She shook her head. “I’ve never seen this side of you. You’re kind of…silly.”
“Does that bother you?”
“Not at all.”
“Good, because it drove my ex-wife nuts. But tonight isn’t about anyone but you and me.”
And what freaking loony-tunes woman had let this guy go? Idiot. Her stupidity is my gain, though.
Lisette considered sending up a little toast to the woman. Or mailing her a fruit basket. With a little smile she couldn’t stop, Lisette cleared her throat. “What looks good to you? I assume you’ve been here before?”
“This place has great pasta. I was going to get the spaghetti with Bolognese sauce.”
“That sounds good. I’ll go for that too.”
“Chianti?”
“Why, yes, I’d love some wine.”
The waiter wandered over a short time later, and Ryan gave him their order. After the wine was served, he patted the seat next to him. “Join me over here.”
Lisette was sure it was a request she’d be allowed to refuse had she wanted to, but she saw no reason not to snuggle up to Ryan. He put his arm around her while idly caressing the stem of his wineglass with his free hand. She knew what those hands were capable of, both pleasure and pain, and squirmed a little in her seat.
He glanced at her. “Something wrong?”
“No, um…not at all.” There was that “sir” again, trying to slip out.
“If you feel the need to call me ‘sir,’ go ahead. I’d hate to give you an aneurysm.”
Her mouth fell open. “How did you know?”
“Let’s just say your face is very expressive.” Ryan turned her head. “Not that I’m complaining.” He kissed her, more gently this time, and then picked up his wine and took a sip. “Do you like the wine?”
Busted, she hurried to take a sip, but it went down the wrong way, and she started to cough. Ryan reached over the table and grabbed her water, pushing it into her hand. She took several grateful gulps. “Thanks. Nothing like acting like a total jackass in front of a guy you want to impress, huh?”
His expression betrayed his surprise. “Why do you feel the need to impress me?”
“I like you,” she mumbled into the front of her dress.
In a louder voice he answered, “I like you too.”
She let out a slow breath, still feeling like her face was on fire.
Another change of subject needed. Pronto.
“Do you have any Thanksgiving plans?”
Ryan shrugged. “Going over to my sister’s. I’ll be the eccentric uncle. At least it’s way better than the—”
He stopped talking, and Lisette looked up. “Finish your thought. It’s fine.”
Sighing, he rubbed his forehead. “It’s going to be better than going to my ex-in-law’s house like I did last year and feeling like a total disappointment to everyone there.”
“How on earth could you ever be a disappointment?”
“Because when our problems started, I was still finishing my PhD after deciding to leave Corporate America to teach, and my brother-in-law—ex-brother-in-law—was already a senior vice president at a bank. My wife was supporting us for a while, and her whole family thought I was sponging off her, even though she was the one who had suggested I go back to school.”
He said it matter-of-factly, but she knew how much it must’ve battered his ego. Ryan cleared his throat.
“It’s not like it made any difference to me who brought in the money. She had a good job, and I was proud of her. I didn’t think it bothered her either, but her parents and brother made a big deal out of it. Jeez, sorry to be such a downer. I guess I’m not in practice with this whole dating thing.”
She hated to see what talking about his ex-wife did to her sexy, powerful Dom. It was obvious he was still carrying around a lot of hurt. “Then kiss me again. You’re
really
good at that.”
“That I can do.” Gathering her in his arms, he made the most of the time before their salads arrived, playing her mouth like it was a Stradivarius. A subtle noise came from behind them, and they broke apart, both giving an embarrassed little laugh. Lisette returned to her side of the booth after they figured out they’d be bumping arms the entire meal if she stayed with him, since she was a lefty.
She took a bite of the pasta. “This is really good. I’d never been to this place before tonight, but if all the food’s this good, I’ll definitely be back.”
Ryan wiped his mouth with his napkin. “I’ve never had a bad meal here. So how about you? Plans for Thanksgiving?”
“Yeah. My entire family still lives in the area, so we converge on my parents’ house and basically have a huge party. Kids running everywhere, tons of noise.”
“Sounds”—he stopped and cocked his head as if he was carefully considering his words—“active.”
