The first thing I noticed when I walked into the restaurant was that I'd seen one of Carrie's friends before but couldn't figure out where. She was a good half foot taller than me, with brilliant red curls and a confidence that was evident even from across the room.

The second thing I noticed was that Carrie made a face as she took the seat next to the red-head, like sitting down was uncomfortable. Before I could ask about it though, Carrie was making introductions.

“Bryne, this is Leslie Calvin and Dena Monroe.”

I hadn't even noticed the other one until now. She was tiny, with short white blonde hair, and a fierce expression that told me it would be a bad idea to mess with her.

“Girls, this is Bryne Dawkins.”

“Gavin's niece,” Leslie said. She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes, studying me for a moment before speaking again. “You don't look like him much. Probably a good thing. He'd make an ugly woman.” She shrugged and then raised her hand to flag down a waiter.

“Don't mind Leslie. She basically says the first thing that pops into her head, whether she should or not.” Carrie tossed a sugar packet at Leslie.

Leslie caught it and tossed it back. “Somebody has to say it.”

I laughed. I hadn't had any close friends growing up, but this was how I'd always imagined it would be. Easy camaraderie, being able to say whatever I wanted without fear of judgment.

“Behave yourself,” Carrie said. “Gavin'll be pissed if you guys scare Bryne away.”

I gave her a startled look. While Gavin was nice and we'd talked, I hadn't gotten the impression that he felt that strongly about me. After all, he hadn't even known of my existence a week ago.

“Gavin's not always the best at showing how he really feels, but he feels deeply,” Carrie murmured, her hand stroking my arm.

“She's right,” Leslie said, turning to me with that bright smile.

It suddenly clicked where I'd seen her before. “You're engaged to Paxton Gorham.”

As soon as I said it, I wanted to take it back. I was sure she got a lot of crazies wanting to talk to her because she was engaged to one of the hottest rock musicians out there. I'd never been one of those kinds of people who fawned all over celebrities, and I didn't intend to be mistaken for one now.

“Damn straight I am.” She held out her left hand so that the diamond caught the light. “Man's all mine.”

Dena and Carrie rolled their eyes, but I leaned down to look more closely at the ring.

“It's beautiful,” I offered. “You're a lucky woman.”

“I am.” Her smile softened as she looked down at the ring. “Paxton's amazing, and so's Carter.” She looked up at me, her expression serious. “I never thought I'd settle down and get married, much less be a stepmom, but I wouldn't trade my family for anything.”

“Carter's a great kid,” Carrie agreed. Her hand moved over her stomach. “Skylar's been asking when they can play together again.”

“Gavin and Paxton are going to have their hands full with those two,” Dena said.

Leslie nodded. “Paxton's already figuring out he can't pull any of that alpha male shit with Carter, and I'll bet Gavin knows it too.” She looked at Dena. “You just wait. Arik'll find out pretty quick that his whole Dom thing won't work on a kid who wraps him around her little finger.”

“Leslie,” Carrie hissed. Her cheeks flushed as she shot a glance my way.

“Come on, Carrie,” Leslie said. “You guys run a sex club. I'm sure Bryne's figured out that...” Her voice trailed off for a moment. “Shit. Oops.”

Alpha male.

Dom.

Sex club.

Shit.

Heat flooded my face. I may have been a virgin before coming to New York, but I hadn't been a nun. I knew what all those things added up to.

“Are you guys telling me...” I looked at each of the women who were all blushing various shades of pink and red. “Well, damn.”

Carrie pointed a finger at Leslie. “This is your fault, and don't think I won't throw your ass to the wolves the second Gavin finds out you're the one who told his niece about our sex lives.”

I stared at them as they laughed. It was one thing to read about stuff like this in magazines and books, or to have theoretical discussions. It was something else entirely to be talking with three professional women who were actually living the life. These women were lawyers with established careers, and based on what I was hearing, their significant others were something out of a romance novel.

The really dirty kind that included whips and ball-gags.

Something clicked, and I turned toward Carrie. “You winced when you sat down. Was that from...” I couldn't figure out the best way to finish the question, so I let it dangle in the air.

Dena chuckled. “Punishment or play?”

Carrie glared at her friend. “None of your damn business.”

Leslie's laugh was loud, but not obnoxious. “That means it was punishment. What'd you do?”

I couldn't believe the conversation going on around me. They were teasing each other, but it was clear there was no shame or humiliation in it. I had no idea how they'd gotten into this lifestyle, but they apparently loved it.

