Snowed In

Only every time she tried to talk to Erik, either Reid or Gideon whisked her away. On three separate occasions, one of the two had interrupted the discussions she’d started with the handsome architect. The first night Reid needed her advice on the wine selection, which was odd because Reid was practically a sommelier and often despaired of her palate. The second day, she’d started to join a group that was going ice skating. Erik had promised not to let her fall. Gideon put an end to that. She was new, he’d explained, and all newcomers were required to attend the class on the rules of the organization.

She never would have guessed a BDSM club would be slavishly devoted to parliamentary procedure.

Breakfast this morning had been a bust, too. Reid had been waiting outside her door. When they entered the dining room, Erik had looked up, and she could plainly see he held a place for her. Reid had wrapped an arm around her waist and settled her between him and Gideon. Despite her best intentions, she was rapidly becoming comfortable with Gideon again. He was sweet and funny. It was easy to remember all the reasons she’d fallen in love with him. He’d taken care of her, making sure her coffee mug was full, getting her another muffin when she mentioned how good they were. His arm had slid around the back of her chair. He’d even run back to her room for a jacket when he noticed her shiver. He was genuinely kind.

As long as she didn’t sleep with him.

“It is essential to outline exactly what you’re comfortable with and what you, as a submissive, are unwilling to do,” the teacher explained. “You should use this list as a template. This is a detailed list of the major areas of BDSM play. Everything should be negotiated before entering a relationship, or even deciding to perform a scene at a club. It is your responsibility to mark the boundaries. Don’t expect your Dom to read minds.”

“I thought there weren’t supposed to be any boundaries between a Dom and sub,” one of the men said. He sounded disgruntled. “This shit takes all the fun out of it.”

“Tourist,” Reid whispered, pulling up the chair beside her. “We need to check our screening process.”

The disgruntled man and the teacher were discussing the situation, but Reid took the pen out of her hand and started marking up her questionnaire. “No, yes, only a little bit of that, oh, hell yes. Absolutely not.”

“Hey,” she whispered, trying not to disturb the rest of the class. She pulled the paper out of his hands. “Shouldn’t I be making those decisions? How do you know whether or not I would like…” She looked down and picked one of the categories he’d marked as an immovable NO. “… Scat games. What are scat games?”

Reid leaned in and whispered in her ear.

“NO. That’s a firm no, Reid. Can we highlight that one?” She believed in tolerance, but there were definitely some things she wouldn’t be trying.

Reid laughed. “I promise it won’t come up, love.” He still looked entirely amused as he stood and reached for her hand. “Kelly, dear, I need to take this one with me. Master Gideon needs a guinea pig. I offered up my own sweet sub.” His hand curled around her hip, and she felt as though he was showing her off. It made her feel entirely sexy.

The instructor nodded and she found herself on her feet being led out.

“I am so not your sub,” Jessica complained as they entered the hallway. She tried not to think about the way her skin tingled where he touched her. “If you keep telling people that, no one is going to approach me. I read the rules. No touching other Doms’ subs. I’ve been here for three days, and I’ve only managed to talk to one Dom.”

“Yes, that was a slipup,” he muttered under his breath as he hurried her down the corridor. He stopped in front of one of the smaller conference rooms and took both her hands in his. “Has it really been so awful for you, darling?”

It hadn’t and he knew it. It had been wonderful. Being with Gideon and Reid again made her remember how nice it had been to work with them. Of course, it hadn’t all been work. They’d had dinner together, the three of them, more often than not. During the time she worked for them, she felt like they were her family. It was why it had been so hard to lose Gideon. “I’ve enjoyed spending time with you.”

He pulled her right hand gallantly to his mouth and pressed his lips there. “And I love being with you. It’s been nice just the three of us.”

She remembered the night before when they sat around the fire in her suite and shared a bottle of wine. It had been lovely, and she’d gone to bed alone. Of course, in her dreams, they’d ordered her to go to bed with them. She shook off the thought. “Yes, but I have to mingle. I can’t hide behind you and Gideon forever.”