“Like me?”
She sighed.“You know.Who like to be in charge.I prefer to make my own decisions.Being independent hasn’t always been easy.”
“Understood.”
“But there’s part of me that’s curious.”
He continued to wait for her, letting her work through things at her own speed.Emotion played across her face before she gave an almost imperceptible nod.
“I’ll use red.”
“Youhavebeen studying.”
She met his gaze.“And yellow for slow.”
“Good.”He smiled, and he knew she appreciated the approval by the way she exhaled.“Now that we understand one another, we can move forward.If you’re uncomfortable about something, say yellow.”
Her shoulders rose as she sucked in a deep breath.He was enchanted with the image of her on her knees, ankles and wrists tied to a spreader bar behind her.
“Do you punish your subs?”
“I typically scene with submissives at a club, with women who know what they want and make sure they get it.”He accepted the glass back from her.Her hand trembled so badly that the ice cubes clinked together.
She took several steps toward the French doors, putting some distance between them.
“Have you ever been punished for bad behavior?”
“No.I’ve never been with a Dom.Everything I know, or think I know, comes from reading, from websites, online groups, renting movies.”
“Do you think you might like to be?”
“Oh God… Really?”She regarded him, her hazel eyes wide, as if hoping he would relent and change the subject.
“You’re planning to go to Deviation this weekend,” he reminded her.“You’ll see a lot, hear a lot, experience a lot of different thoughts and emotions, maybe even participate in a couple of activities.You’ll want to be more comfortable with it than you seem to be right now.”
She nodded, but when she spoke, her voice was low and lacking the confidence she had at the office.“I’m not sure about it.Parts of it intrigue me, but I struggle against the feeling I shouldn’t want it.I’m an independent businesswoman, and I’ve been making my own choices since… I don’t know.Probably since my mother died.I don’t like being told what to do.”She shrugged.“I want to be a partner with any man I’m dating.An equal.”
“And yet, when you’re provocative—” He waited a moment.“As you have been…what then?”
“What happens at work is different.”
His reaction was swift and powerful.“Not if we have a relationship.”
“Seriously?Are you considering that?”
“And so are you,” he said softly.
Even from across the room, he heard her breath catch.She might not want to consider it, but she was.
“Don’t you have rules about fraternization?”
“No.Not unless things are problematic for either party or for others in the department.It happens less often than you think, except for when the couple breaks up.In any case, we can arrange a transfer for one of the people, elsewhere in the company if possible, or maybe to another Donovan holding.But we recognize that workplace entanglements happen.We try to mitigate potential damages, but we’re not going to fire someone for falling in love with a coworker.If we go forward, you won’t lose your job, but you can request a transfer, and I’ll do my best to accommodate it.”Nathan had an honesty-only policy, and he knew he was violating it.Fuck if he could stop himself, though.If they got involved, he wasn’t sure he’d allow her to move to another part of the company.He was already hot for this woman, and he wouldn’t let her go easily.If at all.“Don’t think I’ve forgotten the main thread of this conversation.Let’s go back to discussing punishment when the subbie is being intentionally rude at home.Would you have me ignore it?Or is it better to deal with it and try to correct the behavior?”
“I don’t know.I’m not sure I’m comfortable with it.”
“And yet you wonder what it would be like to be over my knee with me ripping off your underwear before I spanked you.”
Kelsey swirled the wine and watched the liquid run down the inside of the glass before meeting his gaze again.“Yes.”Her word hung on the cool autumn night.
