“How?” he asked quietly, but pressed against him, she could feel tension gathering.
“I’m messed up,” she whispered. “I think I might need this in order to—” She couldn’t make herself say the word.
“You didn’t have any trouble last night.”
How did she reply?About that, Alec. It was nice, but there weren’t exactly fireworks.
As the seconds ticked by, and she didn’t answer, tension mounted between them.
He huffed in disbelief. “I know when a woman gets off, Em, and you definitely did.”
“I’m not denying that I... um… It just wasn’t…”
“Wasn’t what, Emily?” He was calm, but she could tell his patience was waning.
“It wasn’t as intense as on my couch,” she blurted out then buried her face in his shirt. “God, this is humiliating. Can I please go home?”
“No,” he stated flatly. “Although it’s a blow to my ego that the earth didn’t move for you—”
“I didn’t say that!” she protested.
“No, but you should have. I’m a man, not a mind reader. We have members who drive from all over the state to play here. Why? Because it’s exciting. It fulfills something inside them. No one apologizes for that. Why should you?”
“I thought maybe something was wrong with me. Before you, I’d never been able to…”
Thankfully, his understanding was immediate. “Never?”
She shook her head. “You are the exception.”
He grunted. “That’s something, at least.”
“That’s why I accepted that invitation. To see if it was all of this.”
“Moving forward, if you have questions, come to me. Honesty and communication matter more than anything in this world.”
“I haven’t agreed to anything yet.”
“That’s because you’re still in a snit thinking I was playing you.”
“It’s not just tonight. There was Isabella Benedetti—a married woman.”
“She was a job. That’s over. And before you ask, I didn’t sleep with her. What you saw behind the stage was as far as it went.”
“Do you get that close to all your clients?”
“She wasn’t a client. I was undercover, investigating her and her husband. All of that was before we reconnected. I’m single and have never claimed to be a monk, but I have always been up front with play partners and women I see outside the club. But if you’re with me, Em, you can trust I’ll only be with you.”
She wanted to believe him. Wanted to trust him. Wanted to say yes.
“I say we start again, with no secrets. Finding out that you’re open to my world moves things along but doesn’t alter my plan to introduce you slowly. We can start now.”
“Oh, but—”
“Did you read the small print on your invitation?”
“About no gawkers?”
“That’s the one. Have you done anything with anyone tonight?”
