Seven
We spent the next two hours catching up on our favorite shows, the latest gossip from our graduating class, and every milestone his daughter had reached. I yawned and heard Bryon whisper goodnight to Craig.
“I’ll let you go,” I said. “Tell Craig I’m sorry I took all your baby-free time tonight.”
“Oh, I’m sure he’s thrilled. He’s always had faith in you and he’s never stopped pestering me to call you and mend fences.”
A little twist in my chest made me shut my eyes. After all the hateful things I said about Craig… “So have we? Mended fences? Mended…us?”
“We at least both got the tools out tonight, babe. Maybe we could get together soon. I’d love to show off my little princess to you and I’m going to need to hear about this new guy eventually.”
I froze. I hadn’t mentioned Leo at all. Not even the fact that I worked for a man. “What?” I breathed.
“Come on, I can hear that shit in your voice. You leave Warren behind but wait eight months to call me? Eight months without a boy fucking with your head and you could live without me but somebody’s got inside your brain now and you need me.”
I couldn’t tell if he sounded pissed or not. It wasn’t true but it wasn’t false either. Needing Bryon wasn’t just about what was going on with Leo. My heart ached for a friend again—it ached for Bryon specifically.
“Bryon…it’s not like that. I—”
“It’s okay if it is,” he said softly. “I’ve thought about you a lot since that last fight. Worried about you. Wondered if you were okay. I always knew he was going to break you. I just kept thinking, when they’re finally finished with each other, how many pieces will she be in? You’re strong and you don’t need anyone to fix you; you’ve clearly put yourself back together. But if there’s a guy, I’m glad you called because someone needs to be the one to tell you that just because you’ve got seams, just because you’ve got glue holding you together doesn’t mean you’re fragile. You don’t have to tell me everything tonight…but, he’s nothing like Warren is he?”
I sighed. “No. He’s nothing like him.”
“Didn’t think so. Want some advice from someone who also glued himself back together?”
I shut my eyes before they could brim with tears. “Always.”
“Don’t hold back. Don’t worry about the cracks, don’t worry about that fucking rebound word, don’t even worry about breaking again—you know where the glue is. Just don’t settle for anything less than mind-blowing.”
My lips parted and I wanted nothing more than to reach through the phone and cling to him.
“Jesus, Bryon.”
“What?”
“I’ve missed you so much. I was such a bitch to you. I treated you like shit...”
He made a sad little noise. “We both did and said things we shouldn’t have. But we can fix this. I’m happy you’ve moved on.”
We made plans to meet up in the next few weeks before saying a sentimental goodbye. I took my final gulp of wine and scrolled to Leo’s number next. I wasn’t even sure if he knew I had it. Oliver had given me both of their cell numbers when I started working at the store in case I ever needed to reach them. My conversation with Bryon left my heart and mind feeling more open than they had in a while. Though Bryon probably imagined the relationship he was vaguely advising me about to be a romantic one rather than a twisted S&M partnership, what he said still worked. What I’d started with Leo had the possibility to be mind-blowing if I just quit holding back.
I tapped out a text message to Leo, telling myself to let go and find freedom in his promises of bondage.
Sloane: I want to go to your party.
A heavy breath rushed out of me as I sent it but my next inhalation stuck in my throat when I saw his name flash on the screen as an incoming call.
“Hello?” I choked.
“I don’t text.” His voice was the same firm and domineering tone that made me tremble, but sounded like it might’ve had a grin to it. “I’ll pick you up Saturday at six-thirty. Wear something nice.”
I opened my mouth, to say what, I wasn’t sure, but he cut me off then quickly hung up.
“Sweet dreams, Sloane.”
I sat with my ear to the silent phone for a few seconds, merely breathing and attempting to quiet the worry that overcame me knowing I’d just made plans with Leo to take things up a notch—maybe to mind-blowing.
***
After placing a final pin in my hair, I rifled through my jewelry box for a pair of earrings to wear. I found some sparkling teardrops and put them on. My hands had been trembling since I turned on the shower two hours ago. I’d taken a ridiculous amount of time to get ready and had been fretting the entire time. He’d be arriving any minute. Dressed in a simple sleeveless black dress that stopped at mid-thigh and black heels, I thought I looked nice. I only hoped I fit Leo’s definition. I’d had two days to consider what to wear. Two days without seeing Leo to stew about mundane things like the color of my nails or the timing of my wax.
I jumped when I heard a knock at the door. I can do this. I’d made the decision to do this. Pulling in a breath, I reached for the knob and blew it out just before I pulled back the door. My lips parted and I nearly moaned at the sight of him. The man was born to wear a suit. He’d slicked his hair back a little, the style and use of hair product making it look an even darker sable. His tempting blue eyes lit up with the smile his full lips wore and I swallowed hard.
“You wore your hair up.”
I absently lifted a hand to touch a lock of hair hanging near my ear, the rest strategically pinned up in loose curls. Leo toed the threshold of my doorway with one step toward me and fingered the same tendril, scanning me as he did.
“Your neck is too stunning to be hidden by all that hair,” he said, letting his finger drift from my earlobe down the curve of my neck. I resisted the urge to shudder as though I was still playing by his rules, evading punishment.
“Should we go?” I asked.
