He may not have met her yet, but he'd bet his prized 1966 Mustang convertible she was a submissive. The question was did she know it? He doubted it. After catching her eye earlier, he waited a few seconds before raising his eyebrow in a look which would've had most submissives questioning whether their words or actions were about to get them in trouble. He was delighted to see how fast her gaze had fallen to the floor before it crept back up to his face as if she couldn't resist the urge to look at him. If Jenn hadn't interrupted his view of the woman, he would have given in to the temptation to go over and introduce himself, something he hadn't done outside the club in a long time.
Over the years, he learned most of the women he’d met outside of the BDSM community were either turned off by his kinks or only thought they understood what was involved with pleasure-pain before attempting to experience it for themselves. Devon had a few brief encounters in the past when the woman he was with began to panic when faced with his demands and attempts to push them out of their comfort zone. At that point, he would halt the scene without complaint and wait to see if she wanted to continue. If she didn't, he would make sure the woman was alright and back in the right frame of mind before he wished her well and walked out the door. He would never force his lifestyle on anyone–again, safe, sane and consensual. Most people didn't realize that a certain amount of pain could be morphed into intense pleasure with the right mix of trust and arousal. Without the proper mix though, any D/s encounter was doomed to fail. It was why he found it so much easier to leave his hook-ups to the submissives at the club. But damn, he wished he met his little librarian at the club because he could definitely get into her, pun not intended...or maybe it was.
"Oh my God! Really?"
Devon turned around at his niece's sudden loud exclamation. Jenn was standing next to the brunette and her voice lowered again but it was still obvious she was enthusiastic about something. He strained to hear what she was saying without success and wondered what all the excitement was about. Whatever it was, both women were now smiling and chatting as Jenn took the empty seat in the booth.
Damn, he wished he was Jenn right now.
CHAPTER 3
An hour had passed before Kristen leaned back in the booth, happy with the rough draft of the first two chapters. Inspiration had struck and she managed to provide an interesting background for the story. By the end of chapter two, Master Xavier had just laid eyes on the future love of his life, Rebecca, for the first time. Kristen sighed as she stretched her arms over her head and looked around. Most of the tables were now empty and the waitress was wiping one of them down with a damp rag. Glancing over at the bar, she noticed the sexy six-pack-she needed to stop calling them that-was now minus one, the man who kissed the waitress on his way out. The stool to the left of the man she had been drooling over earlier was empty and it appeared he had no intention of moving closer to his buddies, content to stay in his original spot.
"So you decided to come up for air."
Kristen turned her head to see the waitress now standing next to her and smiled. "Yeah, I guess I did. Sometimes I get so into my writing the rest of the world ceases to exist."
The young woman laughed. "I can see that. I came to check on you a few times and you were oblivious, so I kept refilling your iced tea."
Kristen looked down at the tall glass and saw it was indeed full again. Since there was a plate next to it with a few french-fries and some crumbs, it was a safe bet she had eaten her chicken salad sandwich but didn't remember doing so. Yeah, she must've checked out of there for a while. "Thanks," she told the woman. "I appreciate it."
"No problem. What are you writing anyway? You were pretty much nonstop, but every once in a while you would look up at the ceiling for a few minutes, then say 'a-ha' and start typing again."
Kristen blushed in embarrassment. "Oh jeez, tell me I wasn't doing that too loud."
The waitress giggled and it made her appear even younger. "No, not at all. As a matter of fact, I think I was the only one who noticed."
"Thank God," she responded with an exaggerated sign of relief. "I'm writing a book and sometimes I get carried away."
"Really? What kind of book? Fiction?"
"Yes." Kristen nodded. "A suspense romance. I've written a few which have been published and I'm starting a new one now."
"Oh wow, that's so cool. I have tons of romance books on my e-reader." She indicated the small tablet sticking out of the pocket of her apron. "I wonder if I've read any of yours."
"It's possible. I'm Kristen Anders."
