Chapter 10 #2
Her mouth fell open, and she sputtered, “I did no such thing.”
“You agreed to start over,” he reminded her quietly. “You were also the one dripping wet and squirming all over my lap.”
She couldn’t deny it. Thank God the darkness hid her mortification and the blush flaring across her face.
He cupped her cheek, gentling the moment. “After yesterday, the last thing on my mind was another submissive. Now, let’s talk about why you’re here.”
She clamped her mouth shut, gaze averted as she tried to come up with a plausible explanation. There wasn’t one other than the truth.
“The chef I work for caters here twice a week. I worked Saturday night. What I saw…” Heat shot up her neck, and she was afraid she would spontaneously combust from embarrassment.
“What I saw made me curious. Especially after you… after we… on my couch.” She cleared her throat and somehow was able to continue. “Then the invitation showed up—”
All softness vanished as he barked, “You got an invitation? From who?”
“I don’t know. It wasn’t signed. Julia said it was probably someone who noticed me the other night.”
“Who did you talk to?”
“Everyone. It’s kind of necessary when you’re serving food and drinks. But no one stands out in my head.”
“With some of these horny bastards, a glance is all it takes.” His hand closed around hers, possessive and firm. “We’ll shut that down right now.”
“Wait, Alec. I was serious about wanting to go home.”
He turned so unexpectedly, she collided with his chest. She rebounded, nearly losing her footing, but his arm banded her waist, catching her before she fell.
“Not yet. You came here for answers. I can give them to you. And make it clear to whoever sent that invitation that you’re with me.”
“Am I?” she whispered, unsure, hope and fear warring in her chest.
“Baby. Didn’t we just clear that up?”
She bit her lip, uncertain.
“We’ve always been honest with one another. Haven’t we?”
Emily nodded. She’d never outright lied to him—except after Ethan’s funeral, which was a biggie, but there were extenuating circumstances.
“Yesterday only made everything more confusing,” she confessed.
“How?” he asked quietly, but pressed against him, she could feel tension gathering.
“I’m messed up,” she whispered. “I think I might need this in order to—” She couldn’t make herself say the word.
“You didn’t have any trouble last night.”
How did she reply? About that, Alec. It was nice, but there weren’t exactly fireworks.
As the seconds ticked by, and she didn’t answer, tension mounted between them.
He huffed in disbelief. “I know when a woman gets off, Em, and you definitely did.”
“I’m not denying that I... um… It just wasn’t…”
“Wasn’t what, Emily?” He was calm, but she could tell his patience was waning.
“It wasn’t as intense as on my couch,” she blurted out then buried her face in his shirt. “God, this is humiliating. Can I please go home?”
“No,” he stated flatly. “Although it’s a blow to my ego that the earth didn’t move for you—”
“I didn’t say that!” she protested.
“No, but you should have. I’m a man, not a mind reader. We have members who drive from all over the state to play here. Why? Because it’s exciting. It fulfills something inside them. No one apologizes for that. Why should you?”
“I thought maybe something was wrong with me. Before you, I’d never been able to…”
Thankfully, his understanding was immediate. “Never?”
She shook her head. “You are the exception.”
He grunted. “That’s something, at least.”
“That’s why I accepted that invitation. To see if it was all of this.”
“Moving forward, if you have questions, come to me. Honesty and communication matter more than anything in this world.”
“I haven’t agreed to anything yet.”
“That’s because you’re still in a snit thinking I was playing you.”
“It’s not just tonight. There was Isabella Benedetti—a married woman.”
“She was a job. That’s over. And before you ask, I didn’t sleep with her. What you saw behind the stage was as far as it went.”
“Do you get that close to all your clients?”
“She wasn’t a client. I was undercover, investigating her and her husband.
All of that was before we reconnected. I’m single and have never claimed to be a monk, but I have always been up front with play partners and women I see outside the club.