Lisette almost spit out her food. “That’s one way to put it.”
“Fun, though.”
She smiled. “Yeah, it is. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.” And she’d bet Ryan would love it too. Her throat closed, and she coughed, grabbed her water, and took a few sips. Did she want him to be there with her? Lisette hadn’t brought a guy to a holiday meal in years, and she’d only known Ryan a short time.
They continued to converse as their entrees were consumed. Ryan insisted on ordering dessert, and she agreed to split an order of tiramisu.
“Ugh, I’m never going to move again.” Ryan leaned back in the booth and stretched his legs out underneath.
“Is there a way to roll us out of here?”
He looked around. “Not that I can see. We might have to walk.”
“Horrors!”
“But I think they’ll let us sit here and digest for a bit.”
“How sexy of us. What should we talk about now?”
“How about what I’m setting up with Jack for Friday?”
“Not Saturday?”
“Couldn’t get a private room then. Is that okay? I completely forgot to check with you. I’m sorry.”
“No biggie. I’m free either night.” When a lazy grin spread across his face, Lisette had to force her hands to remain at her sides and not clap with glee. So far she’d loved everything he’d suggested or planned. “Do tell.”
“He’s going to rent a private room for the night for the four of us and then coach me through some wax play. Jack will demonstrate on Callie, and then I’ll repeat the action with you. He’ll be right there just in case something goes wrong, but I doubt it will.” Ryan’s gaze skittered away for a moment before he looked her in the eye again. “I hope you like it as much as you think you will.”
Lisette reached over the table and covered his hand with hers. “I’m positive I will.”
“I-I really like you, Lisette. I want to make you happy. I’d like you to keep helping me discover who I really am sexually.”
And otherwise?
She couldn’t help but feel a little stung he hadn’t mentioned anything outside of the BDSM stuff. Here she thought they’d been having a great time just eating dinner together, but maybe he didn’t feel the same way.
“Sure. I can help you.” His face split in another grin, and she crossed her arms over her chest. “What’s that look for?”
“I was just thinking about some of those fantasies. They turned me on.” In a low, husky voice he said, “Especially, you know, the hook.” Ryan made an exaggerated hook with his hand and playfully reached out to swat her as she batted him away.
“Ah yes. That.”
“Are you still willing?”
“Yes, but I agree with you. I’d rather do that in a private playroom. Not sure I want everybody watching while you insert a huge hook in my ass and then proceed to torment me.”
“Spoilsport.” His face turned serious. “You know I’d never do anything to make you uncomfortable, right?”
“I do, yes.”
“But since I’m new, I might not even realize I’m doing it, so I want you to speak up. I’ll never punish you for telling me what you want and need. I’ll do my best to give you what you need, and I’ll decide whether or not to give you what you want.”
“Spoken like a true Dom.”
“I’m trying.”
“You’re doing incredibly well. Seriously. You’re a natural.” Lisette thought she saw a blush bloom on his cheeks.
“So, ah, you ready to lumber out of here?”
“As I’ll ever be. And no matter what, I do
not
lumber.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
It sounded strange to have Ryan call her “ma’am.” It seemed
wrong
. But she shook off the uneasiness, knowing his words were undoubtedly an automatic response.
Once back at her house, she dithered over whether or not to invite him inside, but in the end, he made the decision for her.
“Much as I’d like to come in,” he said with a wink, “my students will officially revolt if they don’t have their midterms back before they go on break, so I’d better get home.”
“Okay. We wouldn’t want them storming the castle.” She smiled to show him she wasn’t angry. Disappointed, but not angry. Of course his students had to come first.
“But I’ll see you Friday night. I’m really looking forward to it.”
“Me too.”
Taking her head in his large hands, he tilted her face up. “Just a little preview of what I plan to do to you.”
With that warning he crushed his lips to hers, and a long, low moan worked its way free from the depths of her belly. Ryan used the door behind her to perfect advantage, wedging her between it and the hard planes of his body. As he moved her head to his liking, one of his strong thighs pushed between her legs and kept going until she was practically riding him. Another sound escaped, more like a tortured groan. He was still completely in control, but here, on her doorstep, just kissing her, it felt entirely different. No less intoxicating, though, and her head spun.
