He studied her for a moment before his features relaxed. “First off, I prefer places like this over fancy restaurants.” He picked up his burger, holding it over his plate. “I might have worked hard for my money, and I enjoy some of the material things it offers, but I’m only thirty-three. I like to kick back as much as anyone. Believe me, this place is more me than anything over the top.”
“Yeah, I see that,” she agreed.
How complex a man was Dmitri? Powerful CEO, a Dom with poise, and now an everyday guy who ate his burger and watched football. She realized she liked his complicated layers. More so, she loved that he seemed to enjoy the same things she did. It made her feel on the same level and not worlds apart.
He took a bite of his burger then said, “In fact, I come here with the guys every Wednesday.” She blinked in surprise. The side of his mouth curved. “I wasn’t always wealthy. When I received the promotion to president and came into more money, it didn’t change who I was or what I enjoyed.”
“Okay, well, you’re full of surprises.” She laughed, and after she took a nibble of her french fry, she wondered if she’d misjudged even more. “Can I ask you some personal questions?”
He took another bite of his burger and nodded her on. “Hit me with them.”
“Why aren’t you married?” This had been capturing her thoughts all week. The more she’d gotten to know the man behind the Dom, she couldn’t understand why Dmitri remained a bachelor. “You meet a lot of women, and you’re handsome and sexy.” He winked at her, and she laughed. “I just don’t get it.”
He placed his burger back on the plate and wiped the napkin over his mouth. “You’re right, I do meet a lot of women, but I’ve never met the right woman.” Reaching for her, he ran his finger down the front of her neck, and a spark ignited through her veins, her body easily awakened under his touch. “Either in the lifestyle or out of it.”
“You’re kidding.” She shivered at his slow gentle finger brushing over her neck, but she fought to remain focused, too curious about his life. “You’ve dated a woman who wasn’t—” She waved over herself. “Into all this?”
He smirked then nodded. “I’ve tried on two occasions, and neither worked out.” He gave her a pointed look. “I can’t do vanilla.”
She tried to imagine Dmitri not being bossy Dmitri. Impossible. Shaking her head to clear those thoughts, she continued, “So, what happened?” She picked up another fry and swirled it in the ketchup. “You tried to keep the dungeon a secret and had the other life on the side?”
“Much like that.” He hesitated as a round of claps erupted from a score in the game. “Both relationships developed from meeting through business at the casino. As you can imagine, I wasn’t forthcoming about my lifestyle.” He sipped his cola. “I did try for a while to see if it could work, but it can’t.” His expression hardened. “Or what I should say is, it made me miserable. It’s hard to sleep with a woman and not command her submission. I always ended up more frustrated at the end than satisfied.”
She ate her fry, considering him. “When was your last relationship, then?”
His eyebrows rose, playfulness filling his features. “You’re full of questions tonight, aren’t you?” Her discomfort at digging into his life must’ve shown on her face, because he added, “But they’re valid questions, and I don’t mind answering them. My last D/s relationship was six years ago.”
“What happened?” she blurted out.
He chuckled and leaned back in his seat. “Nothing negative ended the relationship. Simply that my ex, Katherine, needed more than I could give her.”
“Which was?”
“A Master/slave relationship.”
Presley didn’t need him to explain further. She’d read about that type of relationship in her erotic novels, and she’d never found the idea sexy. To be dominated sometimes was hot as hell, but full servitude, where she’d have no voice all the time, didn’t appeal to her. Even now, she realized she enjoyed this. Tonight and all week, she’d been on equal ground with Dmitri, and she preferred that out of the bedroom or the dungeon. There was something freeing in giving up control to someone for a little while, even something rewarding in hearing Dmitri’s approval.
Sometimes life could be so complicated and confusing; she’d found the dungeon’s order and rules, and not needing to make a single decision, gave her a peace. But to give up that control in everyday life wasn’t for her. “That lifestyle didn’t appeal to you?”
He shook his head. “It made Katherine incredibly needy, and no, I didn’t enjoy it. It’s a great responsibility to handle someone’s submission twenty-four/seven.” He sipped his cola again. “Besides, as you’ve seen in the rules of Club Sin, I like sexual domination, I enjoy the power exchange, and I need the kink, but I don’t want a slave. Once I realized that I couldn’t give Katherine what she needed, I found someone who could.”
Presley’s nose scrunched up. “She didn’t mind being handed off like that?”
He picked up his burger again but didn’t take a bite and simply stared at her. “Of course there was some sadness, on both our parts. I cared for her, and she did me as well, but she wasn’t content with our relationship, and trying to force something became a strain.”
Presley understood. Sometimes, even if you cared for someone, it didn’t work out. She wished her relationship with Steven had ended on better terms, so it didn’t leave such a sour taste in her mouth. However, it also didn’t surprise her to hear that when Dmitri ended a relationship, it was done with the upmost respect. “Does Katherine belong to the dungeon?”
He took a bite of his burger, chewed a moment. “No. I ended our relationship
a week after Charles died. Katherine has never been to the dungeon.”
Presley hesitated at his admission; was that a coincidence? Dmitri had made some huge changes in his life in a very short time. His friend and mentor died, he broke it off with his submissive, and he bought the land to open the dungeon.
Dmitri’s eyes searched hers before he gave her a sad smile. “Ah, I see what you’re thinking, doll, and you’d be right. Charles’s death changed a lot for me.”
Changed how, though? she wondered. For the better? For the worse? Something about hearing this made her uncomfortable, even if she didn’t understand why. Watching him intently, she asked, “So, you haven’t had a relationship since Katherine, and you’ve only played with submissives in the dungeon?” At his nod, she added, “Is there a reason for that?”
He finished the last bite of his burger and glanced down at his plate. She witnessed his exhale. “Meshing my two worlds has proved difficult.”