Chapter 10
MAC
“I thought you had a game tonight,” Elodie said, her forehead creasing.
I rubbed her fingers. “It was a home game. I told the staff here to call me if you showed up again.”
She took a deep breath. Then another. I could feel her body practically vibrating with energy. Her pupils were dilated, her cheeks flushed. When she licked her lips, my cock jumped. How was it this woman could drive me insane with such a small gesture?
“Oh.” Her voice was faint, yet she didn’t seem unnerved. She seemed . . . excited.
“Why did you come here tonight?” I asked.
She licked her lips again. Dammit all to fucking hell. She was going to kill me.
“I broke up with Todd,” she said, surprising me again.
“I’m sorry to hear that.” I forced myself to say the words even though we both knew how hollow they were.
Her lips quirked. “Well, it’ll be okay. He was nice about it. We’ve grown apart, and we wanted different things.”
Fucking Todd. I didn’t want to hear about Todd. Because then I thought about finding the guy and beating the shit out of him for letting a woman like Elodie get away from him. Was he a complete fucking moron? He’d had paradise in his hands, and he’d let it slip through his fingers.
Then again, Todd’s loss was my gain. Maybe I should be thanking him. I touched Elodie’s jaw, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. When she tilted her head toward my hand, triumph filled me.
“That sounds very mature of you both,” I said gruffly.
“Mature, sure.” Her eyes sparkled now. “But boring. And it also told me that Todd wasn’t the type of guy who’d fight for me.”
“He’s an idiot,” I growled.
“Maybe.” She inhaled. “Or maybe I am.” Now, she wouldn’t look me in the eye. “I do have some questions for you. About that contract and everything.”
My dick stiffened. “Do you?”
“I’ve been thinking about your . . . proposal.” Her lashes fluttered. “And I’d like to discuss it.”
“Well, then let me take you to my place.” When she blinked in surprise, I added, “To talk. That’s it. Scout’s honor.” I held up my hand with my index and middle fingers pressed together.
“Were you a Boy Scout?”
“Would you be shocked if I told you I was an Eagle Scout?”
Elodie gaped at me. “What? Seriously?”
“Once again—Scout’s honor.” I grinned. “I grew up in Idaho. Being a Boy Scout was pretty much a requirement. Maybe someday I’ll even show you how to start a fire.”
“Come on. We’ll figure out how to get you back to your car later.” I opened the passenger door for Elodie, suddenly wishing I’d driven one of my nicer cars tonight. But she didn’t seem to mind getting into my Corolla. In fact, she seemed mostly amused that my car was so old that it had both manual windows and locks. She played with the window crank, her grin infectious.
“I think this car is older than me,” she joked as we got on the freeway.
I patted the steering wheel. “A lady never discloses her age.”
“Love the little tree air freshener, by the way. I feel like this car would be incomplete without it.”
“It even has a cigarette lighter. I’m only missing the fuzzy dice.” I chuckled.
We drove in comfortable silence. Elodie shot me a few shy glances, making a handful of pithy remarks about my driving abilities as I weaved in and out of traffic.
When we arrived at my place, she’d fallen silent. I put in the code for the gate, and then we were traveling the long driveway toward the multicar garage.
“I think you brought me here just to intimidate me,” Elodie joked as I steered her inside. Her mouth was agape as she took in the surroundings, but she started laughing when I led her farther into the house.
“What’s so funny?” Now I was just confused.
She flung her arms wide. “This is the most bachelor-y bachelor pad I’ve ever seen.”
I took in my living room: furnished with a large couch, a flat-screen TV, and one rickety side table perfect for setting your beer down.
“It’s not that bad,” I protested.
She put her hands on her hips. “You have a huge-ass house but don’t even take the time to furnish it?”
“There’s a couch . . .”
Elodie began wandering around, much to my chagrin. The kitchen was pretty bare, I had to admit. When she opened the fridge, she started laughing at what she saw.
