Grant laughed ashe climbed out of the car. Carter didn’t wait for him to come around and openthe door, and that was all right with him. He didn’t need to do that kind ofstuff, and he didn’t want a full-time submissive. But from the look on Carter’sface, he’d been curious if Grant was going to say something.
Not yet. Therewere so many other things to drive Carter insane about.
Their reservationswere ready when they walked in, so they were taken right to their table. “Yourwaiter will be with you in just a moment.”
“Thank you.” Grantgave the hostess a quick smile as she started to walk away after giving themtheir menus and the typical spiel.
Their service wasone of the reasons he’d chosen this restaurant. Located right on the edge of themore conservative part of town and the trendier district, it had an upscalefeel but none of the snobbery you would expect. It would take a lot to make oneof their employees blink, much less be surprised at a skirt.
Carter seemed to knowhe looked fabulous, but that didn’t mean he thought everyone else wouldappreciate his clothing choices. Grant was glad to see that when he realizedthe server wasn’t surprised at all, his stress seemed to fade.
Hopefully, therest of their date would go just as smoothly.
Chapter 3
Carter
It was thestrangest date he’d ever been on.
No drama that hewasn’t dressed right to be taken out in public, well, not the typical drama.Grant’s aren’t-you-going-to-look-sexy-for-me pushiness wasn’t the normal wayhis dates usually went. They’d gone to a real restaurant. And Grant reallydidn’t seem to mind what Carter wanted to wear at all. He even liked the skirt.
Hemorethan liked the skirt.
Grant thought hewas desirable. He even wanted to take Carter to the club dressed up insomething erotic. The look on his face let Carter know exactly what kinds of naughtythings he was imagining, and it wasn’t typical sub gear.
Carter wasn’t surewhat to make of it. He was tempted to look around for the hidden cameras thathad to be following them. It couldn’t be real—but it was. Grant was perfect.Well, perfect except the man had no subtlety when it came to flirting. Carterdidn’t mind, though.
It was nice to bewanted for who he really was. He just wasn’t used to it. As they’d ordered andstarted eating, the conversation became more natural and it didn’t feel so strange.Grant pulled back on the outrageous comments, talking about work and askingquestions about Carter’s shop.
Maybe it was allthe time they’d spent talking on the phone and hanging out at the family eventsCarter had been invited to. Grant wasn’t new; it was just the idea that heactually liked Carter that would take some getting used to.
By the time theyfinished dinner and were heading back to the car, Carter was feeling moreconfident. The usual sci-fi-sized moths that would try to beat their way out ofhis body were typical first date butterflies. It was nice.
Grant teased himthrough dinner that he wasn’t going to tell what they were going to donext—unless sufficiently bribed by Carter. Carter just hadn’t been exactly surewhat Grant had meant, so he’d kept his mouth shut. The words had been teasing,but the desire coming from Grant had been anything but sweet.
What had hebeen picturing?
Carter knew he couldn’task without Grant being very forthcoming about exactly what was on his mind.Carter was torn. He couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or not. He likednot having to speculate about Grant’s interest in him, but he didn’t knowenough about what the Dom liked to guess at how he would respond.
How much of aDom was Grant?
No one in the familyhad said he was looking for a lifestyle relationship, and Carter was reasonablysure that information would have been freely offered. They didn’t believe inhiding anything in their family. He hadn’t been over that many times, butthey’d all been very open and welcoming.
It would take somegetting used to.
His own familyhadn’t bothered to hide what they thought of Carter’s choices. Watching howdifferently another family handled things was…hard. Carter loved the way Garrett’sfamily supported Wyatt. He just wasn’t used to it. It gave him a peek at whathis own family could have been like if they’d been more accepting.
Mostly, he wasglad Wyatt had found someone who loved him and a place he fit in. No one thoughthe was odd for wanting to kneel or for needing more from Garrett than a typicalboyfriend would. They’d all gone out of their way to show him he could behimself.
They’d also goneout of their way to show Carter he could be himself.
“Now are you goingto tell me?” As they were pulling out of the parking lot and heading towarddowntown, Carter was anxious to know what else Grant had planned.
“Possibly. I stillhaven’t been bribed, though.” Grant’s tone was teasing, but the look on hisface was pure desire.
He shouldn’t playalong. He was either going to encourage the crazy, or he was going to beembarrassed when he guessed wrong. Carter was completely out of his depth. He’dhad some hookups and met a few guys, but nobody like Grant.
Deciding thatlooking at Grant’s reaction would be too stressful, he looked out the sidewindow, studying the signs and buildings as they drove by. “How about a kiss?”
