Bending the Rules

Wicked Warrens - 5

Marie Harte

Chapter One

Augusta, Georgia

June

Nodding at something the mayor said to Ty, Rex Samson subtly tuned out the dull conversation about city revenue and taxes. He tried not to be obvious as he stared into the hallway outside the office at a tall, thin brunette chewing out the guy standing in front of her.

Despite her low voice and attempts at being discreet, Rex knew well the signs of a man getting his ass handed to him. Curious, because something about the prickly woman intrigued him, he made an excuse about needing to use the restroom and ducked out of the mayor’s outer office.

Walking slowly past the pair engaged in a tongue-lashing, he took his time at the water fountain behind them.

“Jesus, Mike. It’s like you’re stuck in slow motion. When I tell you we need that information like yesterday, what exactly does that mean to you?”

Mike looked on the verge of tears, despite the fact he had to be at least ten years older than the woman, who seemed closer to Rex’s age.

“I’m sorry, Nat. But I—”

“But nothing. You’ve been working here longer than I have. You have no excuse. And don’t give me any bullshit about having a tough time at home. I saw you playing tonsil hockey with Brad yesterday, after your long-ass lunch. This is two strikes for you. One more and you’re out. Now get me that information by end of day, or you’re gone.”

“Okay. Okay, Nat. Sorry. I swear, it’ll be on your desk before I go home tonight.” The older man pulled at his tie, then dashed down the hallway.

Staring after him, Rex shook his head, amused by the guy’s timidity. Then he felt the woman’s gaze and turned to see her focused on him. Before he could say anything, he caught the scent of her perfume, a subtle blend of sultry and sexy, and his body instantly reacted.

Well, well. Mean, arousing and fascinating. He had to get her number. Today.

“Something I can help you with?” she asked. Aggression laced her tone.

Never one to go for nice, he found Nat’s antagonism more than a bit attractive. She wore her long brown hair in a ponytail, and it hung straight, no curl in sight. A fringe of bangs saved her from looking too austere, yet the plain package couldn’t hide the striking, impatient woman waiting for him to answer her. She was downright sexy as hell.

So he’d let her wait a moment longer while he studied the rest of her.

Angry eyes that couldn’t decide whether to be brown or green glared at him. She had a narrow face, high cheekbones and a full lower lip. He wondered if she’d bite if he drew closer for a kiss…and prayed she would.

The rest of her was just as lean. She seemed built for efficiency, with the look of a runner—that or she had a naturally high metabolism. She wore a long-sleeved, white button-down shirt rolled up at the sleeves, and black slacks. Sexy black pumps, gold hoops in her ears and a manly watch completed the outfit. No ring, he noticed with a satisfied smile. The big watch should have looked out of place on her but didn’t. Her boyfriend’s maybe? No, that wouldn’t do.

“Take a picture. It’ll last longer,” she snapped.

He laughed. “Sugar, I’d love to take a picture or two. Maybe over a beer?”

She snorted, opened her mouth to respond, then after a look over his shoulder, seemed to change her mind. “Sorry, slick. I’m busy.” Without another word, she stalked down the hallway and turned the corner.

“Rex, you done harassing that woman or what?” his friend Ty asked from the doorway.

Rex rejoined them, this time in the mayor’s inner office.

“Oh boy. Please tell me you didn’t,” the mayor said. “I try not to deal with Nat until I’ve had at least three cups of coffee.”

Rex stared at the closed door, puzzled by the suddenness of his attraction. For months he’d been beyond bored with women, preferring to work instead of date. Threesomes and orgies had become stale, and even his quickie romps with men had begun to tire him.

He knew who to blame for his lackluster love life. His best friend Brian, that ass, had once been a fun-loving ladies’ man. Now engaged to the ultra-fine Faith Sumner, he’d turned into a stay-at-home stud. Granted, the few times the couple had let Rex play in some voyeuristic games, he’d gotten off, but the experience had been lacking. Brian and Faith were in love. Their connection showed him how much in life he didn’t have. As if he needed reminder with his parents just returned from vacationing overseas.

He turned his head back to watch Ty and the mayor joke about dates and dancing at the upcoming gala at the Savanna River Club.

Rex nodded and settled back into the conversation. “Oh, right. I’ll be there. My parents should be too. They returned from Europe last week.” And thus, his reprieve from their constant meddling had come to an end.

Ty said something else, to which Mayor Tom Jessup laughed. Tom and Rex’s father were golf buddies, so he did his best to tolerate the blowhard.

“I think the boy is still distracted,” Ty mused and nodded at the doorway.

Tom grinned. “Can’t blame him. Nat’s great, but I wish she’d use that tongue for something other than ripping my guys a new one.” Tom wiggled his brows, and Rex forced a laugh. The city mayor was just as big a womanizer as he’d been before he’d taken the election.

“Nat?” he asked.

Tom nodded. “Natalie Wielder, our urban planner. Girl is a genius with figures and strategy, but she’s tough to work with. Has the whole damn city council scrambling to stay out of her way while she works her magic.”

Ty grinned. Married and disgustingly happy about the fact, Rex’s friend ribbed the mayor. “Yeah, I heard your son talking about her the other day. Tough for him to get her job if she’s so damn efficient.”

Tom grunted. “You got that right. Much as I’d love to work with Josh, truth is, we need Nat to keep us afloat.” He smiled at Ty. “But now we’re not so desperate for funds, since you and Rex brought us some much needed revenue. You two gave the city a real boost, and I can’t thank you enough.”

Ty shrugged. Arrogant but not obnoxious, he knew his company’s new headquarters had made him a popular man. “It was between here and Atlanta, but Jan’s parents live here, and Atlanta’s crowded enough as it is.” His warehouse club chain sat a few rungs below the giants in competition and was steadily gaining ground.

Tom continued, “And Rex, S&F has become a staple at over half the local restaurants. You’re in all the supermarkets and liquor stores. Kudos, young man. I know Harry and Sue are pleased.”

Rex’s parents had always encouraged him to follow his dream. A finance major who didn’t want to be known as Harry and Sue’s little boy for the rest of his life, he’d found his calling and jumped on the opportunity to be his own man. His pride and joy—Squirrel & Feather Microbrewery—had delivered. Their beer had become so popular he’d had to build another center for manufacturing and distribution in Charleston, with plans to expand in Florida down the line.

“Rumor has it one of the big chains is interested in buying.” Ty watched him. “You interested in selling?”

“Maybe in the far future. Not now.” Not when he was on top of the world. He had money, charm, fabulous parents—when they weren’t nagging for grandchildren—and friends. Not to mention Rex could have his pick of the fine women in town.

Just then, Natalie Wielder came to mind. He’d have to find her and ask her out, if only to see why she’d been so captivating. Was it her temper, her attitude, that slender build that went against his usual type? Nothing about her screamed “flashy”, yet he’d been drawn to her. Considering it had been years since he’d last been so fascinated by any particular person, he decided to follow up on her. Besides, he needed a date for next week. Why not take the prickly Ms. Wielder?

Determined to get a yes out of the woman, he angled the conversation back toward her. Pleased when he learned she had to go to the gala as well, he ended the meeting, then went in search of the urban planner’s office. Time to put the Samson charm to good use.

Nat sighed when she saw the fifty emails she’d gotten while she’d been handling Mike’s slack. She hated inefficiency with a passion. Why couldn’t everyone work as hard as she did? She got things done, on time every time. But at the rate she had to save everyone else’s ass, she worried she’d grow an ulcer.

Plunging back into her day, she made phone calls, worked on Derrick Warren’s laughable changes to the budget on the new convention center, wrote a note to call Harper to deal with it—thank God at least her assistant knew how to make things happen—and darted back and forth between emails and her current project.

She pointed in the direction of the knock on her door. “Yes?”

“Well aren’t you sweet.” That deep, husky Southern drawl had the effect it no doubt intended.

Nat tensed, stopped working and looked up at the model Southern boy she’d done her best to ignore earlier. Talk about the Monday from hell.

No man should have a face that handsome, eyes that rich a brown, or hair so dark it looked blue-black in a cut that probably cost as much as one of her car payments. She’d seen him and Ty Burnell hanging out in the mayor’s office earlier, chatting with each other. Though she didn’t know Ty personally, she liked what she’d heard about him. The man had money coming out the wazzoo but didn’t act like it. Unlike Mayor Tom Jessup—one of the good ol’ boys who looked on most women as ornaments to fuck or impress.

She pitied that man’s wife. And his son, because if Josh Jessup thought he could handle her job, he had another thing coming—namely, her foot up his ass.

She sighed. “What can I do for you, Mr.…?”

The man took her question as an invitation and closed her door behind him, then sat across from her desk. He wore a charcoal suit with a white shirt and snazzy blue tie. The guy looked like a million bucks, and that wasn’t counting the outfit. Where did they make men like this, anyway?

“Rex Samson, at your service.” He nodded, then winked. “And you’re Natalie Wielder.”

“Thanks for filling me in.” Her natural sarcasm never seemed to turn itself off. A testament to her acumen in her job that she’d never been fired for it.

Rex laughed, a deep chuckle that invited her to join in with the merriment. God, this guy was too much for her to handle on a good day. Certainly not at ten o’clock on a Monday morning before she’d had a cup of coffee.

“You’re a real smartass. No wonder I’m in love.” He patted his heart, and her own took a dive.

“Is there something I can help you with, handsome?” There. I admitted it. Now go away. I’m busy. Too busy to wander down the wrong path. Again.

He grinned.

Yes. Very, very busy. Rex seemed way too chummy with the mayor for comfort. A potential adversary, at the least.

“I’ll bet there’s a lot you could help me with, sugar.” No ignoring that innuendo. “But I actually came in here for a reason.” He stared around her office, then brought his deep brown-eyed gaze back to her.

“O-kay. The reason?”

“I need a date.”

“Try a dating service.”

“Next week. The Savannah River Club. Lots of networking to be done, and I need someone savvy about city politics who’ll look good on my arm.” He smiled at her.

“And?”

“And that’s you, sugar.”

“Okay. First of all, my name is Natalie, not ‘sugar’. You can call me Natalie or Ms. Wielder.”

“Not Nat?”

“Nat is a name I reserve for my friends. Since I don’t know you, I can’t exactly call you a friend, can I?”

His slow smile turned her on, and for that reason, she hardened her resolve.

“In addition, I don’t know why you’d want me when there are dozens of well-connected people out there who’d love to be called ‘sugar’ and hang off your arm. Sorry, I’m busy. As in, I work for a living.”

“Ouch. You have teeth.” His smile faded as he looked her over a bit too thoroughly for her system to handle. His sly grin told her he no doubt noticed her nipples rising through her thin blouse. “But I like ’em feisty. So, I’ll pick you up at six next Thursday?”

“I’m pretty sure I just said no.”

“But sugar, I work for a living too. And the mayor said you’d be happy to escort me. I’ve been so busy with business that my social calendar is all but empty. Consider this a favor for your boss. You get to keep an eye on me and get him off your pretty little ass. A win-win.”

She blinked. “He’s not on my ass.”

“But he’d like to be. I think we both know what kind of man Tom Jessup is.”

She hadn’t expected Rex to be so honest about the mayor. “Oh?”

He snorted. “Everyone knows he’s a womanizing dickhead with a history in this town. Got elected because folks loved his daddy, and his momma makes a killer red velvet cake.”

Nat grinned. “Eileen does at that.”

“You have to go to this thing anyway. I know. So you might as well go with me.” He paused. “Unless you’re married or have a boyfriend I don’t know about?”

“You know nothing about me.”

He smiled, like a cat who’d just consumed, feather by feather, a canary. “I know you have to go to next week’s gala. I know you don’t have a significant other, or you’d have said by now.”

“I don’t have a boyfriend. But you didn’t ask if I had a girlfriend.”

“Do you?” He looked intrigued by the idea.

She sighed. “No.”

“Too bad.”

She’d been asked out before, but never by a posh Southern charmer in her office. How surreal. “Is this a joke?”

“Nope.” He stood and stared down at her. “I need a date. I like you. So I’ll pick you up?”

“Hold on.” She stood as well, frowning. “I don’t know the first thing about you. And I—”

He shocked her by leaning over her desk and putting a finger over her lips. “Hush, sugar. You can look me up online. I run S&F. You know, the best microbrewery in the South? Anyhow, I have people who can vouch for me. And I have something you want.”

When he didn’t take his finger away, she pretended to nip it. To her bemusement, his eyes darkened in what looked like lust as he pulled his hand back.

“Oh, a biter. I knew it.”

Her face burned. “Look, Rex. This is just weird. You’re asking me out. On a Monday. In my office.” He stood staring at her, and against her better judgment, she asked, “So just what exactly do you have that you think I’ll want?”

“How about all the juicy gossip I’ve got on some of the heavy hitters in town? Including our esteemed mayor.”

“Really?”

“Yep. I’ve got dirt on a lot of people. Anything you want to know, it’s yours.”

“And for this, all I have to do is show up with you?”

“Well, you’ll have to smile while we dance, too. Think you can do that?”

“Only that,” she warned. “You’re not buying anything else. Got it?”

“Sure thing, sugar. But let me tell you something.” He leaned closer and whispered, “I don’t need to buy it. Ever.”

“I believe you. And you know what? Neither do I.”

Satisfaction curled his lips. “Yeah, I like you just fine, Ms. Wielder. All that mean wrapped up in a sexy-as-hell package. Hmm. We’re gonna have fun next week.”

“One date. I don’t do office relationships, and I’m sorry, but your connection to the mayor puts you in the do-not-date category, regardless of what secrets you might have. So—”

“I’ll pick you up at six Thursday night. We’ll go as friends. Don’t worry. And don’t keep me waiting.”

Then he left. Without asking for her address, which he’d no doubt weasel out of Personnel.

She stared at her open doorway. Such a strange Monday morning. Being hit on, then asked for a date to the swanky party she’d been dreading. All by a gorgeous charmer who looked as if he’d been born in that suit. Had she ever liked being called sugar before? She couldn’t remember. But despite what she’d said she’d liked it just fine today.

“I need coffee. Stat.” She sighed and grabbed a cup, then poured herself a healthy amount. Just in time, too, because her right hand man, Harper, showed up with a glower that would have intimidated anyone else. Derrick followed behind him, arguing into her office and not stopping.

Back to her typical Monday. “Okay, gentlemen—and I use that term loosely. What the hell happened now?”

Chapter Two

“Rex, sweetie. You look wonderful.” Sue Samson hugged her son as if she hadn’t seen him two days ago.

“Yeah, Momma. You too.” He hugged her back, praying they could skip the lecture about his pitiful social life this time. After driving her and his daddy back from the airport last weekend, he’d left them to settle in, barely escaping with his sanity. Swear to God, his mother had a real hankering for grandkids. As the only child, he was supposed to breed on command. Lucky him.

“Sit, sit. Some tea?” she asked as she bustled about the kitchen island.

He nodded. He’d grown up in this house. Well, mostly. The early years had been fraught with economic disaster, and they’d moved around a lot. His father had worked his tail off to become a successful venture capitalist, and all with the support of his lifelong partner, Sue. Despite having an old-school father who thought women were no better than chattel, Harry Samson had always treasured his wife. The pair had been through a lot, but always together.

They doted on Rex. Which made disappointing them such a sour ball in his stomach. He so badly wanted to be what they expected—a young Georgian in love with sweet tea, football and country music. Married at twenty-four, kids by twenty-five. But Rex was anything but typical. He liked the tea and football, sure, but preferred jazz to country. And the thought of settling down with some little Susie Homemaker scared the crap of him, because she’d bore him to tears.

Still, he tried to play the part they wanted him to, out of love and respect.

“Great tea, Momma.” He smiled.

“Good. I made it last night. Had to let it steep, you know.” She wore her hair shorter now, but still frosted to perfection, courtesy of the salon downtown. Attractive, friendly, and with a smile that warmed him whenever he saw it, Sue Samson was everyone’s best friend.

“You’re going to the gala next week, right?” Rex hoped to forestall what was sure to be a painful dissection of his current dating prospects. “Me too. I’ve got a date, so don’t even ask.”

“Oh?” She pretended not to care as she put the dishes into the dishwasher, but he knew they’d circle back to his new friend like a heat seeking missile. “That’s nice, dear. So I met Barbara Warren the other day. I’d seen her around, of course, but never met her. Then we started talking, and she is just the nicest woman. I invited her and her husband over for dinner tomorrow.”

“Warren?” That name sounded familiar. “Derrick Warren’s mom?”

The Warrens were well known in town, if she was indeed talking about the same family.

“Yes. I think he’s one of twins.”

Derrick’s brother, Dr. Dylan Warren, was a noted psychiatrist. Derrick worked in construction with their younger brother. The family was well-liked. Rex knew Derrick pretty well. He’d seen the others around town but had never had much to do with them.

“What about them?”

“Barbara’s thrilled. Her boys are all in committed relationships.”

He stifled a groan. Not long now…

“I saw her at the salon, and we got to talking. You know, it’s strange you never met her boys growing up. But I suppose spending the summers in Savannah with your cousins took you away from us. That and you had to attend Harvard.” She made a face.

The one time he’d put his foot down. He’d wanted to go to one of the best business schools in the country. It had been a real fight not to attend his parents’ alma matter at Clemson. But hell, look at him now. He’d been worth it.

“Momma…”

“Hush. I’m just sayin’.” She smiled. “Want some dinner, honey? I have some leftover chicken.”

“That’s fine. Thanks.” He watched her serve him. Any attempt to get his own food would result in an order to sit himself down and wait for her to do it. He dug into the tender chicken, glad he’d skipped eating out.

“Your daddy will be back soon. Went to the store because we ran out of milk.”

He waited for it…

“So this date of yours…”

The ax started to fall.

“How did you meet her?”

“I met her while visiting with Tom Jessup. She works in the city planner’s office. Smart gal. I thought she’d make a nice companion for next week. Plus, she knows most everyone who’ll be there.” He’d spent so much time concerned with business details and expansion that he didn’t have the connections in town he wanted just yet.

“Good boy.” She smiled. “What’s she like?”

“I don’t rightly know yet.” But I will. He was itching to find out if she’d be mean in bed. “She’s smart. Really pretty. Tall, thin, brown hair, hazel eyes.”

“Oh. I’d like to meet her.” His mother’s eyes sparkled. He knew that look.

“Heck no. I don’t want you scaring her away with talk of grandbabies. It was hard enough getting her to agree to go with me next week.” Hard indeed. To his surprise, even days after meeting her, he’d had some hot, hot dreams about her. Many of them surrounding the image of him kneeling between her spread thighs.

Embarrassed at getting aroused while sitting next to his mother, he focused on the here and now.

His mother mused, “I wonder if Judge Goode will be there next week.”

“Probably. Poor Brian.” His best friend’s father was a horse’s ass, and that was the best thing Rex could say about him.

Sue laughed. “Now, honey, that’s not nice.” She paused. “But true. How that man can treat his son like he does is beyond me.” She moved around the island to kiss him on the cheek.

“Momma.” He felt all of two years old while she fussed over him. And truth be told he loved it.

“So sweet, my little Rex. You know, your daddy and I have always been so proud of you. You’re so successful and smart.” She patted him on the shoulder. “That’s why I’m always on you about a girlfriend, baby. I want you to have what your daddy and I have.”

“I know. But maybe that’s why I still don’t have that special girl yet. None of them measure up to you.”

His mother blushed. “Oh now. Get on with you and your pretty words.”

He chuckled as his father returned. Rex looked just like him, and was often called a chip off the old block. A better compliment he’d never earned.

“Got the ice cream.” His dad held up a paper bag with pride.

“Milk, Harry. I said milk.”

Harry blinked. “Oh. Well, I suppose I can go back out.”

Rex chuckled. “I’m meeting Brian tonight. I’ll grab your milk and drop it off tomorrow before I head into work.”

“We don’t want to put you out.” His mother frowned.

“But we will, because I don’t want to go right back out just now.” His father grinned. “Got us some rocky road. Yum.”

Rex lifted his fork. “Still working on Momma’s chicken.”

“Freeloader.” His father frowned. “That was supposed to be my lunch tomorrow.” He sighed and grinned. “Oh well. Easy come, easy go. How’s work treating you, boy?”

His mother drifted into the living room to answer the phone while Rex talked financials with his father. After a while, he noted the time.

“Shoot, Daddy. I gotta go.”

“Where to?”

Rex rinsed his plate and fork in the sink, then put them in the dishwasher. “Meeting Brian for a beer. It’s tough to get him by himself without Faith, so I’m taking advantage.”

“Sad to see them fall, isn’t it?” His father laughed. “Tell Brian I said hey. And take a note. Get yourself a woman and—”

“Not you too.” He groaned. “I already told Momma I’m bringing a date next week to the gala. And no, I will not introduce you to her until we have at least a few more dates between us. I think I can grow to like this one. I don’t want to scare her off with a ‘meet the parents’ nightmare.”

“Gotcha.” Harry understood. “Tell me this, she cute?”

“Nope. Sexy. A little mean.”

His father’s eyes sparkled. “Even better. Good luck, boy. With a woman like that, you’re gonna need it.”

Rex left them with kisses goodbye. Anyone seeing how close he was with his parents would call him a momma’s boy, but he loved his folks. They could do no wrong in his book. He just wished he could be the boy they wanted. A two-point-five kids father and husband to a suburban helpmeet. Boring, staid, happily-ever-after.

God love ’em, but his parents didn’t scream sexy or exciting. They were like a big old plate of comfort food. Something he treasured but couldn’t eat every damn day without getting heart disease.

Rex wanted something more. Something different. Something he got when he watched Brian and Faith go at it. Or when he played with multiple partners at the club—Augusta’s private place where any and everything happened—on the QT.

It had been over a month since he’d been by, and he figured he was due. Jerking off to thoughts of Natalie Wielder were pathetic, even for him. Time he saw some action again.

He met Brian inside the club his buddy privately co-owned with his sister Freddy. Good old Brian. Successful dull millionaire on the outside, perverted fun guy on the inside.

He grinned as he sat down at a table in the crowding lounge. Must have some kind of show tonight. “Hey there, kinkster. Nice to see ya.”

Brian flushed. “Shut up. I’m here because you forced me to meet you.”

“I did not. I merely pointed out what a pussy you’ve grown into since finding luurve with that sexy woman. Where is she, by the way?”

Brian shrugged and flagged down a waitress. After ordering drinks, they watched as a band set up for a live show. The nameless club had a private membership, the rules clearly stating what went down at the club stayed at the club. Lawsuits and high-profile clientele mandated confidentiality. Considering the wealthy, litigious patrons who frequented, Rex understood why they’d never had a problem being discreet.

Freddy brought them their beers. “On the house, handsome,” she teased and gave Rex a peck on the cheek. “Where’s Faith?”

“What I’d like to know,” Rex said.

“She’s hanging with Sydney and Hailey at the house. Some stupid girls’ night I wasn’t invited to.”

Rex stared. “Is that why you accepted my invite? Because you got denied a better one?”

“I wanted to hang out with you, you moron.” Brian’s sneer said otherwise.

Freddy laughed. At the bar behind her, Rex spotted Dylan Warren and Harper Reynolds, Freddy’s significant others, watching them. When they saw him, they raised their drinks in salute.

“Nice family you got there, Freddy.” He respected the hell out of her for taking what she wanted in life. He could just imagine the horror on his parents’ faces if he brought home a boy and a girl to play house. Then again, he didn’t want a boy to play house with, just to play with on the side, preferably while his girlfriend watched.

At the thought, he wondered what Nat was up to tonight.

“Thanks for the beers, Freddy,” Brian said. “Better get back to Frick and Frack though. Harper looks annoyed at you kissing Rex.”

Rex grinned and turned his other cheek toward her. “You missed a spot, sugar.”

She kissed him, then went back to the bar. He noted Dylan frowning now as well. Rex waved, to which the guys answered by flipping him the bird.

