Choosing Rena (16 page)

Olivia arched a brow at Jude. “And you
put him in charge of investigating our home, pet?”

Jude winced as his Mistress pinched
his side. “Rena, you have a big mouth. Mistress, she did tell me he
was a good replacement and he could do her duties. I didn’t realize
she was talking about her guard duties. She did more than that when
she was here.”

Rena shook her head. “Typical man,
listens to only what he wants to hear.”

Olivia gave Jude a rather heated look.
“Oh he listens to me, rather well in fact.” The sensual purr was
followed by an increase in the sexual tension between the two. It
almost made Rena uncomfortable. Perhaps she should
leave.

“If that’s all…” Rena
gathered up her papers, heading toward the door and freedom.
Before Olivia mounts Jude right in front of me.
The things I do for my friends.

“
No, that’s not all, Rena.
I think you forgot to mention something important,” Jude said
before she even cleared the door.

Rena frowned. “I didn’t forget
anything, Jude. I have nothing else…”

Jude smiled like a Cheshire cat. On
his lap, Olivia focused her sharp gaze on Rena until she shifted
uncomfortably.

“I don’t know what he’s talking
about…”

“Really?” Jude’s smile deepened. “Tit
for tat, you little snitch. Rena has agreed to be Jackson’s
sub.”

Rena’s mouth dropped when Olivia
scrambled off Jude’s lap. As Olivia enveloped her in a huge hug,
asking a million questions, Rena glared over her shoulder at Jude.
The man was definitely going to pay for this little stunt. She
didn’t care if he was trying to get out of trouble with his
Mistress or not. She’d definitely be reminding the Domme of Jude’s
little omission before she left.

Chapter
Fifteen

Standing in front of her mirror, Rena
couldn’t believe she was going out twice in as many days. It had
been a long dry spell since the night, months ago, when Jackson had
interrupted her date to send her to Atlanta. Smoothing her damp
hands down her sides, she straightened the skirt of her sundress.
This time, she was wearing clothing she felt comfortable in, rather
than an outfit that screamed lifestyle. White in color, the eyelet
dress was a beautiful contrast to her dark skin. She’d twisted her
braids up into a loose top knot and applied make-up sparingly. On
her feet were strappy white sandals with a gold chain on her left
ankle. Small diamond earrings and a simple gold necklace completed
her ensemble.

She just exited her bedroom when not
only her phone rang, but there was a knock on the door from the
front of her apartment. Answering the call on her way thru the
living room, she unlocked and unhooked the security chain before
gesturing Jackson to come in. He looked devastatingly handsome in
his charcoal gray slacks, short-sleeved blue polo shirt, with his
blond hair slightly tousled. It was all she could do to concentrate
on what her sister was blathering on about as he handed her a
bouquet of fresh cut flowers. She smiled at him, before standing on
tiptoe to press a kiss against his cheek.

“Thank you…” She returned to her call.
“No. I wasn’t talking to you. My date is here. But I’m sorry I
forgot to call you when I came in last night. It was rather late
and I figured you’d be in bed.”

In her ear, she listened to her sister
babble, wanting to know what Rena had done, had she enjoyed it, and
did she think she’d see the guy again as she pulled the vase out
from under the sink, while being vastly aware of Jackson standing
behind her. Filling the hand-blown glass container with water, she
mouthed the word ‘sorry’. Relief filled her when he just smiled,
motioning her to continue with her call as he took the vase from
her.

Finally in desperation, she called a
halt to her sister’s endless questions. “Whoa, little sister!
Enough with the Spanish Inquisition! I met with him at a local BDSM
club and I must’ve have enjoyed it or was intrigued enough to
accept his offer for a second date. Now I have to go. Love
you.”

She hung up the phone, before giving
Jackson an apologetic glance. “Sorry. Nosey kid sister.”

He gave her a grin, set the vase on
the counter before stepping close enough to pin her up against the
fridge. His head dipped close enough their lips could’ve have
touched. “Intrigued enough to accept my offer for a second
date?”

