Red Hots (7 page)

But,
it didn’t last for animals or subs. And it wouldn’t for Kindle either; sooner
or later she would lose it if she didn’t have an egress. He was determined that
would be him.

“Look,
Masaun, I don’t know what Lolli led you to believe about me…but I’m perfectly
fine.”

“Your
friend may have sent me to you. However, I’ve been a Dom for too many years to
allow anyone to pick and choose who I take on, scene with.”

 She
waved a hand in front of her body. “I’m not even sure what that means entirely.
Anyway, if not for my friend’s request, then what’s all this about?” She
pointed at their meals on the table, indicating their date.

“You.”

“Me?”
The tension in her features was starting to show around the edges of her mouth,
nose and eyes. “As I told you alre—”

“You
may be an excellent attorney professionally, I don’t doubt that. However,
personally, you’re walking a tightrope that could snap beneath your feet at any
time.”

A
muscle in her jaw flexed as she leaned forward and lowered her voice to barely
above a whisper. “You don’t even know me. So, what makes you think you have the
right to comment on any part of my life?”

 Lifting
his left hand, he rested his forearm on the table beside his plate, palm up.
“Give me your hand, Kindle,” he commanded, keeping his voice low and
controlled.

She
glanced from his face to his hand and back again. Emotions and thoughts swirled
in her gaze, making the indifferent mask she held her features in start to show
cracks.

He
wouldn’t be happy until it fell away completely.

Sitting
there, calm, he waited. He wouldn’t rush her. A submissive, even an unaware
submissive, had to yield to a Dominant on her own.

Letting
out a harsh breath, Kindle set her right hand in his, palm down. The light
weight of her slender hand caused warmth to crawl up his arm and spread through
his body. It wasn’t a great leap of trust, but even such the small amount of
faith Kindle showed in him caused his gut to tighten and a volt of pleasure to
race from base to tip of his cock.

“Is
this just about sex?” she asked, as if reading his response to her.

Even
if that were true and she’d witnessed the level of his desire or felt the spark,
it had no influence on helping her to discover another way to ease the weight
on her shoulders and mind.

“No.
I’ll admit, you are a beautiful and sexy woman. You could get a man in your bed
with one of your rare smiles.” His gut clenched at the thought of her with
another man. He went on, “I’m attracted to you on many levels, but that’s not
what
this
is about.”

 He
refused to allow her another chance to delay his point further.

Turning
her hand over, he looked down at it. It was just as he’d suspected. Earlier
when he’d observed her unaware at the restaurant door holding her clenched fist
against her stomach and taking breaths to calm herself, it had looked second
nature. As if she’d done the action so often to gather her bearings she
probably rarely noticed she was doing it. Kindle had done the same thing when
he challenged her about being late and other times during dinner, he’d noticed
one or both hands balling up in her lap when she was uncomfortable with a
question. Usually in connection with her job.

 “This
is your outlet.” With his other hand, he lightly brushed over the half-moon
impressions and cuts in her palm.

She
gasped; shocked, she tugged against his hold, trying to remove her hand. “That’s
none of your business.”

His
fingers encircled her wrists, locking her in place. His grip wasn’t tight
enough to hurt her, but firm enough that if she wanted to break away from him,
she’d have to snatch her hand away, creating a scene. Something he doubted she
wanted to do.

Still
caressing the new and old wounds, he kept his voice steady as he gazed into her
shadowed eyes. “I’m not judging you, Kindle.”

She
glanced past his shoulder then turned her head to the side. “That’s not how it
appears from my side of the table.”

“You
know, over the years I have trained people from all walks of life. Some of
those just as emotionally strained as you seemed to me from the first moment I
saw you. There have been those that bite their nails, drink heavily, eat odd
things that have made them sick or pull out their hair one strand at a time.”
He wouldn’t tell her which of those behaviors Lolli was using, unsure of
whether Kindle’s friend had revealed that to her or not.

“What
are you supposed to be, some kind of therapist with a belt?” she harangued.

“I
don’t use a belt. If you’re looking for some kind of daddy and bad girl games,
you’re talking to the wrong man.” He stopped the movement of his fingers on
her.

“I
wasn’t
looking
for any of this. You came to me, remember?” She tugged
again.

He
held on. “Yes. And I can help you.” He pressed his top hand flat over hers,
sandwiching hers between his. When her russet gaze met his, he continued, “I
know you don’t know me, but I’m asking you to trust me.”

She
shook her head. “My life is laden with every aspect of this trial…” There was a
catch in her voice. “There’s barely enough air for me to breathe.”

That
was what worried him. If Kindle was causing herself pain through her day just
to focus and maintain control, the magnitude of this case could push her into
more extreme behaviors as a defense. “Don’t you think about letting someone
else take control for just a moment? An hour or so where you just let go and
breathe.
”

A
breath seemed to shudder through her, causing her hand to tremble in his and
her eyes to become glassy. When she rolled her bottom lip into her mouth and
bit down, he gave her palm one last caress and released her.

Kindle
pulled her hand away. However, she didn’t ball it into a fist but pressed it
flat to her stomach. Glancing down, she blinked rapidly as if clearing the
water away that was threatening to spill over her lower lids and become tears.

The
woman was full of strength and courage, evident in her straight-back posture.
She had the potential to be an exquisite submissive.

“How’s
everything?” Mandy came to the table and asked.

“We’re
both finished.” He never removed his gaze from Kindle.

“Not
a problem. Either of you care to have the remainder of your meal in a carryout
box?”

Arching
an eyebrow at Kindle, he waited for her response.