The waitress let out a loud squeal. "Oh my God! Really?" Covering her mouth with her hand for a second, she continued at a lower decibel. "I'm reading one of yours now. I think it's your second one. I read so many books and I'm terrible at remembering the titles but the characters are Jeb and Amy."
Kristen nodded. It always pleased her when she met one of her readers out of the blue. Her ex-husband had been condescending about her books saying they were the result of her little hobby and he was always shocked to hear people had bought them, read them and, indeed, loved them. "Yes, that's my second one, Wildfire. The first was Hearts Ablaze with Keith and Shannon."
"Yes! That's the first one I read. I loved it so much I looked to see if you had written anything else and downloaded the next two in the series."
Kristen smiled when the woman took the booth seat across from her, probably not even realizing she was sitting down with a customer, but Kristen didn't mind. "I'm so glad you liked it. I love when I run into one of my readers and they tell me they enjoy my books."
"Oh I do, I really do. You have a great mix of suspense and romance which makes me not want to put it down. When I was finishing Hearts Ablaze, I was up until about three a.m. because I couldn't wait to see how it ended. I mean, it's a romance, so there's always a happy ending, but I couldn't figure out who the murderer was. And I hate when I figure it out way before the author wants you to know who it is." The waitress extended her hand out over the table. "By the way, I'm Jennifer...Jennifer Mullins."
Kristen shook the proffered hand. "It's nice to meet you Jennifer."
"Oh, it's so nice to meet you too. I've never met anyone famous before."
She couldn’t help but chuckle at the girl's enthusiasm. "Well, I don't know that I'm exactly famous."
"Well to me you are. Now I really can't wait to read the rest of your books."
"I'm glad, but don't buy them." She knew what it was like to work her way through college. Her parents had paid for her tuition and books, but Kristen had earned money for any extras and fun by working at a bagel shop near campus and then as a proof-reader for anyone who wanted her services. She was sure the waitress needed her money for more important things than a few romance books and if Kristen could save her a few dollars then that's what she would do. "I have a few print copies at my apartment you can have. I'll drop them off to you the next time I come in for lunch."
Jennifer squealed again but not as loud as the first time, to Kristen' relief.
“Seriously? That's so nice of you, but you don't have to."
"I know I don't, but I want to. My publisher always gives me a bunch of hard copies to hand out to whomever I please, so it's no big deal," Kristen assured her.
"Jennifer."
At the sound of the male voice, both women looked over to the bar where the bartender was pointing to the front of the restaurant. Turning their heads they saw a few people standing at the hostess station. Kristen was glad to see the bartender, who she assumed was the boss, wasn't mad Jennifer was chatting with a customer. Instead, he kindly let the girl know people were waiting. She didn't want the girl to get into trouble for being sociable, which made for repeat business from the customers in Kristen's opinion.
Jennifer jumped up. "Oops, gotta get back to work. And thanks for offering to bring me the books. I'm here every afternoon except Wednesdays when I have a class."
Nodding her head, Kristen confirmed, "Any day except Wedn
esday. Got it."
"I'll be back with your check in a second."
"Take your time." Kristen reassured her with a wave of her hand as the other woman turned to hurry toward the front.
What a sweet girl, Kristen thought to herself as she turned toward her laptop. Touching the mouse-pad, she brought it back out of sleep mode and her heart stopped. The screen was blank.
"Oh, no," she whispered as her stomach dropped. She couldn't remember if she'd hit the save button after she stopped typing, but the program was supposed to do an 'auto-save' every few minutes. "Please, please tell me it's saved."
Damn it! She knew she should've gotten a new laptop before she started writing again. This one had been giving her trouble as of late, freezing and rebooting itself without warning but this was the first time a manuscript had disappeared. She remembered creating a new file when she first started typing but now she couldn't even get into the program to find it. She began hitting different keys as her panic began to rise. "No, no, no! This can't be happening."
