The day after Alyssa woke up beside Shane, she could still barely move. He’d promised to leave marks, and he’d been good to his word—faint bruises darkened the edge of her hip bones, and a crescent-moon bite mark on her shoulder still made her shiver every time she saw it in the mirror. Even her scalp was a little tender from when he’d grabbed a handful of hair and kissed her.
At her desk, in the privacy of her office, Alyssa closed her eyes and sighed. Focusing today was going to be one hell of a chore. She wanted to believe she was just reeling from some long-overdue sex, but she knew damn well it was more than that. One-night stands weren’t that hard to come by. She even had a guy as a fallback for when they were both hard up and needed to blow off some steam.
But sex like that?
Now she understood what it meant to say “he rocked my world”. Because he had. Good God. And they were going to see each other again. There’d be more sex like that.
Alyssa shook her head and stared at her computer screen. Before she could see him again, she still had to do…whatever it was she did for a living. Work. Reports. Database. Spreadsheets. Blinking a few times, she made herself focus on the words and numbers on the monitor.
Get it together. Come on.
Her phone vibrated beside her keyboard, startling her, and her heart jumped again when Shane’s name appeared above a text message.
Did you know claw marks sting in the shower?
A laugh burst out of her. She clapped her hand over her mouth, cheeks burning as she glanced at the closed door. The mental image of Shane getting in the shower and sucking in a hiss of breath when the water hit his raw skin was…
Warmth rushed through her body. Could that man do anything without making it sexy as hell?
She texted back, I’d apologize, but somehow I don’t think you minded.
Not at all. A moment later: Was almost disappointed to take my tux back this morning. Still smelled like you.
Alyssa grinned. Wear something like that again, I can promise a repeat performance.
He came back almost immediately with, Duly noted. ;)
A second later, he added, Anything you wear is getting torn.
Alyssa shivered, nearly dropping her phone. Promises, promises.
Without missing a beat, Shane replied, When it comes to pleasing a lady, I always keep my promises.
Alyssa licked her lips. She’d known a few men who talked a good game—insisted they loved going down on women, promised to be attentive and rough, bragged they could make her come multiple times—and turned out to be duds in bed. More often than not, those were the guys who rolled over and went to sleep while she quietly got herself off.
But Shane had already put his money where his mouth was, as it were. He’d made her come so hard she’d almost cried. He’d left marks. This was a man who’d make a promise and deliver on it.
Thumbs not quite steady, she texted back, Bring it on.
And just how much was he willing to bring on? She drummed her fingers next to her coffee cup. Shane had obviously not been repulsed by the idea of getting kinky. He also didn’t strike her as the overbearing type. Dominant, she suspected, but maybe a little…flexible in that department. And he seemed to have both a sadistic and masochistic side.
She wasn’t sure why, but she was a little nervous as she wrote, So when you say you’re kinky…how kinky are we talking?
No response.
As the silence wore on, punctuated by the ticking clock on the wall and underscored by the low hum of her computer, her stomach knotted tighter. She imagined him shutting off his phone and shoving it away—maybe even blocking her first—and quickly getting back to work before anyone saw the suggestive messages. Damn. Couldn’t she have waited until she saw him face-to-face before asking—
The phone vibrated.
She snatched it up off the desk.
Well, I saw you looking at my belt the other night. What did you want me to do with it?
Alyssa exhaled, a tingle of arousal working its way through her. What were the options?
You went there first. Let’s hear it.
She thought for a moment, then, I would’ve been equally thrilled if you’d hit me with it or tied me.
Maybe I’ll bring two belts next time. One for each.
The shiver went all the way to Alyssa’s toes.
Heart pounding, she wrote back, Promise?
He didn’t even hesitate: Absolutely. Before she could send a reply, a second message beat her to the punch: You’re making it very difficult to get any work done, you know.
Likewise.
I’d suggest meeting for lunch, but we’d probably never get back to work.
Lunch with Shane? Oh, tempting. There was a lot that could be accomplished in the space of an hour, even with a five-minute detour for condoms. But prying themselves apart and returning to work? Unlikely. Not that she’d get anything done today anyway.
Laughing to herself, she wrote, I don’t think I’ll be able to concentrate again until we’ve had a rematch.
I promise you won’t be able to afterward either.
Yeah. No focusing happening today. Jesus. She still couldn’t believe how straightforward and to the point this man could be.
When do you want to put your money where your mouth is?
