Take a Chance (5 page)

Talk about a cold shower. Well, maybe tepid.
Her body still responded to his kiss but her brain was back to
normal functionality. Getting to her feet, she turned off the
lights and went to bed, crawling under the covers nude, a habit
she’d started the first night in her own place. Tonight, the sheets
rasped a little too much and sleep was elusive.

* * * *

Sara slipped back onto the barstool and
leaned close to her sister. “Dena’s already home, but says she had
a good time. Want to get breakfast with us tomorrow?”

Susan nodded and passed the word to her best
friend, Kellie. All three sat around a high table and watched the
dancers in the middle of the room. A few of the couples on the
floor needed to get a room. Public exhibition wasn’t her thing, but
this club had a reputation in the singles community.

Conversation wasn’t the objective. Hooking up
and getting busy was the new meet-and-greet. Sara watched the crowd
while her friends talked to each other and to the random men who
stopped at their table. A tall man caught her eye as he moved
through the crowd. He looked older than most of the people in the
room, like he’d lived a little harder than the rest. Built like a
football player, he exuded athletic grace and power.

When he stopped next to her chair, she sucked
in a breath. He wasn’t the usual type she attracted. Most of the
men she’d dated were more the nerdy type. Academics. Jocks didn’t
give her a second look.

Until now.

“
Dance.”

A midrange voice pronounced the word, and it
wasn’t a request. More like a demand, but slightly softer. What the
hell? Fresh from being dumped, a dance or two wouldn’t hurt. Sara
slipped off the barstool and was surprised when he gripped her hand
and tugged her into the crowd. His arms came around her and held
her close to his chest.

“
What’s your
name?”

“
Sara.”

“
You’re with me tonight,
Sara.” His hand moved down her back and settled on her rear, a
little too intimate for a first dance, but she let it slide since
they were surrounded by swaying bodies.

“
I’m Ethan.”

“
Ethan who?” she asked. If
he was going to grope her ass, she wanted at least a last name and
maybe a family history or blood test.

“
Jenkins.”

“
Where are you from?” she
asked.

Ethan pressed her head against his chest.
“Dance. We’ll talk later.”

Maybe there was a reason she didn’t date
jocks. They didn’t like to talk, and it was her favorite pastime.
They moved around the crowded dance floor, her head against what
felt like a well-defined chest. At least he didn’t stink. She
recognized the scent of sandalwood and male sweat, a nice mixture
that reminded her of the outdoors. When the song changed, he kept
her in his arms. She stayed on the floor with him for the next two
dances and then he took her back to the table.

“
I’ll be back.” He
disappeared into the crowd and she ordered a fresh glass of white
wine.

“
Well?”

Sara leaned close to her sister. “Well,
what?”

“
Who is he? Do you like
him?” As twins, they’d shared everything for the last twenty-four
years. Sometimes verbal worked, sometimes the info passing from one
to the other was more intuitive. For the most part, Sara preferred
to keep her love life a little more private. “Ethan.”

Susan gave her a nod, her right brow rising
in a miniscule query, but she let it wait, thank God. Picking apart
a man she met in a bar and danced with one time wasn’t how she
wanted to spend the evening.

A few minutes later, Kellie leaned in and
whispered, “Who’s the guy? Did you ask him for another wine?”

Ethan was making his way through the crowd
surrounding the dance floor. She sent Kellie a quick shake of her
head before he got to their table and then sighed when she lost
sight of him in the crowd. Hard to know if her luck was good or
bad.

A few minutes later, he reappeared with a
beer and a glass of white wine in hand. Insinuating himself between
her chair and that of her sister, he set the glass in front of her
and pressed his face into her hair close to her ear. Instead of
speaking, he left wet kisses along her jaw and nibbled her
earlobe.

Different, considering they’d barely met.

