It was almost impossible to break my stare. I wanted to correct him and tell him this wasn’t a date, but who was I kidding? That’s exactly what this was. “You didn’t mean to spill the drink on me. It was a complete accident. I knew that. I decided to meet you here because I wanted to.”
“Well, thank you. I really enjoy your company.” He paused as the waitress came up to take our drinks. “Water for me,” he glanced over, “and tea, if I remember correctly from the last time?”
“Actually, I think I’ll take water too.” My eyes came up to see Devlin seated in the booth behind Daniel. Yet, he faced me. I shifted uncomfortably and focused on my date. The waitress was gone and Daniel was already looking at the menu. I followed suit, refusing to show interest in the person staring at me. He had come back for a reason. There was no way I could let him think I was interested.
Daniel looked up. “Have you eaten here before? I have no idea what’s good.”
Compared to country club food, I doubted anything would really compare. I opened my mouth when Devlin cut me off.
“BLT is good. So is the turkey and Swiss if you like sandwiches.”
Daniel looked back, his eyes narrowing as he glanced between us. “Thanks for that.” He turned back to me, “I guess now we know.” The smile Daniel gave was fake. I noticed that from here. Could he tell we knew each other? By the expressions playing on his face as he looked back down at the menu, I wasn’t sure.
“You might want to try the ribeye, although I don’t think it compares to the Italian place down the street.”
Heat crawled up chest, toward my face. Devlin just had to bring up what we ate that night. Of course, I had to give him credit for even remembering. I didn’t think I’d even register in his thoughts again.
“Chicken,” I said, to Daniel, smiling. “I’ll have the baked chicken.”
Devlin’s mouth twisted and he leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I think I’ll have the same. Thanks,” he said, peering over his shoulder. “We’ve got it now.”
“Any time,” Devlin said, dropping his voice.
I reached over, grabbing the water from the waitress. Damn if I didn’t need something stronger. Like Vodka. Straight from the bottle.
“Lorraine tells me the hospital has a Halloween party coming up. Have you decided what you’re going to be?”
Devlin leaned forward from my peripheral vision and I could have cursed. Why did he have to be listening in on our conversation? “Actually, I’m not sure I’m going to go.”
“Pity, she’s so excited. She and Martin are going as Dorothy and Toto. It’ll be quite the sight.”
I laughed, imagining it. “They came as Raggedy Ann and Andy last year. It was very cute.”
“I saw that when we stopped by their house. The boys loved it. They always have the best candy. Their house is usually one of our first stops.”
“Did they go through the haunted house?” I leaned closer, enjoying our conversation.
“No,” he laughed. “Carter doesn’t do scary and Peyton never leaves his side. He’s a good big brother.”
“It really sounds like it.”
A throat clearing pulled me out of the moment and I looked over at Devlin who had his arms on the table as he stared down. Every ounce of happiness washed away in that moment. My pain renewed and buzzed in my brain like hornets on the attack. I didn’t get the chance to speak before Daniel’s phone rang.
“I’m sorry. It’s the babysitter. Will you excuse me for a moment? It shouldn’t take long.”
“No, go ahead. I have to go to the ladies room anyway.” I stood before him. The need to run was back and it left my fists clenching. The walk across the diner couldn’t go by fast enough. I broke through the door into the empty space, fighting to get a grip on myself. The door opened not seconds later and I spun around, not able to lock it before Devlin’s large frame pushed in. At the turn of the dead bolt, I stepped back.
Trapped. Fuck.
“You never called me,” he said, his voice ringing out with disappointment.
I stepped to the left, then the right. There was nowhere to go. “I did call,” I whispered. “A couple of times, actually.”
His eyes flickered. “You called my penthouse?”
“No.” I hesitated, searching for what I should say. “I called Coast South Properties. Your secretary took my messages. Katrina, I believe her name was.”
His eyes closed for a few seconds, only to open with a look of pure rage masking them. “I apologize. She no longer works there. I never received them. Victoria.” He came forward and I immediately stepped back.