“Yeah…” She whimpered when he exhaled
roughly before pulling back without kissing her.

“Well, I say we go on our date and see
if I can change that ‘intrigued’ into a ‘thoroughly enjoyed’.”
Picking the flowers up off the counter, he quickly disposed of
their outer packaging before he arranged them in the vase. “Now
that those will keep, shall we go?” He offered her his arm. She had
the uncontrollable urge to giggle but resisted – just
barely.

“Lead the way…Sir.”

Her last minute addition of
the title of respect had the most unexpected reaction. The blue of
his eyes darkened from azure to navy in a mere blink of the eye.
“Naughty, little
peekôn.
You shouldn’t tempt me. I might just take you to
the nearest playroom instead of dinner.
”

“But I’m hungry and you promised to
feed me.” She gave a mock pout.

“Which is the only reason I’m not.”
Pressing a quick kiss to her knuckles, he led her out of the
room.

* * * *

Pulling out the chair for Rena,
Jackson waited for her to be seated before gently pushing it in for
her. He’d selected a quaint but cozy little Italian restaurant not
far from Rena’s home that Olivia had promised would be sure to
impress Rena. He nodded to the waiter before seating
himself.

“I’ll have a bottle of your House
Chianti,” he told the waiter. As soon as the man left, Jackson
turned his attention on his dinner companion. She looked absolutely
delicious and he was a starving man. But he couldn’t indulge, not
yet anyway, despite his urge to see her white skirt smoothed up
over her hips as he spanked her for teasing him so. They had limits
to discuss along with the expectations they had for one another.
There would be no forms or contracts. He hadn’t forgotten about the
contract she’d mentioned last night and if he had his way, there
wouldn’t be one.

“You’re assuming I like the Chianti,
White Boy…” Rena gave a mock pout. “Maybe I’d rather have
beer…”

He chuckled, loving the return of the
sassy woman who’d intrigued him from the first moment he’d seen her
in the form-fitting uniform Larson’s Security provided for their
guards. “Really? What about the fact I was told it’s your favorite,
and you always order it when you come here with Olivia?”

She looked shell-shocked for a moment,
but finally grinned at him, and snapped her napkin with a flick of
her wrist. “Remind me to kill my friend, will you? I can’t believe
she’d gossip about me, the fickle little bitch, after all I’ve done
for her.”

Jackson laughed. “Don’t be too hard on
her. I had to ply her with her favorite imported chocolates to find
out where your favorite restaurant was and what you liked to
order.”

Rena reached for her water goblet.
“Ever think you could’ve simply asked me?”

He narrowed his eyes. He couldn’t tell
if she was ticked off or not, another first for him. Well versed in
reading people, he used the skill to its best advantages not only
in his work but also for the benefits of his subs. “I wanted to
surprise you tonight.”

“Well, you did. Thank you. Do you know
what you want?” She glanced down at the menu in front of her,
effectively hiding her expression from him.

“Not really.” He picked up his own
menu. The moments drew into minutes as they perused the menu. All
the while, he kept up a running commentary on the selections
available, touting the merits of some dishes, while asking for her
opinion on others. During the entire time, she never once looked
up. Finally exasperated with her lack of eye contact, he extended
his foot and nudged her ankle under the table.

Her head lifted, and her expression
was priceless. “Did you just kick me?”

“Could be.” He flashed a grin, loving
how her lips pursed and brow furrowed. “Maybe you should make a
practice of looking at me, instead of burying your face in the
menu, and I won’t have to resort to such drastic
measures.”

She tipped her head, confusion briefly
flitting across her expressive face before finally giving a brief
nod. “Old habits die hard.”

