Page 93 of Masters of Secrets

“Hello, Mistress Julie. Can I get you something to drink?” she asked as she slid the glass of amber liquid in front of Connor.

“Water and a dirty martini, please.”

“Sure thing. I’ll be right back.” Annette flounced off, and Julie looked over at Connor with some bemusement.

“Did you tell her I was coming?” she asked.

He shook his head.

“I just told her this wasn’t a date.” The hesitation in his voice made it clear he wasn’t sure how she would take that. Julie wasn’t offended since he hadn’t known whether she was going to show up to meet him. She didn’t blame him for trying to save face in case she didn’t.

Even now, Annette likely thought they were just two dominants having dinner to talk shop and watch the performance. That’s what the gossip train would say. Olivia wouldn’t correct anyone’s misconceptions unless Julie asked her to.

“Well, that takes some of the pressure off,” she said with a smile. Connor managed a half-smile back at her, a bit of the tension leaving his shoulders. “So, is Shibari something you’re interested in?”

She could have gone straight into questioning him about why he’d wanted to meet her, what he wanted out of tonight, but she was pretty sure that would put his back up. Right now, she wanted to get him more relaxed, get the conversation flowing a little more naturally, then she’d be able to make her way around to that once he wasn’t so anxious.

“I’m not sure.” He shrugged and held up his hand, laughing in a self-deprecating manner. “My fingers are too big for delicate knots most of the time.”

“Mine aren’t.” Julie held up her own hand with her very delicate fingers. They were petite, just like the rest of her. She winked. “I bet you’d be surprised if you tried, though. Patrick doesn’t exactly have small fingers.”

Connor’s shoulders went down a little more, and he chuckled as he took a sip of beer. The air of tension hadn’t completely dissipated, but it was lessening.

“That’s true. Though my hands are bigger than his.” He eyed her, as if he was wondering if she was going to say something about big hands and what that meant.

Julie smiled back at him serenely. She was sure he’d heard all the jokes before.

She liked to be different.

“Well, you won’t know until you try. You can do some really beautiful things with Shibari.” It was the right thing to say.

Connor relaxed even more, smiling back at her.

How had she never noticed the eager-to-please expression on his face? Had he been hiding it, or had she just passed right over it because it wasn’t expected?

What else had she missed about him?

Chapter Three

Julie

Connor Bright was an attractive man. It was something she’d noticed before, but she hadn’t really thought about whether she was attracted to him because she hadn’t realized he was an option. Sitting next to him, talking to him, really taking the time to look at him…

Yeah.

She was attracted.

There was something exhilarating about the idea of dominating him, too. He was so much bigger than her—taller, broader, stronger—and he wanted to submit to her. Such a large, strong man on his knees for her… and he’d probably be nearly as tall as her, even when he was on his knees. Like her own personal mountain to climb and play with.

As they chatted, their dinners arrived, and he slowly relaxed—until Annette came to clear their plates, and tension started leaking back into his frame. Julie paused to take a sip of her drink. This was usually the point in a session with a client where they were working themselves up to admit something or say why they were really there.

Averting his gaze, looking down at where his big hands were wrapped around the base of his glass, he cleared his throat.

Julie waited.

“So, um. I hope I didn’t bother you with all the gifts.”

“You didn’t. It was clear you put a lot of care into them. I was flattered.” She had no problem admitting that. Chances were, he’d already heard that from Law, anyway. She had no doubt that Law had shared his concerns about her admirer with his friends. The fact that Connor was one of those friends made it more amusing in some ways.