“Red Bull, mustard, and—is that a twenty-pound bag of shredded cheese?” She gave me a confused look.
“Cheese is paramount.” I closed the fridge and went to my bar, which was at least very well-stocked. “Wine? Beer? Something harder?”
“Wine is fine.”
I decided to take her upstairs. The second floor included multiple bedrooms and was better furnished. The primary bedroom had an adjoined sitting room. I turned on the gas fireplace and had Elodie sit beside me on the couch.
“Okay, this room is better,” she admitted, smiling at me. “Did you just run out of money to finish the rest of the house?”
I shot her a glare. “No. I ran out of time.”
“Ah. Well. Maybe you’ll get back to it someday.” She gave me a sheepish grin. “I’m sorry if I offended you. I really was just teasing.”
“I know.” I finished off my whiskey and went to find another bottle I’d left in this room. “I know this place needs work.” I hesitated, then added, “I had some help with the rooms up here.”
“Oh?”
How did I explain that Caroline—who happened to be my lover when I was a teenager, no less had helped me decorate this room? I didn’t even know how to broach that subject. Besides, I’d only just gotten Elodie to agree to come here. I didn’t want to scare her away.
I refilled my glass, then snagged a few documents I’d been working on earlier.
“I hired a decorator,” I lied, returning to sit next to Elodie. “But then I got so busy I had to put things on pause.”
Elodie set her wineglass down. I let myself take in her appearance, shimmering in the firelight. Her hair was a beautiful black, but with the fire reflecting off the strands, I could see bits of red underneath. Her skin seemed to glow, her lashes dark and dusky against her fair cheeks.I wanted to kiss her so freaking badly, but now was not the time.
“So.” I cleared my throat. “You wanted to talk?”
“I did.”
I handed her the documents. “This isn’t the formal contract between us. It’s just an example, but I thought it’d be helpful.”
Elodie took the papers and began scanning them. “Should I have a lawyer?” she asked.
I almost chuckled but stopped myself. “If you want, but it isn’t necessary.”
“‘If either party is seriously injured beyond the scope of this agreement; maimed, or dies as a result of said injuries, the other party will not be held liable by the maimed/deceased party’s estate . . .” Elodie’s eyes were wide. “Good lord, is that necessary?”
“As long as we have boundaries in place beforehand, there’s no reason to worry. But it’s for our mutual protection.”
“Well, I’ll try not to kill you, then.” Elodie handed the papers back to me. “I’m assuming this is talking about a civil suit, not a criminal one?”
I nodded.
“I’m sorry, did I freak you out?” I took her hand. “This is just standard contract legalese.”
“I know. Pretty sure all those ‘terms and conditions’ we have to sign just to download an app have the same thing. I think I recently signed away my firstborn to get a new credit card.”
I grabbed an empty notebook and began writing. “Now, it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty. We’ll go through everything, and you’ll decide what you’re excited about, what you might be interested in trying, and what you definitely don’t want to do.”
We started a list. Elodie was uncomfortable at first, especially as things got more and more graphic, but by the end of things, she seemed more relaxed. The second and third glasses of wine probably helped.
“Nipple clamps, yes. Butt plugs, yes. Whips, maybe.” I gave her a heated smile. “We can discuss how much whipping you’d prefer.”
Elodie squirmed. “Uh, I have no idea.”
“There’s whipping that doesn’t leave any marks. Then there’s whipping that does leave marks. Then you can go so far as to draw blood . . .” When her eyebrows rose to her hairline, I chuckled. “Yeah, it’s a thing.”
“Um, do you do that? Regularly? The drawing blood thing?”
“I’ve had it done to me.”
She blinked like a confused owl.
“But it’s been a long time.”
We reviewed everything that could possibly be relevant, including what days and times Elodie would act as my submissive. Where she would live, where we would have sex, when we would have sex, how long we would have sex, and everything in between.
“What about feet?” I asked.
“Mine or yours?”
“Yours.” I smiled. “Have you ever had your toes sucked? Or given a foot job?”
