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new Italian restaurant that opened in Alamo Heights?”
    “I understand reservations are impossible to get. Don’t tell me even the fabulous Branch Colby doesn’t have enough influence for that.”
    “On the contrary,” he teased. “I have it under control. I just thought maybe we ought to do something a little different.”
    “Different?” The hesitation in her voice was obvious. “Like what?”
    “I keep a small powerboat at the Canyon Lake Marina. The drive’s only an hour, so if I pick you up in the afternoon, we can get out on the lake before the sun sets.”
    A pause. He was getting used to her pauses as she chewed things over.
    “Dinner on the boat,” he added. “I wouldn’t want you to think I’m trying to cheat you out of a meal.”
    She laughed, that low musical sound that he was becoming addicted to, that turned him on as it vibrated across the connection.
    “A sunset dinner on the water,” he went on, wondering if she was actually going to turn him down. She was cautious, this one. Nobody’s plaything, that was for sure.
    “And what time would we be getting back?” she asked.
    Okay. Not until morning if he had his choice.
    “Whenever you’re ready to head back in. Your call.”
    More silence. Then….
    “All right. What time should I be ready?”
    Yes! Branch had to resist the urge to give a fist pump.
    “Two-thirty okay? That’ll give us plenty of time to get there, get out of the marina, and find a place to drop anchor. That work for you?”
    “I’ll be ready,” she assured him.
    “Bring a bathing suit and a sweater,” he added.
    She laughed again. “That’s an odd combination.”
    “The suit so you can lay out in the sun and the sweater because it gets cool in the evening.”
    “I’ll be waiting.”
    Branch disconnected the call and sat there, a kaleidoscope of thoughts running through his brain. He’d seen Lee Sullivan—what—three times? He didn’t know how it had happened, but, suddenly, she’d become a different kind of challenge to him, one he wasn’t entirely sure he was comfortable with.
     
     

Chapter Five
     
     
    At least a dozen times Lee was on the verge of calling Branch Colby and cancelling. She wasn’t an idiot. He might think he was concealing it, but there was no mistaking the underlying sexual innuendo in his invitation. What she had to decide was if she was ready to entertain accepting it.
    There was something so intriguing about him, something beyond just the dynamic of the self-made millionaire. Even in the meeting with her boss, she’d caught that same hint of darkness, of underlying eroticism. She was sure he’d be incredible in bed, probably even addictive. There were two problems with that, however.
    She had discovered that casual relationships outside Infinity didn’t work for her. She hesitated to involve herself with a man who had not one submissive tendency. She’d become an expert at sensing it by now, especially with the alphas like Drew who were so in control in every other aspect of their lives. Some of them, again like Drew, battled that submissive need, but when they finally gave in to it, the rewards were so rich and, strangely enough, made them only stronger.
    The dynamics were so unbelievable and so difficult for people in the vanilla life to understand. Not that they had a real understanding about the D/s lifestyle anyway, but that was a major reason why she kept her private life completely that. Private. As she grew older, she reluctantly came to the conclusion that she might never find the sub she’d be picking out drapes with or shopping for a home with.
    Still, she was happy with her life. And maybe a “side trip” with Branch Colby might not be so bad, as long as they both understood the rules.
    But what if she’d misread his signals? What if she was reading more into his invitation than he meant?
    Jesus, Lee. Is this your first date?
    She gave herself a sharp mental smack. By the time the doorbell rang Saturday