She reached for the wine and Kellie tapped
her finger on the fresh glass the waitress had brought, a nice
white napkin under it. Sara took a sip and kept it in her hand.
When he tugged her back to the dance floor, she handed her wine to
Kellie for safekeeping. When they returned to the table, the other
glass had disappeared.

Thankful for good friends, she shimmied back
onto the bar chair and sipped her wine. Ethan hovered. Kellie
leaned close and asked, “You okay?”

The only response she could think of was wide
eyes and a shrug. They danced again, and when he brought her back
to the table, he kissed her full on the mouth. His kiss was a lot
like his vocabulary, direct and to the point without a lot of
hearts and flowers. The tip of his tongue brushed her bottom lip
for a few seconds and disappeared when he pulled back.

His wallet landed on the table and he
extricated two business cards, sliding both to her along with a
short golf pencil. Great. A boy scout on the make.

“
Give me your number and
I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Afterwards, they watched him walk out the
door before the giggles started.

“
What was that? Did you give
him your real number?” Susan asked.

Sara grinned. “Yes. He’s just quiet, but he’s
a decent dancer—”

“
And a decent kisser?”
Kellie asked.

More laughter. “Yes, that, too. Sort of.”

“
You’ll go out with him?”
Susan asked.

“
Sure, why not? So he’s
quiet. I can deal with that, and he’s kind of cute.”

“
Just be careful, Sara.
Weirdoes are everywhere these days.”

“
I’m willing to take a
chance on love. He could very well be Mr. Right.”

Kellie smiled. “I’d be happy with a Mr. Right
Now. I just can’t find a decent guy anywhere. My roommate hogs all
the good ones,” she said with a long look at Susan.

“
Hey, he’s mine, all mine,
even if he has to work the late shift on Fridays.” Susan glanced at
her watch and scooted off the chair. “I need to get home. You
ready, Kellie?”

“
What happened to that guy
you were dating, Kellie?” Sara asked. “I thought you said he was
the one.”

“
He’s taking a semester off
to travel abroad.”

“
Wow. Must be nice to have
money,” Sara said. “So, you’re taking a break from the relationship
game?”

“
Yes. We agreed to see other
people, but I’m not in a hurry. I think being single is a good idea
for me right now.”

Sara and Susan shared a look. They’d both
seen Kellie with bruises on her arms and legs. Marks she’d had a
quick excuse for, but still, they worried. Didn’t help that the guy
was someone neither of them liked.

“
Maybe you’ll meet someone
sweet,” Sara suggested.

Kellie shook her head in her friend’s
direction. “No. I just got into grad school, and I don’t want to go
through the process again. Besides, I’m not really interested in a
long term relationship right now.”

“
Wise choice. I don’t want
to get hitched, either. Sara? You thinking about marriage?” Susan
asked her sister, knowing the answer before it was
voiced.

“
Hell, no. But a little fun
would be nice.” Sara leaned against the side of her car, the
parking lot’s lights reinforcing their sense of safety.

“
What really happened with
Dena tonight?” Kellie asked once she and Susan joined
her.

“
She had a date with the guy
that saved her this morning, but she was home by ten. Don’t ask me
why. She wouldn’t say. We’ll get the whole story tomorrow at
breakfast.”

Chapter
5

Steve spent most of his day in the office,
his mind split along two lines of thought. He put together a
prospectus for the security system he wanted to install at Lindsay
& Associates while his libido worked on a training plan for
cute little Dena Lindsay.

Mark was right. Simon would never willingly
condone the introduction of BDSM to his baby sister. However, she
was a helluva lot more than a baby. And she needed the discipline
and self-control he could give her.

He flashed to an image of what might happen
to such a sweet young lady if she offered herself up to the wrong
man. A jackass who didn’t know what to do with her or how to treat
her would screw up the rest of her life with little effort.

Not happening on his watch.

She’d responded to his voice. That alone made
her susceptible to the lifestyle. With careful training, Miss Dena
would be a perfect submissive. He hit print on the Lindsay file and
switched to the notepad on his desk. Half a shopping list already
existed for tonight’s date.