Let me take you to dinner. And then… ;)
More than ever, Alyssa was grateful for her private office—she didn’t need her coworkers to walk in and see her grinning like an idiot.
Sounds good. When?
Soon. Pause. Wear something hot.
She laughed quietly and wrote back, I’ll dress hot if you do.
After a few seconds, he replied, Deal.
They worked out logistics, settling on Friday night. Both had to work all week, and a late night together didn’t bode well for an early morning at the office. They planned to meet at a restaurant downtown that she’d never tried, and then Alyssa had to cut the conversation short to go into a meeting.
She took her seat at the round table in the conference room and, as her colleagues and department head joined her, tried to remember what they were supposed to be discussing. Normally, she was one hundred percent focused, especially during meetings, but today? Not so much.
Something told her that was going to be her default state for a while.
At the stroke of five, Alyssa hurried out of the office and across the street to the café where she and Tina sometimes met for dinner.
Tina wasn’t there yet, so Alyssa grabbed their usual table by the window and played on her phone while she waited. She’d been texting off and on with Shane throughout the day, but he was on his way home, so he’d gone quiet. Funny, she’d gone through thirty-four years of her life without texting him, and after a few hours of swapping messages with him, she barely knew what to do with herself now that it had stopped.
She was just about to lose her mind—there was only so much she could occupy herself with social media and CNN—when Tina swept in through the front door.
Thank God…
“Sorry I’m late.” Tina dropped into the chair opposite Alyssa. “Could not get off the phone with a pissed-off customer.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
As they always did, they immediately fell into conversation and kept talking right through their meal—jobs, kids, the lack of decent movies playing right now—until the waiter came and cleared away their plates, leaving them with coffee, the bill, and no hurry at all to leave.
Tina sipped her coffee, then set it down and clasped her hands beneath her chin. “So, I almost forgot. What happened at Hannah’s wedding?” Leaning in close, a conspiratorial grin on her lips, she added, “Or should I ask, what happened after the wedding?”
Heat rushed into Alyssa’s cheeks. “I don’t think I need to tell you what happened afterward.”
“You dirty girl.” Tina laughed and gave her a wink. “Was he hot?”
“So hot.”
Her friend grinned. “Awesome. Glad you had a good time.”
“I did. And I plan to have a good time with him again.”
“Oh, do you?”
Alyssa nodded. “We’ve agreed to keep the past in the past and just enjoy living in the moment. Then maybe by the time he and I have gotten things out of our system, everyone will have forgotten about everything else I’ve done.” Alyssa rolled her eyes. “Not that I expect anyone to forget any time soon.”
“Fuckers.” Tina clicked her tongue. “As if they’re all saints.”
“Yeah, well.” Alyssa drained her coffee cup. “Their sins haven’t been made public, so they’re not public property.” She waved a hand. “Anyway. Whatever. I’m just glad I get to spend a little time with someone who doesn’t know, and who enjoys the same things I do.”
“You know what?” Tina flattened her palms on the table and looked Alyssa in the eye. “I say good for you. You need it, and besides, guys get away with casual, no-strings shit all the time.”
Alyssa laughed dryly. “I don’t want to ‘get away’ with anything. I just…” She sighed, her shoulders sinking along with her heart. “You know what I mean, right?”
“Yes, I do.” Tina touched her arm. “Honey, listen to me. The people who won’t let that shit go are the ones who should be ashamed. You made a mistake. You’ve made amends as much as you can and moved on. What else can anyone expect you to do, short of inventing a time machine?”
“I think in their minds, that’s my problem.” Alyssa shook her head. “And I think some of them could let it go if that didn’t mean potentially letting me hook up with someone they knew.”
Tina rolled her eyes. “Fuck ’em. Seriously. You’re an adult, and as long as you’re honest with whoever you’re hooking up with, then…” She half shrugged.
Alyssa chewed her lip and reached for her coffee. “Well, that’s kind of a problem too.”
Tina sighed. “Yeah, I guess it would be. I mean, when do you bring something like that up?”
“Not on the first date, that’s for sure,” Alyssa muttered into her coffee cup.
“I can imagine.”
Alyssa took a sip and put the cup down. “Well, the plan for now is just to have fun, get each other out of our systems, and not discuss the past. Apparently he has a history too, and…I just don’t want to know.”
Tina pursed her lips. “You know that getting someone out of your system by way of sex doesn’t usually work, right?”
Alyssa kept her gaze down.