Keeping
her gaze on him, Kindle said, “No, thank you.”

“Great.
Can I get the two of you anything else?” In his peripheral, he saw the waitress
look from him to Kindle, her forehead pinched with curiosity.

“No,
Mandy.”

With
one last look, the waitress took their plates and walked away.

“When’s
the last time you danced, Kindle,” he asked.

Tilting
her head to the side, she frowned. “What? I…it was…” She let out a breath. “I
don’t know, maybe a few years ago.”

Rising,
he held his hand out. “Dance with me, now.”

She
only hesitated a fraction of a second before she slipped her hand into his,
allowing him to pull her to her feet.

With
a hand on her lower back, he guided her toward the small dance floor in the bar
area. In a couple of hours, the restaurant would be filled with locals
drinking, devouring appetizers and
mezzé
and dancing until the place
closed.

Standing
in the center of the wood flooring, Kindle stepped to him, placing her free
hand on his shoulder as he slipped his arm around her waist. At first she kept rigid,
her body leaning away from his slightly as they glided around the floor.
However, as the seconds passed, he could feel her relaxing a little at a time
until she was pressed against him, her breasts crushed to his chest. Nothing
obscene, just enough to close the gap between them.

Being
so close to her, he felt when her chest expanded further than normal and heard the
low sniffing sound. She smelled him. That knowledge made him smile. However, he
knew she wouldn’t pick up anything, because he’d stopped wearing cologne five
years ago. Sweet had a rule at the shop that the staff could not wear perfumes
and aftershaves. His brother firmly believed that other fragrances would
obstruct the sweet candy aroma in the air, therefore throwing off customers’
olfactory detection, which would ruin their cravings, diminish what they would
purchase and hurt sales. Sales were Masaun’s bottom line so, because of that
and respect for his brother’s nightly hard work, Masaun just stopped using
cologne all together.

Masaun
continued to hold Kindle in his arms and neither of them spoke as they swayed
to the music. He enjoyed the warmth of her body along his and the soft
fragrance of her cologne with the undertones of her personal scent—the perfect
warm floral blend. Oh, yes, she had a distinct aroma. The desire to bury his
nose along the side of her neck and take more of it in had his senses reeling.
It had probably been just as long for him since he danced or had a woman in his
arms for any reason other than aftercare following a scene. If Kindle was in
his life and he was offering her something other than outlet for her emotions,
he could easily get used to this being a part of their relationship.

As
the last few notes of the slow song played, she leaned back and gazed at him.
“Masaun, I can’t give you or any man control over my life twenty-four seven.”

He
caressed the palm of the hand he held against his chest. “I don’t know what
impression Lolli has given you of my life.” He tossed her words back at her.

Her
lips relaxed into a small smile.

Another
slow ballad started.

“But,
I’ve never desired to own my submissives. I just want to be there for you, give
you pleasure and show you a side of yourself you just may like.”

 Her
fingers flexed against his chest. “What if I agree now, but realize it’s not
for me?”

“Then
you tell me so and you walk away. At any time.” He knew that if he ever got
Kindle beneath his paddle, he wouldn’t want to let her go. But he would. Even
as hard as it would be, BDSM lifestyle was not about imprisonment or holding a
person captive when they desired to be released from their commitment.
Criminals did things like that. There was no comparison.

Not
wanting her to feel pressured, he stepped back, giving her space. “The fall air
is still nice enough to walk outside. Let’s get out of here.”

“Okay.”

When
he led her back to their table, he was happy to see the check was there.
Removing his wallet from his pocket, he placed enough cash inside the black
folder to cover their meals and gratuity.

Kindle
took her purse from the back of the chair and they left.

They
spent almost an hour silently strolling down the boardwalk or stopping just to
stare out into the Atlantic Ocean at the waves rolling up onto the beach.

Masaun
could have initiated small talk, discussed benign things in the news but he
didn’t. This was Kindle’s time to process what he’d said and his offer. He wasn’t
expecting her to make a decision tonight, but he would still respect the
enormity of the choice she had before her.

All
too soon, he escorted her back across the street to the restaurant parking lot,
now filled from the Saturday night bar crowd, and followed Kindle to her car as
she activated the unlock button on her key fob.

Next
to the driver side of her car, she turned to him and said, “I’ll do it.”

His
gaze searched her face. She wasn’t wearing her veneer of indifference, but
neither was she showing much emotion regarding her choice. “Are you sure,
Kindle?”

“Yes.
I’m extremely nervous, not really knowing much but what I’ve seen being around
Randolph and Emmalee. I’ve been one to chicken out because I’m fearful.”

“We’ll
go slowly. Talk and ease you into it.”

“That’s
good to know.” Her shoulders seemed to relax some. “When do you want to start?”

“You’re
the one with the demanding schedule. I assume nights are best.” He was standing
in front of her, not touching her. He hadn’t held her since they danced.
However, the urge to pull her into his arms and let her know that things would
be all right consumed him.

“Yes.
Unfortunately, I’ll keep pretty late hours most nights and with the trial there
will probably be more not less.”

“Give
me two nights a week. You can choose them, but I’ll expect you to keep the
time.” She would need to understand that once they were in their designated
roles, he’d demand she meet the standards he set.

Her
hands were clutching her purse tight, but she nodded. “I think I can manage
that.”

“Where
do you want to meet?”

She
thought for a moment. “I can’t do the Barbie Mansion… or whatever Lolli said it
was called.”

He
chuckled. “The dungeon is called The Dollhouse. However, meeting there is not
necessary. My home is equipped with everything I need.”