Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Either way, it scared the crap out of her, and it might be a moot point because he’d barely talked to her.
“Dare’s waiting. I’ll see you at the office, and call me if you want to talk,” Tasha said as she headed out.
Lou heard her leave, locking the door and resetting the security system.
“Should I be worried?”
She turned and TJ was standing there. He’d changed from what he’d been wearing on the plane into a pair of gray sweatpants and nothing else. Not a damn thing else. Nothing to hide his sculpted chest and broad, muscular shoulders. Nothing covering his six-pack, and the sweats rode low on lean hips.
How long had she been staring? She shook her head. “About Tash? I don’t think so. She and Dare are going to stay at her parents’ place until they move. They recently bought a condo apparently. She says you can stay in her room.”
Tasha was moving on with her life. Tasha was getting married, and she would happily settle down with the man of her dreams, and the man of Lou’s dreams was standing right there and she had no idea how to reach out for him.
“You should get some sleep, LouLou. Don’t look so terrified. I’m not going to jump you. I promise.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. Sort of. He was waking up. He was coming out of the trauma response.
“Unless you want me to.” His voice went deep, and his gaze suddenly seemed hot. “We could make that our first scene. Consensual non-consent is a bit advanced, but I can make it happen.”
And her pulse was racing. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea, TJ.”
“I agree. We should start with something more basic,” he replied. “I was thinking we would have some fun on the equipment. Find our style. A little bondage. Some spanking. I’m going to be honest. I’ll probably stay away from the violet wand. Too much like a taser, but we could try a TENS if you like.”
Every word sent her into a weird panic cycle. First, there was arousal and curiosity. She’d always wanted to know what it felt like. And then she realized TJ would see her naked and self-consciousness struck. “I didn’t mean that. I meant the whole club thing. The whole D/s thing might be a bad idea.”
“Why?” He moved in but kept a few feet from her. His handsome face settled into a deep grimace. “I thought you were going to at least give me that. I know you’re going to keep dating, but I thought I would have a shot. And don’t tell me I’m going to wake up. I know that’s what’s going through your head, but it’s not happening. You’re dating. I get that. I won’t stop you. I only ask that I get a chance, too. If you won’t let us play together, then we could go on a real date.”
That seemed even worse. At least at the club they would have boundaries and rules. There were plenty of people she knew who kept their relationships to the club. TJ would eventually leave and life would go back to normal, and if she didn’t have a boyfriend and he wasn’t involved, they could see each other at the club when he came home on leave.
Yes. That was why she’d gone this way in the first place. “Okay, but I think we should definitely start slow. Uhm, the non-con should wait until we know each other better.”
His lips curled up. “It’s weird to think we don’t know each other. I know you better than anyone. At least parts of you. But now we get to explore this part.”
He sounded like he wanted to, like he was excited about it. “But I’m serious about continuing to date. I need to look around. I need to discover what’s out there for me.”
His eyes went puppy-dog sad, and it took everything she had not to hug him. “Because you don’t trust me to stay.”
She had to be honest with him. If they were actually going to explore this thing between them, honesty was going to be necessary. “Because I don’t trust any of this.”
He moved in again, his hand coming out to brush back her hair. “And when you wake up a year from now and I’m still begging you to stay with me? What will you do then?”
He was pushing her, and she was too tired to think. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Like I said, you can stay in Tasha’s room. I think she already changed the sheets, but I’ll leave these for you just in case.”
She turned to go but he stopped her, reaching for her arm and bringing her back to him. “I’m sorry. It’s too fast. I’ll be good. We’re friends like we always were, but we’re adding the club. That’s all. I’m single. You’re single. We’re both interested in the lifestyle but don’t have play partners. We can handle this and still be friends.”