“Oh yeah, Rex,” Brian drawled. “You’ve still got the touch.”

He grinned. “So guess what? I have myself a date for next week. You’re gonna be there, right?”

“Yep. In fact, it’ll probably be fun. I’m going with Faith. Freddy will be there with Dylan. Harper’s staying home though. Can’t stand fancy parties.”

“He’s missing out.”

“That’s what I said. But he’s content to wait for Freddy and Dylan.” Brian shook his head. “I tell you, the idea of my sister with two guys was beyond weird. But she’s never been this happy. Harper and Dylan are perfect for her.”

“And each other, hear tell.”

Brian squirmed. “Dude, TMI.”

“What’s wrong with a little man love?” He grinned. “You seemed to have no problem letting me know you could handle the thought of me and Peter.” Peter Cordell, his first same-sex experience, and the perfect partner to introduce Rex to voyeurism and submission.

He wondered what Nat would be like in bed, if she’d act as aggressive in the sack as she had at work. Did she like to be in charge? To watch or be watched?

He sighed. If only.

“You seem less embarrassed about admitting it,” Brian said.

“Hell, man. You’d just come back to town after being gone forever. I didn’t know how cool you’d be knowing about me. Then again, after what we did with Faith…”

“Now those are some nights I’ll never forget.” Brian took a swig of beer. “I can’t believe you thought I’d be judgmental about your sex life.” Brian shook his head. “Just because I’m not into guys doesn’t mean I have a problem with what anyone else likes.” He coughed. “I mean, Faith likes when you watch us.”

“You do too, don’t you?”

“Oh hell. You know I do, but mostly because it gets her so fuckin’ hot. And remember, that’s still our little secret.”

“Who am I going to tell?” Rex snorted. “You like to be watched, I like watching.” He especially liked watching Brian master Faith, calling her his slave, taking charge. Because Rex wanted that too, but from a woman.

Odd how he liked sex with both genders, but he wanted a relationship with a woman. The man-sex could be added in, but only for play. Finding a woman to accept his needs? That was the real challenge.

“Can we stop talking about our kinks, please?” Brian asked.

Rex chuckled. “Dude, we’re in a sex club. What the hell are we doing here if not…” he tapered off, staring in shock at the woman who’d entered to sit at the bar next to Harper.

“What’s wrong?” Brian swiveled in his chair. “Who’s the chick next to Harper?”

“My date for next week.” Rex’s smile grew wide. “And if I play my cards right, my partner tonight in a little play. Wh-oo-ee, this is my lucky night. Do me a favor and find your sister, but be quiet about it. I need a minute to talk to her.”

Brian rolled his eyes. “The things I do to facilitate your sex life.” At Rex’s look, he stood. “I know, I know. You’ve more than helped me out. Just wait here.”

Rex sank lower in his seat, keeping an eye on Nat while keeping himself half-hidden behind a menu he’d found on a nearby table. When Brian returned with Freddy, Rex filled her in on what he wanted.

“Sure thing, Rex. Let me see what I can do.” She winked. “On the house.”

Nat glanced around the club with interest. When Harper had invited her out to have a drink with him and Dylan downtown, she hadn’t expected this place. A big old Victorian that had been repainted and refurbished, the place looked like a million bucks. Antique wooden flooring, wainscoting, detailed scalloped ceilings and light fixtures… She didn’t even mind signing the weird legal form at the entrance. In order to be a guest of Harper’s, she’d had to agree to not disclose what went on at the club. Harper had told her to expect it, that some important people gathered at the place and wanted anonymity.

How interesting. She’d gone to a place with a similar vibe in Aiken a few months ago, drawn to something different and secluded. Nat liked letting her guard down, but she couldn’t afford to do it around people who knew her. She had peculiar tastes in entertainment, and the traditional mores inherent in her job would never pass public scrutiny.

But after her week—one that hadn’t ended yet—she needed a break. Especially since Harper had promised she’d be safe to let down her hair here, so to speak.

She still wore it in a ponytail, but she’d eschewed her slacks for shorts and her work blouse for a silk tank. The summer heat could be killer outside her air conditioned office.

“Can’t believe you took me up on the offer,” Harper said and nodded to his girlfriend tending bar. “Freddy, bring us…” He paused to look at Nat.

“A screwdriver.”

He frowned. “Such a girly drink. Fine, fine,” he said when she smacked him. “Screwdriver for the girl. I’ll have a beer.” Next to him, Dylan nodded for the same.

Some might find it strange that she didn’t find Harper’s relationship weird. But Nat had always been open and accepting of differences. She had two brothers currently in and out of relationships and a gay sister fully committed to her partner. Her own parents had divorced when she was six. They’d made poor spouses to each other, though her mother had successfully remarried. Her father was on wife number six, and she doubted that would last.

From all that Nat had seen of relationships, conventions could be damned. The only thing that mattered was love. Something she seemed doomed never to find.

Freddy returned with their drinks, and Nat took a sip and sighed. “What can I say, Harper. I was bored. Figured a night on the town might lift my spirits.”

Dylan grinned. “Me too. That’s why I agreed to come tonight.”

Considering Dylan’s status as a prominent psychiatrist in town, she knew she’d be safe enough. He had a sterling reputation. As long as she stuck by him, she’d be protected from scrutiny.

Harper muttered something to his lover she couldn’t make out but made Dylan turn red. Harper, the huge, sandy-haired contractor with muscles, and Dylan, the streamlined looker who wore sophistication like a second skin. The pair fit. Then to add in Freddy, the cute blond who flittered about like a fairy behind the bar, and the threesome made one hell of an attractive group.

Nat forestalled Harper’s next comment. “I don’t even want to know what you said to him. So feel free not to share. Thanks for the invite though. I needed the break.”

“I’ll say.” Harper frowned. “You work too hard. Is Josh breathing down your neck again?”

She hadn’t realized he’d noticed the mayor’s snotty son bugging her. “Not for a few days at least. He’s busy on the south side housing project I gave him.”

“Good. I don’t like him.” Harper didn’t hold back.

She grinned. “Me either.”

Dylan chimed in while Freddy danced away again, waiting on someone else. “What’s this I hear about you bullying my brother?”

“His budget is way out of control.” She started in on Derrick’s modified proposal, arguing points Harper brought up as well. Knowing Harper always had her back, she didn’t mind him playing devil’s advocate.

Before she could really get going, Freddy returned and whispered something to Dylan.

“Harper, we have something to do. See you later, Nat.” Dylan left, pulling Harper away with him.

But she wasn’t alone. Freddy hovered behind the bar, then leaned over the counter toward her flashing a pixie-like smile. “So, Nat. First time here?”

“Yep. Nice place, though.”

Freddy’s smile grew. “You do know what kind of bar this is, don’t you?”

Nat played dumb in case she’d misunderstood the visual cues. “One that serves alcohol?”

“We serve more than that. Look.” She nodded to the stage. The lights around them dimmed, so that the lit stage stood in prominence.

The band had begun playing a sultry jazz number. They were soon joined by a woman dressed in a frothy dress that became smaller and smaller as she removed pieces.

“Oh good,” Freddy murmured. “Janie’s up tonight.”

Well, well. That vibe Nat had gotten earlier was playing out. Right in front of her. “She’s good.” The woman stripping down had a sensual lushness to her, so that the striptease was less slutty and more arousing. A burlesque, except the performer on stage was going way past the pasties and panties.

“You don’t seem too put off by tonight’s performance. I knew I’d like you from Harper’s description. But you’re even cooler in person.”

“Thanks. I think.” Nat could only imagine how Harper had described her. A ball buster of a boss. A pain in his ass. A woman with no life well on her way to having an ulcer the size of Mars.

Freddy smiled. “Welcome to the club. Where sex is welcomed, and anything you want can be yours.”

Nat turned to Freddy—pixie-like, cute-as-a-button Freddy Thompson. Harper’s girlfriend. “So this is a sex club.” Why she should be surprised to be in a pleasure palace in Augusta, she didn’t know. But she’d never expected the town to have such a sophisticated place for private play…run by her assistant’s girlfriend.

“Yep. But don’t worry. We’re a very private, very exclusive club. Harper told me you might be the type to have concerns about being here. No one will say anything.”

In the crowd, a few couples started making out, fondling, but nothing overtly sexual in public. Yet. Holy shit, she really was at a sex club. In her own hometown.

“There’s no such thing as privacy,” Nat murmured, absorbed by the sensual scene being played out before her.

Freddy leaned closer. “There is here. Come on. Don’t tell me you’ve never had a fantasy. Buttoned-up Natalie Wielder, hard ass in the office.” Freddy winked. “Harper respects the hell out of you. Not just anyone can come into my club, you know.” Freddy owned the place? Well, damn. “We’re all about privacy. So tell me, Nat. If you could have any fantasy, anything at all and no one would ever know about it, what would it be?”

Chapter Three

Nat didn’t know how or why she’d gotten so lucky, but she didn’t want to second guess it. She’d been sexually frustrated for what felt like forever. Her short-lived attempts at relationships fizzled because she could never find what she wanted. Men always seemed to want to take charge during sex, and none of them had been very good at it. When she’d try to correct them, to help them help her reach satisfaction, they’d take her critique as overbearing and inevitably leave.

So she made do with toys and fantasies and the occasional foray into a club she’d found away from home. Away from discovery. Four months ago had been her first session with a partner in a long time. She would have waited longer, but she’d needed to connect with another on an intimate level. The sex had been okay, but she’d appreciated just touching a man, kissing and hugging even more. Honestly, she found it easier to handle her own orgasms than instruct a bumbling date to do it.

But now, twenty minutes after her illuminating conversation with Freddy, she stood in a darkened room, all by herself, and watched through a one-way window into a scene next door. In it, a well-endowed man and a top heavy woman started engaging in some steamy foreplay. Oh boy.

Some harmless voyeurism, and since it had been so long since she’d last been touched, she figured watching someone else find pleasure wasn’t too bad of a fantasy to admit to. Had she been totally honest with Freddy about what she desired, however, she’d be giving the pair instructions.

Nat liked to be in charge. She was good at it. And unlike some, she never wanted to let go of the reins.

Hence the reason I’m still single.

She mentally shrugged. She could live with that.

To her surprise, an image of Rex Samson entered her mind’s eye. The charmer would probably freak the hell out to find himself in a place catering to fetishes and sexual deviancy. Unlike Nat, who had been raised to be open-minded, Rex—according to what she’d learned on the web and through local gossip—had grown up the son of one of Augusta’s golden couples. A good boy. One who probably didn’t know there were sexual positions beyond missionary. She laughed softly, letting herself grow aroused, and watched the couple in the other room kiss and touch.

Freddy had told her to be open to the possibility of anything goes, and Nat appreciated the kind of carnal openness she was getting.

Despite knowing it was beyond a bad idea to be in a place like this—because if Josh or his cronies found out she’d been there, she’d be fired for indecency before she could say boo—she wanted to stay.

Single, solitary, and with no man on the horizon, not counting her date with Rex next week, she might as well take her pleasure where she could get it. Besides, Harper would never tell. Freddy had told her the success of the club laid on its guaranteed discretion. Being in this private room worked for her.

The sound next door filtered through overhead speakers. She watched as the couple continued to engage in foreplay. The man liked sucking his partner’s breasts, as much as she liked fondling his stiff dick. A nice size, and one Nat would have had no problem working with.

God, it felt like forever since she’d been laid.

The woman next door moaned, and the man pulled away from her grasp and nudged her to lie on the bed—the only piece of furniture in the room, other than an open armoire displaying all manner of toys. When she lay down, the man spread her thighs wide and started eating her out.

Nat squirmed. A good thing she was alone, because she wouldn’t have minded some NSA sex right about now.

Then the door opened and just as quickly closed behind someone.

She tensed. Freddy had said someone might join her, not to have sex, but to watch as well. But Nat had figured she’d be alone when the show started and no one but her had arrived.

“Freddy mentioned some play next door.” The voice was male, deep, and damn it, arousing. “I won’t bother you. I’ll be right over here.”

She couldn’t see him in the dark, just as he couldn’t see her. But knowing he would be watching with her…tantalized.

“I like to watch,” he reaffirmed, his voice familiar, but not. “Gets me hot. I like to be watched too.” He paused. “You?”

It was like a confessional. Dark room, truths told to a stranger. Oddly intriguing. “I’m more into being the watcher.” She wondered how honest she should be, then decided, what the hell. She doubted she’d come back to this place, not with it so close to home. Why not give it a shot tonight? “I especially like to be in charge.”

He didn’t answer right away. “To dominate?”

“Yes. Unfortunately, my past partners have all tended to tell me what to do. It’s frustrating.”

“Yeah, I get you.” Another pause. “So what about adding a third to their group? Having another man join in. Maybe… Maybe he’d do them both.”

“That would be okay.” More than okay. She had a secret fascination with guy-on-guy action. She’d been accused more than once of having a dick. Maybe getting off on guys going at it, or watching others have sex and telling them what to do, was her way of coping with a vagina.

At the thought, she chuckled.

“What?” He had a sexy Southern drawl.

“Nothing. Just thinking I’d make a good porn director.”

“Me too.” She heard a zipper lower. The couple next door were now reversed, with the guy kneeling on the bed while she blew him.

“What are you doing?” she asked, as if she spent all her evenings watching other people have sex with a stranger in the dark.

“I want to come when he does. I’d love it if you touched yourself too. We could get off while they do.”

Nat blinked. “I, um. Well.” Way too pornish for her. Or so she told herself. Twice.

“How about I do it for us?” he asked. “Just me, making a big old mess when they come?” His voice was thick, and she swore she could hear him stroking himself.

For all she knew, he was some big, nasty married guy who barely bathed and got his rocks off diddling his secretary. Yet her fantasies whispered that he was a hot bachelor wanting to touch himself because Nat, as well as the pair now fucking on the bed, aroused him.

“Tell me what to do,” he murmured, and his stroking sounded faster.

She tingled and, lost in the daydream, played along. “Grip yourself. Harder. I want to hear how much you like it.”

He moaned, in time with the pair on the bed.

“Let’s see how much staying power you have.” Her inner dominatrix surged, and excited at the chance to let the bad girl out, Nat did.

Rex couldn’t believe any of this to be real. When Freddy had told him what Nat wanted, he’d been in heaven. A fellow voyeur. Perfect. But when she’d accepted the invitation to watch, for real, he’d been in shock. Prim and proper Natalie Wielder was watching a couple going at it. Even more astonishing, she didn’t mind watching with him. And now this?

Had he wished on a star and forgotten? The woman was telling him what to do, and he was so hard he readied to come in like two seconds.

“I said pull harder. I can’t hear you,” she growled.

He moaned, tugging on his cock.

“Cup your balls. Roll them. Get nice and hard.”

“Fuck. Yeah.” He played with himself, wanting nothing more than to come when she told him to. Better yet, he wanted to come all over her, then suck her to orgasm.

“You ready to blow?”

“Yes,” he hissed. “Shit. I need to come.”

“Hold it. Wait until they do.”

He realized he’d closed his eyes and opened them to see the guy pounding into his partner like crazy. How the hell had he missed that?

“He’s really giving it to her.” Nat made the comment as if watching the weather. “Oh yeah, see him tensing? She’s moaning, and he’s ready to come.”

He stroked faster, wanting to be there too.

“How nice. He just came inside her. Now he’s finishing her.”

He heard her voice hitch, and he groaned, knowing how aroused she must be.

“You close to coming?” she asked.

“Yes. Fuck, yeah.”

“Then come.”

He swore as he shot over his hand, wishing he’d been all over her. He continued to pump, getting off on having her near. “I want to eat you out. Let me get between your legs and lick you up. I’ll make you feel so good.”

He heard her breathing heavily across the room from him.

“Sorry, sport. You haven’t earned it.”

The woman in the next room keened.

“I’m leaving. Turn around. Face the wall.” She sounded so commanding, and to his surprise, he was still half-hard. Wanting more. Wanting her.

But she’d told him to turn around. So, his dick hanging out, he made no effort to tuck himself back in. “I’m facing the wall,” he rasped as he turned away and heard the door open and close. He leaned his forehead against the wall and sighed. After a few moments, he turned on the light, then used a set of wipes left on a nearby table. He cleaned up and, after making himself presentable again, left the room, still dazed on pleasure.

He returned to the bar and saw Brian sitting with Dylan and Harper. The entertainment on stage had ended, and couples and the occasional loner sat around the open lounge looking replete. “I missed a helluva show, eh?”

Brian glanced up with a grimace. “I didn’t. And I can’t go home for another hour. This is freakin’ killing me.”

Dylan grinned. “Relax, Brian. I’m sure Faith will be happy to help you with any…problems.”

Harper snickered. “Yeah. Like your sister helped us to—”

“Shut the hell up, Harper. God,” Brian groaned.

Rex laughed. “Sure am glad I don’t have any sisters. Nope. Just me.” Getting my rocks off with that sexy, buttoned-up urban planner who’s not so buttoned-up. He felt high, his endorphins making the world perfect. He looked around. “Anyone seen Nat?”

Harper narrowed his eyes. “No. As a matter of fact, she disappeared right before you did.”

“Coincidence.” Rex waved away the implication but noticed Brian’s smirk.

“Uh-huh.” Harper stared at Brian. “Anything you want to share, Bri?”

Brian didn’t even have to look at Rex for a cue. “Not a thing.”

Good man. Rex wanted to keep this thing with Natalie—whatever it might be—between them. Just him and Nat figuring out how to make this work. Of course, she had no idea there was a them yet. But Rex knew there had to be. He started mentally prepping for their date, wanting to make the best impression possible.

No time like the present.

“I’m out. Got a full day ahead of me tomorrow.” The others waved goodbye, and Brian walked out with him.

“So. You and the urban planner.”

“Yep.” His wide grin said what he hadn’t.

“Jesus. How do you do it? Didn’t you just meet her a few days ago?”

“Shh.” Rex glanced around the parking lot. “We didn’t do…everything. It was dark. She had no idea it was me.”

“That sounds familiar.” Brian chuckled, no doubt referring to the first time Rex had watched him and Faith, sitting in the shadows.

“Thanks for covering with Harper.”

“No sweat, man. Anything you need. Just ask.”

“Save me from the rich and ugly next week.” Where snobs like Darcy Stanfield would no doubt be in attendance. The bitchy woman had once tried to cut Brian’s girl down to size, but Faith didn’t take crap from anyone.

“Same back at you.” Brian shivered. “I need Faith to protect me. And speaking of my little woman, it’s time to get home. You missed the second part of the stage act. Jesus, I’m hard.”

Rex wanted to say something smart, but his mind stalled at thoughts of Natalie.

“Oh wow. She must have really gotten to you,” Brian taunted.

“You don’t know the half of it.”

Thursday night, Nat dressed with care for the gala. Work had gone as planned. She made her deadlines, barely, and Mike had been turning in his work on time, knowing he was one strike away from unemployment. Josh Jessup continued to be a fly in the ointment, especially with the sneering and leering he liked to do. But she’d been handling him for months. Another week of it hadn’t killed her.

Her anticipation for the evening concerned her. To her surprise, she actually looked forward to spending time with Rex Samson. Granted, he was a striking man. Handsome, charming, wealthy…and a friend of the mayor’s. Not a good thing, in her book.

Yet she continued to dwell on him at odd times, even going so far as to wonder how he and her mystery friend at Freddy’s club might have gotten along. The other man who refused to leave her thoughts. She hadn’t seen him, but he felt as real to her as Rex. She’d brought him to orgasm. Well, she’d guided him at least. And that fantasy made real had shown her just how much she’d been missing in her personal life.

But this date with Rex… Two sides dueled for dominance inside her. The working woman wanting a nice evening with a handsome man by her side warred with the passionate, sexual creature needing to take charge with her lover.

A lover she didn’t even have.

Ordering her anonymous friend to come had been fun, and it had teased at the dreams she still had of finding a man to satisfy that aspect of her. But she didn’t want to tell him what to do all the time. Finding the right balance was as difficult as finding a man interested in her particular brand of kink.

Disheartened at the thought of never discovering that special someone, she tucked her darker needs back under the superficial skin of pleasant efficiency she often donned, and finished applying her makeup.

She stared at herself in the full length mirror. With her hair upswept, exposing the vulnerable lines of her throat, and the artful mascara and eyeliner making her eyes appear a deeper green than brown, she thought she looked feminine enough. The simple black dress she wore showed off her lean lines. She’d never have ample cleavage, but she could wear a dress like a cover model. Her shoulders and hips allowed the dress to hang on her subtle curves while teasing at the shape beneath.

The dress ended just below her knees, and her favorite stilettos accented her calves and the delicate arches of her feet—her best feature, in her opinion.

“Sad that I think my feet are the most attractive part of me,” she murmured to herself.

The doorbell saved her from any more nonsensical thoughts. She grabbed her small clutch and wrap and went to answer.

Rex appeared on the other side of the door wearing a tux. Holy crap, he looks amazing.

He gave her a slow study, lingering on her hips, breasts and mouth. Nothing subtle about his scrutiny, or the pleased smile that darkened his eyes to an inky black.

“Well, well, sugar. You clean up nice.” He stared again at her chest, and she wondered what he really thought, because the shy show of skin didn’t scream do me any more than her small home yelled I’m rich.

“Okay. Can we go now?”

He chuckled and stepped closer to her, which had her taking a step back. Before she knew it, he’d closed the door behind him and was looking around.

“Nice place.” He nodded. “Cozy, neat, obsessively organized.”

So she liked to stack her books and magazines by height and color. So what? Nat liked order. She believed that everything had its place. Nothing haphazard about her.

“I don’t think I’d say obsessively.”

He stroked her cheek, shocking her with the intimate gesture. “You wouldn’t. I would.” He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed, and she felt the heat of him through her thin dress and wrap. “You look gorgeous. Ready to go?”

She nodded, not sure how to respond to the compliment.

His satisfied grin annoyed her, and she decided to be overly effusive as well. “You’re pretty much a knockout yourself.”

“I know.”

She snorted, and he laughed, then crooked his elbow for her. “Shall we?”

“Why the hell not?” She put her hand on his arm and let him lead her from her home. After locking up, she followed him into his Beamer, not surprised to watch him drive with a quiet confidence that put her at ease.

“I’m really glad you decided to go with me tonight, Nat.” He didn’t watch her as he drove, and she appreciated his focus on the road. “Now I won’t have a nervous breakdown while avoiding my matchmaking parents.”

She studied his handsome profile, confused. “You don’t need anyone matchmaking for you. Why aren’t you already shacked up with some ex-cheerleader type with more breasts than brains?” That seemed more his type. Not that she’d paid too much attention to his press, but word was the man had dated every Double-D sized model in the greater Augusta area.

He gave her chest a slight glance and grinned. “I happen to like my women brainy first, busty second.”

“Yeah, right.”

“But I’m touched you’re so concerned about my type.” He turned in to the gala’s lot and pulled the car up to the valet. After exiting, he crossed to her side of the car and had to make do with shutting the door after her since she’d let herself out. “Couldn’t wait for me to do the gentlemanly thing, could you?”

“We Wielders take care of ourselves.”

“The commanding type, hmm?”

“You got it.”

But he smiled instead of accepting her unspoken dare. A take-charge kind of man like Rex would surely balk at the idea of following a woman’s orders. Too bad, really, because there was something about him, besides his looks, that struck her as a man she’d like once she got to know him.

As she walked beside him inside, she felt frail. He had her by a few inches, making him a bit over six feet. He didn’t seem imposing, yet he carried himself with the broad shoulders of a man used to getting his way. Confidence and intelligence made the package of Rex Samson positively delicious—a sentiment many of the other women in attendance apparently carried.

As they walked through the crowd, more than one guest gave Rex a onceover. He smiled pleasantly at everyone, the consummate gentleman, yet she thought a few of his smiles were warmer than others. And not all had been aimed at women.

