“I’m a bit embarrassed by how well it worked on me,” he admitted.
He stopped next to her.Though he said nothing, she felt that indefinablesomethingflare between them the same way it had Saturday night.She’d never experienced it with another man.It wasn’t just a pounding heart or a shortness of breath.It felt as if every one of her nerve endings were tingling with awareness.
Sofia had never been madly in love, and sex had never been a pulse-pounding experience for her.It’d been okay, something she could definitely live without.So the arousal he evoked had caught her unprepared.
He stood only inches away from her, looking at her with his gray eyes, which didn’t appear as chilly as they had at Lara and Connor’s reception.And he made no attempt to move past her.
Slowly, he lifted his hand and brushed back a lock of hair from her eyes.
“The wind,” he explained.
“Thank you.”
More raindrops pelted the roof, sounding like marbles against the metal, and it seemed to jar both of them.
Without a word, he tested the stability of the handrail before heading up the stairs.“Come on up,” he said when he reached the top.
Tablet in hand, she followed him.“They seem to be sturdy enough.”
At the back of the loft, huge tarps were draped from the ceiling beams, blocking off the space.He stood near the front railing and she joined him.
“What do you think?”
“It’s not as serviceable as I’d hoped, so I’m glad I looked.”She wrinkled her nose.“The stage would be below us, so there’s no view of the speakers or entertainment for anyone sitting up here.”
He nodded.
“But that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be used for something.I’m just not sure what.”She drummed her fingers on the railing.“It does offer some great opportunities for lights and streamers, bunting, that kind of thing.”Tablet still in hand, she moved toward the back of the area to see if there was a window.
“Just storage back there,” he told her.“Nothing to see.Ms.McBride—”
She brushed back a tarp and what she saw stole her breath.She’d expected garage-type items, maybe boxes, tools, that sort of thing.
Instead, she saw an immense wooden chair.The back had to be over five feet tall.Its padding was all leather.And the huge arms had wild-looking horses carved into the wood beneath them, ferocious and frightening.
Paddles, whips as well as all sorts of things that she’d never seen before hung from the wall.But what made her freeze was a raised table, like a massage table, with sturdy restraints in strategic locations.
Ice froze her blood.Hewasinto BDSM.
She’d thought she’d known what that meant, but she hadn’t.Seeing everything shocked her.Having her own images come to life in front of her rendered her immobile.
His footsteps echoed, threatened, as he moved across the wooden planks to join her.
“Don’t worry, Ms.McBride.This area is by invitation only.”
The air around them was charged with the impending storm and it seemed to ricochet through her.
By slow measures, she dropped the tarp and stared at him.
His arms were folded across his chest and his feet were a little more than shoulder-width apart.He appeared resolute, bigger, broader than he had even a few minutes ago.He made her nervous, but no matter how ridiculous it seemed, she didn’t feel threatened.“You’re a…”
He waited, making her say it.
She turned to face him.“A Dominant?”
“I am.”He continued to regard her.“Do you know what that means?”
“I’d say the table gives me a hint,” she said wryly.When he didn’t smile, she went on.“Honestly?No.I don’t have a clue.I’ve read books, watched a couple of movies, talked to a few friends about their experiences.”Since Lara had asked her to keep their conversation private, she didn’t mention it to Cade.“But I’ve never been…” How the hell did she say it out loud?She settled for, “Involved in anything remotely resembling…” Again she floundered.“This.”
