Beth felt horrible. Tommy had been swamped with customers throughout the lunch rush. So much so that he didn’t have time to search for her. Luckily, since it was a Saturday, most of the lunch-goers were regulars. She had no idea what would have happened if she’d flaked during a weekday.
As soon as the last customer was out the door, Beth sent Tommy home. He’d protested, of course, but she put her foot down and made him leave. Besides, she needed a little time to herself.
It took her twice as long to wipe everything down and prep for Tuesday. Most of it was mindless work—cleaning surfaces, filling containers. Things she could do in her sleep. It gave her way too much time to think.
Drew had been in her café. He knew where she worked. And thanks to Nicole, he’d breached the careful boundary Beth had placed upon their relationship without even trying.
Nicole. Beth was still cursing her best friend. Then again, maybe she should be rethinking their entire friendship after Nicole threw Beth under the proverbial bus. She didn’t understand why Nicole was pushing so hard for her to get back in the dating scene. It wasn’t as if she had a vested interest in anything. It was Beth’s life, after all.
By the time she headed home, Beth was on edge. She’d promised Nicole she’d put in an appearance at Serpent’s Kiss later, but she was rethinking that plan. All she wanted to do was go home and curl up on the couch with a bowl of ice cream.
Beth was still debating the issue three hours later when there was a knock on her front door. It was Nicole. “What are you doing here?”
Nicole brushed past Beth into the two-story house. She’d bought it the year before as a present to herself for her café making it past the five-year mark. At the time, Beth had envisioned kids running through the house laughing—kids she’d planned to one day have with Ben. Realizing having children might never happen for her was depressing. She was thirty years old with no real prospects on the horizon.
The memory of Drew sitting beside her the night before flashed in front of her eyes. Her pulse began to race thinking about him. It was crazy. Nuts. She had to be out of her mind reacting like this to a man she didn’t even know.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Nicole asked.
Beth shut the front door and forced the memory of Drew out of her head. She leveled a not-so-pleasant look at her friend. “I’m thinking of all the ways I can torture you for the stunt you pulled today. What the hell were you thinking bringing him to my café?”
Nicole shrugged as if it were no big deal. “We were in the area and it was lunchtime. Where else would I take them?”
“Why not let them fend for themselves? They seem capable enough. I’m sure they could handle it all on their own.”
Her friend chuckled. “I’m sure they could. But where would be the fun in that?”
Beth threw her hands up. “Why are you doing this?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Doing what?”
“Trying to throw this guy at me.”
Nicole turned on her heel and headed in the direction of Beth’s bedroom. “Did you already have something picked out to wear tonight?”
Beth followed. “I haven’t decided if I’m going or not. And stop avoiding the question.”
“I’m not avoiding anything. What I’m doing is making sure you get out of this house and back into the land of the living.”
Nicole’s comment hit its mark. Beth had been living like a hermit these last three months. When she wasn’t at the café, she could usually be found at home, sitting in front of the television. Beth couldn’t say how many movies she’d watched in that time. More than she’d probably watched the first thirty years of her life.
“I’m not ready.” It sounded feeble even to Beth’s ears.
Her friend threw several items onto the bed, and lowered herself to the floor to go through Beth’s shoe selection. “No one says you have to do anything more than socialize. Not even with Drew, although I could tell by the way you reacted to him last night and today he must do something for you. Be that as it may, Drew’s working tonight so he won’t be there. You’re safe.”
For some reason that made Beth feel better. She wasn’t ready to see him again.
“Besides, I need some company. Jeff had to go help his sister move into a new apartment, so I’m on my own tonight.”
Beth sighed and picked up the dress Nicole had selected. It was sexy, but certainly not the most provocative thing Beth owned. “Girls’ night?”
Nicole smiled. “Girls’ night. Now come on. Katrina is giving a demonstration tonight, and I don’t want to miss it.”
***
An hour and a half later, Beth was sitting in the club’s main room with a drink in her right hand. The furniture had been rearranged for the evening’s activities. While they were waiting, a few people wandered over to say hi. Everyone was friendly, saying they were glad to see her back.