Bemused at the brief fantasy of Rex and a male lover doing all sorts of wonderful things together, it took her a second to realize they’d reached the bar.

“What’ll you have?” he asked.

“A rich red wine would be nice.”

“Two,” Rex said to the bartender, then paid before she could reach for her money.

They walked to an empty spot at the edge of the gathering and sipped their drinks, watching the crowd.

She lifted her glass in a mock toast. “Thanks.”

“No problem. And don’t worry. I won’t expect you to work it off later.”

“Big of you.” After a moment, she felt the need to remind him, “But this isn’t a real date. It’s a social function between two people who have to be here. We just happen to be together.”

“Sure thing, sugar.” He grinned, and damn if he didn’t have a dimple.

This was going to be a long night.

“You know everyone here, don’t you?” he asked.

“Most of them. At one time or another they’ve come through the building to see the mayor. That or they wanted something from the office.”

“Tom says you’re very, very good at your job.”

“I am.” Said without conceit, but pride.

He smiled. “I like confidence in a woman.”

“Really?”

“Why the surprise?”

She frowned, considering him. “I don’t know. Most of the people the mayor considers friends are older, with old fashioned beliefs. I grew up in the Northeast before my parents moved down here. There’s a big difference between the North and the South. Hell, down here, they still think the Civil War is ongoing. And I know for a fact many guys still consider a woman’s place barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen.”

“I’m down with in the kitchen. The rest is up to her.”

She shook her head, wondering how he made even vague insults amusing. “Very funny.”

“I thought so.”

They made small talk and met with various guests who stopped by for an introduction to Rex. Surprised by the number of people who wanted to talk to her as well, she hadn’t realized how much time had passed.

Rex tugged on her arm, his hand large, warm, and making her tingle. “Time for dinner, sugar. You ready to go in?”

She nodded, and as the large doors to the dining hall opened, she walked with him to their table.

Pleased when several couples she knew and liked sat with them, she relaxed for the first time that evening.

Derrick and his fiancée Sydney Fields sat next to them. Dylan, Derrick’s twin brother and Harper and Freddy’s lover, had brought Freddy with him. Harper, the lout, had managed to avoid the evening.

Sitting with the Warren twins made them a popular table as it was, and then Brian Goode joined them. The son of the respected but condescending Judge Brian Goode, Senior, Brian had turned out far different from his father. Though handsome and successful—like dear old dad—Brian also happened to be a nice guy. She liked his fiancée too. Faith Sumner seemed down-to-earth, not a spoiled bitch like some she could—

“Oh hell. Darcy Stanfield,” Rex said under his breath. In a louder voice, he added, “Good old Darcy. How nice to see you again.”

Next to him, Brian choked on his water.

Darcy came to stand behind Rex and placed a perfectly manicured hand on his shoulder. “Reginald. Brian.” She pointedly ignored Faith. “So nice to see you gentlemen.” She gave the Warrens a coquettish smile, then turned to Nat. “Why, hello. I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“Darcy,” Rex introduced, “this is Natalie Wielder, the city’s urban planner.”

Darcy blinked, then smiled widely. “Oh. I’ve heard of you. You’re a friend of the mayor’s son, Josh Jessup, aren’t you? Josh and I grew up together. He’s such a wonderful man.”

Then and there Nat knew the woman didn’t like her, was a vindictive twit, and didn’t have a single friend sitting at this table. “Nope. Wouldn’t call Josh a friend.”

“Oh? What would you call him, then?” Darcy asked with a calculating smile.

“I’d call him an asshole. To his face. So tell him if he wants another go at me to stop hiding behind your skirt and face me himself. Or should I write that down? You look confused.”

The woman gaped at Nat’s hostility, then turned on her heel and stormed away.

“Told you we should have brought garlic,” Faith whispered to Brian, but loud enough for everyone to hear.

The others laughed, even Nat. Then she turned to her date. “So…Reginald?”

Rex winced. “Don’t ask.”

“And aren’t your parents here? Why aren’t we sitting with them?” She enjoyed the misery on his face.

“Yeah, Reginald,” said Brian. “Why aren’t we?”

“Because I paid the party planner to sit me far away.” He winked at Nat. “I love ’em, but Momma plays hell with my love life.”

“What love life?” Brian chided.

“Well, if Nat’s altercation with Darcy doesn’t put me in immediate love, I don’t know what will,” Rex drawled, then winked at Nat.

The others started clapping. “To Nat,” Derrick toasted with a laugh. “And may I never find myself in Darcy’s place.”

Nat grabbed her wine and took a long drink. “I was right. This is going to be a long night.”

Chapter Four

Rex couldn’t help it. He thoroughly enjoyed himself. After her magnificent put-down aimed at Darcy’s fat head, Nat continued to entertain the table with her acerbic wit and spot-on accuracy when commenting on those around them.

She knew most of the guests in attendance and spoke honestly about what she knew. Nothing mean spirited, nothing false, but nothing sugar coated, either. The others sitting with them seemed to like her well enough. A good thing the men were all in relationships, because Rex had decided he wanted Nat as more than a sexual partner, but as a companion as well.

Hell, commitment seemed to work for Brian. He and Faith looked like halves of the same whole every time he saw them sitting hand in hand, laughing and talking. Why couldn’t he have the same with Nat? Especially when he knew she liked the same things in bed that he did.

But a smart man set the stage for seduction. She’d flat out said she didn’t do office relationships or involve herself in office politics, and unfortunately, his tie to the mayor was biting him in the ass. He had a feeling he wouldn’t change her mind with a smile and a wink.

Despite how hot she’d been at the club, he had a feeling she separated that Natalie from the office wunderkind. Going too fast with her would be a mistake. She organized her books by size and color, for God’s sake. He hadn’t seen a piece of dust in her homey little house.

And he knew for a fact her employment came with a mandated decency clause. Visiting Freddy’s club and playing sexual games with Rex wouldn’t do any wonders for her job. Seeing her tonight, in her element, he didn’t think she’d ever do anything to jeopardize her position.

Unless he could seduce her into a yes.

The evening wore on, and they enjoyed a pleasant meal, fine company, and finally some dancing.

He pulled her with him onto the dance floor and held her close, ecstatic to inhale the scent of her, committing it to memory. Oh yeah. He wanted this woman.

“Um, a little room to breathe would be nice,” she murmured against his chest.

“Why? You can share breaths with me.” He looked down, and this close, their lips almost touched.

“Sorry, but that flashlight in your pants is rubbing me the wrong way. Remember, this is work—this isn’t really a date.”

“It’s your fault. If you weren’t so damn sexy, I wouldn’t be so…excited to be with you.” He pulled back a pace and did his best to give his brain a cold shower. The mayor and his wife passed by with a smile. That did the trick.

Nat gave a deep throated chuckle that turned his arousal on once more.

“Cut it out,” he said. “You’ll embarrass me in front of these people.”

“Tell you what, Reginald—”

“Low blow, Nat.”

“—I’ll be nice if you follow through on your end of the bargain.”

“What’s that?”

“Tell me the secrets of the rich and obnoxious.”

He smiled. “My pleasure.”

They whirled around while he spoke about those he knew whom he couldn’t stand. Pretentious assholes who only liked him and his parents because they had money. He figured Nat should be forewarned to be forearmed if she ever had to deal with any of them. He also told her about the standup folks in the city she could probably trust, some of whom had genuinely surprised him.

They danced and spoke for two more songs before the band took a break.

“Wow. I hadn’t realized how late it is.” Nat blinked. “Did they just say they’d be back at midnight?”

Rex shrugged. “I guess.”

“I have to work tomorrow. Time for me to go.”

The Warrens continued to dance, but Brian and Faith had disappeared an hour ago. Probably to go home and fuck like bunnies. With a sigh, he stopped that train of thought right there.

“Rex, honey. Where have you been all night?”

Perfect. He turned to see his mother and father smiling expectantly at both him and Nat. “Hey, Momma. Daddy.”

Next to him, Nat smiled back. “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Samson. I’m Natalie Wielder. Your son bamboozled me into a date this evening. But despite that, I’m having a good time.”

His father laughed, took Nat’s hand and kissed the back of it. “Enchanted, Ms. Wielder.”

Nat flushed. His freakin’ father had made another conquest. Stupid to feel jealous of the old man.

“Call me Nat,” she said, including his mother in the smile.

“I’m Sue, and this is Harry.” His mother took Nat’s hand in a firm shake. “You look lovely, dear. Rex, handsome as always. Anyway, we just wanted to say hello, not to interrupt.”

“It’s nice to meet you. I have to be going anyway. Work tomorrow.”

“I know that feeling.” His father sighed. “Time we were off as well. Must be nice to set your own hours.” He slapped Rex on the back, then tugged his wife away. “See you tomorrow, boy.”

“See you.” Rex watched them leave, pleased his parents had behaved themselves…for once.

“Nice people.” Nat stared at him, and that hint of snark that turned him on so much returned.

“What’s that look?” he wanted to know. They walked back to their table, collected her wrap and purse, and left the dining hall.

“Momma? Daddy? What a cute little Southern boy you are.” She laughed.

“Hey, don’t knock it. This charming boy still gets the first slice of Momma’s red velvet cake. And the first peaches of the season.”

They walked outside, and he handed the valet his ticket.

“I’m not making fun. Well, I am a bit. But I like your closeness to your parents.” Nat let him tuck her wrap around her tighter when the wind picked up. Not that the weather could get too cool in June, but for once, they had a nice breeze.

“How about your folks?”

“My parents are divorced. Have been since I was a kid. But we all still get along, mostly. I love my family. I think it’s great you obviously love yours.”

He nodded. “Blood’s thicker than water, politics and sweet tea down here.”

She grinned, and it was all he could do not to lean closer and kiss those luscious lips. Instead, he smiled, glanced at the coming car and helped her inside after the valet parked. He slid the kid a few bills, then drove them back to her house.

“I had a nice time, Nat.” He drove slower than he normally would, wanting to stretch out their time together.

“I had fun too. Shocker.”

He liked her attitude. Too much. He’d learned so much about her this evening and had liked all of it. He could fairly call his feelings a crush, edged with huge amounts of animal attraction, and growing toward true affection.

God, he had to have this woman.

They pulled into her driveway, in an older but nicer section of town. “So how about tomorrow night? Got anything planned?” he asked as he cracked open his door. The lights in the car turned on, and she faced him, her eyes a fathomless pool of mystery.

Don’t I sound all schmaltzy thinking poetic-like.

“What’s that smile for?” she asked.

“Smile?”

“Yeah. You look like you want to eat me up.” Even as she said it, she flushed.

“It’s like you want me to say terrible things,” he teased. “I can’t help it. You’re as sweet as sugar. So yeah, sugar, I want to eat you up.”

“And that’s my cue to leave.”

Before she could, he put a hand on her arm. “Wait a minute.” He hurried out of the car and circled to open her door. “After you.” He assisted her out, then walked her to her door.

She paused with her key in the lock. “I had a nice time, Rex.”

“I wish you’d stop acting so surprised by it.”

She laughed. “Sorry. It was fun.”

“So we’ll do this again?”

“Surprisingly, I’d like to. But no. I’m not looking to start a relationship with the mayor’s pal. I don’t mix business and pleasure. Ever. My job is important to me. You can understand that.”

“You know, just because my folks happen to be friendly with Mrs. Jessup, and I was talking to the mayor yesterday, doesn’t mean we’re tight.”

“It doesn’t help.”

Hell. He tried again. “Look, we’re both mature enough adults that we can enjoy each other’s company without being all weird about it. So the idea of a ‘connected’ boyfriend turns you off. How about if I promise not to lure you into my bedroom? Can’t we just hang out as friends?”

She blinked. “Friends? As in talk and spend time together—nonsexual time together?”

“Yeah.” Until I trick you into letting me blow your mind.

“Well… Why?” She was wavering. He could tell.

“It’s not that easy to hang with women who don’t expect anything from me. I like you, Nat. You’re honest and hard working. You don’t take anyone’s nonsense. And it’s nice to go to dinner with someone who’s not my buddy Brian.”

She grinned.

“Why can’t we be friends, at least? I won’t push you for anything you don’t want. I’m a standup guy. Ask around.”

Her shy smile socked him, right in the heart. “You really want to be friends?”

“Did I stutter?”

She paused, and he felt on the verge of losing something important. “You’re going to be a huge pain in my ass, I can tell.” Then she nodded. “Sure, why not? But don’t think I can’t end this anytime you get pushy.”

“I said I won’t.” I so will, but not until you’re ready, my pretty mistress. “So how about another date that isn’t a date?”

“Okay.”

“Please, don’t hold back your enthusiasm.”

She chuckled. “Sorry. I’m still not sold on us being friends, but I have to admit you were fun tonight.”

“Yep. That’s me. Fun Rex Samson. So tomorrow night?”

“Sorry, no. I have plans.”

“Oh?”

“You know, until recently, I never had much of a social life. But it just happens that I have plans for dinner with a friend tomorrow night. Freddy Thompson—my assistant’s girlfriend. Do you know her?”

“I do. She’s a peach.” She was hanging with Freddy? Could he impose on Brian’s sister to hook him up with Nat again? Excitement thrummed through him, and he did his best to appear cool. “You’ll have fun with Freddy. So, Saturday? We could do dinner and a movie, nothing fancy or too date-like for you.” Or whips and chains. Some hot wax…

“Saturday then. As friends. Okay.”

He smiled. Then, before she could dart into her home and disappear, he tugged her into his arms. His mouth found hers before she could protest, and he put his all into the kiss. Not a hardship, considering how badly he wanted inside her.

Jesus, the woman turned him inside out. He kept remembering her bossiness at the club. Saw her wide smile as she danced with him at the gala.

He slid his mouth over hers, tasting the hints of cherry from her wine. But the sweetness that was all Natalie arrowed to the spot between his legs needing ease. He swallowed her moan, gratified he wasn’t the only one affected. Her tongue glided over his, and when she sucked him deeper into her mouth, he tightened his hold on her. Somehow his hands had slid to her hips, and he gripped her, wanting so much more than a quick fuck.

She had to remember him, to want him again when it was all over. And no vanilla one-night stand would do that. If she did sleep with him, she’d end things right away. He was still in the enemy camp. She needed to trust him…with all of her.

“Unfortunately, my past partners have all tended to tell me what do to. It’s frustrating,” she’d said. Definitely not the time to show her that he could do all kinds of talented things in bed. While he enjoyed submitting to a more dominant partner, he was no pushover. He intended to manipulate this particular woman until he had her where he wanted her. And he wouldn’t feel bad about it at all.

He found the strength to pull back, even when her nails gripped his shoulders. “Damn, honey. You are sweet.”

“Rex…”

“That was a one-time kiss. Just because I had to know how you’d taste. Now we’ll forget all about it and be friends.” Like hell. He winked. “I’ll swing by Saturday night to pick you up. Seven all right?” He took a healthy step back, wishing the night could have ended differently.

“Seven is fine.” She cleared her throat. “I meant what I said about keeping things between us platonic.”

“Well, I’ll miss never having a kiss like that again, but you’re worth it.”

She frowned, then smoothed out the expression into a reluctant smile. “Tricky guy. So. Friends.”

“Yep.”

“Then I’ll see you Saturday.”

“Have fun tomorrow night.” He took another step back, then gave her his best grin. “But be thinking of me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Gee, Rex. I’ve had nothing but thoughts of you since we first met.”

“All X-rated, I bet.” He wiggled his brows, glad of her amusement. This softening showed another side to the woman, and knowing she had plenty of depth, knowing there was more than her work persona or the sexy vixen he’d played with at the club, intrigued him to learn more. “See you soon, sugar.”

He had just reached his car before he heard behind him, “The name’s Nat, in case you forgot.”

He chuckled as he drove away, then made a quick call to Freddy. “Need another favor, dear girl. And yes, I’m aware of how much I owe you. But hey, I’m sad and single. Have pity on me.”

He laughed at her response, then tried to figure out the best way to get sexy, domineering Nat to open up. And lose some clothes in the process.

Nat didn’t know what she’d been thinking to agree to meet Freddy at the club again. She’d been sure she’d seen the last of the place. Her job depended on her being morally upright, at least in public. More like morally uptight.

She blamed Rex for her troubles. Besides being so charming, fun and intelligent, he was far sexier than any man had a right to be. Dangerous to her state of mind. That stupid, mind-blowing, panty-melting kiss. Oh, he knew what he was about. But he’d been so much fun. She wanted to see him again. As friends, girl. Just friends.

Yet had he given the slightest inclination to go further last night, she would have taken him inside and ridden him ’til dawn. Even vanilla sex with Rex promised pleasure. Then she could safely never see him again, protecting her heart and her job.

But no, he had to be a gentleman, which made her want him even more. She found his restraint, his confidence, hell, even his shoe-size sexy. Nat had a crush for the first time in years. Despite Rex’s insistence he and the mayor were only casual acquaintances, she could see that they moved in the same circles. Too close for her comfort. She’d learned her lesson the hard way years ago, watching her then boss and mentor get fired for sleeping with a subordinate. So no office romances. Period. Nat’s rules, Nat’s flourishing career.

But that didn’t mean they couldn’t be friends. Friends were safe, and she admitted she’d enjoyed his company more than she’d thought she would. Especially now that she’d be able to satisfy her raging libido with a random hookup tonight, courtesy of Freddy’s many contacts.

“I must be crazy agreeing to this,” she muttered by a door in a private hall upstairs.

Next to her, Freddy laughed. “Trust me. I know crazy, and you aren’t it. Behind this door, now that’s crazy.” She handed Nat a harlequin mask. “Everyone who plays at my club indulges in safe sex. We don’t compromise on physical or emotional safety. So you want secrecy, you got it. The masks will keep all of you anonymous. Plus, the lights are dim. It’s romantic and helps hide you even more.”

“Nice.” Nat’s palms were sweating. For four months she’d been celibate and, if not happy, at least okay with being alone. But since meeting Rex, she’d wanted more.

“So, you like to be in charge, and you like watching men play. It feels good to be honest, doesn’t it?”

“It does,” she admitted.

Nat must have been delirious opening up to Freddy over cocktails. But it felt good to have a friend she didn’t have to lie to. Someone she could be herself with. She’d only just gotten to know Freddy, but already she trusted her. The woman loved Harper, and Nat had never had a better work partner in all her years. Someone she could trust, someone participating in an alternative relationship himself.

“You said you’re into light play, so you don’t need to worry about safewords and real lifestyle stuff. At least, they won’t be expecting it tonight.”

“Wait. They?”

“You just tell them what to do and they’ll do it. No pain, only obeisance to your orders. Mistress.” Freddy winked. “Now you’re all free to have fun.” Freddy stepped away.

“They?” Nat asked again. “We’re all free to have fun? What we?” Nat had expected a single man to play with, and that was pushing things as it was.

“Go get ’em, tiger. Lighten up, get laid and enjoy life.” Freddy turned and left.

Lighten up, get laid and enjoy life—a mantra Nat could get behind, especially because Freddy had promised no recriminations after. No townsfolk with pitchforks and fire ready to roast the kinky urban planner. No morality police pointing fingers and making fun. The club catered to honest desire. No hang-ups and no judgments.

Just what she needed to unwind. Some free time not devoted to chores or errands, but to pleasure. With more than one man. Oh my God. She felt giddy just thinking about it. Giddy and nervous.

After putting on her mask, she took a deep breath, opened the door and entered, closing the door behind her.

As promised, the room sat in shadow. Flickering candles lit the space and made it difficult to see the occupants—plural, with an S. Near the king-size bed, lovingly adorned with restraints for wrists and ankles, two muscular men wearing only boxer briefs embraced.

Oh, wow.

They were already kissing. Her entrance didn’t put a halt on anything. One of them had short dark hair, half his face hidden in a black eye mask. The other also wore a half mask, had shoulder length blond hair, and had his hand down the front of the briefs of the man he was currently kissing.

Holy hell, this was something out of one of her favorite fantasies.

The blond pulled back his kiss and continued to stroke his friend, his hand moving busily under those black boxers. “Sorry, Mistress. We meant to wait, but this one’s so much fun to play with.”

Had they been playmates before? So pretty together. Both men had intimidating builds, their frames not overly huge, but strong. Tanned bodies that looked good writhing together. And from the bulges in those shorts, impressive erections straining to get free.

“Fuck, J. You don’t stop, I’ll come,” the dark-haired man whispered. His deep voice struck her, the impact all the more startling because he sounded like…

She looked closer but in the shadow, saw only dark eyes staring back at her. Could it be him? No. No way. Ignoring the hum of disappointment in her belly, she focused on the present. “Well, gentlemen.” She stood with her hands on her hips, wearing a short black skirt, heels and a cropped red tank—sans bra—leaving little to the imagination. “I’m here, and it’s time to play my way.”

The blond nodded. “Yes, Mistress.”

His dark lover seemed to ignore her. A bratty boy. God, it was like Freddy had read her mind and put everything she’d ever wanted in this room. Even a Rex look-alike.

“Is there a problem…sub?” she prodded.

He jerked into the blond’s grip, moaning. “N-no problem. Fuck. I need to come.”

“Let him go,” she said to J. Then she took J’s place, staring up into those hooded eyes. He looked so much like Rex with that jaw line, that build… She wanted desperately for his eyes to be brown. “Call me Mistress. I’ll call you…R.” Might as well go with the fantasy.

“Yes, Mistress.”

She glanced down and saw a wet spot on his underwear. Talk about needing release like yesterday—and she didn’t mean him. “I want you and J to get naked. Now.”

She stepped back to the side, assuming her role. That of the orchestrator, the conductor, the one in control. The heady rush lit her from the inside out. She cupped her breasts, pinching her nipples, and had the satisfaction of seeing her subs glued to the play.

They dropped their clothing to the ground. She studied them, loving the look of them both. J had little body hair. He must have shaved it, making his balls and cock look bigger. R, on the other hand, had a natural look. A light sprinkle of manly chest hair and a nice thatch ringing his privates, which needed no adornment to impress her.

“Do you two like to play with boys and girls?”

“Yes, Mistress,” they said as one.

J grinned, but R just watched her, like a cat sizing up prey. He had to be Rex. No. Not him, not here. But still… In the shadows, his eyes seemed darker than Rex’s. Yet how could she really tell?

Either way, he had a challenging vibe about him. She wondered how submissive he truly was.

“Condoms and lube are on the table, Mistress,” J informed her, sounding eager.

“Good. You’re going to need one. Put it on and get slick.”

J hurried to comply while R stood, his chest heaving, and watched her in silence.

“You seem to have a problem with discipline,” she said to him.

“How so, Mistress?”

God, that voice killed her. So like Rex, yet with a subtle difference she couldn’t place. And that’s what stopped her from asking him to unmask. If he didn’t mind sharing his secrets, he’d want to see her face too, and she was nowhere near ready for that. Plus, if he wasn’t Rex, she’d be showing someone else her identity.

“You have a tone I’m not sure I like, boy. J, come here.” He obeyed without pause. “On your knees, sweetie.”

He knelt before her, and she pulled up her skirt. She hadn’t worn panties either.

“Yes, Mistress,” J said on a sigh. “So pretty.”

“And so needy.” She kept her gaze on R while J breathed over her mound. The hunger on R’s face pleased her. Those lips looked so familiar. Firm, yet full. Would he taste the same as he had last night? “Lick me, J. Nice and slow.”

R clenched his hands into fists but didn’t speak while she watched him watching her. His gaze on the back of J’s head was intense. And that attention turned her on, big time.

“Good boy.” She stroked J’s hair, surprised to find herself so wet already. These two—well, R if she wanted to be honest with herself—aroused her more than she might have imagined. Nearing orgasm, she touched J on the shoulder, and he stopped. She didn’t want to come too quickly. “That’s it. Back on your feet.”

He stood, his lips shiny, and nodded. “Yes, Mistress.”