"What's wrong?"
She looked up to see Jennifer had returned and was placing her check on the table with a look of concern on her face.
"I don't know," she replied as she continued to try and get the computer to respond. "It freaked out on me and I think I lost my first two chapters. Damn it–I hate friggin' computers!"
Jennifer put her hand on Kristen's forearm. "Wait, stop! Don't do anything else. My uncle is a computer genius. If it's there he can find it."
"Your uncle?" she asked, but it was too late since Jennifer had turned around to face the bar and waved.
"Uncle Brody? Can you come here for a sec? We need your super-duper technical powers."
Kristen watched as the guy Jennifer had been laughing with earlier raised his eyebrow in a silent question and put his beer down before walking toward them. Well, he wasn't exactly walking, it was more like sauntering.
He smiled and chuckled as he approached. "No need to boost my ego with compliments, Baby-girl. You know I'll do anything for you." Putting his arm around the young woman's shoulders, he looked down at Kristen. "What seems to be the problem, darlin'?"
Oh Lord, did he really just pour on the charm with a sexy drawl? 'Uncle Brody,' as Jenn had called him, stood about six-two and didn't seem to have an ounce of fat on his chiseled body. His short blond hair was neat except for a small section which fell over his brow and his chocolate brown eyes twinkled as he flirted with her without shame. Wearing a tight black t-shirt with jeans, a silver belt buckle and western boots, all he needed was a cowboy hat and she could picture him on a ranch roping a few bulls. The man was sin on two legs and knew it.
Kristen gave her mushy brain a mental shake and looked back at her laptop. "I don't know what happened. I was in the word processor and now, poof! It's gone. I think I lost the file I was working on."
"Poof, huh?" Brody teased then gestured toward the empty booth seat across the table from her. "May I?"
Her head bounced like a bobble-head doll. "Oh, please. I'd appreciate your help. I know nothing about computers."
Sitting down, Jennifer's uncle turned the laptop to face him and started hitting keys. The difference between what she had been doing earlier and his actions was he appeared to have a clue what he was doing, while Kristen had none. Twisting her hands in her lap, she prayed he could find the file. She had been so happy with all she had written so far and wasn't sure if she could remember the precise wording she'd used.
"Everything alright?"
She shivered at the sound of a deep male voice which penetrated and reverberated throughout her body, making all her girlie parts stand up and take notice. Looking up she saw Jennifer had stepped away and the man with those beautiful blue eyes was now standing in her place, staring down at Kristen.
"Nothing I can't handle, Devil Dog."
Kristen was so glad the man named Brody answered his friend as he continued to type away on her keyboard because her mind had become a complete blank except for the thought that she wanted to hear "Devil Dog" speak again. He was about the same height as Brody but not as broad. Although his frame was a little leaner, he was just as sinewy and her hands yearned to touch his chest and abs to see if they were as hard as they looked. Dressed in a navy blue t-shirt, jeans and sneakers, he could be any guy walking down the street, but no, this was not any guy. This man made women forget their own names. This man was strong, virile and commanded attention with his mere presence yet she could imagine him being gentle when he needed to. She continued to gawk at him until she noticed his mouth was turned up into an amused smile. He cocked his head toward Brody and it was at that moment she realized Brody had said something to her.
Swallowing her embarrassment, she looked across the table to see he also wore a grin.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
Brody chuckled at her. "I asked what the name of the file you were looking for was."
She felt her cheeks grow warmer and burn bright red. Seriously? He needed to know the name of the file? Well, of course he did, you idiot...how else would he be able to find it?
"Leather and lace," she mumbled, looking at the dark surface of the table and wishing it was a black hole she could fall into.
"What was that?"
Still looking downward, Kristen cleared her throat and repeated louder and clearer, "Leather and lace."
When neither man spoke nor did she hear any typing, she glanced up and saw both were staring at her. Oh, Lord help her, this was so mortifying.