It wasn’t until Nicole got up to get another drink that Daniel, a Dom in his early fifties, came to say hello.
Beth smiled when he lowered himself into the chair beside her. “How have you been?”
“Can’t complain. What about you? It’s good to see you back.”
Daniel was one of the nicest men Beth had ever met. He’d been in the lifestyle for over twenty years, and he was full of helpful advice. It was too bad she wasn’t a submissive. Daniel was one of the few men Beth trusted.
“I’m good.”
He raised one eyebrow. Beth had seen him give that look to subs many times.
“I am. The café is doing well. I’m keeping busy.” Beth took a sip of her drink.
Daniel didn’t beat around the bush. “Have you heard from him?”
Beth didn’t need Daniel to clarify who ‘he’ was. She knew he was referring to Ben. “No. Not since I kicked him out.”
He nodded. “Maybe I shouldn’t say anything, but if it were me, I’d want to know. He came by the club about two months ago.”
Beth spat out her drink.
“Don’t worry. Katrina asked him to leave and made it very clear he was no longer welcome. In fact, I think she promised him the end of her whip should he make another appearance.” Daniel grinned.
Although Beth knew she shouldn’t ask, she couldn’t help herself. “What did he want?”
Daniel shrugged. “No idea. Katrina didn’t let him get more than a few feet inside the door. The only reason I know as much as I do is because she asked Sam and I to back her up.”
Beth rolled the glass between her hands, looking down into the dark brown liquid. “Thanks for telling me.”
Nicole sat down on the other side of Beth. “Hey, Daniel.”
“Nicole. How’s the new job?”
“One word: paperwork.”
They all laughed.
Before any more could be said, the lights dimmed and Katrina made her way to the front of the room. “Thank you all for coming to our demonstration tonight. We’ve had a number of individuals ask about wax play, so tonight we’re going to go over all the dos and don’ts. I’ll stop periodically to see if there are any questions, but I ask that everyone please wait until those specific times so as not to break my, or my submissive’s, concentration during the scene.”
Katrina motioned toward a man who had been standing off to the side. He looked to be about Beth’s age, maybe a little younger. Beth had never seen him before, which surprised her. Katrina didn’t have a single submissive she regularly played with but in the past she’d usually used Ryan for stuff like this. Then again, Beth had been out of the loop for a while. Maybe things had changed.
The man walked over and knelt down in front of Katrina. She walked around the man, taking her time. Once behind him, Katrina ran a hand down the length of his back, and then back up into his short-cropped hair. “As with many other forms of play, touch is extremely important. It can tell you things you might miss otherwise. Is your sub tense? Are they scared? Excited? Learning to read your partner is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself and them.”
She moved to retake a position in front of him. “Go lie facing up on the table, Wes.”
The man stood and strolled over to the table. Doing as he was told, he lay down with his back on the padded surface.
As Beth continued to watch the scene, she couldn’t help but think about Drew. What would he look like laid out like that? Did he have as many muscles under his shirt as he seemed? What would he feel like under her hands?
Wes sucked in a deep breath as the wax hit his chest. Other than that, however, he didn’t react. Knowing Katrina as Beth did, she smirked as the club mistress redirected the candle lower. Wes cried out as hot wax dripped down his stomach to his cock. It was fully erect. He was obviously enjoying Katrina’s torture. From the look on her face, Katrina was having fun as well.
“I might have to try that,” Nicole whispered.
Beth snorted, but otherwise let it go. Her mind was still on Drew. Nicole said he was working. He could be out fighting a fire as they sat there watching Katrina hold a burning candle over her willing victim.
Without thinking, Beth sent up a silent prayer Drew would be kept safe. She wasn’t sure she wanted a relationship with him, but she was quite certain she didn’t want to see him harmed either.
***
Drew didn’t have much time to think about Beth during his shift. They’d not been back fifteen minutes on Saturday afternoon before they were called out to a car accident. Once they got that cleaned up, the guys headed back to the station. They were less than a minute away when the call came in for a small grease fire.
