“Mrs. Staunton.” The man turned and stopped talking. “Heather?”
“Jason?”
She would have laughed at both of them speaking at exactly the same time if she hadn’t been so shocked about finding herself face-to-face with somebody she hadn’t expected to ever meet again.
How long had it been? It had to be at least twenty years since she’d last seen this man she’d known as Jason Hudson. Twenty years since that summer in Wexford when they hadn’t quite managed to get together. A chill ran down Heather’s spine. What did this mean? Would this make her project harder or easier? Would she have preferred to deal with a complete stranger? Then again, wasn’t he a stranger anyway? A few weeks over one summer twenty years ago didn’t mean she knew who this man was—or how to work with him.
“Jason. It’s okay to call you Jason, isn’t it? Should I say Jay? Or even”—she couldn’t stop herself from smiling—“Master Jay?”
It was a relief to see him return her smile as he took her hands and squeezed them lightly. The frown that had formed on his face when he first recognized her had been worrying.
“Jason is fine, Heather. It is my name, even if I rarely use it these days. And I’m not your Master.”
The smile disappeared again.
“In fact…”
Heather watched, trying to make sense of the unfinished sentence and the deepening frown. It reassured her Jason was as surprised by this meeting as she was. On the other hand, she’d enough reservations about this project without having to take on the possible complications resulting from their previous acquaintance as well. She needed him to be sure of what they were doing because she knew she wasn’t. One of them had to be in charge or they’d never get this party organized, never mind turned into a success.
She recognized the moment he gave himself a mental shake and took control.
“How did we not know we were dealing with each other?” Heather couldn’t keep the confusion out of her voice. “I know I’ve been talking to Karl until now, but how did you not know you were hiring me?”
“I…” A frown crossed his face again. “I’ve left all the preliminary work up to Karl. What’s the point in having a manager if you don’t allow him to manage?” His smile seemed forced. Jason’s gaze dropped to the screen on his desk and his frown returned. “If I’d taken the time to study your website before now… But somehow I never got around to it.”
When Jason gestured with his hand, Heather sat down in one of the luxurious leather chairs in the corner and watched as he instructed Karl, who’d been patiently observing their confusion, to send someone along with coffee.
Jason seated himself in the chair opposite hers and Heather studied him. “There are no photos of you on your website, Jason. Why not?”
The question appeared to surprise him and he took his time answering.
“The website has been set up to advertise The Blowhole, not me. In fact, I’m not on the menu, so to speak.”
The frown, a facial expression Heather didn’t remember from the past, returned again.
“The website only has pictures of those members of staff who are available to the visitors. I try to avoid raising unrealistic expectations. If I show pictures of people whose job description doesn’t extend to playing with the guests, it may lead to disappointment. I try not to elicit feelings like that in my visitors.”
Nodding her head, Heather looked around the office again. His answer made perfect sense and yet, she’d never come across a club owner who wasn’t available to his clients at least some of the time. There had to be something else going on to make him so publicity shy. Now wasn’t the moment to ask deeper questions though.
“What about you? Why is all the information on your site at least two years old, Heather?”
She couldn’t quite suppress her frustration. She didn’t want to get into all of this right now. “As I explained to your manager”—it might have been embarrassment flashing across his face—
serves him right
—“that’s when Darren got too ill to continue.”
She saw the confusion in his eyes and sighed before explaining.
“Darren was my husband and business partner.”
As well as so much more
. The thought hurt. She refused to indulge in those memories right now. “He died eighteen months ago.”
“I’m sorry.” His voice was soft. “For your loss and for having to explain that to me now. I should have known.”
Damn right
. The thought flew through her head and nearly out of her mouth. Instead she forced herself to smile.
“Tell me about your anniversary party.” She didn’t want to talk about the past right now—or ever. She had to keep Darren out of her mind as much as possible if she wanted to do this job.
