I found myself nodding as more of myworries faded.
He thought I was sexy.
“Sounds perfect.” Setting the box on thetable, I opened it, knowing it was his favorite. “Sausage and peppers.”
Warner chuckled, looking terribly pleased. “Iwill admit to being a creature of habit.”
Trying not to grin, I nodded. “I noticed.”
That made him laugh. When it faded, heshook his head like he thought I was a bit cheeky, then pointed to a seat. “Makeyourself comfortable. What would you like to drink?”
As I followed what I was going to pretendwas an order, he opened the fridge. “I have Coke, water, or tea.”
“Water, thanks.” I felt a little uselesswatching him bring plates and bottles of water to the table, but he didn’t seemput out, so I just enjoyed the view. When he finally sat down, I could see athousand questions running through his head as he handed me a bottle of waterand a plate.
“So tell me about your conversation. I’vebeen kicking myself for not finding a way to see if you were interested in me,but I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.” Then I got another teasing grin. “Orhave to find a new restaurant if I’d read the situation wrong.”
It was my turn to laugh. “Hey, I didn’twant to lose my job because I flirted with the wrong guy.”
Nodding, Warner moved the box between us. “Butyou’re here now. Who do I have to thank for that?”
As we each took a piece, I started toexplain between bites. “I met an interesting guy named Asa this afternoon. Itseems that his…Master is one of your friends?”
There was no point in beating around thebush. Warner’s eyes sparked with something sexy and hot that sent a shiver throughme before it was gone just as quickly. “I shouldn’t be surprised.”
He leaned back in his chair, studying me,or maybe just trying to decide what I was thinking about. “There is not asubtle bone in that boy’s body. Are you okay with everything you found out?”
I must not have looked too weirded outbecause as I nodded and started to answer, tension eased out of his frame andhe took another bite. “Hearing that your friends were in that kind ofrelationship was good, honestly. Not knowing about that part of your life wasone of the things holding me back from even hinting about my…interest.”
That got me another one of his heatedflashes.
“But Asa was trying to be discreet, so don’tthink he told me too much deliberately. Some of it was accidental.” Asa wasawkward, not malicious or a gossip.
Warner chuckled. “How does my interest inBDSMaccidentallycome out?”
That made me grin again. “He mentioned thatyou guys had plans later tonight, and I thought he meant dinner. He’d talkedabout the restaurant where you’d seen me with my sister-in-law and niece, so itwas logical. That’s when he had to do a bit of explaining, and when it becameclear I knew about the club, he became a bit more open.”
Warner’s groan had me trying not to laugh.He leaned forward, giving me a very Dom look that said he wasn’t pleased withhow funny I found his drama. But if his goal was to make me behave, that wasn’tthe best way to achieve it.
To me, the look had me picturing being bentover his lap and thoroughly and wonderfully punished. My shiver gave away atleast some of what I was feeling because his gaze got even sexier. “I think allthis knowledge is very one-way. I don’t even know your name, much less what you’reinterested in.”
He scoffed when I smirked. “And I don’tmean favorite pizza toppings.”
Finishing my bite, I decided not to worryabout oversharing. From what Asa had said, I didn’t need to worry aboutshocking Warner, and it wasn’t like he was a stranger. I might not know a lotof details about him, but I knew what kind of guy he was.
“Well, my name is Ridley, and I’d be gladto answer any questions, but I don’t know where you want me to start.” Justrandomly listing out interests didn’t sound like the best idea.
Warner nodded, wearing an easy smile. “That’sunderstandable. Did Asa mention I’m a Dom?”
“I don’t remember specifically how heworded it, but yes, that was the impression I got.” I’d been a bit stunned ashe’d started to dump everything he was thinking out, so some parts of ourconversation were clearer than others.
“Have you ever dated a Dom? I’m just tryingto get a feel for where you’re coming from and your level of experience.” Yeah,making assumptions about this kind of stuff could have everything goingsideways.
“I’ve known I wanted to explore mysubmissive side for years. At one point I even joined an online BDSM group, butit didn’t work out, and it’s been a while since I’ve dated anyone at this point.”Because my life kind of exploded.
But he didn’t need to know the details ofeverything that had gone topsy-turvy in the past year. “And I’m just lookingfor something…something casual, I guess. My life is a bit crazy right now and Ican’t make any promises.”
With anyone else or in another situation Iwould’ve been jumping the gun, but Warner gave off a steady feel that said hewasn’t into casual dating and I didn’t want to give him the wrong impression.The way his face grew more serious said I’d read him right.