“It doesn’t matter anyway,” I rushed in. “I’m sure it was for the best. You seem happy and well, and so am I. So, there. It worked out just…fine.”
“You don’t mean that. We had an amazing night together. We talked for hours before we even went back to my place. I thought we clicked.” Another step closer. “I looked for you for weeks. Shit, months. You work at a hospital? Why didn’t you tell me?”
If he got any closer, I was going to break completely. “Because it didn’t matter. Devlin, I’m sorry. Yes, we got along well, but things just wouldn’t have worked. You’re very—”
“Selfish? Arrogant? An asshole? God, I know what I was. Let me show you the real me. Kitten, come here.”
The pet name had my eyes growing heavy. I shifted against the wetness that took over.
“You want me. I can see it.” He reached forward, pulling me into his body. My hands instantly went up to push against his chest, but it didn’t stop his mouth from crushing into mine. Sweetness from his soda swept over my tongue and I felt my nails sink into his pecs. Fuck, they were so muscled. I could still see the tattoo on his chest. The coat of arms. Those wings. The blood splattered behind it.
The wall was suddenly at my back. Hard. Cold. My eyes flew open, but at his palms sliding under my dress and up my thighs, my breath caught. I was pulled up to his waist and pushed harder into the tile. That cock, that orgasm producing machine, rubbed against my pussy, tearing a moan from some buried place inside of me.
“Wait,” I breathed out. God, what was I doing? “I said, stop.” I wiggled, only intensifying the pleasure.
“That’s not the safeword, kitten.”
I shouldn’t have remembered. I didn’t want to, but his name made it impossible. “Black,” I gritted out. “Black, black, black.”
“God dammit.” He lowered me and stepped back. “I’m sorry. This is wrong. Fuck,” he growled under his breath. “I wasn’t going to do this anymore. But it’s you. I just—” He stopped talking, wiping his hand down his face. “I want to see you again. Please say you’ll have a late dinner with me tonight. No.” He shook his head. “Breakfast. No sex. I’m not doing that anymore. Let me get to know you. The real you.”
I stepped to the side, trying to get around him and closer to the door. “I’m sorry, Devlin. If you didn’t notice, I came here on a date. You’re right, this is wrong. We’re just not going to work.”
“I think you’re wrong. He mentioned a babysitter. He has kids?”
“Yes,” I said lowly. “Two boys.”
“See. I love that about you already. Do you like him? Like, as in, you’d want to marry him someday?” Before I could answer, he held up his hand. “Just hear me out. If you can’t see yourself marrying him, don’t lead him on. Start something with me.” Realization of something flashed over his face. “Shit.”
If I could just get around him, I could turn the lock and slip through. “I have to go.”
“Wait.” He leaned against my escape, his eyes moving to the side as he continued to think about something. “I want to settle down. You’re probably going to hear that soon. If you would just agree to spend time with me, I’ll make a call right now and pull the plug.”
Nothing he was saying made sense. “It won’t work between us,” I stressed. “I have to go.”
“Last question.” His ey
es stopped on mine. “You said you called.”
Panic flared and I fought not to push him out of the way.
“When you left, I got the impression you weren’t going to call me. But you did. Is there a reason behind that?”
I knew what he was implying. My mouth opened and the sound that came out wasn’t an answer. More like a small cry.
“Victoria?” He pushed from the wall, the curiosity turning into something that made his features hard. “I asked you a question. The condom broke. You were supposed to call me if anything came out of it. Yes, I wanted to continue to see you, but the dates were just a plus. You made it clear then that you pretty much weren’t interested in being in a relationship. But you promised to keep me in the loop concerning our situation.”
Nausea left me gripping the sink. “I tried to call.” The way my tone grew in pitch toward the end had me slowing my words. Flashes of Ava sent an unexplainable calm over me. We’d done fine without Devlin so far. I needed to think of her, above everyone. I’d seen the man who fathered my daughter on more than one occasion in less than flattering conditions. I couldn’t expose her to all those women. To…strangers, including him.