“Do you want me to give you a foot job?” she asked, confused.
I laughed. “That’s not my bag, but how about we put that one under maybe.”
“Mmm.”
By the time we’d gone through every possible sexual scenario, I was so wound up that I had to start pacing to keep myself from pouncing on Elodie. I had a feeling she’d be receptive, but I’d promised her that I hadn’t brought her here to have sex.
It didn’t help that the wine had relaxed her. She’d taken her hair down from its ponytail, the dark tendrils framing her heart-shaped face. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and she kept re-crossing her legs as if tempting me to push them wide and discover all her secrets.
“So I guess this whole thing is separate from the contract I signed with The Scarlet Rope?” Elodie asked.
Her question broke through my hazy brain. “Yeah, this is just between you and me. But like the club, I’d ask you to sign an NDA as well.”
Now Elodie looked annoyed. “Good lord, how many NDAs am I going to sign? Can I talk about”—she gestured vaguely—“stuff we do but just not mention you by name?”
“That’s fine, as long as you keep out identifying details.” I sat down again next to her. “I know it seems like a lot, but believe me, it’s all for a good reason. It’s to protect us both. And especially since I’m a public figure, you don’t want to get mixed up in something that could affect your job or reputation.”
“Oh, I get the logic behind it. But it also makes it seem so . . .”
“What?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Businesslike. Dry. Boring. Like you’re inspecting a house or something.”
I laughed. I turned her face toward me. “I can assure you, sweetheart, you won’t be bored. And neither will I.”
Her eyes widened, and it was at that moment that my self-control snapped. Not completely, but it wasn’t made of steel either.
“Can I kiss you?” I asked in a low voice.
Her lashes fluttered, her voice trembling a bit. “Um . . .”
“Just a kiss. I promise.” My hands practically shook with need as I stroked her cheek. “But I don’t think I can wait any longer.”
When she breathed, “Me neither,” I nearly shouted in triumph.
I pulled her into my arms. I was probably not as gentle as I could’ve been, but when Elodie let out an excited gasp, I didn’t let myself feel bad about it.
I kissed her hard, tangling my fingers into her hair. My other arm wrapped around her waist, making sure to keep that hand on her back.
She tasted like the wine she’d been drinking but sweeter. So fucking sweet . I pushed my tongue into her mouth, and she let out a little moan. I gripped her harder. She kissed me back, our lips and tongues tangling, the kiss getting so intense that my cock was rock hard in moments. It had been ages since my body had reacted this way to someone.
Christ, she’s going to make me come in my fucking jeans , I thought, both amazed and dismayed.That hadn’t happened to me in more than a decade, and I’d hoped to die before it ever happened again.
I deepened the kiss. I bent her over my arm, showing her how I’d bend her over any piece of furniture I wanted. Every part of her body, I would claim. I couldn’t fucking wait.
I trailed my hand under her shirt, her skin warm and soft. This small sampling of her taste was enough to make me crazy. I didn’t know when and didn’t know how, but I felt like this woman would be the end of me.
Finally, Elodie broke the kiss, gasping. “Mac,” she said, breathing hard.
I’d pulled her into my lap. I wanted her to feel exactly how hard she’d made me. “And that was just a fucking kiss,” I said, groaning.
She let out a little laugh. “Wow.”
“I have a guest room.” The words came out before I could think them over. “You can stay the night.”
Elodie sucked on her bottom lip, which nearly did me in. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“I won’t touch you.”
Do you even believe yourself? I pushed the thought aside.
“I know.” She stroked my arm as if soothing me. “But I still need to think about this whole thing. So if you could give me a ride back to my car . . .”
“Of course.”
But I didn’t make a move to get up, and neither did she. She gazed into my eyes, and when I moved to kiss her again, she didn’t push me away.
Our lips touched, this kiss softer but just as passionate. She melted into my embrace. I gripped her shirt with a clenched fist, hoping against hope that she’d change her mind and stay the night.