And I wanted to know more.

So for the next couple hours, we talked about sex more matter-of-factly than I ever had before. They told me how each of them had come to be involved in BDSM, how they'd decided what their own preferences were. They talked about terms like Dom and Sub and Switch, and what they really meant. The true nature of those sorts of relationships. I almost felt like I was back in school, trying to memorize terms and definitions, except the subject matter was nothing like what I'd learned in school. Sex Ed had made most of my classmates giggle and blush, but it wasn't even comparable to the conversation I was a part of. Even without alcohol, by the time we were done, my head was spinning.

“So,” Carrie began as we headed for the door, “did we completely freak you out?”

“No, but it was definitely different.” I zipped up my coat and followed her outside.

There'd been a question hovering in the back of my mind, refusing to leave, no matter how much noise everything else was causing. A part of me wanted to say that it didn't matter what answer Carrie gave, that it wouldn't change anything, but I still couldn't stop thinking about it.

So I gave in and asked, “Does everyone who works at Club Privé...are they all into the whole BDSM thing?”

Carrie gave me a sideways glance as a town car pulled up to the curb. “This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with a certain club employee whose wallet I returned earlier this week, would it?”

My cheeks burned. “Maybe.”

She grinned and climbed into the back. The driver was different than the one who'd taken us to the club, but he still greeted Carrie by name. Apparently, Gavin wasn't just a club owner, but a successful entrepreneur in a variety of ways, including running a car service. He'd offered me the use of it free of charge, something I'd forgotten on my way to the audition. Nana and Papa had employed a couple drivers, but I'd only used them for special events. I'd always preferred to drive myself.

Not that I intended to do much of that here. Aside from the fact that I was pretty sure my car was about to give up the ghost, until I knew the city better, I didn't intend to experiment with navigating myself.

“Is the whole S&M thing the reason Gavin told me to stay away from Dax?” I blurted out the question, then glanced toward the front of the car, wishing I'd been a little more discreet.

“Don't worry about him,” Carrie said. “The window between us is soundproof. Once he rolls it up, we have to use the intercom to talk.”

I relaxed a little bit more into the seat and looked expectantly at Carrie as I waited for an answer to my question.

“That's part of it,” she finally said.

“Seems a bit hypocritical,” I pointed out.

One side of her mouth tipped up in a partial smile. “Have you ever noticed, that when it comes to members of their family, men are often that way?”

I shrugged. “I wouldn't know. I never really had the chance to learn.”

She reached over and squeezed my hand. “Gavin really is trying to look out for you.”

“So you think Dax is a bad guy too?”

She paused, clearly thinking about what she was going to say. Finally, she shook her head. “Not exactly. Gavin was right in that some of the people Dax spends time with aren't exactly the nicest people.”

I nodded, remembering the other guys who'd been in the shop that first night. I wasn't one to judge by appearance, but my gut told me those guys had earned any reputation that followed them.

Still, there was something about Dax.

“And the women?” I tried to keep my tone casual, but the look in Carrie's eyes told me that I wasn't fooling her.

“He does have a bit of a reputation as the kind of man who isn't interested in the long-term.” She squeezed my hand again. “But there's more to him than that. Without going into details, I can say that Dax will do anything for the people he cares about, and I think, for the right woman, he'd change his ways.”

I nodded but didn't say anything. I didn't have anything to say. My brain felt like it was on overload trying to sort out everything that'd happened in the past few days. I knew I shouldn't even be considering having anything more to do with Dax, and not only because of the warnings Gavin had given me. The career path I'd chosen wasn't an easy one, and I should focus on it. Get myself into a couple shows and find a place of my own. Once I was solid, then I could think about romance.

Besides, Dax said he didn't want a relationship.

A little voice in the back of my head said that maybe that was a good thing. Maybe I didn't have to worry about all those questions. Dax hadn't said he didn't want to see me again. He said he'd enjoyed himself, and that he'd see me around. Maybe the answer to everything was a happy medium. I enjoyed spending time with Carrie and Gavin, but it'd be nice to have someone else to hang out with, to go do things with.

Friendship wasn't a relationship. Not like the one Dax had said he didn't want. Hell, maybe we could throw in some benefits and get the advantage of having sex without the headache that came with having a boyfriend.

I wanted to sleep on the idea, but maybe I'd feel the same way in the morning. If I did, then I’d have a little trip to make after Gavin and Carrie went to work.