in your ear.” He leaned forward, his voice low and deep. “If I want you on your knees, that’s where you’ll be.”
Her gaze was trapped in his. She wanted to drop to the ground immediately.
“Does that have anything to do with money?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“You won’t take a part-time job because your free time belongs to me. Understand?”
She nodded, swallowing hard. It was dizzying how glad and how nervous his words made her.
A waiter approached. “Mr. McLeod, have you been helped?”
“Not yet. Bring a glass of Lagavulin, a couple of waters, and a menu for her.”
“Of course, Sir. One Scotch?”
“One,” he said with a nod.
The waiter left.
“You don’t drink Scotch, do you?” he asked.
“I never have. Can I try a sip?”
“Of course. What do you like to drink?”
“Water’s good.”
“It is. What else?”
She glanced away.
“What?”
“Milk.”
“What’s wrong with that? When I was a kid I went through a gallon a week. Never had a cavity.”
“I really like milk!” she said. “My suite mate, Maya, thinks it’s gross. She makes fun of me all the time.”
“She’s crazy. What about alcohol?”
“Not really. I’ll try something if you want me to. Not wine, though, if that’s ok. Some kinds seem to give me headaches.”
Rory sat back and studied her.
She grimaced. “Do you have a big wine collection? Is it disappointing that I don’t drink it?”
“It’s not disappointing at all.”
“Oh good.” Kate smiled at him.
“You’re so goddamned beautiful,” he said.
She looked down at her hands, overwhelmed again. He must have been with so many girls more beautiful than she was, but he made her feel like she was the first one he’d ever seen. “Thank you for thinking so.”
The waiter dropped off the menu and the drinks.
“Bring her a glass of milk,” Rory said.
The waiter nodded and left again. Rory advised her on what to order, emphasizing that he wanted her to choose something with a lot of protein to make up for the fact she’d had almost nothing but carbs all day.
She felt a little guilty, but got the steak-and-jumbo-shrimp combination when he forced her to tell him what looked really good to her.
He took a swig from his glass and set it down, moving his chair even closer. “There are a couple things we need to talk about.”
“Okay,” she said, clasping her hands in her lap.
“Earlier you said you’d try something alcoholic if I wanted you to.”
She nodded.
“You put yourself in my hands.”
“Yes. Didn’t you want me to?”
“Sure I want you to. I’d be wrong though if I didn’t point it out and remind you that it’s a choice.”
She nodded.
“I’ve been bending and breaking a lot of the club’s rules because I know exactly what applies to us and what doesn’t.
But I’m not sure if I’ve also told you that I think our club is the best of its kind and that it has a lot of important rules that I would never break because they absolutely apply to us, to who we are and how we choose to live. You need to know that.”
“All right.”
“I go after what I want. If something or someone gets in my way, I go around them or over them. I’m hardwired that way.”
“I like that about you.”
“I know. I’m glad. What I’m trying to say is, if you give me power over you, I’ll take it.
Even if you don’t offer it up, I’ll try to take it, sometimes without realizing it.
But this thing between us is new, and we haven’t talked about a lot of important stuff that we probably should have before I started getting you to break rules.
Hell, I didn’t even give you a chance to learn what the rules are. ”
“I guess that was probably wrong. But it doesn’t feel wrong to me. When I’m with you…” She didn’t even understand what she felt for him. “I feel so many things.”
He slid a hand over the side of her face and neck, then pulled it back. “Here’s your food.”
He moved his chair back to where it belonged and they talked about casual things, like what classes she was taking and the things she liked about Pennsylvania, where she was from.
She mentioned that she loved the view from the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
That reminded him of the Rocky boxing movies, and he confessed that he’d tried to use a fake ID to join a gym for fighters when he was fifteen.
That hadn’t worked, but it got his foot in the door for an after-school job cleaning up.
“That led to more. They never let me in the ring to spar when I was underage, but they taught me things and let me hit the bag, which was a big deal to me at the time.”
“Did you want to be a boxer?”
“No, but I liked learning from those guys.”
“I was a fighter too. Online,” she said with a small smile. “Video games.”
“Which ones?”
“A lot of different ones. Do you play?”
“No.”
“Not physical enough for you?”
He shook his head.
“That was part of why I stopped. I got too busy,” she said. “But also, I guess I really wanted to play games that were more physical.”
“Then you joined the right club,” he said.
At moments, like now, something predatory and uncivilized emerged in his eyes, and those were the moments she waited for.