Take a Chance (12 page)

Despite the headache, she was playing with
him. Touching him without lifting a hand. Damn, he was going to
fall so hard for this little speck of a woman. He just hoped she
appreciated his lifestyle. “What has Brent helped you get away
with?”

“
Promise you won’t tell
Simon?”

“
That bad?”

She wiggled in her spot, rearranging her
position and he could feel a bead of sweat forming on his temple.
“Not really, but Simon wouldn’t approve.”

A laugh escaped and a bit of the tension in
his body eased. “I have a feeling Simon doesn’t approve of
much.”

“
I’ve often wondered how
Simon had three kids, since he’s fairly straight-laced about
sex.”

“
What did you do,
Dena?”

“
You know, I think you’re
right. What kind of movies do you have?”

“
You’re teasing me, aren’t
you?” Damn, she was a sassy little thing, even when banged up and
fragile. “Not a good way to go, Dena.”

“
I don’t know what you mean.
I thought we were going to watch a movie.”

“
And I thought you were
going to tell me what Brent helped you get away with.”

She stretched and yawned, and then stretched
out on his sofa. “Oh, Brent, yes. He’s always coming up with ways
to get me in trouble. He’s a sweet brother.”

Fuck. Twice in the span of a minute or two,
she’d arched her back and highlighted the upthrust of her breasts
against the fabric of her shirt. Between the motion and her teasing
tone, he was hard as a rock. Taking her now wouldn’t be wise, but
cuffing her to his bed was sounding better by the second.

“
I’m sorry you’re missing
work. I really didn’t want Simon to take me home. He doesn’t
approve of me living alone, and this accident, well, I was afraid
he’d use it as a chance to move me back home.”

“
He does understand we’ve
moved beyond the dark ages, doesn’t he?”

Another one of those giggles he loved popped
out. “Yes, but from what Mom’s told me, he was protective of me
even as a child, hovering over my crib and worrying when I
cried.”

Might make things harder for him, but he and
Simon had come to an agreement of sorts where Dena was concerned
this morning, and he could only hope the trust would stay in place
after Simon found out about the club. Not likely, but a man could
hope. And in the end, it would be Dena’s decision, not the
brother’s.

He watched her eyelids flicker and flutter
down to rest against her skin. She needed rest after her ordeal,
and he’d wake her for lunch in an hour or so. In the meantime, he
had a few things to get done for the Lindsay job. His foreman was
handling today’s wiring, but the control pads hadn’t shown yet and
he wanted to know why.

A day away from the jobsite would be
productive and still give him time to watch over his girl. His sub.
Yeah, well, he needed to get to that part of their relationship
before they went much further. He dug through the linen closet in
the hall and found the afghan his mother gave him a few years ago.
It was still in the box and smelled faintly of Christmas, but it
was soft and warm and all he had to cover her on the couch.

He looked around his house, so different from
hers with all her paintings and bric-a-brac. His place was lean, a
long sectional sofa, a recliner, and a big-ass flat-screen on the
wall. White walls, white carpet, black and white curtains covering
the windows. He hadn’t realized how plain the place was. Just a
place to crash, with little warmth.

But then, the women he brought home rarely
looked at the front room. They were more interested in the playroom
and they never stayed the night.

* * * *

Reindeer leapt over her bed one small
creature at a time, all wearing a red collar with a shiny bell on
it. The scent of peppermint floated in the air around her while she
counted them, first in pairs and then one by one. The numbers
didn’t make sense and she kept starting over.

And it was warm when there should be snow on
the ground at the North Pole. But someone was making hot chocolate
with peppermint sticks. Her mouth watered and she wanted to get up,
but her arms weren’t working right.

Her eyes popped open and she looked down her
body. A red and white afghan covered her from sole to shoulders and
her fingers were entangled in the weave. It all came back, the
wreck, the hospital, and Steve’s house. Her heart squeezed when she
lifted the light blanket. He’d thought to cover her while she
slept. Pushing her feet to the floor, she sat upright and waited
for the dizziness to return.

Nothing.

Turning slowly from side to side, she didn’t
have any wooziness, but her shoulders ached a little. She got to
her feet and stood. Still nothing. Well, a few aches and pains, but
nothing debilitating.

With no sign of her caretaker, she wandered
into

the kitchen and found a glass for water. The
medicine taste finally washed away and she went in search of
Steve.

A doorway to the left of the sofa opened into
a hall. The first door opened to an oversized room that housed the
weirdest gym equipment she’d ever seen. She went inside to
investigate and couldn’t figure out what the metal frame in the
middle of the room was supposed to hold. There were several metal
clamps attached to it, and even more leather pieces positioned at
different levels. Strange.

Turning back to the door, she got a good long
look at a wall of curiosities.

Steve must be a collector of medieval torture
devices. She counted at least ten different items displayed on
hooks within easy reach. On the floor below the items was a large
saddle stand, but the saddle on it didn’t look like anything she’d
ever seen.

“
See anything you’d like to
play with?”

As his question sank in, she had her first
‘oh, shit’ moment. This room was just like the one Sara had
described from a book she’d read. That book everyone had talked
about for months.

A flash of memory from last night, the
scarves, the blindfold, became a flood of sensations that converged
and swamped her.

“
Oh, shit. What the hell is
this place?”

Chapter 12

Not exactly how he’d planned to introduce her
to his lifestyle, but what the fuck. They’d have to have this
conversation sooner or later, and he’d just as well get it over
with. Convincing her was a matter of time and patience, and he had
both in spades.

“
What are you thinking,
Dena?”

“
I…I…” Her head turned
toward the pegboard wall where some of his toys were displayed and
her body followed as her gaze swept the room. “I don’t know what to
think. Who are you?”

