don’t,” he said. “We’ll talk first this time.”
“Me?”
He laughed. “All right, maybe it was my fault. But kissing you is too damn good. But yeah, we have to talk a few things through.”
“Okay. Let me go change.”
“I don’t mind the towel.”
She smiled at him. “I’m sure you don’t, but you can’t ask me to sit next to you and think straight enough to have these negotiations after the way you just kissed me when I’m half naked.”
“Mmm, point taken.” He grinned at her, then settled on the sofa as easily as if he owned it. But then, that was how Connor did everything.
She hurried back to the bedroom, found her red satin kimono robe and slipped into it. She took a few moments in the bathroom to take her hair down and brush it into place in front of the big pewter-framed mirror. She tried to ignore the gleam in her blue eyes, the pink blush on her cheeks.
She’d have to accept that this was what he did to her. With one kiss. Hell, just by being there. She could pretend to be annoyedwith him, but what she was really annoyed with was her lack of control over her own response to him.
She had been, anyway.
Seeing him again made it all come back to her—the way he made her feel. Which was too damn good not to have another taste of it.
She was strong enough, independent enough, to simply let it go when her trip was over, or when one of them decided it was time to part ways. She always had been before. There was no reason for her to think she wouldn’t be now.
She could have sex with Connor Galloway again. And oh, how she was melting already, knowing it was about to happen. She could explore his brand of kink. It didn’t have to mean anything more than that. It didn’t have to make her head spin. And even if it did, she would handle it. Just as she’d told Dylan, she always did.
There was another small lie in there somewhere. But she was too distracted by the knowledge that he was in the next room, waiting for her, to pay it any attention.
“You are in big trouble, girl,” she told her reflection in the mirror. But that reflection only smiled back at her with a lustful gleam in her eyes.
four
“Come sit by me,” he said.
She did, next to him but not too close. If they had serious issues to discuss, she’d have to maintain a certain distance in order to keep a clear head. Semi-clear, anyway. The man was still in the room. And she suspected up close he’d smell too good to resist.
“Do you want something to drink?” she asked him. “A glass of wine?”
“No alcohol when we play. No alcohol when we negotiate. Clear heads.”
“Okay. How do these negotiations go?”
“I have a list of questions. You answer. Simple in essence, except that you need to think your answers through, be honest with yourself about what you want, where your boundaries and fears are. And it’s just as crucial that you’re honest with me. This will determine what we might do, and perhaps more important, what we won’t do. You’ll be telling me yes, no or maybe for each question.‘Maybe’ means it’s something I can push you on in the moment, or bring up again later, if I determine you’re in the right space to approach it.”
“If
you
determine?” She crossed her arms over her chest. That didn’t sit well with her at all.
Connor leaned forward, his elbows braced on his knees. “Mischa, being a dominant is a great pleasure, but with it comes great responsibility. I know we’ve just met, but can you trust in what you’ve seen of me so far? Can you trust that I am Alec’s friend? We play in the same circles, by the same code of ethics. Are you familiar with the Safe, Sane and Consensual credo?”
“Yes. I’ve heard it at the clubs I’ve been to. And I’ve read about it.”
“Then you have some idea of what that code means to me. I take it very seriously. All right?”
She nodded. Her heart was beginning to pound. This was serious stuff. The few men she’d “played” with
“Me?”
He laughed. “All right, maybe it was my fault. But kissing you is too damn good. But yeah, we have to talk a few things through.”
“Okay. Let me go change.”
“I don’t mind the towel.”
She smiled at him. “I’m sure you don’t, but you can’t ask me to sit next to you and think straight enough to have these negotiations after the way you just kissed me when I’m half naked.”
“Mmm, point taken.” He grinned at her, then settled on the sofa as easily as if he owned it. But then, that was how Connor did everything.
She hurried back to the bedroom, found her red satin kimono robe and slipped into it. She took a few moments in the bathroom to take her hair down and brush it into place in front of the big pewter-framed mirror. She tried to ignore the gleam in her blue eyes, the pink blush on her cheeks.
She’d have to accept that this was what he did to her. With one kiss. Hell, just by being there. She could pretend to be annoyedwith him, but what she was really annoyed with was her lack of control over her own response to him.
She had been, anyway.
Seeing him again made it all come back to her—the way he made her feel. Which was too damn good not to have another taste of it.
She was strong enough, independent enough, to simply let it go when her trip was over, or when one of them decided it was time to part ways. She always had been before. There was no reason for her to think she wouldn’t be now.
She could have sex with Connor Galloway again. And oh, how she was melting already, knowing it was about to happen. She could explore his brand of kink. It didn’t have to mean anything more than that. It didn’t have to make her head spin. And even if it did, she would handle it. Just as she’d told Dylan, she always did.
There was another small lie in there somewhere. But she was too distracted by the knowledge that he was in the next room, waiting for her, to pay it any attention.
“You are in big trouble, girl,” she told her reflection in the mirror. But that reflection only smiled back at her with a lustful gleam in her eyes.
four
“Come sit by me,” he said.
She did, next to him but not too close. If they had serious issues to discuss, she’d have to maintain a certain distance in order to keep a clear head. Semi-clear, anyway. The man was still in the room. And she suspected up close he’d smell too good to resist.
“Do you want something to drink?” she asked him. “A glass of wine?”
“No alcohol when we play. No alcohol when we negotiate. Clear heads.”
“Okay. How do these negotiations go?”
“I have a list of questions. You answer. Simple in essence, except that you need to think your answers through, be honest with yourself about what you want, where your boundaries and fears are. And it’s just as crucial that you’re honest with me. This will determine what we might do, and perhaps more important, what we won’t do. You’ll be telling me yes, no or maybe for each question.‘Maybe’ means it’s something I can push you on in the moment, or bring up again later, if I determine you’re in the right space to approach it.”
“If
you
determine?” She crossed her arms over her chest. That didn’t sit well with her at all.
Connor leaned forward, his elbows braced on his knees. “Mischa, being a dominant is a great pleasure, but with it comes great responsibility. I know we’ve just met, but can you trust in what you’ve seen of me so far? Can you trust that I am Alec’s friend? We play in the same circles, by the same code of ethics. Are you familiar with the Safe, Sane and Consensual credo?”
“Yes. I’ve heard it at the clubs I’ve been to. And I’ve read about it.”
“Then you have some idea of what that code means to me. I take it very seriously. All right?”
She nodded. Her heart was beginning to pound. This was serious stuff. The few men she’d “played” with
Similar Books
