I’m almost peeing myself with anticipation and angst. From what I’ve gathered so far, Jaden has his own suite here at the Masquerade Club complete with this private dining room. Jaden’s hand inches up my inner thigh while he makes me spill my guts about my sex life. Perv. And something about that delights me. Not the perv part . . . Well, okay, maybe a bit of the perv part intrigues me, but his interest in me takes precedence. Dare I hope it’s actual desire?

No one has ever been interested in my sex life except to condemn me for it. Like that goddamn nurse I saw after the rape. I’d gone to the hospital ER in a nearby town in the hopes ES wouldn’t find out about the rape. Fat chance. I had the misfortune of meeting some cow who literally sneered at me while I told my story. The same nurse who told me black girls don’t get raped; they ask for sex. Funny, that’s what ES had said when he found out about it.

“Rayne!”

I damn near jump out of my skin. “What?” I glare at Jaden.

He looks back at me with that level gaze of his. The guy rarely even blinks. “Stop the spin. Tonight is my night. I don’t share.”

I know exactly what he’s talking about but make a show of looking around the room before rotating my gaze back to him. “Nope, there’s no one else here.”

Just like that, he takes his hand off my thigh and cuts into his steak but he keeps those glinting golden eyes fastened on me. I outmatch him in the eating gusto department. I may be tiny, but I can eat whatever the hell I want . . . and in huge quantities. The more I eat, the more I lose, as if my body is a huge wood fire that burns faster when more logs are added.

I keep chewing and stare right back at him. I eat and drink until I empty both glass and plate. Jaden finishes his meal shortly after that. He taps the underside of the table. As if on cue, the server returns, tidies up, and pours me another glass of that very fine wine. He pours a soft drink for Jaden and leaves. Jaden continues to look at me as if waiting for something. Well, he’ll find out—I can wait with the best of them. It kills me, but I have a wee bit of a competitive streak. Eventually, Jaden sighs and rotates his head on his shoulders.

“I don’t play the evasion game. I’ll ask once more.” Jaden catches me out again while sounding just like one of my high school teachers during a bad physics class. I try not to squirm. “What is it about Exit to Eden that makes you like sex?”

Put your hand back. “I don’t know if I like sex.”

Suddenly, Jaden finds the ice cubes in his glass deeply exciting. It’s my turn to sigh. “Fine. I’ll tell you.” I huff, but it does no good. Jaden says nothing. My mind races . . . What to say. A cacophony of confusion whirls around in my head. What to reveal . . . Not too much . . . He’ll think I’m a slut . . . Probably already does . . . He seems to like it when I’m loose . . .

“Rayne!”

Shit.

“I like the idea of the sex club, and it sounded like they were having fun. They made it sound like sex feels good.” I resist the urge to touch the heat pulsing through the tips of my ears. Maybe he won’t notice.

“You sound surprised that sex can feel good. Have you ever enjoyed it?”

“Yes, once.” That taste with you.

“Tell me about that time.” He places his hand on my thigh near my knee.

Looks as if I have to give as good as I get tonight. Well, one thing I’m hellish good at is making up stories. The key is sticking as close to the truth as possible.

“His name was Sandy, and I met him at our church. Well, his name was really Alexander, but everyone called—”

“Cut the crap.” And that hand is gone again.

I roll my eyes dramatically as I look at him. “What?” I put every ounce of indignation I can muster in that one little word.

“This is bullshit, Rayne.”

I sigh heavily. Something about this man compels me. I want him to trust me.

“Okay, okay. But just out of curiosity, what gave me away?”

Jaden smiles. Obviously very pleased with himself. “Church.”

“I’ll have you know I was a faithful churchgoer. ES is very religious when it suits him.” Why on earth I keep defending the man, I’ll never know.

“I’m sure he is. Now, let’s get back to our night. I’ll remind you I don’t like sharing. Especially not with ES. The only sharing I want tonight is sexual. Didn’t you say there were a couple of guys you messed around with?”

“I did, yes. The messing around part was fun, but it just never lasted long enough. The sex part was icky.” My nose wrinkles all on its lonesome. I pull it straight. “Will they be bringing more wine?” I need a drink. A toke wouldn’t hurt either.

“No one will disturb us unless I signal.”

Well then signal for Christ’s sake. “I have to use the facilities.” I stand. Jaden grabs my hand and pulls me to him. He brushes those magnificent lips over mine. Just a hint of heat. I almost moan as my nether lips engorge. It doesn’t take much with this man.

“I want you relaxed, not drunk. Maybe a little high, but not comatose.” His breath sets tendrils of warmth curling around my lips.

“Okay.” I barely breathe the word, but he hears me. His grip holds me firmly in place, just a hair away from his mouth.

“Okay, what?”

Oh, God. I gulp. “Okay, Jaden.”