Shock, yes, but no real disgust, so they
could make this work. “I’m the same man who made love to you last
night. The same man you’ve been flirting with the last few
days.”

“
But this is…” She waved her
hand in the direction of the St. Andrew’s cross.
“…what?”

“
Just another way to have
sex.”

“
Do you get off on hurting
women?”

The pause she’d held before the word women
had him itching to hold her. She was scared and he couldn’t blame
her, but she wasn’t ready for his hands on her. Not yet. “Some
women, and some men, like pain. I’m not one of them and I assume
you aren’t, either.”

“
Damn right, I’m not.” She
brushed past him and left the room, her body language screaming
confusion. And he didn’t blame her one iota.

Back in the living room, she was cocooned in
the blanket and staring across the room to the blank television
screen. “We should watch a movie or something,” she said, trying to
skirt the issue, but it wasn’t going to go away.

Positioning his ass on the other end of the
sofa, he faced her and tried like hell to keep his tone moderate.
The difference between explanation and dominance was a wide plane
of existence and he didn’t want her to feel intimidated. That would
come later. Much later.

“
Dena, we’re not going to
avoid this conversation. We can’t.”

She nodded to the screen and handed him the
remote, but he set it on the table behind him and shook his head.
“You asked me who I was. It’s time for me to tell you. If you want
to walk away from me, that’s your option.”

“
What happens to me if I
don’t want that option?” One perfectly manicured hand scrubbed at
her face. “I thought something good was happening to me, to us. But
now I can’t think what that was.”

“
You’re right. It is
something good, and I don’t want to let go of it. But you need to
understand that dominance is a large part of who I am. And I have a
strong feeling that submission is something you crave but don’t
understand.”

“
I don’t know what you’re
talking about.”

Ah, defensive more than scared. But the fear
wasn’t focused on him. This was more about who she was than what he
wanted to do with her.

He fought to keep his expression neutral.
Smiling at her wouldn’t help and if anything, might make her mad.
Instead, he let his voice drop and soften. “When I give you
directions, you respond like a natural submissive. Have you been
uncomfortable with me at any time?”

“
No.” Her eyes widened.
“You’ve been dominating me?”

“
Yes.” He let a simple smile
loose. “From that first dinner when you tried to attack me, I knew
you needed a little control and some discipline.” She tried to
object but he held out an open hand. “At first, I was trying to
save your dignity, thinking your attempt at seduction had some link
to the attack I interrupted.”

“
So I’m just a project for
you? Some kind of experiment?”

“
No, not hardly,
sweetheart.”

Her stare was a confused mixture of doubt,
anger, and longing. He’d left too much unsaid. “It’s been a long
time since I had a steady relationship. You made me think it was
time to try again.”

“
What would that look like
in your world?” she asked. And unfortunately, he didn’t have a
ready answer. “That’s something we’d need to work on
together.”

Her eyelids lowered, the lashes like lace on
her skin, and as he watched, her face went from pale ivory to dark
pink.

“
Can I interest you in a
tour of my playroom?” Ah, that dark pink flushed to the deeper red
of embarrassment. He lifted her hand and tugged. “No need for
shyness. I’ve seen every part of you and I appreciate every
inch.”

Pulling her to her feet as he stood, he
tossed the afghan onto the sofa and led her back down the hall. She
came to an abrupt halt in the doorway and he stepped inside.

“
When we’re in here, I’m in
control of every aspect of your body and mind. I will care for you
in every way.”

“
And hurt me?”

“
Only when I must and only
with love.”

Damn. That wasn’t what he was planning to say
but it was too fucking close to what he was feeling to take it
back.

“
That sounds like something
all three of my brothers and my father might say. I don’t think
this submission thing is for me. I’ve been bossed around all my
life. These things—” She waved her hand around. “—aren’t going to
change my mind.”

“
I’m not your brother or
your father. I’m your lover and your Dom. Everything I do or say is
meant to increase your pleasure.”

The crossed arms said more about her thoughts
than words ever could. “By spanking me?”

He leaned against the doorjamb and mirrored
her stance. “The line between pleasure and pain is thinner than you
can imagine. With an open mind and an hour, I can show you what
you’ve been missing. Do you still trust me?”

Those dark chocolate eyes bored into his, her
arms still crossed at her chest while she made up her mind. He kept
his body as still as possible to avoid spooking her before she
decided. When her shoulders dropped, he recognized his first
victory. Not that he’d keep count. There’d be too many to tally in
the next few months and he’d cherish every one.

“
Thank you for your trust.”
He paused, weighing his words before diving into the basics. “When
you’re with me, I want you to have a specific word to use as a way
to stop whatever’s happening to you. A safe word. Something that
wouldn’t come up in conversation.”

“
Can’t I just say
stop?”

He shook his head and enjoyed her reluctant
smile. “No. It should be something unique to you. A word that can’t
have any implications except to halt all action.”

He gave her a few minutes to process, then
nudged with “Come on, doll. Give me a word.”

“
Purple.”

“
Okay. I can work with
that.” He lifted his ass from the doorjamb and moved into the room.
“What would you like to look at first?”

Panic flashed in her eyes for a second and
she turned away, her body facing the storage wall in a way that
kept him from seeing her expression. He thought about putting his
body in her sightline, but he already knew enough about her to
wait. She needed time to process what she saw before asking about
how the items were used.

Besides, most of what he had on the wall was
easy to figure out.

Restraints.

Paddles.

Whips.

“
For someone who claims no
interest in pain, you have a lot of weapons up there.”

“
Semantics, doll. What might
look painful to you now could become your favorite toy next week.
Or as soon as tomorrow.”