By the time they got back and cleaned their gear, they were all ready for some downtime. Unfortunately, there was still work to be done. His lack of sleep the night before was beginning to wear on him. As soon as the clock struck nine thirty, Drew made a beeline for his cot, and crashed. Lucky for him, the next call didn’t come until four hours later. He rolled out of his bunk and hit the ground running.
Shawn cornered him the next morning. “I heard it was a busy shift.”
“All minor stuff.” Drew shrugged. It had kept him occupied. That was probably a good thing.
“So. What’s with you and the lady at the café?” The two of them were alone, but they wouldn’t be for long.
“Nothing.”
“Sure. I heard you were craning your neck all throughout lunch trying to get another glimpse of her. You gonna ask her out?”
“Gonna ask who out?” Johnson, one of the stations EMTs, asked.
Two other guys followed Johnson in and Drew became the center of attention.
Drew sighed. The last thing he wanted was to draw the guys into this. For one thing, he couldn’t explain how he knew Beth. Or how he knew she wouldn’t be thrilled if he asked her out.
Before he could figure out how to answer, Shawn did it for him. “Parker here had to babysit a scene yesterday until the inspector got there, and apparently the new inspector took them all to lunch at this little café. Rumor has it he was taken with the woman behind the counter.”
“Was she hot?” Martinez asked.
Romeo chose that moment to join the conversation. “An eight or a nine, I’d say.”
The guys whistled.
Drew shook his head. It was useless. “I’m outta here. See you guys tomorrow.”
On his way home, Drew took a detour and drove by the café. All the lights were out and the doors locked. According to the sign, they were closed on Sundays and Mondays.
He wasn’t sure if he was disappointed or relieved. Drew wanted to see Beth again, but what exactly would he say? He supposed he could apologize for the day before, but even that sounded lame. Nicole had blindsided them both.
Drew didn’t know what to make of Nicole. Never in his wildest imagination had he dreamed of running into her, or anyone else from the club for that matter, on the job. Maybe that was naïve of him, but it had thrown him for a loop.
He had done his best to remain professional throughout their examination of the building. She hadn’t brought up their connection, even when Romeo was out of earshot. Katrina had explained to him the importance of privacy for many of the club’s members when he’d joined. He was completely on board with that. Drew couldn’t imagine the ribbing he’d get from the guys if they ever found out he wanted a woman to dominate him. He’d never live it down.
The week seemed to drag. It had nothing to do with work. They had plenty of calls to keep them busy. Most of them were medical, but something was better than nothing.
Drew did a lot of thinking over the course of the week, and most of it revolved around Beth. It had been a while since he’d pursued a woman. Being a firefighter had its perks. When he was younger, it was great. Find a pretty woman in a bar, tell her how you rushed into a building and saved someone’s life, and more often than not, she was enamored.
It was great for the first five years or so. He’d been more concerned with getting laid than finding a long-term relationship. Drew wasn’t sure if it was because he was getting older or not, but he was ready for something more meaningful. He didn’t want to wake up ten years into the future and not have someone waiting for him at home. He wanted a wife—a family. Was Beth the right woman? He didn’t know, but he wanted to find out.
Friday night Drew put on his best black jeans and a dark blue T-shirt his ex-girlfriend always said made his eyes pop. He was hoping Beth would be at the club. Drew still wasn’t quite sure how to cross that line Beth had drawn in the sand regarding their relationship, but he knew he had to figure out something.
The first thing he did when he walked in the door of Serpent’s Kiss was look for Beth. It took a minute, but he found her in the corner laughing with Katrina. Drew smiled. She looked happy. Relaxed.
As if Beth could feel his eyes on her, she turned her head in his direction. Her smile faltered, and his heart sank. She wasn’t pleased to see him.
A second later, Nicole was in front of him. “Don’t get discouraged.”
He blinked. “What?”
“Beth. Don’t let her attitude discourage you.”
“Oh. Okay.”