Brody's grin became even wider and when she looked into his eyes, she swore she saw the laughter he was trying to hold back. She didn't even want to know what she would see if she peered up into the blue eyes of the man still standing next to the table.
"Well, okay then." Brody gave her a flirty wink before he started typing again. "Here it is. Leather and lace."
Kristen eyes rolled at the way the man drew out those last three words with his sexy drawl, before she realized what he said and sat up straighter in her seat. "Oh my God, you found it? Seriously?"
"Of course, darlin'. Piece of cake."
"Thank you so much," she gushed. "You saved my life."
He laughed at her exaggeration. "Well maybe not your life, but at least an hour's worth of work, right?"
"Right. Yes. I don't know how to thank you."
Her cheeks flamed again when he responded, "Well, now, I'm sure we can come up with some way you can thank me that we'll both enjoy."
Jeez, there was the adorable charm again and wait...did "Devil Dog" growl?
"Did you find it?" Jennifer asked as she joined them again.
Brody stood and winked at Jennifer. "Was there any doubt?"
"Not at all, Uncle Brody," she said in a teasing manner. "I would never doubt your superior geek skills."
"Brat." Brody tweaked the young woman's nose in an obvious sign of affection before looking over at Kristen. "Check to see if everything you were working on was saved. If you give me a minute to grab my laptop from my truck, I can clean up your hard drive a bit so this doesn't happen again."
She nodded and turned the laptop back to face her. "That would be so great. I'd appreciate it."
As he strode toward the exit, Kristen felt the stare of the man next to her. Trying to swallow the sudden lump in her throat, she looked up and saw he was no longer smiling. The fact would've disappointed her if she hadn't seen the heat smoldering in his eyes as he studied her. Another shiver shot through her spine and her panties became soaked with a sudden rush of arousal.
"So." His voice had a low timber that she felt from her head to her toes. "Leather and lace?"
"Is that the title of your new book?"
Kristen hadn't realized young waitress was still with them until she heard her question. Somehow she managed to pull her gaze away from those eyes which seemed determined to devour her and looked at Jennifer. "Um, yes...yes it is."
"You're writing a book called Leather and Lace?"
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br /> And there went her blush again at the sound of his deep, sexy voice and her eyes flicked to his again. She was grateful Jennifer answered the question for her because Kristen couldn't think of a single response to save her life.
"Yup, Uncle Devon. She's a romance writer. I've even read one of her books and I started one of the others yesterday."
"Really?" he murmured, as if trying to figure out a complex puzzle. The man may have asked a question but it didn't appear he expected an answer.
Wait...what? Uncle Devon?
"You're Jennifer's uncle, too?" she asked.
"Mm-hm. They're all my uncles." Jennifer gestured over to the remaining group of men, unaware the question had been directed at Devon. "We're not blood related, but I call them my uncles. I've known them all my life and, well...they're my family."
Devon broke eye contact with Kristen and looked at Jennifer with love in his eyes for the girl he considered his niece. He put his arm around her and pulled her into a hug. "Damn right we're family, Baby-girl."
For a brief second Kristen was jealous of the younger woman tucked up against his hard yummy body, as his strong arms enveloped her small frame. Jennifer hugged him back and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before letting go and heading toward the kitchen door. "Gotta check on my orders."
After she disappeared, Kristen verbalized her earlier thought, "She's a sweet girl."
Devon nodded and agreed, "Yes she is."
When he didn't say anything more, she opened her mouth to ask him a question, any question that would keep him there, talking to her, but was interrupted when Brody came back to the table and sat down again, oblivious to the mounting sexual tension between the other two. He pulled his laptop out of its protective case and set it next to hers. Taking a cable, he connected the two computers and glanced at her. "It will only take a few minutes to download the program, and then I'll show you how to run it when you get home. A full scan will take about an hour or two to clean up your hard drive depending on how many programs and files it has to search through."
Leather & Lace: Trident Security Book 1 Page 3