He broke the kiss, and they both panted, her lungs screaming for desperately needed oxygen. Ryan came back for one more quick, hard kiss and then moved away. Lisette felt bereft without the benefit of his touch.
“If I don’t leave now, I fear I’ll fuck you right against this door. I love watching you come.” Ryan blew out an audible breath and ran a hand through his hair. He took a step closer until they were almost touching again. “I really do need to go.”
“I understand.”
“Unlock your door, Lisette. Now, unless you want to be taken right where you stand. I’ll do it without a second thought; I’m that close.”
Shivering and knowing it didn’t have a damn thing to do with the dropping temperatures, she hurried to do as he commanded.
“There.”
“Inside. Fuckkkk, go inside.”
Once they had a pane of glass between them, he gripped the doorjamb with both hands, still breathing hard and obviously struggling with his control.
“Go, Ryan. I’ll see you Friday. Happy Thanksgiving.”
Ryan looked at her like she was a lifeline, and her heart soared.
“You too.”
With a heavy push away from the door, he turned and made his way back to his car. When he’d gone, she closed and locked the door and touched her finger to her lips, swollen from his passionate kisses. She’d known Ryan all of about three weeks, and she was falling hard for him, already imagining how he’d fit in with her crazy family on Thanksgiving and regretting that they were spending the holiday apart.
Shit.
* * * *
As she stepped into the crowded club on Black Friday night, a shiver ran up and down her arms. Lisette had never looked forward to a scene more than she did tonight. Ever. Between that and the warm fuzzies from dinner a couple of days ago, Lisette very much feared for her heart. Would Ryan return her feelings? Could he? Did he want to?
She found Callie in the women’s changing room, and the other woman told her the guys were already upstairs. They hurried up to the second floor where rooms could be rented by the hour or the evening, and Callie opened the door to room six. Lisette let out a little relieved breath when she realized it wasn’t a room she and Master Taz had ever played in. For the most part, she’d been able to push back the bad memories in the public play area because there was so much going on around her and because Ryan commanded her attention, but in a good way.
Both women knelt as the men approached. Ryan fastened her collar and then handed her a squeeze bottle after giving her a hard kiss, his tongue stealing into her mouth for the briefest of seconds. When her gaze flew to his after she looked at the bottle, her confusion no doubt written all over her face, he barked out a laugh.
“Olive oil. Apparently it’s a lot easier to get the wax off with it on your skin.”
“Oh. I’d never heard of that.”
“Sub, are you saying there’s something I might know more about than you?”
Lisette resisted the urge to roll her eyes, not sure how much Jack was paying attention to the two of them. He appeared to be deep in conversation with Callie, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t notice her bratting to Ryan, and he didn’t seem the playful type. She didn’t want to embarrass Ryan or make Jack think he couldn’t handle her. Oh, could he ever handle her…
Callie motioned her into the en suite bathroom, where they stripped and began applying the olive oil to their torsos. The guys had decided to only play in that area to keep things simple, and Lisette appreciated both their attention to detail and obvious regard for the health and safety of their submissives.
“So, how long have you and Jack been together?”
Callie colored slightly. “Well, I consider our anniversary to be New Year’s Eve, since that’s when he collared me permanently, so almost a year. But we were involved before that. I, um…”
Callie bit her lip, her gaze darting away before returning to Lisette’s.
“I kind of ran out on him a while ago. It wasn’t until we happened to meet up at a mutual friend’s holiday party last year when I was visiting that we agreed to try a D/s relationship again.”
“Sounds like an interesting story,” Lisette murmured.
“It is, but much of it I’m not proud of.” Callie shrugged. “I still don’t really know what happened that first time. Did I just get scared and run, or did I have a good reason to leave? One thing’s for sure. When he saw me again, I could tell pretty quickly he was a different man. Oh, he was still the forceful Dom I knew and, frankly, loved, but those layers underneath—the onion—were just… I know I keep saying it, but different.”