He let his gaze rove up and down her body. She wasn’t dressed for this venue, but it couldn’t be helped. Nothing in her closet would have come close to fitting the parameters of the rest of their night.
She squirmed in her seat and faced him. “Where are we?”
He ignored her question and took her hand in his, staring down at her dainty white fingers and rubbing his thumb over the knuckles. “Listen. I’m not who you think I am. I’m not a roses and chocolates kind of guy.” He shook his head to clear his mind. “This isn’t coming out quite right. I can’t explain in words. I need to show you.” He released her hand and opened the car.
For the first time in his life, he actually lacked confidence. He liked this woman. Really liked her. And he was about to put the brakes on anything that could ever happen between them. It was the right thing to do, but he didn’t have to like it.
His hand actually shook as he reached for hers. He rubbed her palm with his thumb. Soft. He squeezed her hand with his, probably too tight, but he couldn’t resist.
Mason cleared his throat as he opened the solid black door along the back wall of Extreme. He stepped inside before her and led her toward the entrance area.
“Mason. Dude. Where have you been?” Harper Stevens slapped a hand on Mason’s shoulder and then turned his gaze toward Jenna. “And who have we here?” He raised an eyebrow at Mason, clearly holding back a laugh.
Jenna held Mason’s hand tighter and grabbed his arm with her other hand.
“This is Jenna. She’s…new. Okay, scratch that. She has no idea where I’ve brought her. So be gentle, will ya?”
Harper rubbed his hands together. “Seriously? Dude, you have some balls.”
“Yeah, and I’d like to keep them.”
“Okay. I hope you know what you’re doing.” He pulled a clipboard out from under the desk and held it up.
“Would you mind if I show her around for a minute first? I doubt we’ll be staying.”
Harper hesitated and then nodded. “If you wish. But don’t do anything without coming back here first.”
“Got it.” Shouldn’t be a problem. No way was Jenna going to want to stick around long.
Mason took a deep breath and pushed through the second door.
As he emerged on the other side, Jenna whispered behind him. “Mason. You’re making me nervous. Please tell me where we are.”
“I think it’ll be quite clear in a moment.” He needed a drink, bad. But there was no way he was going to imbibe tonight. Hell, Extreme didn’t serve alcohol, anyway. Even if he took her someplace after, he still had to drive Jenna home…if she didn’t run screaming toward the entrance and hail a cab.
Jenna held him tighter as he stepped toward the bar. She gasped behind him, her fingers digging into his bicep. He couldn’t help feeling sorry for her, and he wrapped his arm around her and held her at the waist as he ordered two bottles of water.
The bartender eyed him suspiciously, a smirk on his lips, but he didn’t comment. The man knew Mason well. And Mason never brought a woman here.
Mason grasped the bottles in one hand and twisted around to find Jenna staring wide-eyed in every direction at once. Her face didn’t move, but her gaze darted around the bar area as though she were in a video game.
“Mason?” she asked.
“I’m a Dom, Jenna. This is who I am.”
“A what?” She swallowed visibly and lifted her gaze to his.
“A Dominant. I control women.” There was no easy way to put it. She needed the truth.
She didn’t move or appear to breathe, and then she licked her lips, and he wanted to close his eyes against the gesture, wishing he could control himself around her. Her damn tongue got him every time.
“It may have been chicken of me, but I couldn’t think of any better way to tell you than to show you.” He grasped her shoulders gently, pulling her out of a line of people squeezing through and making sure she didn’t faint at the same time.
“A Dom. Huh. Like…as in…bondage and whips and…”
He nodded. She wasn’t freaking out—yet.
She glanced around again, twisting her head to look to each side. Women and men in all sorts of attire filled the place. It was almost eleven. It would be packed inside by midnight.
A woman leaned over the bar next to Jenna and ordered a soda. Her ass was totally visible since she only wore a thong, and her tits settled on the top of the bar, covered in simple round pasties.
Mason knew her. She was a switch. At the moment, he couldn’t tell if she was topping tonight or not. She was dressed appropriately as a submissive, but it didn’t explain her assertive stance at the bar.