“Let me rephrase,” Tina said. “What happens if you don’t get things out of your system? I mean, you’re planning on banging the bejeezus out of this dude. What happens if you two, you know, decide you like each other as more than fuck buddies?”
“I don’t know. I really don’t. To be honest, I don’t want to think about that right now. I just…” She sighed, pushing her cup away. “I just want to enjoy things with him. If the truth comes out later and he runs, then, well, I’m back to square one. But he doesn’t need to know right now.”
“Fair enough. And hey, it’s about time you had a regular fuck buddy besides Grant.”
Alyssa glared at her. “And once Shane finds out about Nate, I’ll probably be back to desperate once-in-a-while sex with Grant.”
“Well, enjoy it while it lasts, then.”
“Thanks for trying to reassure me I’m just being pessimistic.”
She offered a sympathetic shrug. “Come on, Lyss, you can’t change the past, and nothing I say will change it either. And, much as I’d like to, neither of us can change the fact that a lot of guys can’t deal with that kind of thing.”
Alyssa groaned. “God, don’t I know it.” Shaking her head, she absently played with the corner of her napkin. “I don’t know, I’m probably getting ahead of myself with this anyway. I don’t know a thing about the guy, and I don’t want to know anything about him. I just really, really want to…” Her cheeks burned, and she stared intently into her coffee.
“You want to fuck him.”
“Well, I already did that. I want to do it again. And I do not want to wait until Friday.”
“You could always call him and see if he’s—”
“Only if I want to get fired.” Alyssa laughed. “I don’t think I’d get any sleep.”
“Ooh, our boy has stamina, does he?”
“He has stamina to burn.”
Tina beamed. “You found a good one—that’s my girl.”
Alyssa laughed. “Enabler.”
“Hey, I haven’t had sex in months. I’m fucking vicariously through you, baby doll.”
“So no pressure, right?”
“Oh, lots of pressure.” Tina eyed her with a completely serious expression. “I expect you to get it good, and bring me details.”
Alyssa saluted playfully. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good.”
Well, there might be some details, but definitely not all of them. Tina didn’t need to know about Shane’s kinky side. Hell, she didn’t need to know about Alyssa’s kinky side—there were some things that just didn’t need to be discussed outside the bedroom. The two of them had known each other since forever and never hesitated to share intimate details about the things they did when the lights went down, but she kept that little dark side up her sleeve. Mostly because she didn’t want to get into how—or more to the point, with whom—she’d discovered her love of kink.
“So when are you going to see him again?”
“He wants to meet up Friday night for dinner.” Is it Friday yet? “And he said to wear something hot.”
“Sounds like it’s time to break out the little black dress.”
Alyssa scowled. “I, uh…got rid of the only one I had.”
“You got rid of an LBD? Oh, honey. Those never go out of style.”
Alyssa raised an eyebrow. “They do when it’s what you were wearing when your husband caught you.”
“Oh.” Tina grimaced. “Point taken.” At least she didn’t chastise her about the affair and all its fallout. She seemed to be the only person on the planet who didn’t take every possible opportunity to harangue Alyssa about that mistake she couldn’t go back and change no matter how much she wished she could.
“Anyway.” Alyssa wrung her hands. “Dress aside, I’m a little worried about meeting him for dinner.”
Tina’s eyes widened. “Why?”
“Well, I told him I don’t want to get into our pasts, and I don’t even really want to get to know each other.”
“You just want to fuck him without having to talk about difficult subjects.”
“Basically.” She thumbed the edge of her placemat. “But dinner in public means conversation, and conversation…” Alyssa shook her head. “If it starts getting personal, it’s not like I can change the subject with a blowjob, you know?”
Tina threw her head back and laughed. “I’d pay to see you try.”
Alyssa giggled. “Well, it would be worth it to see the look on his face, that’s for sure.”
“You dirty girl.” Tina winked. Then she clasped her fingers together on the table. “Seriously, though, if you’re worried about things getting too personal, then I’d suggest taking the conversation by the balls and making sure he doesn’t even want to talk about the past.” Inclining her head, she whispered, “Don’t let him think about anything except the very, very immediate future.”
Alyssa couldn’t help grinning. “I like the way you think.”
“Of course you do. And so will he, and you’re welcome for the results.”
Alyssa laughed.
Tina folded her arms. “So when is your big date with him again?”
“Friday night.” Could it be any further away?
“And Nate’s with his dad this week, right?”
Alyssa nodded.
“Perfect.” Tina picked up her purse. “Let’s go find you a new dress.”