“I called to tell you that I wasn’t pregnant. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” Inner strength had me stepping forward and unlocking the door. I didn’t look back as I headed for the table. Daniel stood, smiling. It fell as he looked behind me. I turned, watching Devlin head to the cashier. He didn’t look over, but the sadness on his face that I’d glimpsed before was back. I turned to Daniel.
“I owe you an apology and the truth. That man,” I said, grabbing my wallet from my purse, “we have a past. Nothing is between us anymore and I made that clear to him just now, but you have the right to know. I’m sorry. You’re a great guy, but I don’t think I can date you anymore. Or anyone, really. I made a mistake. I’m just not ready.”
A five was the first bill I saw and I grabbed it, placing it on the table to cover the cost of my drink. “Friends, I can do. But that’s all I can manage.” A grin tried to come to my face at his understanding nod, and I didn’t wait. I walked to the door, pushing through.
Devlin Black had ruined me, just like he said he would. But I couldn’t help but think my lie held more ammunition than my pain. If my luck was good for anything, it would damn well detonate in my face. I’d have to tell him, but not yet. Not until I was sure he spoke the truth about changing. Only then would I expose my daughter to the man who’d given her life. Not a moment before.
Chapter 5
Devlin
“What’s your favorite color?”
Victoria’s laugh had me smiling. Something rare from what I had usually experienced on dates. She was exquisite. Gorgeous, once she had finally loosened up. I stared across the table, mesmerized for the first time in my life. We’d gone over every question I could think of. The food was long gone. She’d drunk more than I assumed she was used to¸ but was far from intoxicated. And I couldn’t get enough of watching her reactions to my quizzing.
“Red. Although, I do like pink. Should I ask your favorite color, or do I assume it’s black like I think?”
“You’re right. How did you know?”
She shrugged. “Lucky guess.”
“What about your favorite movie?”
Those perfect white teeth bit against her full bottom lip for a fraction of a second before she twisted her mouth. “That’s a hard one. I’m more of a romantic, so I’m going to have to say Sleepless in Seattle.”
“No,” I groaned, laughing. “A romantic? You need to be an action or comedy person. Your winning answer would have been The Karate Kid. I would have given you the world had you said that as your answer.
“A good movie, but not my favorite. Besides, I have the world already. It is what you make of it. Right?”
“Excellent answer,” I said, sobering. The chemistry I felt with her left my stomach fluttering. “I think we should go. There’s something I want to show you.” I stood, holding my hand out to her, praying she would take it.
“Is this the…”she swallowed hard.
“Pain and pleasure part?” The side of my mouth pulled back into a half smile. “You’ll love it. I promise. Let me show you what it is to submit completely. You’ll never want to go back to what you know after tonight.”
She looked skeptical as her eyes narrowed briefly. “What if you’re wrong?”
“Then you’ll return tomorrow night and every one after until I’ve convinced you. But I really don’t think it’ll take more than one. You’ll be ruined, kitten, I promise.”
“Fuck.” I flipped over on my bed trying to shut the memories off that had forced themselves into my dreams and now, my reality. What a fucking cocky bastard I had been. I was so sure and yet, I had been wrong. She may have enjoyed herself that night, but my plan to win her over with my skills hadn’t worked and I was stupid to think they would have. She was different. I couldn’t charm her. Not the way I could with the others.
“If I go, it ends there. There will be no tomorrow, no matter the outcome.”
My hand didn’t move. I refused to believe her words. After all, I’d heard it before and they always called for more. “Come.” And she had. She had ridden with me in my car back to my penthouse and barely got through the threshold. Had it not been for me ordering her, she probably would have ran then.
“To submit, fully, you’ll have to obey everything I say. No questions. No hesitation. Let your mind go and feel.”
