“I’m a Dominant sadist and I have money. Do you honestly think this house doesn’t have a soundproofed dungeon?”
“I . . .” She couldn’t think of what to say. “But you’re kidding about wanting to kidnap me. I mean—why me?”
“Well, you’re fucking delicious, and you have an intriguing reaction to my dominance. And now I know our kinks are even more compatible than I thought. If I’d met you a few months ago, you’d be in serious trouble.”
“I’m not now?” she asked, breathless.
“I can’t set up something that lasts for days with a baby and a nanny living in the house, and it wouldn’t be safe leaving you locked in the attic at the club when I have to be home so much. I guess I’d need an accomplice.”
“What? No!”
He laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m kidding about the acc
omplice. I don’t think I could share you.”
“And I told you already that was a hard limit for me.”
“Look at you throwing the lingo around. By the time you’re done toying with me, you’ll be a certified pervert.”
“Toying with you?”
He laughed, but he didn’t sound amused. “You’ve made it clear this can’t go anywhere. I respect your being up front about that so I don’t get attached.”
Ugh. That statement was like a stake to the heart. But . . . she didn’t want him not to get attached either.
“You’re going to find an actual slave sometime—someone who knows the rules and what she’s doing—and she’s going to love the idea of being an insta-mommy. I’ll barely be a blip in your rearview mirror as you drive away.”
He snorted. “I had that girl back in the day. I’m raising her kid. Just because someone already knows they’re into kink doesn’t make them the ideal match. It doesn’t mean they love you enough to stick by you when you’re busy or periodically inattentive. When she cheated on me she didn’t even have the decency to remove her public collar first.”
Ouch. “I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. You’ve been very clear about what you can and can’t offer me. I just wish . . .” He sighed. “Then again, I don’t want you accepting Beau out of guilt either. That wouldn’t be fair to either of you. I want someone to choose both of us—not just me, not just her. I’m glad you’re not trying to force yourself into a role you don’t want to try to make things work.” He was silent a long moment. “So this is temporary, and you’ll stop being so damned perfect, okay? That’s an order. I’m trying not to get attached.”
Tears pricked her eyes, but she wasn’t sure why. Probably because she wished she felt differently. She wished she honestly wanted to parent a child so she could seriously date him and see where things led. She wasn’t worried she wouldn’t learn to love Beau, but she had plans for her future that included not having to take care of kids for once in her life. She wanted adult stuff—fancy dinners, wine, R-rated movies, loud sex . . . not chicken nuggets, Kool-Aid, cartoons, and silent quickies when the kids were napping. All that was cute if it was new, or you loved the caregiver role, but she was done being freakin’ Martha Stewart crossed with Mother Teresa. Enough was enough.
Ugh. Why did he have to be so irresistible?
“That being said,” he continued, “I’m also selfishly glad you didn’t go home with someone else tonight.”
“So this isn’t serious, but you want us to be exclusive? That sounds a bit odd.”
He grunted. “I didn’t say I was being rational.”
“If we see other people, we’re both less likely to end up sad about this, even knowing in advance that it’s not going anywhere.”
“Will you go out for dinner with me so we can talk about it?” he asked.
“When?” she asked. “And we’d better not be going to Chuck E. Cheese’s.”
“Tomorrow night—well . . . I guess that would be tonight at this point. I’ll leave Beau with Tabitha, I promise.”
“Fiiine.”
“Promise not to fuck anyone else until then.”
She rolled her eyes. “What do you think I do all day?”
“What do I think you do, or fantasize about you doing?”