She gasped when he helped her back into a sitting position, and she rubbed her ass and looked at the door to make sure they had privacy. “You—you—you—”
“Watch your mouth, fiammetta. I’ve warned you.”
“You spanked my butt.”
“I did, because you are a brat.”
Frowning, she perched in the chair, and said, “Well, I don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes to coming to the club this Saturday night. It will give you the chance to see different kinds of play. I can introduce you to some of my friends.”
He’d offered her the same concession he’d put before Violet Tyler when he’d invited her to the most recent fantasy weekend. The chance for her to safely get her toes wet, to explore her fantasies in a safe setting. It’d worked out well enough that, instead of just dipping her toe in the pool, she’d gone into it with her whole heart and seemed to have wound up the happier for it, with her two men, Josh and Lucas Abbott. Bunny should have the same safe opportunity.
“More Doms?”
“Yes, and their subs.”
“Okay. I’ll visit your chamber of horrors.”
Feeling utterly wicked, he grinned. “I haven’t invited you to my chamber of horrors, yet.” That innocent, wide-eyed expression of hers was going to be his undoing.
“But—”
“Hazelle House is for the enjoyment of exclusive members. My ‘chamber of horrors,’ as you put it, is my own private space, and I only invite subs there who merit the invitation.”
Licking her lower lip and gulping as if her throat had suddenly gone dry, Bunny stammered and then said, “I need to get to work. That dish isn’t going to re-align itself.”
“One other thing,” Joseph said. When she raised her eyebrow in question, he said, “To the best of your ability, please be careful. No taking risks.”
Bunny rose from the chair, shaking her head. “Already bossing me around, are you?”
“I’m asking as your friend.”
Her shoulders relaxed, and she looked down at her feet. “It’s like I told you yesterday. I am always safety conscious. I don’t climb unharnessed, and I observe proper ladder and bucket safety. The heights don’t bother me, but that doesn’t mean I take foolish risks. That’s me being honest with you…Sir. I have a family to think of, and they need me.”
He hid the gasp well, he hoped. The sound of “Sir” coming from her, in that half-sassy and half-obedient tone, shouldn’t have felt so damn good.
I need you too, fiammetta. More and more.
* * * *
Bunny trotted down the hallway in the north wing of Hazelle House, where Joseph’s suite was located. The satellite dish for his personal entertainment center had been installed on one of the chimneys on the far end of the house so it wasn’t noticeable from any of the outdoor public areas of the mansion.
She totally understood why he’d wanted it that way, to preserve the aesthetics of the mansion, but working on the thing was a bit of a challenge. She had her climbing gear draped over her shoulder, and Hughes was meeting her upstairs with the key. Her bucket truck wouldn’t reach that high, so she had to rappel down to the dish. From there, she’d lower herself to her bucket and continue on with the other satellite dish.
“Here it is, Ms. Carrigan,” Hughes said as he let her into the suite. He walked across the living room to the balcony door and opened it for her. “Is there no other way for you to do this work? Mr. Hazelle won’t be thrilled to learn you subjected yourself to such hardship on his behalf again.”
Shaking her head, Bunny patted Hughes’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Mr. Hughes. I’m stronger than I look, and I’ve done this kind of work before. This balcony is solid, right?”
“As a rock, ma’am.”
Bunny grinned at his formality and patted his shoulder. “You’re so sweet, Mr. Hughes. You can call me Bunny, if you want.”
“Perhaps, ma’am.”
Once his fears had been addressed, she got on with the work, tying off the rope to the balcony railing. The day had been another hot one, and once again, there were dark clouds far to the west, but the storm wasn’t due until that evening. She had plenty of time to get the job done.
Her imaginings from last nights’ reading material kept interfering with her concentration, and she startled when she heard one of the French doors on a nearby balcony open.
“Bunny Carrigan, you’re like a train wreck, do you know that?”
“Because you can’t take your eyes off of me, right?”
“No, because I’m fearing impending disaster.”