He waited for her to expand
on her answer but she didn’t. A moment later the waiter returned
with their wine and asked if they were ready to order. He couldn’t
help but notice Rena seemed a bit relieved by the interruption.
After they ordered – Rena the
Osso
buco,
a veal based stew and himself
the
Bistecca Fiorentina,
and the waiter left, he decided enough was enough.
They were supposed to be enjoying each other’s company, not sitting
on pins and needles. His little
peekôn
needed to relax.

“You know, you can relax. I’m not
going to bend you over the table right here, Rena, even if you beg
me. This date is supposed to not only set the ground work for our
relationship, but also allow us to get to know each other
better.”

Wetting her lips, she finally smiled.
“Well, I’m sure the management might have an issue if you did.” She
visibly relaxed. “So what do you want to know?”

He leaned forward and covered her hand
with his. “Whatever you want to tell me? I know you’re from New
York. Did you and your sister grow up there?”

She nodded. He relaxed back against
his seat, as she launched into an amusing tale of all the trouble
she and her sister had managed to get into while growing up in the
Bronx.

* * * *

Rena was pleasantly full as
Jackson escorted her down the hall to her apartment. After Jackson
had broken the ice between them, she’d thoroughly enjoyed their
meal. Even though she was older than him and they’d grown up in two
vastly different worlds, they had quite a few things in common.
They both loved jazz music, comedies and trashy novels. She had
giggled when he’d sheepishly admitted to reading erotic romance
books, particularly Lora Leigh’s
Bound
Hearts
and
Elite
Ops
series. She could see him reading
the
Elite Ops
books, the blend of intrigue, secret missions and sizzling sex
would definitely appeal to a man, but the
Bound Hearts
series which revolved
around The Club where men shared their lovers, didn’t seem to be
something he would.

Stopping at her door, he took the key
from her. Unlocking it, he paused, a question in his
eyes.

“Would you like to come in? I have
coffee, and we could talk a bit about the lifestyle.” The question
came out more like a plea than the request she’d hoped for. All
evening, even as they had been talking about everything from
fiction to her doomed relationship with Louis, she hadn’t been able
to forget the fact he was a Dom. More than once her mind had
drifted to what he might do to her at the end of the night, if she
was only brave enough to ask.

He lifted his hand to lightly caress
her cheek. “Are you sure? As much as I enjoyed tonight, I don’t
want to ruin it by pushing you too hard. Talking about our limits
can wait if you’re not comfortable yet. I’m willing to wait ‘til
you’re ready.”

She leaned into his touch. “I…I think
I’m ready to talk about it.” Giving him an imploring look, she
straightened. “I may not be ready to go into a full-fledged scene,
but I’m strong enough to at least tell you what I like and
don’t.”

“All right,
ma peekôn,
we’ll talk.”
He pushed the door open and guided her inside. “Would it bother you
if I asked to hold you as we discuss your limits?”

Before she could contemplate why he
was handling her with kid gloves instead of being the outgoing Dom
he’d been all evening, the hair raised on the back of her neck.
Something wasn’t right. She just couldn’t put her finger on
it.

“Didn’t you leave the living room
light on?” Jackson stopped beside her, reaching around her to twist
the nob on the lamp.

“Yes, I did…I wonder if the
light bulb burnt out.” As the light flooded the living room, the
familiar melody of Chopin’s
Nocturne
from the movie “The Pianist”
drifted from her bedroom. Dread filled her stomach when a man’s
figure appeared out of the shadowy hallway. “How the hell did you
get in here, Louis?”

Her former Dom stepped into the light,
scowling when he spotted Jackson. “Never mind that. You’ve been a
bad girl, little subbie.” Then he turned his attention to Jackson.
“Did she forget to mention me? While I like to share, I do prefer
women.”

Furious now, she placed her hands on
her hips. “What are you talking about, you idiot? I’m not yours.
Remember? And I’ll be damned if I’m going to share with
anyone.”

The sound of leather hitting leather
as Louis tapped his crop against the leather pants he was wearing
had her flinching. She could vividly remember what it had felt
like. It was his favorite tool to punish her.