“You’re not from the Pacific Northwest,” Salvatore said, and though it sounded like a statement, I still got the feeling he wanted confirmation from me.

“No. I grew up in Maryland.”

“And your family’s still there? Parents…siblings?”

I nodded. “Just Mom and Dad. I don’t have any brothers or sisters.”

Salvatore’s finger swirled over the top of his wine glass in circles. “Such a long way away for a little lamb. Why so far?”

“Um… I wanted an adventure, I guess.” Salvatore’s eyes sparkled, and I took a nervous sip of my beer before adding, “Plus, I got a full scholarship, so I couldn’t really pass it up.”

“Ah. And do you plan to go back to Maryland?”

“I’m not sure. I mean, I don’t plan on it anytime soon, not if my internship could turn into a job.”

“Hmm.” Salvatore steepled his fingers against his lips, and I wondered what was going through his mind.

“What about you?”

He arched a brow. “What about me?”

“Where are you from?”

Salvatore was silent for a long moment, and then he sat back in his chair. “A small town in Oregon a few hours from here.”

“And your family?”

“I was raised by my mom, but she’s passed now.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that.”

Salvatore shrugged and looked out at the city below. “It was a long time ago. I’m sure she’s much happier wherever she is now.”

“Why do you say that? I mean…surely she’d be happier wherever you are.”

“We were never happy in Hazard.” His eyes took on a faraway look.

“That’s the name of the town? Hazard?” Strange name. Doesn’t sound all that welcoming. “How did you end up here?”

“You’re a curious thing, aren’t you?” Salvatore said, focusing back on me.

“I just don’t know much about you. You own all these businesses…this building, even this restaurant. When I’m out with you, everyone stares at you like they know who you are. Even walking to this table, people were looking.”

“Does that bother you?”

“It’s kinda strange.”

“You get used to it,” Salvatore said. He finished off his wine, and as the waiter hurried over to refill his glass, Salvatore waved him off. “Tell me, Jesse. Do other people’s opinions matter to you?”

“Um…yeah. A little, I guess. Don’t they matter to everyone, even if people say they don’t?”

He poured himself another glass of wine and then took a long sip before answering. “No. I made a decision long ago not to let what others thought about me affect my path in life. The secret to success is never to give a fuck about what anyone else says, because the truth is, they all want you to fail. They all want to get their hooks in you and rip you to shreds so you don’t stand a chance. I’d never give anyone that satisfaction.”

Wow…okay. That was more information than I thought he would give, yet it still told me next to nothing about why he felt the way he did. But that was part of Salvatore’s allure. He was mysterious. Commanding. An enigma who I—and everyone else, it seemed—was utterly fascinated with. “So, now you own almost the entire city and don’t answer to anyone.”

“That’s right.” Salvatore’s eyes narrowed, shrewd and intelligent in ways I wasn’t even capable of comprehending. “I like to control the situations I put myself in. I don’t bend or kneel for others. I find it much more satisfying when they do so for me. Business or…otherwise.”

I leaned across the table and lowered my voice. “You mean what you do at the Wolfe’s Den?”

One of Salvatore’s black eyebrows arched. “Yes. Which makes the fact that you like being controlled rather convenient, wouldn’t you say?”

I sucked my lower lip behind my teeth as his intense stare urged me to be truthful, and when Salvatore reached across the table and ran a thumb over my lip, pulling it free, I let out a shaky sigh and replied, “Yes.”

“And will you kneel for me, Jesse?”

Right then I was convinced I would’ve done anything for him as he held me captivated with nothing more than his hypnotic voice and laser-like stare. “Yes.”

“You’re getting very good at saying that,” Salvatore said, and sat back in his chair. “We’ll have to see about the follow-through…later.”

My heart was pumping so hard that I was surprised he couldn’t hear it, but before I could respond, the waiter appeared at our table with two plates in hand, and I realized why Salvatore had chosen to stop the discussion.

“Here’s your American Kobe twelve-ounce New York strip, Mr. Wolfe. And for you, sir,” the waiter said, turning to place a large plate down in front of me, “the roasted mad hatcher Cornish hen.”

He asked if we needed anything else, and after we each told him we were fine, he disappeared and I looked down at the enormous meal in front of me. “Wow,” I said, and then chuckled as I looked up at Salvatore. “There’s no way I’m going to be able to eat all of this.”

Salvatore gave me a crooked smile as he unwrapped his silverware. “The second you get a taste, I bet you’ll change your mind.”

Something about the way the word taste rolled off his tongue made me extremely aware of what we’d been talking about before our food had arrived, and it was shocking to me that, just that easily, he had me back to thinking about being on my knees in front of him.

What the hell is the matter with me? I’m never this single-minded. Especially about sex. But damn… Brayden had been right. Salvatore was most certainly a man who evoked very specific feelings in me. Feelings I didn’t even know I was capable of.

He was most certainly dominant. Not only in the way he talked, but the way he moved commanded one’s attention, and the simple act of him unfolding his napkin had me hypnotized. I was finding it difficult to concentrate on anything other than what he planned to do to me after dinner, and though it was totally out of character for me, I found this new side he was drawing to the surface was an exciting one. One I couldn’t wait to get to know better.

* * *

Many had looked at me the way Jesse was currently eyeing me as we sat there in my restaurant, and I wondered what exactly was running through his mind. His desire was obvious in the heat coloring his cheeks and the stormy shade of his eyes. But I wondered what he was thinking along with those feelings.