I knew she was nervous. Could feel her energy thick around me. It fed the dominant part that lived within. I craved to take that fear she held and make it disappear.
“Before we start, let’s go over the rules. When you address me, you’ll refer to me as Sir. Not Devlin or Dev. Just Sir. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
My eyebrow rose. “That’s one, kitten.”
Her eyes snapped up, but didn’t connect with mine. “I meant, yes, Sir.”
“Too bad. That’s one. Second, if you feel it’s too much or you want to stop, there’s a safeword. It’s black. It shouldn’t be too hard to remember. It’s my last name. Now, repeat it so I know you understand.”
“Black…Sir.”
I smiled. “Good girl. Now turn around so I can unzip your dress.”
“But—”
“What did I say?” I spun her around, placed her long hair over her shoulder, and unzipped the dress. “That’s two. When I give you an order, you do it.” My hands slipped inside, slowly tracing up her sides until I reached her shoulder blades. With a push, the dress fell from her arms and pooled around her feet.
“Shit,” I whispered, taking in the white panties, bra, garter, and stockings. Black, I had seen on too many women to count. White, it was as pure as she was. I latched onto the vision with every bit of darkness I held. I wanted to taint her. Turn her as dark as me. Have her bask in all the things deemed wrong in the eyes of society. It was no secret who I was. Having money made me a target, but never once did I sneak into the BDSM clubs to mask my involvement. I showed up proudly, taking honor in the path I’d chosen. But she didn’t know that person. Didn’t even have a clue who Devlin Black was. I loved that about her, too.
“Turn around and let me see you.”
Her head was lowered as she came to face me. The way her arms instantly hugged to her curvy hips had me shaking my head. Although her expression looked pained, she broke the hold and lowered her hands to her sides.
“You’re beautiful. More than you know.” My palm slid to the back of her neck and I drew her in closer. The first touch of our lips left me feeling lightheaded. I kept it soft, coaxing her mouth open to receive me. When she finally allowed my tongue entrance, I was a goner at the sweet taste. My hand flattened against her lower back and I brought her into me until she was molded against my suit.
She broke away, breathing hard, clutching to my jacket. “Devlin.” She stopped. “Sir.” The purr had me sweeping her into my arms. It wa
sn’t a mere correction on her behalf. She’d relished in the right term and spoken it with a seductive tone that begged for me to continue with whatever I wanted. And I had every intention to.
Another kiss that seemed to last forever, yet not nearly as long as I wanted, ended just at the bottom of my bed. My hand gripped into her generous ass as she clung around my neck. She was flushed in a beautiful pink from our kiss and it was something I’d never seen on a woman before.
I placed her down, the sound of her heels on the wooden floor mixing with our heavy breathing. “You’re going to kneel with your head lowered until I give you instructions on what I want you to do next.”
Her tongue flashed across her lips and I couldn’t wait to have my cock sliding against it.
“Yes, Sir,” she said, easing to her knees.
Even as I walked to my closet, I couldn’t take my eyes off her; the curve of her ass and arch of her back as she knelt and waited. I may have had one night stands before her, but I hadn’t taken a true sub since Rhayne. I wanted Victoria and I couldn’t even decipher why. It was emotion based. She just did it for me. She brought out the Dom I harbored deep within. The true self I kept under lock and key. It wasn’t like I couldn’t go through the role of what I enjoyed, but other women didn’t make me feel like she did. Powerful. Wanted…needed.
My fingers encircled over the handle of the crop and I walked back to her, studying everything that was before me. Her back stayed straight. She didn’t shift or move from being uncomfortable and her head never rose as I stood there.
“Hold up both of your hands, palm up.”
No questions. Obedience.
I laid the crop across the surface and started to undo my tie. Time stretched out as I took off the cuffs and eventually removed my shirt. Then, my shoes. When I got to my belt, not a single reaction. The edge of my lips pulled back as I jerked the leather free.
“You’re amazing, kitten. You sure you’ve never done this before?”
“I’m positive, Sir.”
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