Then her eyes caught the shoebox tucked into the corner of the package. She set aside the dress and lifted the top. She gasped again at what lay inside. She might not own a single pair of Christian Louboutin shoes, but every woman recognized the familiar red soles that were the designer’s trademark.
Oh God.
She couldn’t contain her excitement. In two seconds flat, she’d removed her cute and far more practical leather boots and slid the first beige patent pump on her right foot. What could have been considered ordinary were turned extraordinary by four inch heels that she knew would make her legs look long and sleek. Of course they fit perfectly. How did he—?
Maggie shook her head. Probably his sneaky half sister. She’d not seemed all that surprised about Tucker contacting her today or by her sudden departure. In fact, she probably already knew every detail about her upcoming date. She cocked her head. No problem, two could play at that game.
She slipped out of the shoes and placed them back in the box. Part of her wanted to refuse such expensive gifts from Tucker and the other wanted to embrace anything and everything about what lay ahead. It was difficult not to conjure the look on Tucker’s face as she’d been tied to his bondage wheel. It was the first time any man had looked at her like that. As if he would burn alive with desire if he didn’t have her right that second.
Her sex squeezed, reminding her how empty she’d felt these last few days without him. He’d given her a taste of what submission could mean for her and she really wanted more. Although she’d had to remind herself on every occasion that it wasn’t normal to obsess over a man she barely knew.
Maggie fell on the bed and stared at the pink chandelier she’d loved as a teen. High school had been kind of weird for her. She’d clung to her then boyfriend until he sort of broke her heart. For a while she’d thought she loved him, then she’d kissed Tucker that fateful spring night at a carnival, leaving her little teenaged heart more confused than ever. Not that she’d done anything about it. Good girls didn’t rock the boat or dump their popular football player boyfriends. She scrunched her face. From the unexplained attraction to Tucker at a young age to a loveless marriage and the research that served as an excuse to learn about something she craved on a basic level but had no intention of pursuing beyond a toe in the water. So far she’d managed to live her life in a bubble. Not that she hadn’t burst it in a big, ridiculous way.
Stop. Don’t do this.
This was no time to revel in her stupid, stupid mistakes. Lesson learned thank you very much. Now she only had to take a shower, shave all her important girl parts and don a dress to go meet a boy. A boy that had grown up to be so much more than she expected. Her stomach fluttered again. She jumped from the bed and stripped down to nothing. Last time she’d gone to Tucker she’d completely freaked out. Tonight, she’d go in with her eyes wide open and her expectations high. She had a fantasy and only one man could fulfill it.
Chapter Eight
Tucker drummed his fingers on the wooden bar while keeping his eyes on the entrance. Any moment now Maggie would walk through those doors and the night of decadence he’d planned for her would begin. He’d decided he needed to go big or go home. He’d gone big.
He looked forward to bringing Maggie farther into his world and watching her reaction. Tonight she’d learn more about him than he revealed to anyone. There were a few secrets he’d kept to himself. Not because he was afraid or ashamed of the life he’d built. But there were some things so spectacular that he selfishly refused to share them with the world.
Part of him wanted to treat Maggie like that. Wrap her up and keep her hidden from curious onlookers and any potential reporters on her tail. Once they got the scent of a relationship, they’d be on them both like a shark to blood. Her recent troubles were bound to be splashed across newspapers and gossip rags larger than the first go round thanks to the world’s incessant interest in BDSM this past year. Add some money to the story and things got much worse. He hoped she understood what getting involved with him entailed. Maybe that’s the talk they needed to have first. From shunned son of a suspected cult leader to billionaire sex addicted playboy, he’d attracted more than his fair share of attention over the years.
Fortunately, he didn’t interest many reporters these days other than the local paper. When he wasn’t ensconced in his art studio working around the clock, he’d come out just long enough to pick a fight with the town council over some asinine issue or another. On one level, small town life suited him very well. No corporate pressure to be something he wasn’t and for the most part people left him alone. He imagined he still managed to be a regular mention in the gossip mill, but as long as he didn’t hear about it, he could care less.