If Andi actually answered her question, Kelsey didn’t hear her.She was so consumed with her own thoughts that she was no longer listening.“Can you get me in?”
Andi interrupted herself to demand, “What?Seriously?Shut your mouth.You want to be tied up.Or wait…”
Kelsey could imagine Andi’s pseudo-frown.She’d had too many face-freezing injections to actually get wrinkles, but she managed to bring her carefully drawn eyebrows somewhat closer together when she was genuinely caught off guard.
Truthfully, Kelsey was more than a little surprised that she hadn’t been able to prevent the question from tumbling out.
“Wait… Do you want to do the tying?Do you want to beat some little subbie’s ass?”
Kelsey rolled her eyes.“No.”But the image ofherbody, bound and naked, tantalized her.
“I had no idea you really were kinky.Girl, we gotta talk more about this.I get off early tomorrow night.Martinis and confessions?”
“I’m not sure I’d be brave enough to talk about it without fortification,” she admitted.“Friscos at six?”She named the nearby downtown hotspot.They had a great happy hour, meaning she could eat dinner for almost nothing.She might have unkindly called Nathan a penny-pincher but the truth was, she, too, was a master economizer.
“Six it is, and girlfriend, I’m telling you this.Get me Sofia or Lara Donovan as a client, will you?If you do, I’ll make your first cut and color half-price.”
“Half-price?Your generosity knows no limits.”
“You know, I want Erin.She’s your boss’ sister.You can get her, right?Talk to him?God above, get me Erin and I’ll give you a BOGO.”
“Buy one, get one?Which means I have to pay full price for the first one?”Kelsey asked.Clearly Andi was insane.
A male shriek cut across the phone line, and Andi screeched in return.Knowing the conversation was over, Kelsey hung up.
As she finished her coffee, she spent a few minutes thinking about Nathan.It made sense that he was a Dom.He seemed to have the personality.Well, as much she knew.Or guessed, really.She read a lot, chatted with a friend who enjoyed participating in scenes with men, was in a few online groups and owned the movies featuring one of her favorite actors as a Dom.
Kelsey told herself to end the fantasies right there.That’s all they were.
She dated men who were considerably gentler than he was, always friends before lovers.And in bed, they were polite.Polite and mostly perfunctory.
The fact that she was curious about BDSM was a conundrum for her.Of all people, she shouldn’t fantasize about being submissive to a sexy man.But she did, more often than she would dare to admit.
She took her last sip and closed her eyes.
Fuck.
Unbidden, the image of Nathan crooking his finger at her and indicating she should lower herself across his lap filled her mind.She saw him lift her skirt and all but felt a trembling in her legs as she prepared for him to lower his hand in a punishing spank.
She heard herself begging, but since she didn’t know whether she would want him to continue or stop, she shoved aside the image.
What in the hell was wrong with her?
Purposefully Kelsey stood and dumped her cup in the nearby trash bin.Making a point to herself as well as the world, she brushed her hands together, as if washing away thoughts of him.
It took the entire walk back to the office to banish the lingering tingles that the images had given her.
Thankfully Nathan’s door was still closed.
Not having to see him after her discussion with Andi was a blessing.
A phone call from Zoe McBride, Sofia’s sister and manager of the Houston branch of Encore Events, distracted Kelsey, made her think about business rather than entertaining outrageous fantasies.They set up a meeting for the following morning.
Thankfully, the next hours passed in a flurry of phone calls and meetings.Nathan left to visit the docks, giving her some appreciated time alone.
She reached out to Holly Newman, and they discussed plans for the going-away party.The woman agreed that the end of the month or beginning of December would be fine.
Before they hung up, Kelsey arranged to visit Samuel at lunchtime the next day.