He looked huge and hard, his dick encased by a condom covered in lube.

“I think it’s time we showed R who’s really in charge. What do you say, J?”

“Yes, Mistress.” The streak of sensual cruelty in his eyes pleased her, but not more than the sight of R bowing his head and acceding to her demands.

“Yes, Mistress. I’m yours.”

Chapter Five

Rex had a difficult time breathing. His dick was so hard it threatened to break off. Nat looked like some goddess he’d created in his own mind, and watching her take her pleasure, even under Jason’s tongue, had aroused him unbearably. The jealousy he might have expected to feel never manifested, because she’d included him in the scene.

Did he mind that she was here, playing with two “strangers” right before her date with him tomorrow? Not at all. But then, he’d never had normal appetites either. He hoped to hell she needed to get this raging lust out of her system, so she could be that other Natalie Wielder she wanted him to know. The normal, classy chick with a streak of mean she showed everyone else. Just like he wanted her to know the good son, the smart businessman Rex Samson he showed everyone else.

Once they got the basic introductions down, they could move on to the real them. The hidden needs they suppressed in the workaday world. He figured one layer at a time. No need to expose himself to her if she didn’t like the other him. But damn, both halves of himself liked her.

She didn’t pretend to command, she ordered. She demanded. And she took her pleasure, not letting it take her.

“J, why don’t you stand behind R. Let’s get him nice and ready to receive you, hmm?”

Jason chuckled. The bastard. He loved stringing Rex along, making the frustration that much worse…and his orgasms that much better. But tonight, Jason barely had to look at him to have Rex trembling. With Nat so close, he could do nothing more than respond to her presence. She made him so hard simply by being there.

Jason moved behind him, then prodded Rex to bend slightly. A slick finger eased around his rim while Nat stepped in front of him. Her nipples showed through her blouse—she wasn’t wearing a bra. He licked his lips, unable to look away. Even when J pushed a finger slowly inside him, Rex stared at Nat’s mouth, wanting to fuck her in the worst possible way.

“Get him nice and slick,” she told Jason, her husky voice arousing in the extreme. Then she shocked Rex by putting her hand around his cock. “While I see just what my boy likes.”

He couldn’t contain his moan, or the way he jerked in her grip.

“That’s a good boy. You let J get you ready. Then he’s going to fuck you while I play. You won’t come, will you?”

“No, Mistress. Not until you tell me I can.” He was half in love, amazed by how naturally she took charge. And how much he wanted to obey her.

Rex liked to be dominated, but he had to respect his partner. Jason liked to play and he was a nice guy. A hell of a lover who wanted nothing more than a physical relationship kept discreet. Rex’s perfect part-time lover.

But Rex wanted so much more with Nat—to know if she liked the same things he did. She captivated him just by being herself.

His breath hitched when Jason parted his cheeks and put the tip of himself at Rex’s hole.

“Yes, let me see how you respond, handsome.” She began to stroke him, her hand tight and warm around his flesh.

His voice was deep and scratchy when he answered, “I’ll come so hard for you, Mistress.”

She smiled. “Good boy. But not yet. Let me see what J can do.”

Behind him, Jason pushed deeper and slid his hands from Rex’s shoulders to his hips. Controlling his thrusts, Jason moved slowly, letting Rex feel every inch of the big man.

“You like that.” Nat stroked him faster, sliding her palm over his wet slit. “You’re a big boy, aren’t you, R? Big for Mistress.” She looked over his shoulder at Jason, who felt larger than he’d felt before. That cock reamed him as Jason pushed and pulled, and the exquisite pain stoked Rex’s desire higher.

“Yes, Mistress,” Rex groaned.

“How does he feel, J? Do you like all that heat around your dick?”

J grunted, fucked him harder, and answered, “I love it, Mistress. If it pleases you, I’ll move faster.”

“It pleases me very much.” She moved closer to Rex, then put her head next to his. “Kiss me, J.”

Jason swore and leaned closer. Rex heard them kissing, felt the desperation in Jason’s thrusts and Nat’s slick hand moving faster.

“Come for me, J. So deep,” she whispered as she pulled back. She watched him and Rex, and Rex wondered what she saw.

Her cheeks were flushed, and her breathing increased. Those hard nipples practically begged to be bitten. He could only imagine how she’d taste right now. So ripe and wet…

“Mistress, let me kiss you.” Rex looked down at her skirt. “Please, let me pleasure you.” Hard to think such thoughts when his body screamed to climax.

Behind him, J’s balls slapped his ass, faster and faster. “Mistress, I’m going to come. With permission?”

“Oh, please do.” Nat smiled, her lips shiny and plump. “Let me see your pleasure, J. But not you, R. Not yet.”

“Fuck. Yes, Mistress,” Rex answered, working hard not to explode.

Jason clenched his hips tight and hammered into him, then shuddered as he climaxed. “Mistress, yes. So damn good.”

Rex did his best to hold on. He closed his eyes, grimacing at how much he ached, especially because Nat continued to work him. Then he opened them, needing to see her.

“Beautiful.” She smiled at J. Then she glanced at Rex, and her smile faded. “So, pretty man, tell me what you need.”

“To please you,” he rasped, full with Jason’s cock, and on the edge.

She released him, and he nearly put her hand back on him, desperate to finish.

“Then come. Watch me take my pleasure, and take your own while J wrings it from you.”

She put a hand under her skirt and rubbed that full clit, spreading moisture over the taut bud. He wanted to taste her so badly as J reached around and jerked him off.

It took him no more than a few pulls before Rex roared, his release long overdue. He jetted, leaving a mess over the floor. But Nat’s sultry climax fueled a second, smaller jet of seed.

Her lips parted and she tilted her head back. Her eyes closed as she reached her bliss. After a moment, she pulled her hand free, tugged her skirt back over her sleek thighs and held out her hand.

He didn’t ask but took her fingers into his mouth, savoring her arousal. The woman had thoroughly bewitched him. Not only did he long to lie under her commands, but he wanted to turn the tables as well, to take her and show her how much he could pleasure her, which surprised him. Rex preferred to be on the bottom. But he wanted to take Nat in a number of ways. To get her addicted to him, then snare her tight.

She pulled her hand back with a smile, her breath shaky. “Oh, you two have been fun.”

“Thank you, Mistress,” Jason said as he withdrew from Rex and moved to dispose of the condom.

The loss of connection pulled Rex back to reality. “Thank you, Mistress.” She still hadn’t let him fuck her, or lick her. Just a small tease of her taste, no more. Pushing it, he said, “Would you like to watch more? J and I can make you scream with pleasure. Anything you command is yours.” His body hummed with anticipation, despite having just come hard enough to risk heart failure.

She chuckled. “Pushy sub, aren’t you?” She stepped closer and crooked her finger.

He leaned his head closer, and she tugged him by the hair and whispered into his ear, “You don’t get to suck me or fuck me yet. You haven’t earned it.” The exact same phrase she’d uttered over a week ago. Then she added, “But you’re getting closer.”

Nat pulled back to smile at him and graze his cheek with her knuckles. “You two have fun. I’ve got to get going.”

“Will we see you again, Mistress?” Jason asked.

Rex frowned. He didn’t like his buddy sounding so eager.

“Perhaps.” Her gaze moved from Jason to Rex and lingered. Was that warmth in her eyes? Did she favor him, perhaps? Could she tell who he really was?

Without saying another word, Nat turned and left them.

After a pause, Jason swore. “Holy shit. Did that really happen? I came so hard up your ass, man. Haven’t had a good Domme in years. Who the hell is she?”

Rex played dumb. “No clue, but I call dibs.”

“Dream on.” Jason studied Rex’s torso with a grin. “Dude, you made a big mess. Felt good, huh?”

“What do you think?” Rex let out a sigh, his body relaxed, his mind buzzing with questions. How had Nat felt about taking on the two of them? Would she want that all the time? Could he satisfy her needs, get her commitment and still play with others under her okay?

“I think you got off being fucked,” Jason murmured and stepped closer once more. “I think maybe once wasn’t enough.”

They both glanced at Rex’s front, and sure enough, he’d become half-hard again. Not quite there, but on the road to recovery with Nat’s taste imprinted on his mind.

“I think maybe you’re right.” But Rex didn’t want anyone but Nat.

Jason ran his hand over Rex’s chest, scraping his nipples. “Your turn.”

Though he didn’t want to fuck again without Nat there, he knew he owed Jason for tonight, showing up without question because Rex had needed him.

“I guess it is.” They both liked to be bossed around, and Jason had played the dominant earlier. “Tell you what, you little slut, why don’t you get on your knees and show me why I shouldn’t beat your ass red.”

Jason nodded, his eyes bright. “Yes, Sir. Anything you want, Sir.”

While he knelt and did his best to pleasure Rex, Rex tried to stay in the moment. But fantasies of Nat intruded while a warm mouth took him high once more, and he knew that sex with her wouldn’t be enough. Not with this woman.

The next night, he picked Nat up at seven on the dot. Dressed in casual jeans and a polo shirt, he felt ready for anything. He’d given himself a few pep talks about how to deal with Ms. Wielder—not Mistress.

When she opened the door in a denim skirt and pink top, he wanted to dive in and kiss her until neither could breathe. The sultry taste of her lingered, her scent imprinted in his memory.

She wore a hint of makeup and had her hair back in her trademark ponytail. He thought her the most erotic thing on the planet and waited to see if she’d recognize him, or if she’d admit to their previous encounter.

“Hey, there, Reginald. Right on time.” The cheer, the absence of seduction, told him he had more work to do. Nat wasn’t coming clean. Yet.

He groaned. “You call me Reginald again and I won’t be responsible for my actions.”

“Very funny. You try anything and you’ll be singing soprano.”

“I bet I would, you ball buster,” he murmured, pleased to see the sly smile on her face. “Damn, Nat. Your eyes are just shining tonight. Emerald green and lusty for my company.”

She snorted. “Lusty. Right.”

“You ready for dinner and a movie?”

“Let’s go.”

He took her back to his place, not that she knew their destination, pleased that she continued to study him. Not even being subtle about it.

“What’s wrong?”

“You look so much like this guy I met.”

And destroyed, he wanted to add. Even after his amazing climax, he’d come again with Jason, his thoughts on Nat and the fantasies that should have played out. Would play out, given time.

Apparently she’d decided to dip her toe in the water, trying to get him to open up first. Nope. Not playing that game, honey. You might command me in bed, but out of it, I’m the master.

He blinked his innocence. “Some guy you just met? Are you trying to tell me I have competition?”

“No. It’s just…” She gave him a hard look. “Do you have any cousins?”

He’d told her he was an only child. “Nope. Just me. My parents were only children too. Alas, we charming Samsons are the last of our kind. Why do you ask?”

She frowned. “I know you were… Last night… Hell. Never mind.”

She’d made the connection, but she wouldn’t admit it. Because then she’d have to own up to her part as well. Then again, she might not be sure it was him. Probably couldn’t conceive of Rex Samson being such a pervert.

“Um, Rex?” She glanced at the large building they neared with confusion. “Where’s the restaurant? Are we parking and walking downtown?”

He shook his head and parked in the garage. “Nope. Dinner’s at my place.” The upscale condominiums had been built a few years ago in the city’s old cotton mill. He had an amazing view of the river and walking access to local restaurants and downtown shops. The perfect place to entertain. And hopefully, the next step in his seduction of Natalie Wielder.

“Is this where you offer to show me your etchings?” she asked drily as she got out of the car, once again before he could assist her.

“Now, Nat. Is that any way to talk to a man with a gift for turning a simple angus steak into a gourmet feast?”

She accepted his hand on the small of her back with a tiny start but didn’t tell him to remove it.

Like before, just touching her made his whole body tighten up. Their chemistry couldn’t be denied. He’d have to work that into tonight without giving up the ghost about his club identity. Not until she admitted to having been there first.

“So what’s on the menu?” she asked as they rode the elevator to the penthouse.

“Steak, corn and my blue ribbon potato salad. And of course, peach cobbler for dessert. Made by yours truly.”

She blinked. “Really? You can cook?”

“First the surprise I’m a fun guy, then shock that I can do more than boil water. What exactly have you been hearing about me, Nat?”

She flushed. “Nothing. Well, maybe there was a little talk at the office about you being a man whore and seducing women out of their panties with a flash of that grin.”

He put a hand to his heart, trying to block the image of seducing her out of her panties. “Man whore? You wound me. I’m nothing more than a sweet old Southern boy.”

She frowned. “One who more than knows how to show a girl a good time. Lacey Anderson is a fan, by the way.”

He paused, saved from answering by the chime of the elevator. They’d reached his floor. They stepped out into his hallway that led to two units, his and his elderly neighbor’s, who was currently spending her summer in Switzerland. He had the whole floor to himself. Just him and Nat. Alone.

“So. You and Lacey?” she prodded.

Damn. “Lacey’s a great gal.” He smiled, hoping like hell Lacey hadn’t said anything bad about him. The Southern belle had been utterly vanilla. She’d bored him to tears in less than three dates, and he’d done his best to be nice as he let her down easily. His reputation as a charmer had come in handy then. Now, perhaps, not so much.

“She sings your praises if anyone asks.”

He opened the door and ushered her inside. “So, you asked?” Pleased, he watched her walk around, studying his place.

“I did. Wanted to know what kind of snake charmer I’d agreed to a second date-that-isn’t-a-date with.”

“Ouch.”

“Sorry.”

“Then why are you grinnin’, sugar?”

She laughed. “All right, I’m not sorry. You’re a little too good to be true. Loyal, rich, handsome, pleasant to be around. I wonder what skeletons shake around in your closet.” Her penetrating gaze told him she knew some of them.

Say it, Nat. Ask me about last night. “I’m just a single guy looking for true love.”

She raised a brow.

“Or true lust,” he added. “I’m not picky.”

She snorted. “Not what I heard.”

“If I ply you with wine, will you tell me what you heard?”

“Maybe, if your wine is any good.”

He frowned. “Woman, don’t even think of insulting my taste in alcohol. I run S&F, you know.”

“Well then, how about a beer?”

The man had a lethal grin. And those eyes… Damn it. It was R. Rex and R, the same person. She was ninety-nine percent sure. But that one percent possible error tickled at the back of her mind. Not a good thing to be wrong about something like this.

She studied Rex’s eyes, the dark brown so deep she wanted to drown in them. He showed what he felt in his expression, no hiding his feelings.

He clearly liked her, and he wanted her. His approval made her feel good, made her feel cherished. An odd feeling for a woman used to being the one doing all the protecting. At work, with her parents, her siblings. Nat always took charge, and she liked it. So why, lately, did she want something a little different? Why couldn’t she figure out what that different might be?

She followed him through his expansive living room, with views to die for on two sides, into a gourmet kitchen.

The condo was all sophisticated charm, much like her host. No glass and chrome contemporary décor, but earthy finishings and comfortable furniture. The kitchen boasted black granite countertops, antique white cabinetry, stainless-steel appliances and an island complete with a prep sink and tray full of goodies.

“Cheese and crackers?” she asked, pleasantly surprised.

He nodded. “Had to let the brie set. Hope you like it.”

She did. She hadn’t expected he’d appreciate a sophisticated palate. “You seem like more of a beer and burger kind of guy. The cheese and crackers are nice though, don’t get me wrong.”

He brought her a beer and poured it into an S&F glass. She liked the squirrel and bird on the label, thinking it both catchy and cutting edge. The man knew how to market his product. A glance at him had her adding himself to said product.

Rex sure knew how to wear faded denim.

“I’m thinking you don’t know much about me at all, sugar. So tonight, we’re going to swap—”

“Spit?”

He stopped in the middle of his sentence. “What?”

“Swap spit. It’s all I could think of.”

He snorted. “Dirty mind. We’ll swap stories. Your childhood, mine. What you like, what I like. I mean, aside from me. ’Cause we both know we like me.”

“And there he is. Captain Ego to the rescue.”

He grinned, and that dimple winked at her again. So unfair. She took a large sip of beer, pleased with the light citrusy taste. “Hey. This is good.”

“Now that I know you like our Feather Gold label, I’ll make a note.”

“You do that. And while you’re at it, tell me how I should believe you’re only after friendship. Because this feels a lot like a date. How are you different from every other guy trying to wine and dine me into bed?”

“Well damn, sugar. How many are there?” He set the oven on broil.

Okay, maybe that had come out more conceited than she’d intended. “Not that many. But I like you, and that worries me. You were awfully chummy with Jessup a week ago.”

“I told you. He’s a friend of my parents. Ty and I brought some business into town, and he wanted to thank us. Nothing political. At least, not on my end.”

She didn’t want to believe him, yet she started to. “Well, then explain how at the gala everyone was singing your praises. Within five seconds of meeting you, even Evelyn Sharpe wanted your autograph, and she’s a full-time grouch. So who’s the real Rex Samson? Authentic nice guy, or snake oil salesman?” A question she should really know before riding the man up and down like a see-saw.

Rex sighed. “Sugar—Nat—” he corrected when she gave him a look. “I’m a simple man who wants to spend a quiet, entertaining night with a beautiful woman. As a friend. What’s so bad about that?”

“Oh, you’re good. Not that I believe a word you just said.” She drank more of her beer, deciding to grab a six-pack the next time she went shopping. The beer would last a good month or more, but she’d have it on hand and think of Rex when she drank it.

“Honey, there’s good and there’s great. Let’s not label each other until we open the door on those skeletons just dyin’ to get out.” He smiled, a challenge in his eyes. “Now how do you like your steak?”

“Medium.”

“Fine choice. Me too.” He pulled out a tray of fresh beef from the refrigerator and popped it into his oven. Then he fetched some corn cobs he set on boil, and followed up with his fabled blue ribbon potato salad.

Potato salad—her Achilles heel.

“Now how about I feed you, and you tell me what you’re really like under all that starch, Natalie Wielder.”

She stared from the potato salad to him, wishing and not wishing that he and R were the same man. It was hard enough to keep her distance from the charmer promising to satisfy her appetite. Should he also be able to handle her more carnal needs, she had a bad feeling she’d fall hard for this man. A man who just might hurt more than her career, but her fragile heart too.

She sighed. “All my starch, hmm? How about we talk about my week at work, my budgets, the trouble with the logistics on a few projects, and my nemesis, Josh Jessup? Then maybe you’ll understand why I’m wired all the time.”

“Do tell.” Darn, he had to go looking interested in a detailed list that had already bored her. She mentally added good listener to his attributes and did her best not to look besotted.

“You asked for it…”

Chapter Six

Sunday afternoon, Rex mulled over the past evening with his best friend, wondering how to get the stubborn woman to admit she liked being with him, both in and out of bed. “I’m telling you, Brian. She’s the one.”

Brian’s narrowed eyes spoke volumes. Faith joined them outside on the patio of their home, bringing him a glass of sweet tea. Lord love her, the girl made it better than Rex’s own momma, not that he’d ever tell Sue Samson that.

“Don’t let me interrupt. What’s this about Natalie Wielder being ‘the one’?” Faith asked.

Rex sighed. “I think I’m falling for her. You know what we did last night?”

Brian raised a brow.

“Not that,” said Rex.

“Yeah, Brian. Get your mind out of the gutter.” Faith winked at Rex. “But I bet you wanted to.”

He laughed. “It’s hell being around her and being good.” He paused. “No pun intended, Brian.”

“Really? This again? Didn’t you use up all the mileage on my last name like ten years ago?”

“Serves you right for trying to sully my innocent time with Nat.”

“Please.” Brian shook his head. “You spent the night listening to her, committing her details to memory, all while trying to figure a way into her pants. I know you, dude.”

“Yeah, well, she’s hot. It’d be like you and Faith hanging out and not thinking of sex. Yeah, like that. Not happenin’.”

Faith blushed. “He’s got a point.”

“Fine. So tell us about last night.”

“I made her dinner. She teased me with work stories and a few personal facts about herself. She’s got some baggage from her parents divorcing when she was young, I think. But I didn’t get too much else out of her. Except, well, she’s from the North.” A Yankee. But so damn sexy.

Faith sighed. “That’s too bad.”

Rex agreed, but for Nat he’d make an exception. “She has two brothers in and out of relationships and a sister who’s happily married to a wonderful woman—ergo, Nat’s not a homophobe. She’s not a tight-ass either, except at work, and she’s competitive like you can’t believe. Woman dared to play me at a hand of gin, and when I won, I swear she looked ready to pound me.”

“Impressive,” said Faith.

Brian clapped. “Heck, I’m impressed you used the word ‘ergo’ in a sentence.”

“Don’t be an ass.”

“He can’t help it,” Faith added.

Brian frowned at her, then turned back to Rex. “She sounds like she’s just your type.”

“I know.” Rex wanted her even more today. “We have a lot in common. Well, in addition to freaky sex, which she still won’t admit to.”

Faith’s eyes gleamed. “About the freaky sex… I only know you like to watch.”

“And be watched. Don’t forget that,” he added. “Consider that an invitation.”

Brian glared at him. “Quit flirting with my fiancée.”

“You going to spend the rest of the evening calling her that? Not like it’s something I can forget with that huge rock on her finger.”

Faith looked at Brian with her heart in her eyes. “Isn’t he sweet?”

“I wouldn’t call him sweet,” Rex muttered. “Whipped, maybe.”

“Make fun all you like.” Brian tugged Faith into his lap with a smug smile. “But I can bend her over and have at her whenever I want. You wish you were me.”

“I do.” He groaned. “I just wish it was Nat on my lap.”

Faith tapped her nails on the table. “I knew you’d get bitten by the bug someday. All this lovey-dovey mooning from a man who once told his best friend to take the pole position. Classic karma.”

He glared at Brian. “You tell her everything?”

Rex once tried to offer his friend advice on dating. That advice had been to keep in the lead and not let Faith run him to ground. Brian hadn’t taken the hint, and because of it, he now had his hands full of perfection. That was why Rex wasn’t arguing overmuch. He wanted what Brian had.

“We share.” Brian nuzzled Faith’s cheek. It would have been annoying if Rex weren’t so happy for the pair. “We shared with you, didn’t we?”

“Yeah. It’s just… Nat’s perfect for me. I knew it the moment I first saw her. Plus, she’s kinky as all get out. I mean, she rocks my world, you know?”

Faith frowned. “Then I don’t get it. What’s holding you two back?”

“She doesn’t mix work and pleasure. At all. She’s smart, tough and closed off. And dominant as hell.” Which turned him rock hard just thinking about it. “But when she makes up her mind about something, she sticks to it. She put me in the friends category, so that’s where I’m stuck. Even though I’m pretty sure she knows it was me at the club the other night.” At least, he thought she knew it was him. Now he wasn’t so certain.

“Rex, you’ve been on what? Two dates with the woman? Give her a chance to change her mind,” Brian offered.

“I am. It’s just… I know what I want, and I don’t like to wait. Nat doesn’t trust me yet. She’s sexy, smart, confident. She’s also nowhere near as weird about wealth as Faith here. Another plus.”

Faith frowned. “Hey. I’m not a gold digger.”

“Nope, and you still freak out that Brian will think you are. Get over yourself, girl.”

She fumed as Rex continued, “Thing is, Nat’s the type to compartmentalize. Her home is totally neat. She’s almost OCD organized.”

“Something you could use a little help with,” Brian pointed out.

“Yeah, but I mean, it’s like she’s professional-office Natalie most of the time. In private, at the club, she’s this crazy sexy woman I want to worship. But I get the feeling she won’t let down her guard enough to find out how great we can be. The club is a place for fantasy, but Nat won’t let that fantasy play out in real life. No bending, no breaking the rules with Ms. Wielder.”

Faith frowned. “But if she already loves being with you, then—”

Rex interrupted, “We wore masks and it was dark. I’m pretty sure she knows it was me, but I can’t say for certain.”

“Ooh. That’s tricky.” Faith bit her lip. “If she’s like you say, and she does find out it was you at the club, she might be upset you weren’t honest with her.”