Nicole smirked. “Come. Let’s get a drink.”
Without a better option, Drew allowed Nicole to lead him across the room to the bar. She ordered herself a drink, and he did the same.
They found two bar stools and sat down. “You handled last Saturday well. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought we’d never met.”
“Well, we hadn’t. Not officially.”
She smiled. “True.”
The bartender placed their drinks in front of them, and Nicole twirled the little umbrella between her fingers. “What are your intentions, Drew Parker?”
He nearly choked on his drink. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. I’m sure you’ve heard Beth’s story. Or at least part of it. I don’t want to see her hurt. So I’ll ask again. What are your intentions?”
Drew thought for a moment. He could refuse to answer, but he wasn’t sure that was the best idea. So far, Nicole had been his best ally. “I want to ask her out.”
“And?”
“And I don’t know. As I’m sure you know, I’m new to this. I don’t really know what comes next. Or if I’m overstepping some unwritten rule. All I know is that I’m attracted to her. I’d like to see if there’s more.”
“Are you looking for a relationship, or someone to scratch your itch?” Nicole asked.
Drew had to hand it to her. She wasn’t pulling any punches. “I’m looking for a relationship. Is Beth that woman? I don’t know yet.”
Nicole took a sip of her drink and grinned. “Fair enough. And honest. Okay, I’ll help you. But if you break her heart, I’ll break your balls. Got it?”
The look she gave Drew had him swallowing nervously. He had no doubt she meant it. “Got it.”
“Good. Now, go mingle with your friends. In about an hour, find her and say hi. Keep it light.”
“Anything else?” he asked.
She slid off the stool and patted him on the back. “Turn on that firefighter charm all you boys are famous for. It might make a small dent in that wall of hers.”
Drew snorted, and watched as Nicole strolled across the room to join Beth and Katrina. They spoke for a few minutes before the club owner excused herself. Beth leaned in and whispered something to Nicole. He figured Beth wasn’t happy he and Nicole had been chatting.
Following Nicole’s advice, Drew went to find John and Allison. They were upstairs watching a scene in one of the semiprivate rooms. The Dom had his submissive in a spread-eagle on a Saint Andrew’s cross. It was obvious he’d been working on her for a while. Her back and ass were red, and he was in the process of inserting a butt plug.
“You made it.” John smiled, and nodded toward the large viewing window. “Mistress wanted to see the scene. You just missed the flogging. Very intense.”
“Looks like it.”
“Daniel is one of the best at flogging, especially Florentine,” Allison supplied.
They stood there watching the rest of the scene, which concluded with the sub hanging limp in her bindings after several screaming orgasms. By the time it was over, Drew was hard as a rock. He knew he couldn’t seek out Beth with his cock straining against his jeans.
He excused himself and headed back downstairs. Instead of going into the main room, he turned the corner, and found a spot along the wall. He leaned back against the vertical surface and took several deep breaths. He had to calm down—a difficult feat in a club shrouded in sex.
It took a while, but he got himself under control. He strolled out into the main room of the club and scanned for Beth. She was sitting next to Nicole near the center of the room.
Taking his time, he made his way over to her. “Hello again.”
Beth glanced up.
He wasn’t sure what to make of the look on her face. “May I sit down?”
“Um. Sure.”
“Thanks.” Drew sat beside Beth on one of the love seats. “How have you been?”
Instead of answering, she said, “You didn’t tell me you were a firefighter.”
“No. I suppose I didn’t. You didn’t tell me you worked in a café either.”
“I don’t work there. I own it.” Her voice held an edge he didn’t understand.
“Impressive. The food was great, by the way.” He had no idea what had caused her sour mood.
Beth relaxed her shoulders a little. “Thank you.”
“So are you going to answer my question?” he asked.
“And which question is that?”
He smiled. “How have you been?”
She glanced down at his crotch. Drew didn’t need to follow her gaze—he already knew what she would see. He was hard again. Not as bad as he’d been after watching the scene, but enough that it would be noticeable.
Beth smirked. “Probably a little better than you at the moment.”