But if you’re with me, Em, you can trust I’ll only be with you. ”
She wanted to believe him. Wanted to trust him. Wanted to say yes.
“I say we start again, with no secrets. Finding out that you’re open to my world moves things along but doesn’t alter my plan to introduce you slowly. We can start now.”
“Oh, but—”
“Did you read the small print on your invitation?”
“About no gawkers?”
“That’s the one. Have you done anything with anyone tonight?”
“No, I… well, just… gawked.”
He eyes flashed. “That saves me from kicking someone’s ass.” He pulled her against his chest. Cupping her cheek, he raised her face to his. “Let me give you a taste of my world.”
Her gaze shifted behind him, to where the torches glowed brightly around the patio and the playground beyond.
“I’ll take care of you, Em,” he promised, with his face so close to hers, she felt the warmth of his breath on her lips.
“I trust you to, Alec,” she whispered, meaning it. “That has never been in doubt.”
“Sorry, Coulter. It appears our friend here beat you to the punch.”
Master Leland stood nearby with another man.
Rugged-looking, wearing only a sleeveless leather vest, and inked—tattoos snaking up the side of his neck and a half sleeve adorning one arm.
Exactly the kind of dangerous dom Emily thought would fit in here.
Nothing like Alec’s clean-cut, controlled confidence.
“Let’s not be too hasty,” the newcomer drawled. “She hasn’t had a good look at me. Some subs prefer rugged over pretty-boy charm.”
“She’s not a masochist,” Alec cut in, sharp as a blade. “And she’s with me.”
Julia peeked between the men, eyes wide. “You know Master Alec?”
Emily hoped she’d forgotten their mailbox conversation. No such luck.
“He’s not— He couldn’t possibly be—” Julia’s gaze ping-ponged between them before she doubled over laughing. “You thought he was—”
“Julia, don’t,” Emily groaned, but her soon-to-be ex friend was chortling too loudly to hear.
“Care to share the joke,” Alec drawled, “since I appear to be the butt of it?”
Another peal of laughter broke free.
“I think we all want to know what’s so funny.” Master Leland’s no-nonsense tone broke through where others didn’t.
Julia straightened and tried to compose herself. “It’s just a joke between friends.”
“I’ve had a trying day and could use a good laugh. I’m sure Master Alec would appreciate a little levity too.”
Emily shook her head. “That’s not really necessary, is it?”
“The ones not in the loop think it is,” Alec insisted.
Obviously torn between obedience and loyalty to a friend, Julia squeaked, “I’d really rather not.”
“And I’d rather you did. We can discuss your reluctance to obey a dominant’s order, later.” The big bald intimidating master tapped his ear. “Why don’t you whisper it to me?”
She cast Em an apologetic look before moving closer.
Well over six feet tall, Master Leland had to bend low to hear her confession.
“Boring Vanilla Dude! Yarborough?” he bellowed without warning. “I’d believe he was secretly in love with me before I’d believe that.”
The laughter that followed was big and booming like his voice. After slapping Alec on the back, he slung a heavy arm around Julia’s shoulders and started toward the gathering.
Emily didn’t dare glance at Alec when Master Leland said amid his continued chuckles, “I can’t wait see the others’ reactions when they hear this.”
She wanted to vanish in a puff of smoke. Or swim home. Emily looked down the sloping yard to the trees lining the water.
“I wouldn’t,” Alec advised. “This is Florida; there are gators in every body of water.”
“He isn’t wrong,” a soft voice said out of the darkness. The other dom, all but forgotten.
“Are you sure he’s your choice?” he asked her. “Vanilla can be so very dull.”
“Fuck off, Coulter,” Alec snapped.
The other dom’s laughter, although nowhere near the earth-shaking quality of Leland’s, drifted to them as he walked away and disappeared into the shadows.
“So now I’m boring and vanilla, am I?” Alec asked quietly, a razor-thin smile curving his lips.
“Julia said that—not me.”
“What were your words?” he pressed.