A problem he hadn’t considered. Stupidly, he’d thought that once Nat put him and R together, they’d run with hot sex and kinky fantasies into a happily ever after. “So maybe she’ll assume I was playing her? But I never told anyone about us.” Should he just tell her? A simple solution…yet it meant putting their night out there, something to deal with. Until he knew how she really felt about him as Rex Samson, not R, he thought he should wait.

“Who the hell knows how women think?” Brian answered.

“Hey.” Faith frowned.

“Well, honey, it’s true. I had no idea how the hell your mind worked when we first started dating. Even now, half the time I’m still clueless.”

She smirked. “That’s the way it should be.” She turned to Rex. “You want my opinion, just be honest with her. Get her to see the real you out of bed. Then, next time you’re both wearing those masks at the club, you take yours off and let her see you’re not the enemy.”

He sighed, still wishing he’d seduced her last night, instead of sticking to his plan. “I’m trying, but it’s hard.”

“Yeah, we know.” Faith looked down at Rex’s pants.

Brian chuckled.

“Perverts.” Rex drained his tea. “Faith, could I have more?”

“For you, sexy, anything.”

Brian stared at her back as she flounced away with Rex’s glass.

“You really did good with that one,” Rex said, following his gaze.

“I know. I’m just amazed you can see that now. What happened to being a loner more interested in threesomes and casual sex than a relationship?”

“Well, maybe if you and the rest of our friends weren’t such happy, horny assholes about coupling up, I could be my happy, horny self,” Rex admitted. “Damn, son. I’m seeing you with Faith and want my own woman.”

“Oh my God. You’re growing up right before my eyes!” Brian gasped.

“What did I say about not being a dick?”

“You said ass.”

Faith returned with his glass.

“Thanks, honey.” Rex took a large sip, thirsty for more of Nat’s affection and drinking the only thing he had at hand.

“Now what’s this about Brian’s dick?” asked Faith. “Is he showing off again?”

Brian sputtered.

“He been whipping it out when he shouldn’t?” Rex teased. “Did you know he used to measure it in college? Would watch dirty movies and see if he could get to—”

“That’s enough out of you. Don’t even get me started on your shenanigans in school.”

Rex paused. “Point taken.” He drank more tea.

“I feel for you, man. You’re where I was when Faith was being stupid.”

“Still not amused with you,” Faith said with a bite.

“Now, honey, I’m just trying to make a point. Rex, woo the woman on two fronts. Get her hooked on your cock and your slow drawl. Then show her who you really are.”

Faith nodded. “Crude, but effective. You want her to trust you, you have to show her all of you. Even the ugly parts.”

“But, Faith, there’s nothing ugly about me,” Rex joked. “Maybe my perfection will scare her off.” Yet inside, he wondered. Would Nat still want him if he admitted his sinful pleasures? Maybe she wanted to live in her fantasy world, keeping her two lives separate. He’d tried denying himself, but it didn’t work for him. Rex had to keep his private and personal lives on an even keel, which meant giving in to temptation when it struck.

Could Nat do that? Could she trust him without the mask? Enough to let him into her life as more than a friend?

Working this much for a woman should have been boring, but as he’d never had to try this hard before, he found the challenge intriguing. Almost as enthralling as Nat.

Tuesday night, he met Nat at her place for a meal she’d promised to prepare. He arrived with a six-pack of the beer she’d liked on their Saturday-night-date-that-wasn’t-a-date.

“Hey, Nat. How’s it going?” Keep it casual. Friendly. He leaned closer to press a kiss to her cheek. God, not reaching for the rest of her about killed him. He handed her the beer. “Enjoy, compliments of the house.”

She smiled. As usual, in her spare time she dressed casually and still managed to look amazing. Her torn shorts and Yankees tee-shirt gave her a girl-next-door appearance. He wanted to drop to his knees and beg her to give him a shot. Then beg her to let him fuck her but good.

Clearing her throat, she pulled back and glanced away from the intensity in his gaze.

Damn. He hoped he looked a lot less desperate than he felt. “So what’s on the agenda for tonight?”

“I ordered in pizza.”

“That’s cheating.”

“Hey, I said I’d make dinner. I’m making it appear. Same difference.”

He sighed. “I feel so misled. So used.”

She chuckled. “Shut up. You wanted to be friendly, I’m inviting you into my house for a shared meal. That’s about as friendly as I get.”

He had the feeling Nat wasn’t kidding. Such a prickly thing. Though amicable and respected at work—he knew because he’d discreetly asked around—she didn’t seem to have many visitors. No tight friends that he could tell, though she seemed chummy enough with Freddy. Nat exuded an all-work, no-play vibe clearly visible at the office and in her obsessively organized home.

The neatness all around smothered him, and he had an overwhelming urge to muss the stack of magazines on her coffee table. Something to shake her, to get her to drop those repressive walls and share her inner desires.

He resisted the urge and followed her into the kitchen. He accepted the beer she poured him, raised his glass and clinked it against the one she’d poured for herself.

“What are we toasting to?” she asked.

“To a heavenly extra cheese pizza. I’m just hoping you didn’t order sausage or mushrooms. I hate them.”

Her evil grin made her that much cuter. “Oh, I ordered pizza with all the fixings.”

“Monster.”

“And a small calzone in case you were picky.”

“Thank God. You might be civilized after all under that Yankee veneer.”

She snickered. “Y’all lost the war. Get over it already.”

“Sugar, I was talking about your God-awful taste in baseball teams.” He nodded at her shirt.

She flushed. “Oh.”

He laughed. “So tell me, how can an intelligent woman root for a team so miserably bad?”

“Bad? I think you’re confusing us with the Braves.” She argued win-loss averages over the years, battings statistics and ball team history like a pro.

Rex fell more under her spell. If it turned out she watched Formula One too, he was going on one knee and offering to marry her, on the spot, no questions asked. Except at mention of Formula One, she frowned.

“Oh, those weird looking race cars? Not my thing.”

So no marriage proposal tonight then. He’d keep that in his back pocket for later.

The pizza arrived, and the stubborn woman refused to let him pay. Instead, she watched him dig into the calzone with a knife and fork, shaking her head at his attempts to neatly consume greasy food.

“Such a prima donna. Just pick the damn thing up and eat it with your hands.”

He cringed. “My momma would die on the spot.”

“She won’t know.” Nat huffed.

“She will. You don’t know Sue Samson. Woman has a second sight. Always knows when I’m doing without manners.”

“Then she must be cringing constantly.”

He laughed. After a pause he asked, “So how is it an uptight woman like yourself, who doesn’t allow a speck of dust to linger in her house, has an issue with me using silverware to eat a pizza?”

“Did you just call me uptight?”

“I believe I did.” He had the satisfaction of watching anger turn her gaze from green to dark brown.

He thought she might finally admit she’d been the one behind the mask at the club that night, to show how not uptight she could be. But then she relaxed and shrugged. “So I’m uptight—I like my job. I work in an office where they eat their young. I can be gruff and deal frankly with subordinates, but step one foot out of place when it comes to not being a lady, and I’m out on my ass. A dichotomy I’m not fond of.”

He frowned. “You make way too much out of fitting in at work.”

“Do I?” She poked him in the shoulder. “Do you know why the last urban planner was fired? For doing his assistant. And the mayor’s last secretary was urged to leave because someone found out she was gay.”

“Who? Old Abby Denton?”

“Yep.”

He laughed. “Honey, Abby wasn’t gay. She lived with her elderly sister. She wasn’t fired either. She quit.”

“Not what I heard.”

“The last mayor fooled around with city money and was let go. Jessup might be a philandering ass, but he’s a by-the-book kind of guy in the office. A lot like you, only not as pretty.”

“Oh, that’s mean. Comparing me to the mayor like that.”

He shrugged.

They continued to banter as they finished the six-pack. He didn’t know when he’d enjoyed an evening more. He just wished he knew how to break through her fun yet distant barrier. She laughed and made eye contact, but he could tell she kept a piece of herself tucked away. That sensual dynamo festering just under the surface.

“I’ll do dishes,” he offered when he realized the evening had wound down. Nearly eleven, and they’d done nothing but argue, tease and argue some more.

“We’re eating off paper plates, genius.”

“And paper napkins,” he reminded her. “Like I said, I’ll do dishes.”

She rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide a smile.

Wishing he could stretch out the evening longer but knowing he’d do well to leave before he made the mistake of kissing her again, he cleaned up the kitchen and prepared to go. He’d have to rethink how to get her to admit to her fantasies. Some more sex at the club, maybe? He’d have Freddy tell Nat that R had asked for her. Then he’d tear off his mask after making her come and show her the truth. Maybe that would work…if it didn’t backfire terribly.

“I had a great time.” He searched for his keys. He could have sworn he’d left them on the counter.

“Looking for these?” She dangled his keys from her finger and stood by the door.

“You’re a slick one.” He walked toward her, but as he tried to grab his keys, she pulled them back.

“Uh-uh.”

He raised a brow, intrigued by the heat in her eyes. “Hmm. You holding me hostage?”

“Something like that.” She dropped the keys on the floor and gripped his shirt to pull him closer.

“Um, Nat?” His voice had grown embarrassingly deep, his arousal impossible to miss.

“You want to leave, you have to pay the toll.” She practically purred the challenge, and he wanted nothing more than to ask his mistress for permission to please her.

“Toll?” Hell, if she moved any closer she’d find herself pressed against that enthusiastic part of him demanding she take notice.

“A kiss, Rex. A kiss for your freedom.”

“What if I like it fine right here?”

“Then a kiss to stay.”

He smiled, relieved she’d finally made her move. “That’s what I was hoping you’d say.”

Nat had lost her mind the minute he’d walked through her door wearing that killer grin. Rex made jeans look like formal wear and filled out his Polo like a magazine model. He should have been too slick for her taste with that Southern boy charm. Instead, he made her laugh when she wasn’t drooling over his impressive arms and chest she was dying to try to wrap her arms around, inch by solid inch.

For hours she’d enjoyed herself, knowing she could have him if she wanted. Just a taste, a sip of his lips. Or more. He and R were the same person. She could feel it.

Why not take what she wanted, a nibble of desire, enough to hold her over until she got the courage to hit the club again? Even though she knew getting too close to her fantasies was dangerous, that taste of power when commanding R and J had seduced her into wanting more.

But not from R or J. From Rex. She wanted to own him.

She recognized an answering need in him too. And Lord love her, she wanted to give him—them—what they both wanted. Why deny their chemistry? She could have sex and not go too far into a D/s fantasy, couldn’t she?

Admitting she’d been with him at the club was still an unnerving prospect, because that meant exposing a part of herself she’d made a rule to keep hidden. Play happened behind closed doors, with faceless men she’d never see again. Telling a lover the truth about her needs had never worked before. Why try now and risk not only a broken heart, but losing her dream job too?

Just regular sex, Nat. Don’t get greedy. She could do this, play the casual lover with a man she’d come to regard as someone special.

“A kiss, hmm, Ms. Wielder?” Rex moved closer. “I thought we were just friends.”

“Friends about to fuck,” she said bluntly and yanked him to her. Tired of waiting, of fantasizing about him as much as she dreamed about R, she planted a kiss on him she wouldn’t soon forget.

Unlike most men, Rex didn’t try to overpower her. He moaned into her mouth, and his compliance pushed her to take more. Let go, let him take charge, she tried to tell herself. So she angled her head to give him better access, letting him take the lead, and nearly cried in disappointment when he accepted the challenge.

Rex backed her against her door. He took control, kissing her with demand.

Except…instead of turning her off, their role reversal turned her on. There was something forceful yet hesitant in the kiss, as if he waited for her approval, giving her exactly what she wanted without her having to ask. Crazy, but she felt it, especially when he trailed kisses down her throat and sucked at her neck.

She twisted beneath him, aroused and aching, needing to be filled. She gripped his cock through his denims and had the satisfaction of hearing him hiss with pleasure.

“Yes, Nat. God, that’s good.” He nibbled his way to her ear and whispered, “Tell me how to please you. I want to make you feel so good. So fuckin’ good. Mistress…”

Yes. She knew it!

Her breath hitched when his fingers dug under her shirt and made circles on her belly. Then his hand inched between them, under her shorts and panties. He stroked the V between her legs, coming close, but not close enough, to her throbbing clit.

Gripping his hand, she forced him to stay right where he was, lost in sensation. “That feels amazing, right there. Rub me, baby. Make me come all over your fingers.”

“Oh yeah.”

She needed this so badly, to be herself and revel in the release. No masks, no anonymity. She needed a connection with another person, a man to know her name and her face and still want to fuck her the way she wanted.

He watched her while he fingered her, and she stared back, not embarrassed or ashamed, but so aroused she wondered if a person could actually combust from too much pleasure.

Changing the angle of his fingers, he shoved a thick finger inside her while he continued to caress her clit, and the shock of intrusion shot her into immediate climax.

She cried his name as the pleasure cascaded through her body.

But Rex wasn’t done. He dropped to his knees and yanked her jean shorts and panties down to her ankles. Then he clamped his mouth over her clit and licked, stoking her higher.

He moaned as he ate her up, stirring her past pleasure into sensation so intense it grew uncomfortable. “So good. That’s it, sugar. All over my tongue.”

“No, wait.”

He eased up, and she speared her fingers through his hair, enthralled with the glaze of arousal over his lips. “I want you in me this time.”

He stood and put his hand to his jeans when she stopped him.

“No, let me.”

His hands dropped, and he watched as she slowly unbuttoned him. She ran her hands over the thick bulge held tight by his boxer briefs. She slowly pulled them down, exposing his heavy shaft with a torturous slowness.

He trembled, and her arousal rose again, seeing the pent up desire holding him fast.

Unable to resist, she dropped to her knees and took the head of his cock into her mouth.

“Natalie,” he gasped, then gripped her hair. As soon as he did it, he froze, falling back into the submissive role she’d once demanded of him.

“That’s it. Fuck my mouth,” she ordered in a low voice. “Let’s get you nice and wet.”

“But I…” He started pumping, his breath rough. “Whatever you want, Mistress.”

He was thick, so big and hard. And he called me Mistress.

She glanced up and saw the expression on his face, superimposing it onto R. Same shadows on his cheeks, same chiseled chin, same full lips parted on a moan. Rex. R. With her in her home, two worlds colliding, and for the first time in a long time, she was glad.

She gently scraped her teeth over him, and he shuddered.

“Fuck. I’m gonna come. Let me… God, Nat, I…”

He needed to come, but he needed her permission, didn’t he?

She let him fall from her mouth and stood. “Follow me.” Time to see what her boy was really made of. And God help them both when the truth came out. Because she planned on taking her bratty lover through his paces. Tonight, he’d show his Mistress just what he was made of. And if she liked what she saw, she might consider keeping him.

Chapter Seven

Nat continued to undress as she walked to her bedroom, until she stood naked in front of her bed. She turned around and crooked her finger at Rex, who had stopped in the doorway and stared at her. He still wore his shirt, and his cock stood stiff through his parted, unbuttoned jeans.

“Strip,” she ordered.

He obeyed without question, and she wondered if he was aware of how quickly he accepted commands.

“I want to make you come so hard,” he rasped. “All over my mouth. My cock.” He wrapped a hand around himself, daring her to punish him. She could see the naughty glint in his eyes.

“You’re a kinky guy, aren’t you, Reginald Samson?”

His breathing increased, and he rubbed himself harder.

“Yeah, a great big dirty boy.” One who needs to learn to behave. She loved this kind of play—taking charge, getting off on the thrill of power. And more, the thrill of meeting someone of a like mind, who wanted to experience the pleasure she liked to dole out.

“Let me please you, Mistress. However you want me, I’m yours.”

“Good boy. That’s much better.” What an amazing picture. Rex, naked and hard. His muscles constricting as he clenched his fists. His body hers to play with. “Let go of that pretty cock.”

He moaned and released himself.

“Now come over here and get down on your knees.”

He moved in a flash, supplicant before her. Yet nothing about Rex was weak. Such strength quivering to be set free. At her command.

“What do you want, Rex?” She stroked his hair, enthralled with its silky texture.

“I want you, Nat. All of you. Any way you’ll have me.” An answer that was so much more than what she’d asked, and she had no idea what to do with any of it beyond tonight.

“Suck my clit into your mouth. Get me close to coming. Then put that fat cock in a condom and shove it inside me. Hard.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. Rex knew how to please a woman with his tongue. Did he. He licked and stroked, teasing her nub into a sensitive state bordering on overstimulation even as she teetered on the cusp of orgasm.

He massaged her with his large hands, stroking her thighs, her belly and up to her breasts. He seemed fixated on her nipples, tugging on her flesh with expert awareness of what turned her on and what didn’t.

Then he nipped her clit, and she saw stars, cresting into climax.

In a flash, Rex was on his feet, pushing her back onto the bed and then inside her as she clamped down on him and came. He rode her through her climax, but instead of obeying her to the letter, he pulled out and came over her belly on a loud groan.

His orgasm was beautiful to watch. Rex had an amazing face, and she had yet to see an ugly expression. Even his sneers were handsome. His pleasure, something extraordinary.

When he came back to himself, he pushed up on his hands and slid his cock over her belly, through his seed. “Shit.” He panted and trembled. “I’ve never come so hard before. I made a mess.”

She wiped a hand over his slick cock, pleased when he shuddered again. “A mess all over me. One that could have been inside me.”

He hung his head. “I’m sorry. I meant to put a condom on, but I lost it. I mean, Nat, you have no idea how sexy you are. How hard you make me—”

She shoved him off her, and he fell to her side with a look of surprise.

“Sugar, I’m sorry—”

“You’re damn right you are.” How messed up was she that she wanted him to come deep inside her? Just him and her, no barriers? She took birth control, but she had no idea what Rex did in his off time. For all she knew, he could have had sex with three different partners without protection, then had unprotected sex with her. I’m such an idiot.

“Nat, I swear. I’m clean. I never meant to come inside you. I plum forgot, and you were so hot around me…” His drawl grew thicker in his agitation.

“My name is Mistress.” She slapped his chest and straddled his waist, deliberately rolling over his semi-hard shaft. “You disobeyed, didn’t you?”

The confusion in his eyes charmed her without meaning to. Rex, for all his self-assured toughness, had a streak of innocence. Good old boy niceness that made his naughty streak so attractive.

Finally understanding that she’d accepted his role in her bed, he gave her a soul-stealing grin. “I…did. I’m sorry, Mistress.”

“No you’re not. But you will be.” She left him lying on her bed and found some scarves in her closet. She returned to the bed holding them. “You want to play with me, we do things by my rules. You’re going to get tied to my bed. And you’ll do whatever I want. Understood?”

He stared from her to the scarves and back, and she noticed a fresh rise in his cock.

“God, yes, Mistress. I’ve been waiting my whole life for you.”

Rex had a difficult time reading her, but he couldn’t mistake Nat’s arousal. Her pretty pink nipples were hard. Her flat belly still glistened with his come, and he loved seeing her marked with bits of himself. So weird, yet the kink brought him closer to a dream of forever with the woman who could make it happen, if she wanted him enough.

“You were at the club with J.” She tied his wrists to the bed, and he let himself relax, let himself fully trust her.

“I was. I was also there with you that first night, when we watched that couple in the next room.”

She paused after tying up his other wrist.

“I wanted you so bad. I would have done anything to kiss you, to lick you up. You’re so sweet, Mistress.” She wanted to play the role, and he more than wanted to indulge in the fantasy. No more masks, just him and her.

“You’re sexy, no doubt. And kinky too? My R and J. You liked him fucking you up the ass, didn’t you?”

Hearing the words out of her lips, when he could still see her all buttoned-up in his mind’s eye, seduced more than any words could. He moaned. “Yes, Mistress.”

“What does it feel like?”

“You’ve never had anal sex?”

“No. But I’ve wanted to.”

At that, he grew harder. “It’s a fullness. A taking. A bite of pain, and so much pleasure because you were there, watching. Telling me what to do.”

She continued to circle him, tying his ankles up now. A moment of concern hit, that he was well and truly fucked if she decided to bring out the crazy. But then she stroked his cheek, her eyes warm, and he relaxed again.

“Shh. That’s it. I won’t hurt you. I promise. You can trust me, R.”

He leaned into her touch. “Rex, Mistress. Please call me Rex.” He wanted this to be real, that she recall this later as a meeting between the real them. Not a play act, but a part of them they always kept locked down, now out in the open, between them.

“Rex.” She bent down to kiss him, and he forgot his own name.

He gripped the restraints, wishing he could touch her. Yet his helplessness made it all so much more intense. He submitted to her kiss, her tongue, her touch. She straddled him on the bed and kissed him until he couldn’t breathe. Then her skilled mouth moved down his body.

“Tell me how you feel like this, when your mistress owns you.”

He swore when her lips wrapped around his nipple and she bit. “God. Mistress, I…”

She caressed the other side of his chest, treating him to the same erotic torment. “Continue.”

He sighed. “I’m a man, and I’m supposed to be in charge all the time. Of everything. My company, my life, my relationships. But giving up control to you, it’s so sexy. So amazing to give you the pleasure you deserve.” He loved her kisses that continued over his belly and lower. “I love making you feel good. Seeing you come, watching you watch me and knowing I please you, it’s like nothing else. Nothing some boring vanilla sex with a woman or man can give me.”

“Yes, a man.” She swirled her tongue over the skin next to his wet cock, and he arched under her, needing more. “Impatient, are we, Rex?”

“No, Mistress,” he choked and forced himself to lie flat.

“Tell me about what you want. About what kind of play turns you on.”

“I like fucking, period. Women, men, both have something special for me. But it’s nowhere near as good as having you tell me what to do. I—”

She engulfed his cockhead with her hot mouth, and he froze.

She pulled away. “Talk or I stop.”

“Jesus. Yes, sure. I want a woman to command me. But not all the time. Only in bed, for pleasure. I’m my own man. I don’t want to be a slave. I’m not into humiliation or pain. Just fucking until my Mistress comes all over my mouth, over my cock.”

“You’re good with words.” She moved to his balls, and he curled his toes, forcing the orgasm at bay. “You were so sexy getting fucked by J. So hard for me.”

“Yes, for you.” He couldn’t help humping her mouth when she took him inside again. “He was taking me, but you were taking me through him. Playing with me…” He swore his eyes crossed when she deep throated him and cupped his sac. Her hum encouraged him to continue. “Y-you get to me, Nat. Mistress. Whatever you want to be called. I just… Fuck. I’m trying not to come, but I can’t hold out much longer.”

She pulled away, and he wanted to cry. “Are you clean, Rex? Are you seeing anyone else but me?”

“No, Mistress. I told you. Other than J—and we used protection—it’s just you. Been alone for months, and far longer than that, you want the truth…”

“Always the truth, you bad boy.”

He swore. “Fuck. You’re so perfect.” Desperate, he lost what he was saying as she blew him again, fondling with her skilled fingers and amazing mouth and tongue. “So beautiful. I want you. All of you, Mistress. Love you, Nat.”

She sucked harder, and though he tried to hold off, when she pinched his nipple and added her teeth just under the crown of his cock, he lost it.

He jetted into her mouth with such force he nearly passed out. The pleasure blinding him, a rush of ecstasy and love, falling into the one person who could understand him, who knew what he was and accepted him anyway.

The rapture consumed him, until he eased back to reality and let himself relax.

She’d swallowed him down, then pulled back, now watching him while she petted him all over, giving him the respite he more than needed.

“Jesus, Mistress. That was so good.” At once, he felt ashamed and turned his head away. He’d come, and she hadn’t. She hadn’t even given him her permission to release. One step forward, two huge steps back. Hell. How to win back her trust?

“What’s that look?” she asked softly, turning his cheek to stare into his eyes.