Usually, I wouldn’t care one way or another. Most of the time I took my fill, slaked the lust, and sent my toy of the night on his way. But not this time. Not with Jesse. With him, I found myself wanting to know every thought behind those eyes. Every answer to the questions I had asked and the ones I had yet to voice, and as he continued to silently watch me, my craving for him intensified.

With my knife in hand, I gestured to the plate in front of him. “You better eat that before it gets cold.”

Jesse dragged his eyes off mine and looked back down at his meal. “Right, it looks—”

“Delicious?”

When his eyes flew back up to mine, Jesse’s pupils were blown, and I couldn’t help my chuckle. Between our phone call this morning, the elevator ride up here, and the talk of what would happen later tonight, Jesse was on edge. And without looking or touching, I knew my poor little lamb was hard as a rock.

“Huh?”

“Your food,” I said, but made sure to lower my gaze to his lips as I licked my own. “It looks…delicious.”

“Oh shit,” Jesse muttered, and shifted in his seat. “You’ve got to stop looking at me like that.”

The rush I got from his discomfort was intoxicating. I hadn’t felt this alive in years. I loved the ability I had to provoke such strong reactions from him, and I reveled in how he made me feel.

“And how am I looking at you, Jesse?”

“Seriously?”

I cut a piece of my steak, and nodded before I put it in my mouth. “Seriously.”

His eyes moved to my fork as he said, “Like you’d rather be eating me than that piece of steak.”

I put the steak in my mouth and slowly chewed it, and the rapt way he watched me made me want to order him to get up and come over and kneel beside me while I finished my meal.

I’d only ever wanted that with one other before, and that was what made Jesse so forbidden. It was what made my obsession with him so dangerous. He was fucking beautiful. “Would you like that?”

Jesse swallowed, his nerves finally making his brain kick in. “I think I would.”

“I can work with that for now. Eat your meal, Jesse. You’re going to need the energy for what comes next.”

Jesse didn’t say much after that. And neither did I, knowing that silence was as effective as a command in making one think. He did as he was told and ate his meal, all the while watching my every move. He was a fascinating mix to me. Both shy and bold at times. Whereas most who knew me wouldn’t dare to question me, Jesse had dared to ask things that I had long ago buried and most knew not to go near.

Naiveté is both a blessing and a curse at times, I thought as I studied him throughout dinner. He knew nothing of me. That was the blessing. The curse was it was also what made him so irresistible.

My reputation, as far as Jesse Clark was concerned, consisted of nothing more than a business mogul who owned a sex club. Sure, it was a little bit dangerous, but nothing compared to the truth.

As we finished up our meals, I gestured to the menu. “Any room for dessert?”

Jesse blinked several times and then shook his head. “No.”

“No room?”

“That, yes,” he said, and then shifted in his chair a little. “And I don’t think I can sit through dessert.”

I brought my napkin to my lips and then tossed it on the table. As I got to my feet, I pulled my wallet out, threw the tip on the table, and came over to Jesse’s side. He craned his head back to look up at me, and I raised an eyebrow at him and crooked my finger for him to stand.

Without a word, Jesse set his napkin on the table and got to his feet, and once he was standing opposite me, I bent my head down and put my lips by his ear. “Well, if you can’t sit through dessert, maybe you can kneel through it instead.”

When I raised my head, Jesse’s eyes were glazed over and his mouth was slightly parted, and I couldn’t stop myself from touching him. I took the back of his neck in a firm grip and then lowered my head to take his lips with mine. The second our mouths connected, his hands came up to grip my sweater, and I slipped my tongue between his lips to tangle it with his.

Good little lamb… There had been no hesitation when I’d reached for him, not even with all the eyes I knew were on us right this minute. It had been perhaps careless on my part, since I kept my private life sealed shut, away from prying eyes and gossip, but I’d invited the whispers simply by taking Jesse to 360.

As sugar sweet as he tasted, this wasn’t the place and now wasn’t the time, so I released the hold I had on his neck, and Jesse blinked up at me, dazed.

“Last chance to run away, my lamb,” I murmured, rubbing my thumb over his bottom lip. Before the words were out of my mouth, Jesse was shaking his head.

“I don’t want to run.”

“No? But what if I want you to?”

Jesse sucked in a breath, his eyes growing hooded. Then he brazenly looked me in the eye and said, “Then why don’t you make me?”

Goddamn, that was almost enough to have me pushing Jesse to his knees right then and there, and my cock strained behind my zipper at the thought. I needed to get him out of there, to where I could do every bad thing I’d thought about over the last two weeks.

Taking Jesse’s hand firmly, I weaved us through the restaurant, back to the elevator, and as the hostess saw us coming, she quickly made sure it was open and waiting.

“Have a good evening, Mr. Wolfe—” was all I heard before the doors shut us in alone, and as the elevator made its descent, I pushed Jesse up against the wall and cupped his erection in my hand. He groaned in my mouth, and I swallowed it down, taking what was mine and letting him in on a taste of what was to come. The beast inside me roared in anticipation, and as the elevator came to a stop, I backed away, my eyes roaming all over his swollen red lips and glazed expression.

So pliant… He has no idea this night is not for the faint of heart.

He looked as though he might fall over, so I took his hand again, leading him out the doors and through the lobby of the building to where I could see the limo pulling up outside the main entrance.

My body hummed, already lit with desire and a thrill of what was to come, and as the driver opened the door for us, I moved Jesse ahead of me, watching with eager eyes as he slid down the leather, making room for me.

“I hope you’re not tired tonight, because there’s no sleeping when the wicked play. And by the end of tonight, that’s going to include you. Don’t forget your safe word.”