“I said you were sweet. Among other things.”
“Referring to the couch or the bedroom?”
“It was just girl talk,” Emily hedged.
“In that case, you should have no problem telling me.”
Emily pressed her lips together, carefully considering what to say. She didn’t want to hurt him. She just wanted to be truthful—without ruining everything.
“At this rate,” Alec said dryly, “we’ll be here all night.”
Emily’s throat tightened. She stared at the grass instead of his eyes. “I didn’t give her specifics. I just asked her why what happened on the couch was… off-the-charts, and the other… wasn’t.”
His silence settled heavy between them.
“Last night was nice, Alec. Really.”
“Sweet and nice,” he remarked, tonelessly. “What every dominant wants to hear.”
He moved closer, and she instinctively retreated a step.
“Remember, I don’t have a lot of experience to draw from.”
“Disclosure’s a good place to start. Fill me in—what experience do you have?”
She paced him step for step as he advanced, her retreat taking her off the sidewalk and onto the manicured lawn. She didn’t stop until she came up against the cool chain-link fence wreathed in fragrant vines. His hand flattened beside her head, caging her gently.
“Aside from yesterday with you, and what I witnessed here Saturday night... nothing. I’ve read a few books,” she admitted.
“If you tell me one of them was Fifty Shades, I might have to hurl myself off the dock. Gators be damned.”
She bit her lip, unwilling for him to become alligator bait.
He closed his eyes and exhaled. “So, I’m competing with fictional billionaires and their private helicopters,” he said dryly.
It didn’t seem fair, but she couldn’t deny it.
When Alec opened his eyes, they were steady and serious. “This isn’t fiction, Em. It’s real. Are you willing to explore it with me?”
Julia’s words echoed in her head: What better way to put it to the test?
Still, she wavered, the choice a crossroads. Loneliness if she didn’t try, awkwardness and potential failure if she did. And the risk of ruining their friendship just when they’d found their way back to each other.
A voice inside chided her negativity, but her past had taught her too well to expect the worst. Fear had kept her safe, yes—but also small, trapped, and alone. Where had it ever actually gotten her?
If she threw caution to the wind and jumped in with both feet, wasn’t it possible they might get what they’d both wanted all along? Something real. Something bright. Love. Happiness. A future.
It sounded too good to be true. But for once in her life, Emily chose courage. She met his gaze, steadying her breath, and nodded.
“We’re all about consent here, baby,” he murmured. “Say it for me. That you trust me and will submit to me—tonight.”
“I do,” she breathed. “I will. It’s all I’ve thought about since yesterday.”
His grin returned, crooked and self-aware.
“I’ll do my best to match what you’ve built up in your head.
Since I’m flesh and blood, not the CEO of a multinational conglomerate and a self-made billionaire, I’m sure I’ll fall short in some way.
” He leaned in, voice low and teasing. “But I’ll rise to the occasion. Count on it.”
No promises were necessary. She felt him ready, and very real against her belly.
Alec dipped his head, his lips grazing a teasing path from her cheek to her jaw.
“Is this really happening?” she breathed.
“Yes, now that you’ve consented.”
“To what exactly?”
“No spoilers. Anticipation is half the fun.” His mouth covered hers, and his tongue swept hungrily inside. It was hot but abbreviated because he paused for a last piece of business. “One thing first—your safeword.”
“Julia told me. And the books,” she admitted.
He groaned. “New rule,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “No more fictional doms. Unless you’re angling for another spanking.”
“Um... yes?” she replied with an uncommon surge of confidence. “It’s the reason I’m here, after all.”
“That,” he said, grinning, “I will certainly make happen.”
His mouth descended, but just before reaching hers, he paused. “Red,” he murmured. “That’s your safeword. Say it, and everything stops. No hesitation.”
His breath ghosted across her lips—then he kissed her. Not sweet. Not tentative. But consuming—like a starving man allowed his first taste in years.