“I’m sorry. I came and you—”

“Swallowed every sweet drop.” The affection on her face was plain to see, and he couldn’t stop staring at her. “You’re sexy, Rex. So nice, so naughty. You seem too good to be true.” She sighed. “I’m not good at relationships, and I find myself wanting to keep you.”

He didn’t speak, not wanting to ruin the moment.

“I haven’t been with anyone, in a real relationship, in years. Once in a while I find a partner for sex, but it’s been a long time. Close to four months since my last encounter.”

“A friend of yours?” A surge of jealousy struck him hard.

“A faceless guy at a club. But I was…” She blew out a breath. “I was lonely, okay?” She moved to untie him, not looking at him while she continued to talk. “For a long time I’ve been the glue keeping my family together. Then the force behind keeping the city in top shape. I’m good at what I do, making sure everyone is working smoothly. But all that work has me staying pretty busy.” She swallowed audibly as she untied the last restraint holding him to the bed. “I put a lot of trust in you tonight. As much as you put in me, I know. But I… I want to see where this goes. If it goes.”

He didn’t give her any more time to second guess. He yanked her into his arms and rolled her under him, then kissed her. “Sugar, you have me in the palm of your hand. I’m your boy. Your sub. Your lover. Now quit talkin’ and start kissin’.”

She chuckled, then kissed him back.

The soft sharing continued until he felt her familiar tension. “You hungry, Nat?”

“Not Mistress?” she teased, running her fingers over his hair and pushing it from his eyes.

“Not all the time. We’ll see how this works. You and me, giving and taking.” He nipped her fingers. “I want to please you. Getting you off gets me off.”

“Does it now?” She stroked her fingers down his sticky belly. “You have a lot of come.”

“A lot more to give you, too.” He smiled. “But I’m no pushover. I’m submissive in every sense of the word—in bed. Only in bed, sugar.”

She blinked. “It won’t be easy. I’m used to men who either want to push me around on a daily basis or cower twenty-four seven. Why do you think I’ve been single for so long?”

He rubbed his nose against hers. “I get you. Hell, Nat. I’m single too. You know how hard it is to find a Domme who won’t be a complete bitch because I speak my mind once in a while? I like being bossed in bed. I like playing with men on occasion.” He kissed her again. “Watching Jason go down on you was fucking hot, but only because I was there. I don’t think I could handle you fucking another guy without me around.”

“Good. Because I don’t want you with another woman at all. Period.” She gripped his shoulders tight, and his cock stirred when it should have been too tired to get up again. “Another man, but only if I say so. You’re my boy. Nobody else’s.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” He sighed into her kiss. “We’re gonna have some hiccups, I won’t lie. But I want to see where this goes with you. You okay with that?”

“I might be.” She rubbed her legs over his, and her smooth calves aroused him all over again. “You have to swear that what we do stays between us.”

“Of course.” He pulled back from her, frowning. “You think I want my parents or friends knowing I’m a pussy in bed?”

“Not a pussy. My submissive.”

“Yeah, but you get what I’m sayin’. It’s all fine if I’m a guy and I want to dominate a woman. I’m a kinky bastard, but I’m still a man.” He blew out a breath, willing her to understand. “But a guy who wants his woman to beat his ass, watch him get fucked by a partner, or told what to do? That’s just weird to most, even those who play at the club.”

She looked into his eyes. “Not to me.”

“Good.” He hugged her, feeling her nipples rub against his own. “I want us to be honest with each other. About everything. You have to tell me if somethin’ is wrong, sugar. Same with me. Or this won’t work.”

“I know.”

They watched each other with caution.

“So,” she said.

“So,” he repeated.

“You got me all hot and bothered when you came down my throat. Then with all those kisses.”

He smiled and licked his lips. “Well, Mistress, I’m hopin’ I can please you again. What say I lick my way to your happy ending?”

“I thought you’d never ask…”

Rex spent the rest of the week floating on air. His parents had asked him about Nat, correctly guessing her to be the reason for his amazing mood. But she was still new, and he didn’t want to ruin anything before they could really get started. So he waited before mentioning her again.

“She’s special,” he told his mother over peach cobbler one evening. Nat had scheduled a late meeting, and he planned to see her at her place in another hour.

“How special?” His mother put a dollop of whipped cream over his dessert.

His appetite left him as he thought about how perfect life with Nat was turning out to be. “Special enough that I want her comfy with me before I show her how close we all are. She’s the one, Momma. My one.”

“Oh, I knew it.” Sue rounded the kitchen island and hugged him. “When your daddy and I saw you two dancing at the gala, I saw that look in your eye. I told him, ‘Harry, that’s the girl Rex is gonna marry.’”

“Sure you did.” He grinned.

She put her hands on her hips and frowned. “I did. Harry, get in here,” she yelled.

“What?” His father ambled into the kitchen wearing his glasses and holding his cell phone. “Honey, I’m waiting on a call.”

“Tell the boy what I said at the gala.”

“About his girl? The one you already added to the family tree?” His father winked, stole a bite of Rex’s dessert, then left when his phone rang. “Hey, Mike. Yeah, I have those figures…”

“I told you.” His mother nodded.

“Yeah, well, Nat and I are taking it slow. I was thinking we could do a family dinner this weekend if that’s okay.”

“That’s perfect. What should I cook?”

Of course his mother would cook. No eating out at a fancy restaurant to impress her son’s girlfriend. No sirree. He swallowed a sigh and prayed that Nat wouldn’t be scared off by his family’s closeness, no matter what she’d already said about liking his ties. She tended to veer on the reserved side when it came to feelings, and his mother didn’t know the meaning of the word.

“She likes ribs, greens, chicken—all the usual that you cook. Oh, and red velvet cake. My sugar has a thing for sugar.” He grinned. “She also loves my potato salad.”

“Well, I’ll let you keep that recipe. How about I make us ribs, green beans and a cornbread casserole?”

“Perfect.”

“I promise to be nice. I swear I won’t ask about grandbabies. Well, maybe once.”

“Momma.” He groaned.

“Teasing.” She smiled and blew him a kiss. “I’ll have to make my best red velvet cake. We want to keep your girl, don’t we?”

“Yes, I do.” I do. Two words he’d detested for years, yet since making things work with Nat, he had a hankering to say them for real. Too soon, he knew, but he had a feeling this relationship with her was something different from what she normally had.

They’d talked and laughed. Sex with Nat got better every time. And she’d slowly started to come out of her shell, even sharing stories about her family with him. He had to not blow it. So he was careful about everything, feeling as if he walked on eggshells at times. But to keep Nat by his side, he’d move heaven and earth to make things right. There had to be real trust between them before they had their first major argument. Granted, he and Nat could disagree like professional debaters, but their opinions on things that really mattered seemed to be in line.

“Rex?” His mother raised a brow.

“Sorry. My mind wandered. What’s that?”

She smiled. “Nothing, honey. Go on to your girl. We’ll see you on Saturday, around four, okay?”

“Thanks, Momma. I love you.” He left his untouched cobbler on the counter and leaned closer to give her a kiss. Then he took off, wanting to see Nat again.

Sue Samson watched her son practically race out the door. Part of her was thrilled. She’d never seen Rex so excited about anyone before. Not his first girlfriend, his crushes in school or his casual dates had ever made the boy glow.

Yet Natalie Wielder turned him into a nervous nelly. The boy hadn’t finished his cobbler. Rex always finished his desserts. At least, the ones made by her.

The boy was in love. She’d pegged it that night she’d seen them dancing. And lo and behold, he was bringing her home to meet the parents.

She shook her head as she walked back to Harry’s office. He’d just put the cell phone down when she entered his office.

“Come here, lovely.” He patted his lap, and she thanked her lucky stars she’d broke off with Jeff Kinsey in time to go to the senior prom with Harry all those years ago. Perfect timing had led to the perfect marriage. Her husband was no saint, but they’d made it past the rocky parts, and they continued to fall deeper into love as the years passed.

Sitting in his lap, she put her arms around his neck and kissed him, a rush of love filling her from head to toe. “The boy’s a goner.”

“I know.” He smiled at her, his eyes twinkling. She could see why Natalie would find her son attractive. He’d grown up to be the spitting image of Harry, a man who still took Sue’s breath away. “I hear good things about her. She’s smart, aggressive and pretty as hell.”

Sue sighed. “They’d make pretty babies, that’s for sure. I’m just worried for Rex. He’s in love with this one. I’d hate to see her break his heart.”

“Same here. But love ain’t worth a thing without a little risk.”

“True.” She smiled at him. “Well, now that our little bird is flying the nest, how about we celebrate with some hot wax?”

“And chocolate. I’ve been dying to try out that new body paint you’re hiding in the bedroom.”

“Oh, you. You weren’t supposed to look.” She laughed as he tickled her, then dashed into the back room. She knew her son thought them a staid, if happy couple, settling into their dotage. But some things a mother just didn’t share with her little boy.

Harry entered the bedroom and started stripping down.

Sue laughed to herself. They were happy and anything but boring. She could only hope Rex had found the right someone to keep him young through the years.

Chapter Eight

“This cake is amazing, Sue.” Nat savored every bite. She’d been nervous about meeting Rex’s parents in a more intimate setting. But after insisting she call them by their given names and sharing some embarrassing moments of Rex in his baby years, they’d done the impossible—gotten her to relax. Judging by the smug grin on his face, Rex was thinking I told you so. She’d make him pay for that later.

Sue and Harry Samson were anyone’s ideal parents. A handsome, successful couple who doted on each other and their son, the Samsons lived life to the fullest. Just the way she imagined one day being, if she could accept the fact Rex actually loved her, with a capital L.

When he’d said he loved her in the throes of passion, she hadn’t thought much of it. Guys said a lot when they were about to come.

But he kept saying it, casually, as if an I love you, Sugar was normal between new lovers.

She still got goose bumps when he said it, as well as a surge of irritation because he hadn’t insisted she say it back. It was like he knew she loved him but was afraid to say it. No insecurity or fear that she didn’t return the sentiment, not from her bratty boy.

He licked the icing off his fork, and her mind went straight to all the dirty places it normally dwelled when thinking about Rex and his magic tongue.

“This was your best ever, Momma. Thanks!”

Sue beamed. Harry rolled his eyes. “Boy, you know there’ll be no living with her now.”

“Well, she deserves it.”

Nat agreed. “I’m going to have trouble walking away from the table, I’ve eaten so much.”

Harry chuckled. “Natalie, you’re just the prettiest thing. You want to gain a few pounds, you go right ahead.”

“She’s got a high metabolism, Daddy. It won’t stick.” Rex winked at her, then gave her upper body an approving onceover. They’d discussed what they liked about each other. To hear Rex tell it, he wouldn’t change a thing about her. Not even her on-the-small-side breasts.

And damn if his gaze didn’t zero in on her hardening nipples. Thank God she’d worn a short-sleeved sweater to camouflage the signs that he’d once again aroused her without trying.

She glared at him and did her best not to smile at his innocent look. “What can I say? I work for the city. I run on nerves and caffeine.”

“I hear you,” Harry said. “Those bureaucrats would drive me to drink. No offense.”

“None taken.” She grinned. “I hear you know the mayor pretty well. ’Nuff said.”

Harry grinned. “He’s an ass, but he’s looking out for the city.”

“If not his wife,” Sue muttered. “Don’t know how Elaine tolerates his roving eye.” She turned to Nat. “Would you mind your boyfriend or husband stepping out on you?”

Nat turned and gave Rex the stink eye. “I’d carve him up like a turkey, then toss him back in that ugly cesspool of available bachelors. If my guy can’t be faithful, I have no time for him.”

“Good answer.” Rex leaned close and kissed her on the lips. He wasn’t supposed to do that in front of his parents.

She blushed.

“Isn’t she cute, Momma?” Rex cupped Nat’s chin. “So feisty. But she and I are on the same page. Cheating isn’t a Samson trait.”

“Or a Wielder one,” she added. A small fib. But her mother had been mostly separated the first time she’d stepped out on her father…while her father had been busy doing his secretary. So good that they weren’t together anymore.

Harry mentioned Rex’s next trip to Charleston, and they talked about the city Nat had always wanted to visit but never had the time to see.

“You’ve never been there?” Sue asked.

“Nope. I moved to Augusta fifteen years ago, and I’ve been working my tail off ever since.” She blinked. “Landing this job was a dream. I can’t remember the last time I had a vacation.”

Rex shook his head. “Sadly, I can believe it.”

“What? I work. I can’t be gallivanting all over the country like some people.”

Harry smothered a grin. “She has you there, boy.”

Rex frowned. “I work too. I’m my own boss, so I set my own hours. I also happen to be opening another brewery in Charleston and am looking into Florida, so you know, I kinda have to visit. For work.”

She shrugged, pleased at his irritation. She liked to needle him, and the easy-going Southerner was fun to rile. “So you say.”

He deliberately turned away from her. “So, Daddy, tell me about your dealing with Mooring. Did he give you the percentage you were asking for?”

The conversation continued, and Sue winked at Nat. When the table needed clearing, Nat was surprised to see everyone offer to help. No wonder Rex was no slouch when it came to cleaning after himself. His parents had taught him well.

“You two sit,” Harry ordered her and Rex as he took away their plates. “Your momma and I have this.”

“He’s awfully bossy,” she murmured to Rex. “I wonder…”

Reading her mind, as he seemed able to do more and more, Rex grimaced. “If you’re even thinking about using sex and my parents in the same sentence, please don’t,” he whispered. “I’d like to keep my supper down.”

She laughed. When his parents returned, she and Rex stood to leave.

“It’s early yet,” Sue protested.

“Sorry, Momma. Nat has to get up early for a meeting tomorrow.”

She didn’t have a meeting, but she didn’t want to call him out for being a liar in front of his parents, so she nodded. “Thanks so much for having me.”

“Having us,” Rex corrected, and his inclusion brought her that much closer to admitting her growing feelings for the man.

Growing? Hell, she full on loved him. After barely three weeks of dating. How often did that happen?

Nat had a feeling she was caught up in the newness of it all, but she’d never been so close to anyone before, and she craved every spare second with Rex.

“Anytime, boy. You too, Nat. You don’t need to wait on Rex to come visit,” Harry offered.

Sue nodded, eyes twinkling. “I’ll always have something on hand for you to eat. That’s my way of trying to bribe you to come. How do you think I get my son to come visit so often?”

Nat laughed, then accepted hugs from Sue and Harry.

Their closeness included her, and she didn’t know how to feel about that. Pressured into being with Rex? Loved because she made their son happy? Was it all about him, or did they like her too? Why the hell couldn’t she just accept their nice gesture instead of questioning it to death?

She smiled and waved goodbye, then let Rex guide her outside.

Once in his car, she turned to him. “Okay, Pinocchio. What’s up with the fib?”

He winked. “I have a surprise for you, sugar. Just sit back and wait.”

She wasn’t surprised when they ended up at the club. A packed house on a Saturday night. Figured. “Do I even want to know what the entertainment will be?”

They hadn’t talked about bringing a third into their relationship again, but she wondered what Rex thought. She’d loved watching him and J go at it. Was she about to see that again?

“I’m your entertainment. Something different tonight.” He parked and took her with him into the club. They waved to the security man, Tony, at the desk.

“It’s swinger’s night,” he said with a wink.

“Not for us.” Rex dragged Nat with him up the stairs as he checked his watch. “Damn. We have to hurry, or we’ll be late.”

Nat didn’t know why, but she liked that he had no plans to share her. She’d never wanted to be part of a group that exchanged partners. Bringing someone in to play with them was fine. One-on-one switching? Not so much.

Rex brought them to a familiar room number and pushed inside.

“Hey, this is where Freddy brought me that first time I visited.” The room with the window looking into the room next door.

“Yes, it is.” Rex turned off the light. “We can see in, but they can’t see out. One-way mirror, like on the cop shows.”

“I figured.”

A light was on in the other room, but nothing but the bed and the armoire took up space.

“Good. We’re not late.” Behind her, Rex fiddled with the door. She heard the snick of the lock. “It’s just us and our entertainment.”

She started to turn to see him in the glow of the window, but he hugged her from behind. “I thought you were my entertainment,” she said.

“Oh, I will be. We’re going to watch a show, and this time, I’m going to boss you around.”

They hadn’t tried that yet. In all their intimacies, she’d taken charge. “You think you’re up for the challenge?”

He ground himself against her ass, and she smiled.

“Sugar, I’m more than up for it. The question is, do you trust me enough to give up control?”

Rex waited for her answer, praying she said yes. He enjoyed following her orders, no doubt. But he didn’t think Nat knew how much she needed to let go every now and then. The more time they spent together, the better he came to understand her.

She’d been worried about tonight, meeting his folks. He’d be the same in her place, but seeing her interact with his family helped him to know her better. Nat had said she was the glue keeping her family together. But they didn’t seem to be as close as the Samsons were to one another. She’d tensed when his folks had hugged her, and the sweet smile she’d given them had further deepened his love.

No way he planned on letting her go. Ever. But he knew they’d have a few bumps in the road along the way. This would be a first to get over.

“You want to fuck me? You in charge? I’m game.” He could almost feel the smile on her face.

“No, sugar. I want to own you. Your orgasms are mine.” He kissed her neck, and she shivered. “Now watch the window like a good girl.”

“Rex.”

“Whatever I say goes, right?”

“One thing I can say about you. You never bore me.”

He planned on staying exciting. When his favorite pair of lovers entered the room on the other side of the mirror, he grinned. They wore masks, but he recognized Faith and Brian easily enough. He wondered if Nat would.

She sucked in a breath. “They’re wearing masks. Like we did.”

“And they love to be watched.”

“You know them?”

“I do. I watch them a good bit. Or at least, I did before you.”

“Oh.” She cleared her throat and studied the pair slowly removing their clothes.

Brian had no problem getting naked. His buddy might fuss, but he liked showing it off. The guy had a big dick. He was handsome, and he had a smokin’ hot fiancée. Faith had large breasts, a slender waist and legs that went on forever. Still, as attractive as he found her, he preferred Nat’s curves and frame. Sleek over bountiful.

“She’s pretty. Big breasts, the way you like,” Nat murmured.

“Now why would you say I like that?” He pushed his hands under her sweater and rubbed her belly, pleased when her breath stuttered. Then he cupped her breasts, loving the hard nipples under his palms.

“Oh. You know I like that.”

“I do. And I love playing with your pretty tits.” He also knew how much she liked his coarser talk. “Now let’s watch my friend and his big cock ass-fuck his lady. You know how badly I want to do that to you?” He rubbed against her tight ass, knowing how amazing she’d feel when he finally took her there.

She moaned under his hands, glued to the byplay in front of them. “Jesus, you’re good at this.”

Brian was on his knees in front of Faith, who wore a corset that exposed her breasts and pussy, covering only her midsection and nothing else. She gripped Brian’s blond hair, grinding into him.

“I love when you do that to me,” Rex whispered and unfastened her bra. He didn’t take it off, just pushed it out of the way while he continued to toy with her breasts. “When you tell me what to do, it gets me off in a big way. But this, touching you the way I know you get off, that’s just as hot.”

“Rex…”

“Shh. Watch, sugar. See how she comes all over him.” Faith didn’t take long. She came on a cry as Brian lapped her up.

Shivering over him, Nat threaded her fingers through Rex’s hair, keeping him there.

“Yeah, when you cream all over my mouth, it’s like eating candy. I love licking you up. Sucking that little clit until you get hard again. I love making you come,” he admitted as he tongued her ear.

She shifted against him and tried to reach for his cock.

“Nope. You stand there and watch. No touching.”

“Tease,” she rasped, arching her neck to give him better access.

She’d worn a skirt to his parents’ place, and he let go of one of her breasts and inched the material up her thighs, stroking her flank.

She trembled. “God, I’m wet. From watching. And from you.”

“Good,” he rumbled as in the next room, Brian slowly stood. He shoved Faith toward the bed, and suddenly the volume in the other room increased.

“Get on the bed, slave. Suckle your master.” Brian was pretty damn good at the master shit. Rex wondered if Nat would take notes and use them on him later.

He could only hope.

“Yes, Sir.” Faith knelt on the bed, pushing her ass out while she bent low to take Brian’s cock in her mouth.

She moaned as she blew him, and they watched Brian pumping into her mouth with hard grunts.

“That’s so hot,” Nat whispered.

“Yeah, baby. Fucking your mouth is amazing. But he’s not gonna stop there.”

Good old Brian pulled out, and they could see how thick and wet he’d become. Then he moved to the armoire and pulled out some lube. He returned to Faith to hand it to her.

“Get me nice and slick, slave. So I can stuff your ass full of some hard cock.”

Nat rubbed her ass against Rex. “Oh, he’s good at the talk.”

He didn’t think she realized she was doing it, and her arousal made it difficult not to bend her over and fuck her right there and then.

“Yeah. He’s good. And getting nice and lubed up. That’s what I’m gonna do for you.” He kissed her neck while he watched Brian position Faith on her hands and knees in the middle of the bed.

Then he joined her on the bed and knelt between her legs, keeping in clear view so Rex could see his friend’s dick disappear in Faith’s ass.

Slowly, Brian pushed inside her, until Faith moaned and wriggled, then stopped when he slapped her ass.

Rex took himself out of his pants and eased Nat’s skirt up. He tugged her panties to the side, sliding them through her wet pussy. “You like it, don’t you?”

“Yes.” Her raspy breaths grew faster when Brian started fucking Faith. “I want you inside me.”

“Taking you like he’s taking her?”

“Yes,” she moaned.

But Rex had no intention of taking her ass, not until he could prepare her and make it feel good. Instead, he pushed her closer to the window. “Put your hands on the glass and keep them there.”

She did, and he lifted her skirt higher, then pulled her thong—her fucking thong—to the side. “Put your ass out and spread your legs,” he growled, stirred up thanks to Nat and the insatiable pair in the other room.

Brian was sawing in and out of Faith, and she was loving it.

So was Nat.

“I want you to fuck me,” Nat confessed. “So hard. Take me, Rex.”

He guided himself to her pussy and thrust fast, sliding through her with ease. The position tightened her around him even more, and he swore as he thrust in and out in time with Brian’s motions. “Touch yourself, Nat. Come while I fuck you.”

Brian shouted and jerked inside Faith while Rex continued to hammer into his own woman.

“God, Rex. Oh yes, yes,” Nat moaned as she came.

But he wasn’t done. He took her harder, letting her feel all of him. “Mine. My fucking lover. You’re mine, Natalie Wielder.” He couldn’t speak anymore, could only feel as his orgasm rushed over him, and he spent inside her, letting go of everything but the need to tie himself to this one woman.

His orgasm seemed to last forever. “God, Rex. You’re filling me up. I can feel you everywhere.”

“Yeah. All in that pretty pussy.” He pumped a few more times, getting all of himself inside her. “Damn, that was good.”

“It was,” she said on a sigh. “You have so messed me up.”

“Good.”

“I can’t tell what I want now. To be in charge, for you to take charge. I don’t know. All I know is I want you.”

“Exactly. Damn. I don’t want to leave you, but I have to. Don’t move.”

He withdrew and turned on the lights, then grabbed a towel to clean up. He saw to Nat first, taking care of her the way he wanted to for the rest of his life.

After removing her sodden panties and wiping her clean, he stood and noted her expression. Confusion, worry, awe. Dare he hope, love?

“What are you doing to me?”

“Loving you, sugar. You know I love you.”

“I…” She paused, and the sheen in her eyes alarmed him.

“Nat?”

“I’m not sure what I feel, Rex. It’s so new. All of this.”

He understood. “You’re afraid it’s not real. I know. So am I. But there’s no place I’d rather be than with you, sugar.”

She sniffed. “My name is Natalie, you oaf.”

He grinned. “Thanks. I’d forgotten.”

He finished caring for her, then straightened himself up and found her glaring at him, then at the mirror, then back at him.

“What?”

“Did we just watch Brian and Faith go at it?”

“Um, no. That pair there was a nameless, faceless couple.”

