“The sink,” he said.“Yours is the one on the right.The drawer next to it is empty, and there’s room under the cabinet, as well.”
“Thank you.”She looked away, severing the impact his gaze held over her.
“Is your paddle in the bag?”
She nodded.
“Good.Get it.”
She went into the closet, and he followed.Kelsey lost her grasp on the zipper pull and had to grab it a second time with him standing merely inches from her.
Kelsey reached into the bottom of the bag and pulled out the paddle.She put it in his outstretched hand, with the wordslutfacing up.
“Thank you.Are you ready?”
She shook her head.“I need a few minutes.”
“Can I get you anything?”
“Maybe a brain with circuits that don’t get fried when I look at you.”Part of her couldn’t believe she’d said that aloud.
“Maybe we can get a two-for-one deal.”
In that moment, she realized she was in danger of falling for this man.Not in a small way, but in a total, complete, unrecoverable way.
She mentally shook herself.
Falling in love with Nathan Donovan wouldn’t be stupid.It would be beyond stupid.Monumentally disastrous.He was dynamic, powerful, ruthless, single-minded in his pursuit of his goals…until he achieved them.Then he moved on.Even with Donovan Logistics, he wouldn’t be there forever.He was already considering taking over a company in Dallas.
He was everything she didn’t want in a man, and he’d never given any indication that he was open to anything more than BDSM and sex with his assistant.Ending their intimate relationship after Saturday was going to be difficult enough.She couldn’t imagine how she’d manage if she let it go on for weeks or months.
It made much more sense for her to focus on her career and her life goals.She told herself to enjoy their time together and not think beyond the moment.As if that were possible with the way he stood so close that they breathed the same air.
He left the room, and she took a few minutes to freshen up.Since he’d said she could dress as she liked, she’d hadn’t changed from her post-workout outfit.
Before she was completely finished brushing her hair, he returned.He still held the paddle and tapped the thick part of it against the side of his leg.
Unsettled, she put down the brush.
“Ready?”
As she would ever be.
On the way to what she presumed was the playroom, he paused to show her his office.
Though the room was uncluttered and contained few personal effects, his college diploma hung from a wall next to the window.He had a treadmill and an exercise bike.A television was mounted from the ceiling and appeared to be on a swivel so he could move the screen.
Two notebook computers, each with the Bonds logo emblazoned on the closed top, sat in the middle of the glossy desktop.His watch and cell phone were nearby, along with a number of electronic chargers, looking a bit like long, thin snakes where they protruded from the cutout in the desk’s surface.
A whiteboard took up most of the space on one wall.The wordsDonovan Worldwidewere stenciled at the top.Other Donovan interests were listed, and she saw that Newman Inland Marine had a line leading up to Donovan Logistics.
Some company names she recognized, others she didn’t.There were lines drawn from a few, linking them to others.A couple of others were circled.One had been crossed out.“Is this your strategy board?”
“Yeah.It helps to have it all laid out visually.”
“Why are some of the names circled?”she asked, appreciating the glimpse of the man he was at home.He was consistent, she realized, no matter where he was.
“Those companies are in play, meaning our research tells us they could be vulnerable to takeover, logical acquisitions for existing Donovan businesses.”He shrugged.“Or it means they’ve approached us and we have begun preliminary investigations.”
