Just One Taste(4)

Tiffany looked over at Ally, her mouth open. “Is she serious?”

“She’s ridiculous and she’s scared out of her mind and I have to wonder how she got past the shrink.” Ally frowned. “You didn’t lie to Kai, did you? Because he’s an avowed sadist and that could go poorly for you.”

She wasn’t sure she was ready for a sadist, but a baby Dom would do. “I was honest with him. I told him what I want. I want to explore my own sexuality and see if this lifestyle can help me find some of the things I need. Like self-confidence.”

Tiffany wrapped her up in a hug. “I think it will, sweetie. I think it might help both of us.”

“Self-confidence?” Ally seemed confused. “You have a ton of confidence.”

Ally hadn’t known her as long as Tiffany. “I am very good at faking it.”

“The divorce took a lot more than cash from Deena,” Tiffany said, squeezing her again before going back to fixing her hair. “It took her confidence in herself and men.”

“I’ve never had confidence in men,” Deena admitted. A faithless father had taken that long before her ex-husband had done his damage.

Ally sat down on the small couch and sighed. “Well, maybe the training program will do more for you than you think because a good Dom can restore your faith in men. Have either one of you heard who you’ve been partnered with? You probably won’t know their names but Macon might.”

“Does Macon know who’s in the program with us?” Deena was certainly curious.

Ally shook her head. “It’s all very confidential. Only the Taggarts know who they invited. You and Tiffany probably aren’t supposed to talk about it.”

“We’re only talking about it with each other and you,” Tiffany argued. “I hope we don’t have to share. I heard there’s an extreme lack of single Doms.”

“It’s kind of both ways,” Ally explained. “The way I hear it, there are some powerful members without subs to play with and the subs who are willing to play want more choices. It all makes Big Tag irritable and then he needs a pie. I swear Macon is like his bartender except with sweets.”

“Where does he put it all?” Tiffany asked. “Because there isn’t an ounce of fat on that man. I’m happy to go to Sanctum to watch that man in a pair of leathers. Not that I would do more than watch because his wife is super scary. I want to be her when I grow up.”

“Everyone wants to be her,” Ally agreed. “And I don’t think you’re going to share baby Doms. I overheard Kai talking to Big Tag about how happy he is with the partnership selection process. I’ve heard a rumor that Kai thinks at least one of the pairs is a perfect match. And don’t tell anyone I said that because my husband will take a spatula to my butt. What happens at Sanctum is supposed to stay at Sanctum.”

She wished that perfect match well because she intended to play. “I’m looking forward to tonight and the coming weeks. I hope my baby Dom is a seriously bad boy. I want him hot and nasty because I intend to have sex with him.”

She was going to figure out why Ally glowed when she walked into a room. Why Grace Taggart lit up when she saw her husband. She wanted to know why a woman truly chased after a man.

She’d kind of fallen in with Eddie. She couldn’t say it was a mad love story. She’d started high school and met Eddie and five years later she’d married him because she’d had nothing better to do. It had seemed like it was time.

She wanted to know what it felt like to lust after a guy. What it felt like to truly want someone.

Ally stared her way. “You think that’s a good idea? You might not like him.”

Whoever he was he would be Kai Ferguson approved, and that gave her some confidence. Kai was smart and cared about the people he counseled. He wouldn’t put her with someone she wasn’t compatible with. “I’ll like him.”

“Like you like Eric?” Tiffany asked.

She was pretty sure she turned beet red. “I don’t. I mean I like him because he’s nice, but I don’t like like him.”

She totally like liked him. She simply wasn’t going to act on her like liking.

“I have to ask you why.” Ally moved forward, her eyes steady on Deena. “Eric is amazing. I know he’s a little scary, but he’s also wonderful.”

She caught on the part she could use. “He can be scary when he wants to be.”

The door opened again and Jenni bounced in. “Oooo, are we talking about Eric? He’s totally scary. The other day I very innocently mentioned that his mole sauce needed salt and I’d put some in for him and I nearly peed my pants when he looked at me.”