She turned bright red. “Oh. My. God. I am never going to be able to look at them again the same way.”

“Not that it was them. But come on. Those two we watched get off on being stared at. We did them a favor. Did you see how hard he came?”

She groaned, still flushed.

“You are so cute when you get all embarrassed. Have I told you that?”

“As many times as you’ve said you love me,” she grumbled as he stroked her cheek. “And why the hell aren’t you a little more annoyed that I haven’t said it back?”

Ah. So that’s what had her panties in a bunch, so to speak. Her actual panties were in his pocket. “Sugar, I know you love me. How could you not?”

She gaped at him, then started laughing. “Talk about conceit.”

They left the room arguing down the steps. “I’m handsome, rich, hot in bed. I have a big dick.”

“The ego.”

“I make women walk into walls. I’m a god among men. A killer lover.”

“Do you ever shut up?”

“I suit your kink,” he said with a nip to her ear. “In every way.”

“Well, there is that. But again, the never-ending ego. Do you ever think I’m the only woman who can handle you? That maybe you’re just desperate?”

“Sugar, I pray for you to handle me each and every day.”

They bickered as they left the club. Nat practically pulled him outside, worried she’d run into Faith and Brian and not know what to say. But when they reached the car, they found Jason standing there, looking worried.

“Hey, guys. I need to talk to you.”

Rex didn’t like the look on Jason’s face. “Nat, you know Jason. J.”

She blinked. “Oh, ah. Hi.”

Jason sighed. “We really need to talk. But not here.”

Rex unlocked the doors of the car with his remote. “Get in. We’ll head to my place.”

Nat looked at him, then at Jason.

“It’s okay, sugar. We’ll be fine.”

But when Jason told them what had happened, Rex wondered if they’d be fine after all.

Chapter Nine

“You told him about Rex? About me?” Nat hadn’t realized her voice could get that high.

Jason looked miserable. His puffy eyelids and red eyes attested to the fact he’d been crying. Yet even that couldn’t detract from his beauty. God. Why had he covered up his face that night with Rex?

She wanted to see him and Rex fucking again, but this time without masks.

Think, moron. They know. What now?

She focused on her worries and not her stupid libido. This was what she got for letting herself have a life. Anxiety, stress, ridicule…

“I’m sorry. It’s just… Sam always thinks he’s in charge of our relationship. Then he admitted he had feelings for Michelle. But they never told me about any of it until earlier today.” Another tear tracked down his cheek, and Nat swore he resembled a fallen angel. Where was the snot? The blotchy face she got when she bawled?

Not now.

“So you tried to make him jealous by outing me and Nat?” Rex said with disgust. “Jesus, Jason. I thought you understood about being discreet. Her job depends on it.”

“I’m so sorry, Natalie. Sam was breaking up with me, and I wanted to hurt him. I didn’t know he’d take the news to heart or tell anyone about it.”

Nat swore. “Of all the people in the world to tell, you had to confess to Josh Jessup’s best friend.” My world is way too small.

Rex groaned.

“I’m so sorry.” Jason kept repeating the words like a broken record.

While she felt for him, she worried for herself, and Rex too. He’d gone ashen, not what she’d expected of him.

“Rex?”

“We can do damage control, Nat. You know if Josh finds out he’ll tell as many people as he can.”

“So we say Jason lied.”

“Well, I kind of gave Sam details,” Jason apologized. “He didn’t believe me at first.”

Rex groaned and sat on the couch next to him.

“What details?” Nat asked.

“Things about Rex. Things Sam would know.”

Nat swung her gaze to Rex. “Sam too?”

He flushed. “Hey, the community isn’t that big down here. There are only so many of us bi-boys, you know? Besides, Sam and I haven’t played in years. Jason and I had been together a few months ago, but nothing again until you.” He turned back to Jason. “I thought you said you and Sam had an understanding.”

Good to know Rex wasn’t a home wrecker. Panic settled over her. She could lose her job, her reputation. Her job. She’d worked her ass off to get that position. Yet a few bits of gossip and all her hard work would be for naught. Done in by her passion for Rex Samson.

No, by her own perverted desires. She hadn’t known he was Rex when she’d watched J and R going at it.

Yet hadn’t Rex been the one to get her hot and bothered in the first place? Hadn’t she gone to the club with Freddy to rid herself of the lust he’d caused? And could she be that stupid to blame the man for her own attraction? Damn, Nat. Get a grip.

Jason was saying, “…but he’s serious about Michelle. I didn’t know. Then he was all jealous about you. I didn’t mean to throw Nat under the bus, but I recognized her. Sam knows you two are dating. Hell, everyone knows. So I kind of said I was a part of you two. It was stupid and you have no idea how sorry I am.”

Rex leaned his head back against the couch. “Shit. It won’t matter what’s true or not. Josh will run with this to ruin you, sugar.”

“Tell me something I don’t know. We’re sure Sam told Josh?”

Jason nodded. “He’ll go to Josh for comfort if he hasn’t already. They’re best friends.”

Nat didn’t know how to feel. A curious numbness stole through her. She needed time to process.

“This isn’t how I pictured our first argument would go,” Rex said, the fight all out of him. “Talk to me, Nat. What do you want to do?”

“I… I don’t know.” It didn’t matter what spin they put on it. Whether they convinced people to not believe the rumors or allowed them to stand, a whiff of scandal and Nat was gone.

“I think I need to go,” she said at last.

Rex nodded. “I’ll take you home.”

“I’ll get a cab,” Jason said, still crying. “I’m so sorry, guys. Freddy will ban me. Sam and Michelle are ditching me. God, life sucks.”

Nat didn’t hear him. She needed to find a way to deal with the future. Plan. Strategize. Rex drove her home in silence, darting glances at her but not speaking.

When the pulled up in front of her home, she moved to leave when he grabbed her arm.

“I’m sorry, Nat.”

She nodded, caught between numbness and despair.

“But I’m not sorry about us. It’s only a job, sugar.”

She tensed and glared at him. “Only a job? I busted my ass for three years to get that job, Rex. I love what I do.”

He sighed, looking tired. “I know you do, sugar. I just meant… Hell, I just want to make you feel better, but I don’t know how.”

She didn’t want to lash out at him. She knew this wasn’t his fault. He was a victim of circumstances as much as she was. “I know.” She leaned close to kiss him, and the soft hint of his breath warmed her where she’d gone cold. “I need some time to think. I don’t blame you for any of this.”

“That makes one of us,” he muttered. “I should have been more careful. But I was thinking with my dick. As usual.” He sounded disgusted with himself, which surprised her.

“Rex, seriously. If anyone’s to blame, it’s Jason.”

“Yeah, sure.” He cupped her neck. “I know you need time. Hell, whatever you need, it’s yours. Just… Don’t go too far away, okay? I love you, Nat.”

She smiled, and a deep hurt festered inside. Why, she had no idea, because the man of her dreams was confessing something awfully important. In this time when she’d need him most, he promised to be there for her.

She just wished she could accept his help without feeling like a failure.

“I’ll be fine.” She blinked hard to clear her vision.

He frowned, concerned. “Shit. Sugar, you call me if you need anything. I mean anything. Ice cream, to hit me, to hit Jason, some sex to ease this hard time,” he tried to joke.

Her watery smile didn’t help matters. Before she burst into stupid, unhelpful tears, she left the car and Rex behind.

The night hadn’t turned out anything like what she’d thought it might. The dinner with his parents had been amazing. Their time at the club even better. But those were fantasies, and she knew better than most how dreams could die.

Her parents hadn’t stayed together. Her first steady boyfriend—her boss a lifetime ago—had turned on her, stabbing her in the back to get his own promotion. She should have learned her lesson, but she had to try pushing the envelope. And not just by dating a major player in the city, but by taking her kink semi-public.

She knew better than to play out her games behind any closed door but her own. At least she used to hit the private spots outside of town. But being here, where so many people knew her, and knew each other…

Wiping her eyes as she stalked around her house, she eventually turned to cleaning to work off her energy. Monday morning and all its problems would come soon enough.

“I love you, sugar.”

Unfortunately, memories of Rex only made everything harder to handle. Because she loved the guy back, and she had no idea what to do about it.

Monday morning, she stared at the mayor standing before her desk. Lucky for her, Emily Deerborn, her boss, had come down with the flu, so the mayor, head of the city council, had taken it upon himself to give her the bad news.

“It’s a funny thing to hear. Especially about you.” To his credit, Tom Jessup looked uncomfortable. “But we all signed a decency agreement coming on to the job. Like the banks and educators, we public servants have a duty to the people of this city.”

“I know that, Mayor.” Nat refused to display any emotion. She’d cried out her frustrations yesterday and used tea bags and cucumbers to reduce the swelling under her eyes. Now she thought she just looked tired.

“You and Rex Samson, a fine upstanding young man, engaging in a bunch of…well, some odd activity with another young man? And in public? I frankly don’t believe a word of it.”

Even though your son started the rumors? And even those he didn’t get right. Public my ass.

“But,” Jessup continued, “our policy is to investigate any questionable issues involving staff. So you’re on a temporary leave of absence pending our review.”

She’d toyed with the idea of quitting and saving everyone the hassle, but screw Josh Jessup. The fuckhead wanted her job? He could fight her for it.

“No problem, sir.” She forced a smile. “I haven’t had a vacation in years. I’ll take the next two weeks to see family. You have my number.”

“Oh, well, I’m sure it won’t take two weeks.” Now he seemed worried.

That’s right, Tom. I do a lot of work around here. You think it’s so easy? Let your asswipe kid handle things. “Well, regardless, I’m going to take the next two weeks to think things over. And hey, while I’m gone, you can always have Josh take over. He’s been wanting my job for a while, hasn’t he?”

The mayor flushed. “Now, hold on. I’m not forcing you out to put my son in place. The council made the decision, not me personally.”

She took pity on him, since he kind of had to respond to Josh’s rumor mongering. The council had a responsibility to do the right thing until they knew more. “I know you aren’t,” she said. “But he’s someone who can fill in for the interim. Use him. In the meantime, I’m on vacation.”

He nodded, probably relieved she wouldn’t be throwing a hissy over the matter. “Fine, fine. I’ll let Emily know. Try to keep a positive mind about this, Natalie. I’m sure it will all blow over.”

“Yes, sir. I will.” She waited until he left, then mentally shot him the bird and grabbed her purse. The halls were especially quiet as she left, and few people said more than goodbye as she traipsed down the hall. She could only imagine what they’d been told and forced herself not to show shame or upset that she was being forced to leave.

Her cell phone buzzed in her purse. Probably Rex wanting to know how he could help. Yesterday had been tough, handling her problems on her own. And that bothered her. Normally she took whatever hand she’d been dealt and worked through her issues. Alone.

But her instinct when this shit hit the fan was to go to Rex. He’d help her just by being that calm, levelheaded guy everyone else seemed to lean on. He didn’t get spun-up over matters. He handled things and resolved them to his satisfaction. Or heads rolled under his sweet Southern drawl.

Nat needed to be her own woman, though. This was her career, not Rex’s. And it would do her good to take a break from him, to see just what he meant to her when he wasn’t around to cloud her judgment.

She returned home, packed a bag and decided to visit her sister Beth in Charlotte. A two-hour drive and she could clear her head on the way.

Once in the car, she paused. Doing the right thing, she dialed Rex. He answered on the first ring.

“Nat?”

“I’m okay. I’m on administrative leave, as I figured. I’m going to visit my sister in Charlotte for a few days. I need the break.”

“Shit. I’m so sorry—”

“Stop saying that,” she snapped, then sighed. “Sorry. It’s not your fault, Rex. Stop getting all guilty. You’re pissing me off.”

He chuckled, surprising her. “I hear you. Sorry. I mean, yeah, uh, you go visit with your sister.” After a slight pause, he asked, “Want me to come?”

“No.” Not wanting to hurt his feelings, she added, “I need this time to think about things. My job, you, my life… I need to think about where I am and what I want.” Would he respect that? Understand this had to do with her, and not him?

“I understand, sugar.”

“Do you?”

“Believe it or not, I do.” He sighed. “Years ago, something similar happened with me. So I get you. This isn’t about me or even us, I don’t think. It’s about you and what you need. Take your time. I’ll be here when you get back.”

“Not if I get back?” she persisted, still fascinated with his confidence.

“No. When. I know you, sugar. You’re hooked on me,” he teased. “Like Mama’s red velvet cake.”

His assuredness eased one worry dogging her—that she’d have to take care of him when she really needed to take care of herself. “Thanks, Rex.” I love you.

“No problem, Nat. Just remember, I’m only a phone call away. Love you.” He disconnected.

Immediately, she felt alone and lonely and resolved to re-grow a spine. With stiff determination, she called her sister. Always happy to hear from Nat, Beth welcomed her timely visit, pleased because Julie, her wife, had gone on a business trip.

“Great, little sis,” Beth said with a laugh. “It’ll just be you and me for a while.”

“Perfect.” Nat hung up and drove, thinking and not thinking, and missing Rex the whole time.

Rex kept himself occupied by his expansion in Charleston. He used the week to see to his business, trying to keep his mind off the woman making him simultaneously miserable and overjoyed.

She was the fucking light in his life, and he knew it now. Not that he hadn’t before, but the last few days without her had been hell. Fortunately business had taken him away from his folks, who would have seen right through him.

Brian, best friend that he was, had spent the weekend with Rex on the waterfront. He walked into the lounge of the hotel where Rex had upgraded to a suite for them both.

“Ah, there he is. My heartbroken best bud.”

“Fuck you,” Rex muttered when Brian sat next to him. He gave the waitress hovering nearby a wink, gratified when she blushed and bent all over backward to get him anything he wanted. At least someone still appreciated him.

He ordered himself and Brian some drinks and wings, then sat back to wallow in his misery. “She texts some but hasn’t called.”

“Woman needs some space. Give her time.” Brian didn’t seem worried. Then again, Brian was fat and happy with Faith. Not lonely and needing Nat.

“I am giving her space. I told her I’d be waiting for her.” Rex groaned. “I’m such a pussy.”

“Yep, you are.” Brian smiled at the waitress when she brought their order. “Thanks. Keep the drinks coming.”

“I will.” She left.

“Quit flirting or I’ll tell Faith.” Rex ate a chicken wing with little enthusiasm. “You think Nat will come back?”

“Come on, man. Buck up. Of course she will. Harper’s making a huge fuss over this. You know he’s her assistant, right?”

“Oh yeah.” Harper loved Nat. That was a good thing.

“Well, he’s been ranting and raving to Freddy, who told me that Josh is a horse’s ass with a case of self-aggrandizing importance. Or maybe that came from Dylan, because I doubt Harper’s big on diagnosing narcissism.”

“Yeah, and?” He drank half his beer to put out the fire in his mouth. Damn hot wings.

“And word is no one believes the crap Josh is spouting. I mean, prim and proper Natalie Wielder playing sex games?” Brian snorted. “Yeah, right.” He leaned closer to Rex. “Though I have to tell you, putting on that show for you guys was super hot. Faith was totally into it.”

“She didn’t know it was me though, did she?”

“Hell no. Just that some random couple watched. She’s okay with you seeing us, but Nat might weird her out a bit.”

Kind of like Nat had been freaked about knowing they’d watched Brian and Faith, but Rex didn’t say anything. “So what else is going on?”

“The planner’s office is backlogged. Nat kept a tight ship and Josh is clueless. Harper’s breathing down his neck, as is Derrick. And Marly Bennett, Nat’s secretary, is pulling her hair out.”

“Isn’t Marly that pleasant older woman who always smells nice?”

Brian grinned. “Pleasant to you. She’s a right bitch to everyone she doesn’t like. Derrick only squeaks by because Dylan smoothed the wheels for him. She tolerates Harper. But she loathes Josh. She’s been complaining about him all week, and the woman has some clout at the office.”

“I like that.” Something good to come from this mess. Nat would be able to tell her real friends from the assholes at work.

“Still, from what I hear, it’s not guaranteed Nat will keep her job. That’s up to the council.”

“Not the mayor?”

“Nah. He’s small potatoes when it comes to council stuff. He just likes to think he’s integral to everything.” Brian took a swig of his beer. “I gotta tell you, bro, we’re more worried about you. Faith, Derrick, Dylan, Harper. Even Freddy. We all like you for Nat.”

Rex blinked. “Since when? I’ve run into Harper a few times. Derrick a bit more than that. They’re nice guys, but I don’t know them, exactly.”

“You know me.” Brian buffed his fingers against his chest. “And everyone loves me. Therefore, you’re golden.”

“Shut up.” He chuckled. Trust Brian to lift his mood.

“Look, she might not be the easiest woman to work with—Harper’s words, not mine—but Nat’s amazing at her job. And she’s always been more than fair with people who work hard. Again, Harper’s words. Derrick’s too. So you’ve not only got my seal of approval, and Faith’s, but all the Warrens too. Those guys know a lot of people.”

Things were starting to look up for Nat. Too bad she didn’t know it. He didn’t think she’d been keeping in touch with Harper either.

“Should I give her more space, Brian, or call her? What do you think?”

“I think your girlfriend has had more than enough time to be with family. A whole week and no Rex. I bet she’s missing you something fierce.”

“You really are a good friend, aren’t you?”

Brian grinned. “The best. I gave up my lady to be with you.”

“Liar. I happen to know she’s coming tomorrow to finish the weekend with you.”

“Oh, er. Well, I gave up tonight.”

Rex laughed. “You’re a good egg, Brian. I mean that.”

“Gah. Stop with the Goode shit. Seriously.”

Rex laughed again, feeling better about life in general. If Nat didn’t have to lose her job, she couldn’t be too mad at him. Because no matter what she’d said, she had to blame him, at least a little, for her current predicament.

But so long as she came home, he wouldn’t worry too much.

She just had to come home.

One more week. I can handle that.

He groaned and finished his beer. As requested, the waitress cleared his empty glass and brought him another fine S&F ale. Yep. I can handle one more week without the love of my life. I’m not that big a pussy, am I?

Chapter Ten

I miss him so much. Nat sat with her sister and brothers, still not sure how she hadn’t killed any of them yet. At least Beth made her visit pleasant. Beth and Julie had been happily married for two years now, together for a total of ten. And Beth had recently announced they were expecting a baby in nine months.

I’m going to be an aunt.

Yet that excitement couldn’t make up for the fact she missed Rex like crazy. It was all she could do not to call him five times a day to share funny stories about her family or bitch about her brothers. Instead she made do with a text now and again. No more than twice a day. Her rule.

She sat drinking coffee and shook her head at her oldest brother’s latest news. “James, really? Another girlfriend gone?”

He frowned. He and Aaron had descended on Beth unannounced, no calls ahead of time or even asking to stay. They just assumed their sister would have time and room for them.

At thirty-five, James seemed a little old to be so oblivious of the world around him. And just a year younger, Aaron should have known better too. Beth was only a few years younger than that, but like Nat, the baby of the family, she was considered one of the responsible Wielders.

Except it had taken Beth a lot longer to get her head on straight than it had Nat. Nat, her parents liked to say, had been born with the responsible, mature gene that her siblings strove to find. With marriage and now a kid on the horizon, Beth had caught on.

Aaron might follow in their sister’s footsteps. James? She loved him, but Nat considered him a lost cause.

“You know, Nat,” James said, “we can’t all be as homey as Beth and Julie. I don’t see a ring on your finger, oh thrower of stones.”

She frowned, especially at Beth’s raised brow. Beth, the poor woman, had heard all about Mr. Wonderful—Rex I-love-him-but-what-do-I-do-about-him Samson.

“For your information, I am in a relationship with a man I like…” love “…very much.”

“Yeah?” Aaron answered. “Where is he then?”

“He’s working.” Though she’d toyed with asking him to come to Charlotte to meet her family. Her family. She must be in love to consider that.

“I bet he’d take a few days to be with you though,” Beth said kindly. She knew how much Nat wanted to see him again. “With Mom and Dad not around, now’s a good time.”

Aaron snickered. “Yeah. He just has to tolerate James for a few days. Until big brother takes up with his ex’s sister.”

As one, they looked at James.

“Hey, she came on to me. I swear.”

Nat cringed. “James. That’s just…not right.”

“Look, Danielle and I aren’t together anymore, so she shouldn’t care. And her sister is frickin’ hot. I mean, really…you know.” He held his hands out from his chest as if he were holding a pair of basketballs.

Beth grinned. “Oh?”

“Totally your type.” James nodded.

Nat slapped him in the back of the head. “She’s married, dumbass.”

“But not dead. Nothing wrong with looking,” Beth said. “Julie’s worse than I am.”

“Hell. They’re the only couple our age that I know who are still together after ten years,” Aaron pointed out. “Cut her a break.”

“But it doesn’t help that numbnuts is trying to make her stray.” Nat glared at James. A little boy in a big man’s body.

So unlike Rex.

She still couldn’t get over how understanding he’d been about everything. He hadn’t begged or whined about her leaving. Instead, he’d been there to support her. Strong but not imposing. Solid, dependable, and with a smile that made her whole world brighter.

“I think I love him,” she blurted, needing to hear the words out loud.

Everyone looked at her.

Beth smiled with satisfaction. “About time you admitted it. I want to meet him.”

James and Aaron frowned. “Me too,” they said together.

Despite the fact she’d always been the one to take care of her older siblings, they now pulled together to rally around her. None of them had even blinked at the supposed rumors about their baby sister—not that she’d gone into great detail. James hadn’t even asked if they were true. To her astonishment, they seemed to be handling the curves life had thrown at her better than she was.

“This is a surprise. You all being here, no drama for once. So surreal.”

Beth sighed. “It’s been a long time coming, but guess what, Nat? The boys and I have grown up. We don’t need our baby sister telling us what to do anymore. Just like you don’t need us telling you what to do.”

“Um, okay.”

James scowled. “I don’t think I ever listened to Nat anyway. I’m older than all of you idiots.”

“Idiots? Pot calling kettle. Hello?” Aaron smirked. “Dude, you’re still playing the field and getting nowhere. Beth is married. I have a girlfriend.”

“What?”

“And apparently little Nat has a boyfriend. The thing I want to know is, where is the guy when you’re having trouble?”

She bit her lip. “Well, he wanted to help me, but I had to handle this on my own.”

“Ha. And you said I’m an idiot?” James shook his head.

“What does that mean?” Nat asked.

“Just that you always think you know what’s best for everyone. You’ve been a control freak since you came out of the womb,” James said plainly.

That stung. “Someone had to be. Between Mom and Dad fighting, and you guys always getting into trouble, I had to step in and keep the peace.”

“Which you did. The rest of us took our time maturing, I’ll admit,” Beth agreed. “But, honey, we’ve been doing just fine for years now. Well, most of us.” She shot James a look.

“Witch,” he muttered. “But she’s right. We’re big kids now. How about we take care of you for a change? This guy. Let’s see how great he is. Invite him to meet us.”

She jumped on the excuse to see Rex again. Yes, she wanted him here, but she had willpower. Control. Focus. Her family, however, would need to be reassured for her. It made sense to ask him to come. For them. Not for her. Not exactly.

“Well, if you’re sure you don’t mind him here,” she said to Beth.

“Are you kidding me? I want to meet this paragon who can tolerate your many idiosyncrasies.”

“Beth.”

“What? You’re a little OCD, honey. I love you, but you are a control freak, as James aptly stated.”

“No shit,” James said.

Aaron nodded. “We all love you, but you’re like Commandant Natalie when it comes to doing things the ‘right way’—the ‘Nat way’.”

“Oh shut up.” Yet she grinned. They could say what they wanted, but being a take-charge girl had gotten her what she deserved in life. At least, it had until the sex scandal. God, I’m involved in a sex scandal.

Both amused and horrified, she concentrated on Rex instead. She pulled out her cell and dialed him. He picked up right away, and her entire being lifted at the sound of his voice. “Rex?”

“Hey, sexy. I miss you.”

