Paige slowly lifted the piece of paper in her hand. “It’s like a smorgasbord of hot sex.” She reached for a pen in the bowl on the coffee table that had been meant for decoration but ended up being used as a junk spot. “Ready to order?” She grinned.
Olivia hadn’t decided when she’d go through her checklist detailing her hard limits, letting Noah know beforehand what she would allow and what she wouldn’t. But she supposed having Paige there to help decide was just as
good a time as any. She nodded. “Ready.”
Paige didn’t even blink. “Anal?”
“Seriously, Paige, you start with that one.” Oliva dropped her head into her hands, feeling the heat blushing against her cheeks. “I shouldn’t have showed this to you.”
“Oh please,” Paige countered with a loud laugh. “This is the highlight of my year.” She glanced over the list quickly. “Besides, I’ve done most of these things on this list so there’s no need to feel embarrassed.” She placed the tip of the pen on the paper again, looking all very serious. “Yes or no to anal?”
“Is there a maybe in there?” Olivia leaned forward, trying to examine the document. “Like are we talking a finger, or…you know, his thing?”
Paige gave a measured look. “Dude. Do you know nothing about how this whole power exchange thing works? It’s either a yes or a no answer. A hard limit is things you hate and would never do. Do you hate anal?”
“I haven’t done it, so I wouldn’t know,” Olivia admitted before taking a good long sip of her wine.
When she lowered her glass, Paige gawked at her. “Ever?”
“Never.”
Paige slowly shook her head, glancing back down at the page. “It’s a damn good thing that you signed up for this app. There is a whole world of freaky shit out there for you to try.”
Olivia took another sip of her wine. This was exactly what she had realized too. She’d been too sheltered, too good. Sure, she had wanted to have kinky sex like she knew Paige had. The kind of sex that was exciting and thrilling, but that she had always been too afraid to pursue. And Cameron never seemed to care about experimenting. Sex was very much a release for him, and usually all about his release, not hers.
She didn’t want to be the “good girl” anymore. She didn’t want to be the nice one, the smart one, the amazing daughter. She wanted to be the naughty girl. “Yes to anal,” she blurted out.
Paige grinned and nodded. “Yes to anal.” She read the next line. “Gags?”
“Yes.”
“Blindfolds?”
“Yes.”
“Rope?”
Olivia hesitated. More and more she began to see how much she hadn’t tried and that was depressing as shit. “You know what, just check yes to everything on there. That’s the whole point of this, right? I won’t do this ever again. We both know that. So just check yes, and you’re right, I’m going to let fate lead the way.”
Paige smiled. “Look at you. My logical girl turning all that logic on its head. I never thought I’d see the day.”
Olivia shrugged. “I have to do something different. The way I’ve been living isn’t working anymore. Besides, what can go wrong? I already hate my job, have had my heart broken, and have the house that I scrimped and saved for sitting empty because I can’t go back into that bedroom since it reminds me how alone I am.”
“You’re not alone,” Paige said softly.
“I know that you’re here for me, and I love you so much for that.” Olivia smiled back. “But I legitimately have nothing else to lose. Something has gotta give. So, this is me doing all things I would never have done before. I need to find a new me, and I think to do that I need to get out of my comfort zone.”
Paige gave a firm nod. “That’s right, girl. It’s time to fuck your way out of rock bottom.” Then she checked yes to every item on the list.
And Olivia chugged back the rest of her wine.
* * *
—
A knock on the door had Noah Grant moving through the Tribeca-revered industrial art deco–style loft penthouse in Manhattan minutes before ten o’clock at night. He’d shed his suit from earlier in the day, and wore a New York Giants T-shirt and black workout pants. Surrounded by glass windows giving a bird’s-eye view of the New York City skyline, he walked on the cool marble floors in his bare feet. The three-bedroom, three-bathroom penthouse had a large foyer that led to a living room with a seventeen-foot ceiling and a wood-burning fireplace. The penthouse had belonged to Noah’s late grandfather, and being an only child, his parents had gifted him the property when his grandfather passed away a handful of years back.
When he opened the front door, he found Jared on the other side. The folder in his hands indicated that Jared had gotten what Noah needed. “Thanks for working late tonight.” He stepped out of the way to allow Jared to enter.