Deena’s jaw dropped. “You’re lucky you didn’t get your ass fired. You don’t screw with a chef’s sauce.”

Jenni shrugged. “Chef yelled at me for a long time and I cried and then everything was all right. And it needed salt.”

Now there was a girl who would get her ass spanked if she ever tried to take a training class. “Yeah, well, he should be scary when you do that.”

“Oh, he’s kind of always scary,” Jenni said. “The scar freaks me out. That is one ugly dude.”

She got in the twenty-year-old, never had a real problem in the world until Daddy made her get a job’s face. “Don’t you dare call him that, you shallow bitch.”

Jenni’s eyes were huge in her face and she took a step back. “Okay, now you’re scary. I’m going to go and set up for dinner.”

She rushed back out.

“Hey, we all know Jenni’s got issues. There’s no need to start a fight,” Tiffany said, her voice calm.

“She’s a mean girl and I don’t like mean girls.” She couldn’t stand bullies.

“Don’t be so hard on her. She’s young and this is her first real experience outside a prep school.” Ally frowned and looked over at the door.

“I can make it her last.” She had no right to call Eric ugly. It was false in the first place. That scar made him heroic, manly. There was nothing wrong with that man’s face. Absolutely nothing.

“Please don’t.” Ally put a hand on her shoulder. “She’s the daughter of one of Ian Taggart’s biggest clients. He got her the job and she’s usually all right at it. Since they moved her to the hostess station, she’s been okay.”

“She spends all her time flirting.”

“She’s also excellent at table management and she’s good at making sure we all get customers,” Tiffany said with finality. “That girl can smell a good tipper from a mile away and she spreads out the wealth. It’s a thing that brings harmony to all of us, so let’s ignore the fact that she’s not interested in your honey.”

“He’s not my honey.” After tonight she wouldn’t have to worry about it. “And he’s not interested in me. We’re friends and coworkers.”

And that was the way it was going to stay.





CHAPTER TWO



Eric watched her as she moved out onto the main stage. Deena walked in with the other subs, two women he didn’t know and Tiffany. Work was about to get very interesting. He wasn’t sure what Deena and Tiffany would do when they realized he and Javier were here, too.

His lips had started to curl up when he realized she wasn’t dressed like the other women. Tiffany and the two others were in full fet wear, complete with beautiful corsets, frilly thongs or boy shorts, and stunning heels. Deena had on a leather miniskirt and a tight tank top that had likely come straight from the same place her everyday clothes came from. Her feet were bare, making her inches shorter than the rest of the girls. She smiled, but when she thought no one was looking, she would smooth out her clothes as though attempting to make up for their lack of flair.

“Those are some fine women.” Javier stepped up next to him. Like Eric, he was wearing leathers—pants and a vest, no shirt. Javi had cowboy boots on while Eric preferred the combat boots he’d worn for years. You can take the SEAL out of the Navy, but try to take his fucking boots and he would shoot you. That was his motto anyway.

“They certainly are.” Though she was dressed more modestly than the other women, she was the one who held his attention. Her hair was pulled back in a sweet braid that was simply going to have to go. He wanted to see her with her hair around her shoulders, her head bent and waiting for his command.

Damn, he was already hard. He started naming all the ingredients he would need for tomorrow night’s Provençal chicken dish. Chicken thighs, kosher salt, cracked black pepper…

“Are you doing that thing where you prepare a dish in your head so your dick will go down?” Javi asked.

“Yes.” There was no point in denying it. Herbes de Provence. Flour. Lemon.

“You know most of us think about baseball,” Javi pointed out. “Damn, Tiffany’s got a fine ass on her. If I didn’t think of that like a sister, I would be praying she’s my partner.” Javi stopped. “Shit, what if she’s my partner? I don’t think I can spank her.”

“That was all up to the big guy and Kai.” He seemed to have his dick under control for the moment. “It’s only six weeks.”