She wanted to melt into her chair. “Me too.” Conscious of her siblings’ gazes on her, she spoke quickly. “So I was wondering if you might have some free time. I’m in Charlotte, and I’d love for you to come and meet my brothers and sister.”

“Sure thing, sugar. When and where?”

Just like that, he’d come to her. Not because he was whipped or a pussy, as he’d once called himself. But because he cared. How could she not love the guy?

She gave him directions, and he promised to show up the next afternoon, after tying up some business. She hung up feeling quivery with excitement.

“So this guy, what’s his name and what does he do?” James asked, crossing his arms over his chest like a tough guy. As if. When it came to mean, no one could out-glare Nat.

“His name is Rex Samson. He owns S&F Microbrewery. And you will be nice, or I’ll purple-nurple you until you turn blue.”

Her brothers gaped.

“S&F? Are you kidding me?” Aaron asked. “I love that stuff.”

“Yeah, me too.” James grinned. “Oh man, we have an in with a beer guy. I love you, Nat. Beth was my favorite, but now it’s you.”

“For sure,” Aaron pledged.

Beth rolled her eyes. “For the love of… You morons better behave when he gets here.” She then whispered to Nat, “Can you get me some of that Feather Gold stuff? Julie loves it.”

The following afternoon, Rex pulled into the driveway of a sprawling ranch-style house on the outskirts of Charlotte. A small pocket of rural countryside on a property that appeared to have its own barn behind the house.

He’d been beyond thrilled to get a call to come visit Nat. Her family wanted to meet him, she’d said. Which meant, obviously, that she’d told them about him.

He felt important. He also knew better than to screw up his introduction, so he vowed to be on his best behavior. Nat had said little about her family, just the bare facts about them all being older and her being the responsible one.

Eager to once again be around his woman, he parked the car and got out. Before he took two steps, Nat left the house to meet him, followed by a woman and two men who all looked enough alike to be siblings.

Nat’s eyes sparkled as she drew closer. Then she stopped and gave him a casual wave. “Hi.”

He blinked, nonplused at his reception. To hell with that. So much for making a good impression. He yanked her into his arms and laid a deep kiss on her. When they both came up for air, he heard applause.

“Now that’s how you kiss a woman,” the taller of the two guys said. “Take a note, Aaron.”

“Shut up, jackass. That’s our sister he’s mauling.”

Nat pulled back, her lips slick and full. “Wow. Guess you missed me, huh?”

He held her close, uncomfortably aware of his hardening dick. “Give me a minute,” he said. After a moment, he let her pull away. “Yeah, you could say I missed you. A little.” He winked, then felt her hand entwine with his.

She squeezed, and he squeezed back, his heart full.

“Guys, this is Rex Samson, my boyfriend. Rex, my sister, Beth. The big doofus is James, the other one, Aaron.”

“Why am I just ‘the other one’?” Aaron whined.

Her brothers and sister teased each other while giving him a thorough onceover. It didn’t take them long to mention they knew about S&F. But unlike many people bowled over by his success, they didn’t fawn over him or make a big deal about it. Though he did have to promise some free samples down the road.

Nat hadn’t let go of his hand, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw her watching him with a dopey smile. God, he’d been waiting for this, to see her regarding him with more than confusion or lust, but real affection.

Maybe even… Well, he could hope.

“I can’t believe you got one of them,” James was saying to Nat as they sat in the kitchen around the center island, interrogating him.

“One of what?” Nat asked with irritation.

He liked watching their dynamic, seeing her interact with her family. Rex saw the fondness, the smiles and the ribbing. They might not be as close as he was to his parents, but the sibling interaction here was priceless. Nat was no longer the boss, but a little sister. And she didn’t appear to like it much.

He grinned.

“What are you smiling at?” Nat snapped.

“Nothin’, sugar. You’re just so pretty. I missed you.”

“Yeah, one of them. A Southern boy,” James answered. “All that sugar and honey. That’s so they don’t call you by another woman’s name by mistake.”

“You’re pretty smart, aren’t you?” Rex asked him.

James snorted. “You’d think so. But I can’t seem to find one decent woman in all of North Carolina.”

“He and Aaron are visiting from Raleigh,” Beth explained. “I’m here in Charlotte, and Mom and Dad are in York, close by. One big, happy family.”

“Spread out over several states, thank God,” Nat muttered.

Rex laughed. “Well, James, I can tell you I surely nabbed the best of them. She’s mine.”

“I like him,” Beth said. “He’s so cute.”

“Thank you kindly.”

“And that accent is great. Julie has a touch of it, but it’s too light.”

“Julie’s her wife,” Nat reminded him.

“Right. Where is she?” he asked. “I wanted to meet her.”

Beth beamed. “My pride and joy is off on business I’m afraid. She had to fly to New York for a few days, but she’ll be back at end of the week.”

“Too bad. I need to head back soon, probably before then. My work in Charleston is wrapping up, but I need to head home for a few.” Then to the others he said, “But I’ve been wanting to meet Nat’s family. She’s told me a lot about you.”

James huffed. “I can imagine. I’m the playboy who can’t settle. Aaron is a close second in the loser department. And Beth can do no wrong.”

“Close enough.”

“Rex.” Nat flushed. “I didn’t call you two losers,” Nat said to her brothers, who looked affronted. “Not exactly.”

Rex laughed.

“See what you started?” She threw an elbow at his midsection, so he plucked her from her spot next to him and cuddled her close.

“Aw, sugar, don’t be like that. I’m just teasin’.”

“That’s what we’re missing, James. That drawl.” Aaron nodded. “We’ll talk slow and with a deep voice. And women will be dropping panties left and right.”

Nat shook her head. “I thought you had a girlfriend.”

“Well, she’s mostly my girlfriend. I think. We’re not exactly committed.”

“We are,” Rex said before Nat could speak. “And we’re staying that way.”

She turned to look at him, searching for what, he didn’t know. Then she smiled, and the expression turned her eyes a bright green. “Yeah, we are.”

He wanted nothing more than to whisk her away and make love to her, slowly, but he settled for squeezing her tight and spending more time with her family. What made her happy made him happy. Being with her, hugging right now, felt like heaven on earth.

Later, when Nat went into another room with Aaron and James to find some old photo albums, Beth took him aside. “I’m glad you came.”

“Me too. I’m glad she invited me.”

Beth glanced at the hallway where Nat had disappeared, then whispered, “She’s been having a hard time. She won’t admit it, but she’s worried about her job.”

“They’re crazy if they don’t take her back,” he said in a low voice. “She makes the magic happen. A more competent, take-charge gal I don’t know.”

“That’s my sister.” Beth gave him a thorough scrutiny. “It’ll take a special kind of guy to deal with Nat. She’s so strong in so many ways that it’s easy to miss what she really needs.”

He understood her. “Yeah, I know. Nat’s a tough cookie, but she’s pretty gooey inside. Sweet and sticky.” He grinned. “You’ll have to forgive the metaphor, but Nat did say you made the best chocolate chip cookies this side of the Mason Dixon.”

Beth laughed. An older, fuller version of Nat. Unlike Nat, she seemed softer, able to bend more.

Rex preferred his girl, a no-nonsense woman who knew her own mind and was happy to say so.

“I like you, Rex.” She leaned closer. “You give my sister exactly what she needs. Just make sure you don’t mistake command for confidence all the time. She’s hurting now, but she’s too proud to let on.”

“I figured. But she wanted time to deal. I respect that. I won’t coddle her, unless she needs it.” He smiled. “And she might not realize it, but she needs it now. That’s why she called.”

“I’m glad you see that. You understand her, don’t you?”

“I love her,” he said softly, and Beth’s eyes glistened.

“Oh wow. You mean that. I can tell.”

“She loves me too. She’s just too stubborn to admit it too soon.”

“Yep. You really do know her.” Beth gave him a peck on the cheek. “I can tell she loves you. She’s never been so eager to introduce a boyfriend before. And the others…they weren’t right for her. A sister knows.”

“I can tell you that she makes me happy. I can support her financially and emotionally if she needs it. But the thing with Nat is to just be there for her to draw on. I don’t need to prove myself. And she knows it.”

“God. I’m so happy she found someone to understand her. You have no idea how worried I’ve been about that. My brothers, those two need help. But they’re easy. Nat, not so much.”

“Tell me about it.”

They both laughed, just as Nat and her brothers returned carrying photo albums and arguing about something that had happened when Nat was in tenth grade.

After a marathon of family photos through dinner and dessert and stories about Nat’s bossy years growing up, Nat called it a night.

“He’s tired, and I’m tired of looking at myself with those big buck teeth.” She pointed to yet another picture of her at eight years old.

“You’re adorable,” Rex said, meaning it. She had pigtails and the cutest blue jumper. In the picture, she seemed to be yelling at Aaron for something. “Cute family.”

“True.” James puffed up. “They all take after me.”

“After Mom, actually. Thank God,” Aaron said with bite. “Our father is not someone you want to emulate. Guy’s got a different woman on speed dial every other day.”

Yet the brothers seemed to go through women like M&Ms.

“True. We might date a lot, but one woman at a time,” James explained.

“Ah, I see.” He did. Nat hadn’t mentioned her father’s philandering, but the look on her face spoke volumes. No wonder she didn’t care for cheaters.

“What about your parents, Rex?” Beth asked. “Are they close?”

Nat answered for him. “Sue and Harry Samson are the most wonderful people you could meet. They’re so in love.” She sighed. “And his dad is hot. Rex should age well.”

“Nice.” He frowned. “You making eyes at my daddy?”

She snorted. “Please. I like my men closer to my own age.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “And manageable.”

Her brothers laughed. “Oh man, she nailed you,” Aaron crowed.

“Nice, sis,” James said. “Rex, be a man. Stand up for yourself.”

Rex shrugged. “But if I do, she’ll only beat me for it later.”

Nat’s brothers and sister gaped. Then Nat started to laugh so hard she cried, and her siblings laughed with her. Rex joined in, until he decided he’d had enough.

He took her from the table and easily lifted her over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. “Well, I’d best make like a barbarian and remind her who rules the roost. See you all in the morning.”

Her brothers cheered him while Beth made faces. Over his shoulder, Nat continued to pick fights with her brothers.

He carried her into the room Beth had shown him earlier. Nat’s room.

Once inside, he closed the door and locked it, then set her on her feet. “Now, sugar, how about you make me feel special?”

She tried not to grin, but she couldn’t seem to hold it back. In a low voice, she whispered, “How about you come here and do what I tell you to, boy?”

Like that, she tripped his switch, and he cupped his growing erection. “Oh, yes.”

“That’s yes, Mistress,” she reminded him.

As if he needed the help. “Fuck. I missed you so much. Mistress.”

She reached for the radio on the nightstand and found some low jazz. Then she stepped closer to him and started removing his clothing. “Me too, Rex. Me too.”

Chapter Eleven

Nat couldn’t hold it in anymore. She had to have him. Now. She took off his shirt and made him remove his shoes and socks. Then his jeans. Standing clothed while he wore nothing but his boxer briefs, she felt like a queen, surrounded by her favorite things.

Rex. Her lover. Her sub. Her everything.

“I missed you so much,” she said again. He remained quiet, and she stroked his chest, aware of his stillness while she let out her feelings. “I had to take time for me. Thinking about my job kind of put everything in perspective.”

She grazed his belly, loving the way his abs tightened, the muscle compact under her short nails. “I worked hard to get to be one of the city’s youngest planners. But I can do that somewhere else. My job shouldn’t define me.”

“It doesn’t,” he said in a husky voice, and she couldn’t miss the huge pole angling for her attention.

She didn’t want to wait. So she followed the trail of hair from his chest down his belly and dug under his briefs. He groaned, and she gripped him tight, pleased to feel him slick at the tip.

“Did you miss me, baby?” she asked on a whisper. “Tell Mistress the truth.”

“So fucking much,” he admitted. “I had to give you the time you needed, but I didn’t like it.”

She pumped him, and he leaned into her touch. God, he felt good in her hands. She was already slick, wanting to feel him inside her. “Take off your underwear, then sit on the bed and spread your legs.”

He did so without question. She walked between his legs and held one breast in hand. “Suck me.”

“Yes, Mistress.” He put his lips around her nipple and tugged the flesh into a hard knot. The sensation of his hot mouth, pulling, drawing on her, brought her to the edge of orgasm too quickly.

“I want you in me,” she said, running her fingers through his hair. “I need you to fill me up.”

He let her nipple go and stared at her. “In you?” he rasped.

“You haven’t been with anyone else since I left, have you?”

He glared. “Hell no.”

She breathed easier. “Good. Me neither.”

“I should hope not. I’m it for you, sugar. Just your naughty boy.”

“Yes,” she said on a sigh. “And I’m your mistress. For good.”

“God, yeah.”

“So do what I tell you. Put my legs around your waist and fuck me hard.”

He didn’t waste any time and hauled her into his arms. In seconds, her ankles crossed behind his back. They sat upright, her on top of him, and then he was sliding inside her, filling her tight.

“Oh, fuck. I can’t hold on, sugar. Not this time.”

“Don’t. Take me, Rex. I want you now.”

His hands held her ass as he lifted her up and down over him. Her clit brushed against his pelvis, and she bit her lip as she squeezed around him, coming hard.

He moaned low in his throat. “Gotta come, Mistress. Need to come so bad.”

Nat wanted to feel him. “Inside me. Give it to me, Rex. All for me.”

“Yes. All for you,” he moaned as he slammed her down on him one final time and seized, pouring into her. He continued to shudder and kissed her breasts, sucking the buds and moving her up and down over him, milking him dry.

Nat loved the feel of him, the scent of him. She nipped his neck and tasted the sweat and musk of her man. “God, I love you.”

He paused.

“I didn’t say you could stop.”

He chuckled and urged her up and down faster, his dick still half-hard.

“You grew on me,” she admitted as he rocked her into another climb toward orgasm. “I tried not to love you. I don’t like to…” He hit a spot inside her that made her groan, and she had to work to keep her voice down. “Don’t like to be vulnerable. It was too soon. We needed more…time. Oh… Do that again.”

He slammed into her, and she pinched his nipples, loving how she could get him hard again right after climax. They continued to play, moving together, taking their time, each feeding off the other. The affection only made their pleasure that much better.

“Fuck. That’s good,” he rasped. “So good, Mistress. You are fucking fine. So warm.” He continued to move in and out of her.

She growled and nipped his ear. “I want that come everywhere.” She whispered, “When we get home, you’ll take my mouth, my pussy, my ass. And you’ll make me explode, won’t you?” She licked his earlobe, then shoved her tongue in his ear.

“Gonna come, Mistress. Please. Let me get you off.”

“Not yet. I want to feel that come first. Fill me up, boy.”

He jerked her over him, grinding inside her, and then he gripped her hips hard enough to leave bruises as he shot inside her. His low moans were like music, a symphony of love and lust she never wanted to let go.

After he stopped shuddering, he looked into her eyes, his so warm, so rich and brown and sweet. “I love you so much, Nat.”

She felt her eyes fill, and Nat didn’t do tears. “I know.”

He smiled and kissed her, not needing permission to love her.

When he pulled back, she smiled through her tears. “Don’t think you don’t owe me another orgasm.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“And don’t think just because I love you that you aren’t still in the dog house for making me watch Brian and Faith having sex.”

“But it was hot, wasn’t it?” he murmured.

“So hot.” She shivered in his arms. Then she pulled back. “Rex?”

Alert to the change in her tone, he lost his teasing expression. “What’s wrong, sugar?”

“No matter what happens at home, you and I, we’re together.”

“Forever, if I have my way.”

Relieved, she nodded. “But we’ll still play around, right? Maybe a third, some watching. Even some club action if we want.”

“You okay with that?” He sounded cautious, and she couldn’t blame him. “Because I like having fun, don’t get me wrong. But I’d rather have you than all the rest of it.”

Good—no, great—answer. “I’ve done a lot of soul searching while I’ve been here. If the council doesn’t like what I do in private, in my off time, then fuck them.”

“That’s my girl.” He looked at her as if he idolized her, and his acceptance made all the difference in the world. Nat could be tough, holding on to her dignity and self-respect, but she didn’t have to be alone. Not with Rex by her side. Helping her, supporting her, never taking over for her. And never letting her steamroll over him.

“Am I a bitch?” she asked.

“Nah, just a woman who knows her own mind. You can always boss me in the bedroom, sugar. But I’m always my own man, and you like that.”

“I do.” She blew out a relieved breath. “I can’t tell you how much I love that you’re an independent guy. You didn’t insist on coming with me to Beth’s, or acting like I hurt your feelings because I didn’t ask you to.”

“I wanted to be with you, believe me,” he said with feeling. “I want to be your partner, Nat. Not your doormat, your slave, or your boss.”

“Oh man. I am loving you more and more.”

He grinned. “I was hoping you’d say that. We can take this as fast or slow as you want, but I’m tellin’ you now, I want all of you.”

“I said we could do all that kinky stuff at home. You know, oral, anal…”

He chuckled. “No, sugar. I mean, yeah, that. But I’m talking about us living together. Getting married.”

She started.

“Now, hold on. I’m not rushing you. We have all the time in the world. I figure by next month, we’ll have said our I Do’s.”

“Next month?” she said in a loud voice, then narrowed her gaze on his laughter. “You think that’s funny?”

“I surely do. I love you. I want you, forever. But next month’s pushin’ it, even for me.”

“But not your momma, I’ll bet.” She gloated at his sudden panic. “Yeah, Sue wants grandkids like yesterday. And she likes me.”

He shook his head. “No, she loves you. Which reminds me. The council loves you too. Ten to one says your job is waiting for you when you get back. Josh is sucking, big time. Everyone from Marly to Harper can’t stand him. So be prepared to go right back to work. Will it bother you to have folks whispering about you if you do?”

“They can kiss my ass. As long as you’re with me.”

He smiled, and she sighed at the beauty of his happiness. “That sounds about right, sugar. Now how about I give you that orgasm you’re due? Then we can talk about playing with that pretty little ass of yours? I have some ideas about fun we can have at the club, if you’re game. Jason was a mistake, but I have a few friends who would just love to play with you and me. Friends who know what discreet means.”

Her heart raced. “If I’m game? Honey, I’m board champion. Play on.”

Rex hadn’t lied. Back home in Augusta, her boss begged her to step back into her job. As far as the council was concerned, Nat’s private life remained private. The rumors Josh had circulated ended up creating a hostile work environment and getting him fired for harassment. The mayor remained surprisingly quiet about the whole thing.

Four days after being back on the job, her secretary Marly hugged her out of the blue. “I know I’ve said it a million times, but I’m so glad you’re back. That cretin ruined months’ worth of scheduling in just two weeks!”

Marly did love her calendars. “I’m glad to be back. Well, Marly, let’s fix things.”

Marly grinned and went back to patching up everything that Josh had broken.

Nat called Harper to bark a few orders at him, one of which was to remind Derrick Warren to get his ass to the office—on time—for their weekly Friday meeting the next day. She spent the rest of her Thursday squaring away the civic center details and only realized the end of the day had come when a shadow covered her desk.

“Hey, you…” She blinked up at Rex and smiled. “Rex.”

Her smile prompted his. “Excuse me, Ms. Wielder. But I believe we have a date.”

“A date?”

He plucked her out of her chair, grabbed her purse and handed it to her, then forced her out of the office.

“But I’m not—”

“Done? Yes, you are.” He nodded at Marly, who blushed like a school girl.

“Have a nice night, Nat. Mr. Samson.”

“Now, darlin’, I’ve told you to call me Rex. And don’t worry, we will.” He winked at her, and Marly tittered and waved.

This from the same woman who practically chewed nails whenever anyone got close to Nat without permission. The woman had a constant bone to pick with Derrick Warren because of his continuous tardiness, and Derrick could charm the scales off a snake.

Rex plugged her into the passenger seat of his car, then sped back to his condo. She let him lug her around like a ragdoll, anticipating the moment when she’d turn the tables and strap him down to the bed. Again.

And speaking of strap-on, it was time to put that new toy to good use. She’d been dying to feel what it was like to be the one doing the plowing.

He took her up the elevator in silence, not meeting her gaze. Curious.

Once at the door to their place—and how that still stunned and pleased her—he turned to her. “You have to keep me, no matter what.”

“I know.” She frowned. “Rex? Is everything okay?”

He pulled out a small felt box from his jacket pocket, and her throat swelled. She found it hard to breathe, let alone swallow.

“Nat, you’re everything to me. I love you more than I thought I could love anyone. Will you marry me?”

He opened the box, and a huge square-cut diamond winked at her, promising a future of happiness she’d never considered might be hers.

“I’ll always be yours to command,” he said in a low voice. “I’ll take care of you, as much as you take care of me. A partnership, Mistress.” He smiled.

She stared from him to the ring, knowing without a doubt what her answer would be. “You realize this is too soon.”

“Yep.”

“We’re barely living together.”

“Uh-huh.”

“You haven’t met my parents yet. And even I don’t like my dad all that much.”

“Right.”

“But wow, do I love you.” She leaned close to kiss him. “Will you let me give you a ring too? Maybe a collar you’ll wear just for me, in private?”

His eyes shone. “Oh, sugar. Anything for you.” He put the ring on her finger. “So is that a yes?”

“Yes.”

He kissed her and swung her in his arms, laughing. Soon he came to a stop and set her down. “One more thing.”

She felt dizzy. “What’s that?”

“Formula One or Indy?”

“You mean, do I like watching a car race around a track for no other reason than that men like to play with tools and tires?”

“And that’s my answer.” He sighed. “Well, at least you’re smart, sexy and good in bed. Three out of four ain’t bad.”

She tried to glare, but she couldn’t keep the joy from her face. “You—”

“Now don’t be mad.” He opened the door and pushed her through before she could ask what he was talking about.

“Surprise!” yelled a group of people, scaring the living daylights out of her.

Brian, Faith, the Warrens and their girlfriends, Harper and Freddy, and Beth and Julie waved and smiled. She saw Rex’s parents as well, and oh my gosh, her mother and brothers. Of her father, she saw no sign.

“I kind of set this up beforehand,” he said in her ear.

“I figured that.” She blinked, stunned and yet pleased at the celebration. She turned to him. “What if I’d said no?”

“Oh, this isn’t an engagement party. It’s a welcome back to work party. I know how to cover my bases.”

Her sister spied her ring and squealed, “Oh my God! Nat’s getting married!”

Everyone converged on her and Rex, who stood beaming. Nat laughed and hugged her family and her new friends. Freddy couldn’t stop smiling, nor could Harper. Nat’s family spoke with Rex’s parents. Her mother hugged her, only to be dragged away by Sue.

Nat found Rex an hour later in the hallway. “You know how I feel about surprises?”

“You hate them.” His smug smile turned her on, no question.

“And you know what’s going to happen when everyone goes home?” She spanked his ass and didn’t miss the bulge in his pants.

“Damn it. My parents are out there. Quit getting me riled.”

“You deserve it, and a whole lot more. I’m going to punish you for this little surprise.” She kissed this man, her lover and friend, who meant so much to her. “You’re just lucky I love you so much. That and I just like hearing you drawl all your words, sugar. I mean, fiancé.” She tried it out and found she liked the title.

He winked. “You’re right. I’ve been a bad boy. I can’t wait to see what you’ve got in store for me, sugar.” Then he whispered, “I mean, Mistress.”

She gave him an evil laugh. “Neither can I.”

About the Author

Marie Harte is an avid reader who loves all things sci-fi, fantasy and paranormal. Reading romances since she was twelve, she fell in love with books and knew writing was her calling. Twenty-plus years later, the Marine Corps, a foray through Information Technology, and children, and her dream has finally come true. Marie lives in Oregon with her family and loves hearing from readers. You can contact her at marie_harte@yahoo.com.

To read more about Marie, visit www.marieharte.com.

Content

Bending the Rules
Wicked Warrens - 5
Marie Harte

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

About the Author