His eyes danced across my face again before he nodded and stepped aside so I could lock up. We reached his car and he held the passenger side door open for me. After I buckled my seatbelt, I rested my hands in my lap and waited for Leo to start the car. I glanced over to see him staring at me with the ghost of a smile on his face.
“What?” I breathed.
“You look nervous.”
I let one side of my mouth rise in a half-grin. Damn him for reading me so well. “Maybe,” I replied as he pulled out of the parking lot. “I’m mostly just…curious.”
“About?”
My teeth pressed into my bottom lip for a brief second and I shifted in my seat to watch him as he drove. “You. Your friends. What I’ll see tonight. Everything.”
Leo’s brow rose but he never took his eyes off the road. “Please. Ask away,” he said.
A little noise cracked at the back of my throat. I hadn’t expected the freedom. Already, I was accustomed to speaking only when spoken to—a thought that made me oddly proud.
Leo laughed lightly. “Come on, I only have a few hours before this thing turns back into a pumpkin. It’s okay, ask me anything.”
I chuckled nervously in return and touched the loose pieces of hair around my face. “Okay. Well…how old are you?”
He grinned and tongued one pointed, white tooth before shooting me a look. The fading sun painted him beautiful amber, warming the tone of his skin to something like honey and lighting his eyes with a fire-like glow. He no doubt recognized the question he’d demanded of me.
“Thirty.”
I nodded and wickedly considered asking him all the same questions he’d asked me but I resisted. I had my own line of inquires I wanted answered.
“Tell me about the party. Have you been to one before?”
Leo swiped his hand over his jaw and sighed. “Yes, I’ve been a few times. I met Gabe and his wife Melanie at a club a few years ago, before I moved—”
“To live with your sister?”
I instantly pressed my lips together to smother my voice from interrupting him but it was too late. A chill danced up my spine, wishing he’d punish me for speaking out of turn.
Leo glanced at me. “Oliver told you?”
Swallowing the lump building in my throat, I nodded.
“Yeah… Anyway, before that I was doing what I do now, running the store with Ollie. And like I said, I met Gabe and Melanie—the Nolans—at a club.” The precision with which he spoke somehow soothed and unnerved me at once. We may not have been playing, but I could tell he didn’t like interruptions. He seemed happy to answer my questions so long as he remained in control of the conversation.
“What kind of club?” I asked. I’d read three books on the topic by now and my internet search history would probably scare anyone who knew me besides Leo. I knew, but I had to ask. I had to insert myself once again. God, I was all but begging him to pull over and swat my ass.
White teeth gleamed in the headlights of the oncoming cars and he shot back, filling the space around me with his smoky voice. “What kind do you think?”
A slow smile blossomed on my lips along with a heated blush creeping up my jawline to the apples of my cheeks.
“There’s usually five couples or so. The Nolans have money; one look at the house and you’ll see what I mean. They usually have the dinner catered.”
“Dinner?!”
He laughed. “Yes. Dinner. I hope you didn’t eat already. Melanie goes all out for these things,” he said. His eyes fluidly swept to mine as he smirked. “Four courses of aphrodisiacs.”
I’d been too nervous to eat anything more than a handful of microwave popcorn and I’d cursed myself for not picking up another bottle of wine since all I wanted was a drink to settle down.
“Just so long as there’s a bar,” I muttered.
“There won’t be. No drinking. Part of the reason I prefer Gabe and Melanie’s house parties to the clubs is that everyone who attends knows and follows the rules. No booze, no drugs, and no means no. We have a nice meal, casual conversation, and then we all go our separate ways. They typically clear out a handful of rooms throughout the house and stage them according to specific preferences. Doors stay open though so you and I can roam around, see it all.”
For the first time, I was struck by the idea that Leo’s done all of this before. Of course, I knew that, we’d talked about it. I wasn’t struck by the fact that he was seasoned…it was more that at one point in time he’d taken another woman—maybe multiple different women—to this house for this kind of party. What would these other couples think of me? I hated to imagine how judged I might feel walking into a room full of strangers who would instantly know I was the sub of the week.
“My friend, Ben, and his girlfriend, Jade, will be there. They’re into pet play and they choose to turn dinner into a little warm up, so don’t be alarmed when Jade purrs and crawls under the table to eat.” Leo laughed.
After the words couples, wife, and girlfriend, it was clear that not only would I most likely be the only newbie, but also Leo and I might be the only people not in a relationship. I held back a sigh and kept my eyes on the road ahead. I knew the area we were heading toward. The edge of Salem had a mini millionaire’s row, inundated with mansions and sprawling estates. When I first moved to town, I passed through it and played out a fantasy where Warren came running after me, professing his love for me. He and I bought a big house there and lived happily ever after with a yard full of kids and commercial-worthy smiles plastered on our faces. It seemed almost laughable now. I could hardly think of Warren without a sneer making its way to my lips. The thought of him touching me turned my blood to ice. The shame I felt for having loved him so long racked me at least weekly. Now, more than ever, I was happy to be on my own. But as Leo turned down the long driveway leading to the most gorgeous house I’d ever seen, I let a strange and new idea swing through my mind.
What if Leo became more than my Dom?
He parked the car, last in a line of three others, and quickly came around to my door. Leo offered me his hand and I took it, though my fingers twitched. My stomach flipped and the idea grew more powerful when he threaded his fingers with mine, giving them an affectionate squeeze as he glanced down at me.
“Ready?” he asked with a grin.