Rubbish
. She would never be able to keep Darren out of her head. She could try to keep him out of her conversations though. If she managed that, she might just make it through the coming weeks without turning into a drama queen…maybe.
It surprised Heather to see Jason look as relieved as she felt when the conversation turned to matters of business. He didn’t appear to be any more eager to talk about personal issues than she was.
“It’s like Karl pointed out in his emails.”
Jason smiled at the beautiful young woman, placing coffee cups, a cafetière and a plate with treats on the table.
“It’s been nearly a year since I opened The Blowhole and for all those months I’ve been entertaining visitors from overseas. I lived in America for close to twenty years and have extensive contacts in the BDSM world there. Having old friends and acquaintances as my first visitors made the starting up process a lot easier than it might have been.”
Heather nodded as she listened to Jason. Visitors from abroad, even if they weren’t friends, would be so much safer than guests who were part of the Irish BDSM community. For starters, those Americans wouldn’t see him as potential competition. She relaxed into her comfortable chair and sipped from the excellent coffee as he explained how he’d been able to create a relaxed environment in which to find his feet and train his staff to his personal standards.
“Of course, I can’t continue this dependence on customers from overseas. Not to mention that if I’d wanted to cater to Americans, I could have stayed there.” Jason looked at her, lost in thought for a moment. “I don’t think there is a place just like mine here in Ireland. I also believe there is a market for what I have to offer. So it is time to take the next big step and allow the ‘locals’ to discover The Blowhole. But—” Jason smiled. “That’s enough for now. You’ve had a long drive to get here and must be tired. Let me show you to your apartment and we’ll get together again in a few hours.”
As if his words had triggered the sensation, Heather felt tiredness descend on her. She could do with a shower, maybe a nap and definitely some time to gather her thoughts. She wasn’t at all sure how she felt about this coincidence. Some time alone might clarify things for her—or not.
“That would be wonderful. Thank you.”
She watched him as he walked to the desk and picked up the phone. Jason hadn’t changed a lot in the past twenty years. He was older, of course. His face was less round, and more sculpted. His chin was stronger and there were fine lines next to his eyes, indicating both the passing of years and an inclination to smile a lot. His lips still had the tendency to turn up at the corners, although she had no doubt he’d make a domineering presence without that smile on his face.
When he held out his hand to help her up, Heather took the opportunity to look into his eyes. They were as brown and beautiful as she remembered. Well, not so much remembered but recalled again, now she found herself face-to-face with this blast from her past. She couldn’t say she’d thought about him a lot since she last saw him, but the memories rushing back made it clear she hadn’t forgotten him either. She’d loved his short but unruly black hair when she’d first met him, and was glad he hadn’t felt the need to change his style over the years. Tiny spots of gray streaked the black now, but it still had the tousled look suggesting little concern about styling and lots of running his hands through his hair.
Staring at Jason the way she was should have embarrassed Heather. Since he studied her with equal intensity, she didn’t feel too self-conscious about it. To her surprise, the fact that he held on to her hand longer than was strictly necessary didn’t worry her either. With both of them on their feet she noticed that, of course, he was still as tall as he’d always been. But then, she was still as short.
Heather considered pulling her hand free when Jason started to lead her from his office but decided against it. To her surprise she didn’t mind the contact, and pulling away now would only draw attention to the fact that he appeared to be reluctant to let go of her hand in the first place.
“I hope you don’t mind you won’t be staying in one of the guest rooms while you’re here, Heather.”
“I guess it depends on where you’ve decided to put me.” Heather couldn’t stop the laughter in her voice as she faced him while the elevator took them up.
“I don’t think you’ll have any objections.”
Jason returned her smile as they exited on a hallway with two doors facing each other. When he opened the door on the right, Heather’s feet stopped in their tracks.
“This will be your home away from home while you’re here.”