We stay like this for a minute. I begin to wonder whether I’m going to topple over in these fucking heels. Another time my vanity beat my brains.

His lips curve into a smile. “I’ll accept that . . . this time.”

I straighten and prepare to do my best Beyoncé imitation. I take two rickety steps, kick off the heels, and stride to the bathroom door. Bring on Melissa McCarthy. I can’t walk properly in the goddamned things anyway.

Jaden looks all kinds of elegant, draped across one of those contraptions they call a fainting couch. A wine glass and a joint sit on the coffee table. There’s nowhere else for me to sit but beside him. I perch on the very end as far from him as I can get. I light the joint. Inhale deeply. Hold it. Exhale, trying fruitlessly to draw designs with the smoke. I grab the wine glass, by the stem this time. Examine it just like Jaden had. I take a sip. Sigh happily.

“Come here.” Jaden’s voice is quiet and leaves no room for argument.

Where? There was no goddamned place to go, except . . . I glance over. His legs are bent and spread with his hands on his knees. He pats between his legs. He stretches his arm toward my wine glass. With a heavy sigh, I hand it over and scootch between his legs, my back to his chest. I keep my spine ramrod straight, afraid of just how much I want him yet desperate to sink into his heat. He pulls me back against his chest and hands me the glass. I certainly hope I don’t look as awkward as I feel. I’m one ball of tightly wound elastic just waiting to unravel. At least I don’t have to face those eyes.

“Now, where were we? Oh yes, you were about to tell me what parts of messing around you liked.”

I was? I gulp more wine. “One guy actually took me to the drive-in movies. I guess you could call it a date. He held my hand and kissed me a lot. I liked his kisses. He didn’t slobber on me.” Now why the fuck did I go and say that? The way I’m going on, Jaden must think I’m fifty shades of negative when it came to sex. Ignore that last comment.

“So you don’t like wet kisses. What else?”

Damn it all. He doesn’t let anything go. I turn to face him. “Aren’t you going to call me prissy?”

Jaden barks a laugh. “Why would I do that?” He winks at me. “No, don’t tell me. Let me guess. ES called you prissy.”

Ire rises in me. Why do I feel this constant need to defend ES? There are too many layers of fucked up cocooning the answer to that question.

“He’s not the only one. Everyone calls me prissy.”

“And are you?”

“No. I’m more fastidious than prissy.”

“Agreed.” Jaden pulls me back against him and slides his hand further up my thigh. I almost jump out of my skin when his fingers touch my labia. He slides his finger into the moisture pooling at the mouth of my vagina. Heat floods to my ears.

“Next time, no thong. Did he do more than kiss you?”

I wish. “He slipped his hands in my jeans and felt down there once. Then he stopped. He wouldn’t do anything else because I was jailbait. He was just a decent guy.”

Jaden says nothing for a beat. I take another toke and sip my wine.

“Let’s talk a bit more about our arrangement. What’s your vision of how this will work?”

Shit. Who asks questions like this? Like most things, I haven’t thought much about what would actually happen. I daydream in snippets—the thought of Jaden’s lips brushing against mine. I rest my head against his chest and lose myself in the dream.

“Jaden to Rayne.”

“I haven’t given it a lot of thought.”

“Dracaena.” His tone holds more than a hint of danger. There would be no fucking with this man.

“You’ll teach me how to have sex.”

“Where?”

“What do you mean, where?”

“Let’s try a different tack, shall we? Have you had sex in a car?”

Jaden’s going for the world record in asking awkward questions. “Kind of. Sort of. Not really.” I try not to fidget, knowing he’s going to ask for more. “And before you get your tighty-whities in a knot, I went out in a car with a guy after we had a drinking contest. Orange gin. I gag if I even smell—”

“Rayne.” Jaden’s voice drops about six octaves.

I face him again. I mean, he’s taking this Dom stuff just a little too far if he thinks I’m going to jump at his every command. “Let me tell my stories my way.”

He slips a finger under my thong and into my vagina. Heat sears a trail that leads straight to my core. My cunt contracts . . . hard.

Jaden smiles. I love the tiny laugh lines at the corners of his eyes.

“How old are you, anyway?”

He laughs. “Thirty-three. Now, are you going to finish the story?” He pulls me back against his chest while his finger thrums my G-spot. The spot I didn’t even know really existed until the other day. Until Jaden.

I clear my throat. “There’s not much more to tell. His name was Adam. We were both dead drunk. He was cute, and I had a huge crush on him. He wouldn’t be caught dead with me in daylight. The black thing again. Anyway, there was a lot of fumbling and cursing. I don’t think he actually got in. Come to think of it, I don’t think he got hard.”

“What makes sex interesting for you?”

“You.”

“Oh no you don’t. You don’t get off that easy.”