“That sounds wonderful.” His expression darkened once again as he turned his attention to the ocean. “I miss my former life, but you can never go back. Maybe I should come to America one day and help you run your bakery.”
“And what qualifications do you have? I only hire professionals.” She laughed when he lifted his eyebrows.
“Pizza? Maybe we could expand.”
She held out her hand, trying to break the odd tension. For some crazy reason, she was enjoying the hell out of herself. “Deal.” The moment they shook hands, she was lost in the man. In his prowess. In his attentions. In his sexuality.
In his dominance.
A series of images swept across her field of vision, a happy couple with not one but two beautiful Golden Retrievers, walking hand in hand through a park on a cloudless day. She’d never been one to fantasize, at least not about a perfect relationship complete with a house and a white picket fence. She wasn’t into marriage, her parents’ nasty divorce a reminder that there was no such thing as true love. Why now? Why this?
The electricity was almost overpowering, searing every nerve ending as the white-hot heat sent a blazing trail straight into her pussy. She took several deep breaths, attempting to focus on anything else, but the draw was unbelievable, leaving her unable to focus.
“Are you all right?” he finally asked.
She sputtered then reached for her drink, almost toppling the glass. “I’m fine. I think maybe a little too much wine.” The comment was ridiculous since she gulped the remainder, but there was no way to make sense of her reaction. She’d touched him several times before, enjoying his rippled muscles and the way his hard cock throbbed in her hand.
“You’re flushed,” he whispered in the most provocative manner.
“Don’t worry about me, Pierre. I’ve always taken care of myself.” The words slipped past her mouth without a second thought.She couldn’t remember if Ashley’s parents were even alive or close to her. Hell, she didn’t care.
“I appreciate that in a woman, Ashley. I love a woman with confidence as well as intelligence. You have the entire package.”
The moment seemed far too intimate, much more so than stripping in front of him for a hard spanking. The heat continued to creep up from the base of her neck, suddenly becoming suffocating. “Tell me about this club.” As if a conversation involving dark kink was going to make her feel any better.
“Club Risqué is well known, although very private. The locals call it erotic darkness, where all your sinful desires can come true. By invitation only.”
“And you are always invited, fully fulfilling your fantasies.”
He lifted a single eyebrow. “I have been known to enjoy the scenery, but make no mistake, Ashley. I do not frequent clubs with women I’ve picked up in a bar.”
“Or a casino?” While she was taunting him, the same sweltering darkness she’d seen a majority of the night was present, the aura around him a protection. He didn’t want anyone getting close. Then again, neither did she.
“Anywhere. I am very private. I am also not into relationships of any kind. Have I enjoyed women from time to time? I am a man after all with needs of my own, but the participants were women I’ve known and who I trust implicitly.”
“You make this sound like you’re spouting off a resume.”
“In my line of work, I must be very careful.”
“Then we have more things in common than our friends and family,” Sophia commented as casually as possible. “I don’t know you, Pierre, and I’m not private, I’m protective of my world as well. This is new for me.”
“But you thrive on discipline.”
There was no answer that made any sense. “I thrive on rules, but the kind of punishment you doled out isn’t in my nature.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, little one. You came alive last night, as if awakening from a deep sleep. You need a firm hand at all times, a man who doesn’t have any concerns about taking you over his knee when necessary.”
“That’s not me in any manner.”
“Aren’t your nipples hard just hearing my words?”
Sophia sucked in her breath.
“Don’t you hunger at night, when you’re all alone in your bed for a man to strip you of your mask, freeing the woman inside?”
“Not even a chance.” She was growing more uncomfortable by the minute.
“I’ll venture a guess that you’re the kind of woman who could learn to ask for what you needed, the discipline you crave. Don’t you want to ask me for a spanking right now?”
