The semi-private booth he’d reserved served as the perfect backdrop for a meal. With the curved wall around the back of the booth, they’d be blocked from the view of the vanilla customers while still allowing them to see and be seen by the diners that utilized the full spectrum of services at dinner. He couldn’t wait to see the look on her face if something happened while she nibbled on her appetizer. Actually, he was counting on it.
When they reached their table, Tucker motioned for her to slide in first. She carefully sat and gently slid along the smooth leather. Oh yeah, she was feeling it. He took the spot next to her, sitting so close that their thighs touched. He leaned in and placed his lips next to her ear. “How are you feeling now, pet?”
She twisted her hands together and then placed them palms down on the table in front of her. “Excited…Uncomfortable…Nervous,” she replied.
“You look amazing. I enjoy the flush of your skin when you’re aroused.” He’d spoken the words a little louder this time, catching her off guard.
“I’m not—”
She’d been about to lie to him and stopped. “Very good girl.” He squeezed her leg, “we’ve already got some punishment time to work through later. I doubt you want to add anymore by lying to me.”
Maggie squirmed in her seat, her thigh rubbing against his.
“What am I being punished for?” Her voice shook a bit as she spoke, but it was the husky undertone that spiked his attention. His body automatically responded to the sound of her arousal. Oh Miss Maggie. We are in so much trouble.
“While I understand how overwhelmed you must have been the other day to run away, that kind of behavior is not acceptable. If you have any kind of problem with what’s going on between us, it’s my job to make adjustments as necessary. Running around town with your head out of sorts can be extremely dangerous. I’m sure you’ve heard of aftercare. If you hadn’t found your way to my sister, I would have followed you and probably dragged you back to my house and then paddled you until you couldn’t sit.”
Maggie gulped. “I’m sorry, Tucker. I feel so stupid about my behavior. I don’t know what got into me.”
He covered her hand with his. “Never be sorry for how you feel, little one. I only care that you tell me so we can deal with it. Without the ability to communicate, we’ll get nowhere fast. Do you think you can handle that?”
“Yes, Sir,” she responded.
Tucker’s stomach tightened. To hear Sir from her lips unprompted fired his blood. “Good. Of course that doesn’t take away the punishment you have coming, but it leaves us free to move on in our conversations.” He smiled and motioned to the waiter to come forward from where he’d hovered, to take their order.
Tonight would make or break their future together. As he led her deeper into his private world, they’d both find out whether their long-term desires were compatible. He suspected she’d enjoy every minute of what he wanted her to experience even if it took her way outside her comfort zone. She’d somewhat proven that the other day. Their scene had been blunt and intense. He still got hard every time her thought of her soft cries and the flood of wetness that greeted him between her thighs. She’d loved every minute of it, until she crashed.
He planned to repeat the effect of their previous encounter without letting her freak out afterward. With proper aftercare she’d be like putty in his hands. He couldn’t wait.
The waiter went through the specials and he sat back and observed Maggie as she chose what she wanted to eat and drink. There were a million and one little things about her that he continued to enjoy. The light in her eyes when she talked about something she cared about. Or the attention to detail she conveyed in the papers she’d written on the BDSM lifestyle. She never got the facts wrong but there was enough of a hesitant undertone in her findings to indicate that she wrote from research and not experience. He looked forward to the change after tonight.
The waiter took her menu and left them alone.
“You’re not eating?” she asked.
“Of course I am. But I’ve been here enough the staff knows what to bring me without having to ask.”
“Wow. I’ve never heard of this place. Although that doesn’t mean anything since I’ve been away so long,” she qualified. “There are probably a lot of changes I know nothing about.”
Tucker used her last statement as the segue he needed to steer the conversation. “How long has it been since you’ve been home?”
Maggie’s demeanor changed. Her back stiffened, her eyes shuttered, even the rest of her body seemed to curl in on itself as if she needed to protect herself. That would not do. Tucker wrapped his arm around her shoulder and threaded his fingers through the hair at her neck. She was so different from the women he’d been with. Where they had long flowing locks that he wrapped around his hands, Maggie kept her hair much shorter than most women with layers that made the edges look a bit spiky. The style flattered her very well and to him it was a nice change from the fake bottle blondes he’d gotten used to.