He needed to pick up a new cloth restraint,
nothing but the best and softest fabric for Dena. There’d be plenty
of time to work around to the more extreme aspects of his lifestyle
and he’d take it slow. A little gentle bondage and sex would set
her on fire. Once he’d banked the first flame, he’d work on
building the bonfire one date at a time.

He’d done a little research on her early this
morning. Hell, sleep had been sporadic last night, his mind already
processing the steps to making her his. What she’d told him about
her brothers was true. They’d interfered in her life regularly and
some of the men, rather. The boys she’d dated had posted shit on
social media complaining about the trouble her brothers caused.

Of course, he’d worked a little magic and
most of those posts were wiped. A few would require more time than
he had at the moment, but they’d disappear soon.

He tore off the top sheet of his notepad and
stuck it in his pocket, sure he’d find a few other items at Private
Delights to borrow when he stopped on the way home. The club was
damn near ready to open and he wanted to see what the private rooms
looked like. The design specs had been tight, but he wanted to set
eyes on the real thing.

When he stopped by yesterday, he’d been roped
into working and hadn’t had a chance to look around. Mark assured
him things were on track for the opening, but he wanted to see for
himself.

Half an hour later, he walked through the
front door. Man, the place had changed overnight. As he made his
way to the main staircase, he noticed all the little details that
made the club a work of art. Mark and Derek had done an excellent
job putting the place together.

At the top of the stairs, he took a right and
looked for the room number he’d been assigned. His membership
privileges gave him access to the entire building and to one
well-stocked private room. He was looking forward to seeing what
Mark and Derek had deemed must-have items for every room. He pushed
down on the door lever and nothing happened.

Dammit. They’d already set the locks. Now,
he’d have to hunt down one of them and find out where to get his
keycard. Best place to start would be Mark’s office. Mildred, his
personal assistant, kept close tabs on her boss and all his
business dealings. A true asset to the club and Mark’s other
businesses.

Sure as shitting, the older woman with clear,
no nonsense eyes and steel gray hair was at her desk.

“
Welcome, Master Steve. How
can I help you?”

Steve leaned a hip against the corner of her
desk and gave her his best smile. “Mildred, so good to see you.
How’s things?” Getting a smile out of her was a game they played
regularly, and he didn’t often win. Screwing with the English
language usual got him a slap on the wrist or at least a dirty
look. Today, not so much as a flick of the finger.

“
Everything is progressing
nicely. What do you need?”

“
Well, ma’am, I’d like to
get into my private room, but it appears the locks have been set.
Any idea where I can get my keycard?”

“
I believe I can help you,
Master Steve.”

“
Thank you,” he replied.
She’d been Mark’s assistant for several years, and while she calmly
took care of their business interests, the three men treated her as
they would a favorite aunt. She was married to Mark’s uncle, so
they weren’t too far off the map with her, and she treated them
like the children she never had. All of them could be downright
belligerent and foulmouthed, but when she was around, they curbed
it as much as nature allowed.

Mildred opened a ledger on her desk. “Please
sign next to your name.”

While he scribbled what he called his
signature, she pulled a short stack of cards from the drawer and
located his.

“
Are those the only cards? I
must be the last one to get mine.”

“
No, Master Steve. The cards
are grouped by number. There are several stacks still in the
drawer.”

He offered her a smile, hoping she might
reciprocate. Rarely happened, and today was one of those days.
“Thank God. I thought we might end up broke if we didn’t get enough
members.”

She nodded her head and said, “No worries.” A
softly worded dismissal from her, she turned back to her screen and
keyboard.

Steve stood there a minute or three, admiring
her squared shoulders and slender throat. An attractive woman, she
must’ve driven the men wild in her heyday. And the clipped British
accent was charming as hell. Pulling out of his reverie, he left
the office before she complained about his lingering presence.