She looked around in wonder—a whole apartment to herself. She’d hoped her room wouldn’t be too small and claustrophobic. Not in her wildest dreams had she imagined she’d have this much space. She took a moment to study her surroundings as Jason showed her what appeared to be living quarters. The sitting area was spacious and the blue leather chairs and sofa looked as comfortable as the chair in his office had been. The large desk at the window, overlooking the ocean, would make an ideal spot for writing or day-dreaming. There was a small but fully equipped kitchen off to the right.
“You are, of course, free to use the restaurant and room service whenever you want.” Jason’s voice broke through Heather’s thoughts in a way that made her wonder if he could read her mind.
“If you need anything else, just let me or housekeeping know.”
Lost for words, Heather could only nod her head as Jason led her farther into the apartment then opened the door to the bedroom. It was luxury personified. A whole wall length worth of wardrobes was far more than she could possibly need for the clothes she had brought. But the four-poster bed had to be the star attraction. Big enough to sleep at least three people comfortably, she couldn’t help feeling it was wasted on her. As were those bars and hooks she saw, strategically placed on the posts and headboards and footboards. This was a bedroom for someone who wanted to play. She wasn’t that someone. She might be taking her first tentative steps back into this world. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever be ready to play again. Playing without Darren… She couldn’t imagine it.
Once again, Jason’s voice brought her out of her thoughts and into the present.
“I’ll leave you to get settled then. Take a few hours to freshen up and rest. I’ll meet you downstairs for dinner at eight, if that’s okay.”
Heather smiled. “I would like that. Thank you for everything.” Heather waved her hand at the luxury surrounding her. “I’ll see you later.”
* * * *
Jason knew the smart thing would be to go back to his office and spend some more time staring at the plans and schedules but found he couldn’t be bothered. He crossed the short hallway and opened the door to his own apartment. Unlike Heather’s rooms, his place took up more than half of the floor and was more palatial than big. He walked straight through his living room to the sliding doors on the far side. Sitting down on one of the loungers on his balcony, he allowed himself to release the big sigh that had been trapped in his chest ever since he’d recognized Heather. He still felt as if someone had dumped a ton of bricks on his head. Not in his wildest dreams had he thought he’d ever meet her again.
Heather. A smile appeared on his face as he remembered the sweet and innocent girl she’d been twenty years ago. The woman who’d just walked into his club couldn’t be mistaken for anything but the grown-up version of that girl, although he’d be hard pressed to call her innocent now. She still had those honey-colored curls tumbling around her head in wild abandon. Her big, almond-shaped eyes had stared into his, filled with a combination of wonder, depth and sadness. Jason shook his head, he had to be imagining things. He didn’t know—had never known—her well enough to recognize those feelings.
She’d certainly grown into her body since he’d last seen her. And she definitely knew how to fill a pair of jeans. Just one look at her arse in those trousers…well, the stirring had been a surprise after all those months without the sensation.
Restless, he got up and stalked up and down the balcony.
He had to stop these thoughts. He was supposed to work with Heather, not fantasize about her. He was a grown man, an experienced Dom, not some drooling teenager getting off on mentally undressing her. Still, what were the chances of meeting her again like this? Surely, such coincidences didn’t happen in real life? His past had just walked into his present and was scheduled to work with him this fortnight. Two weeks during which he could get to know her again, provided he could convince her to stay. As it stood, the plan was for her to be here for a few days and then return before the event started. If he played his hand right though…
No
.
He raised his head to the sun, hoping the warmth would sooth his fevered thoughts. What was wrong with him? Just because he hadn’t seen the woman in twenty years didn’t mean he had to lose his mind over her. He might once have said that if he’d ever… He wasn’t going to pursue that line of thought either.
For fuck’s sake
, she’d lost her husband and partner, who had probably been her Dom as well, not too long ago. Even if she didn’t look like the typical grieving widow, he had no doubt he’d seen pain in her eyes. He had far more pressing problems to deal with right now than a sudden infatuation with a memory. Like how he’d get through that weekend without exposing himself as the fraud he’d turned into. Or how he’d ever find his way back to what had been such an important part of his life for so long.