“Right,” I say to the lawyer. Eliot had mentioned they were suing for damages and long term care costs. This is not a conversation to have here and now. “This is SJ Redding.”
Simon’s eyes spark as he greets my date. I almost didn’t think she’d keep our date after she left me alone in bed, but I couldn’t imagine being at the event with her not officially attached to me. My inner redneck would have chafed on that one. The fact that she looks incredible only would have stung more. Her clingy blue dress makes her eyes stand our even more than they usually do. I’ll take it off her as soon as I can.
She insisted, before we came tonight that as my date, I would do a rope scene with her. It was a no brainer to agree, but I’m not ready to share her, not publicly. The private room is reserved. I glance around the restaurant, which I’ve spent so much time in while it was being built, empty, but moving toward this. Somehow seeing it serving the intended function, disconnects me. It’s no longer mine. It’s the chef’s room and the resort’s main dining venue. It belongs to the guest.
Stone is talking to Delilah Rosen, the architect for the resort. She smiles at me as I approach with SJ in tow. There’s an urge to turn and run. Working with her has been…challenging. But in the end she was right about almost everything.
“Nice job on the details, Alex.” She’s dressed in a shiny red dress and matching spike heels. There’s no doubt she’d spank my ass if she was unhappy with any of it. Stone would probably let her or at least hold me down.
“Glad you approve. Looking forward to working on the next phase with you.” That’s an exaggeration born from my Southern manners. But she doesn’t seem to bother Gabe near as much as she does me. “Mind if I steal Stone away for a moment?”
Stone doesn’t wait for her to answer. He excuses himself and moves SJ and me to a quiet corner. “What’s up?”
I glance at SJ. Part of me would rather do this without all the proper forms, but no. With a deep breath in, I rush through my request. “Have a room reserved to do a scene. Need a consent form for SJ.”
“Follow me.” We head to the bar. “Cassie?”
The young curvy bartender we met at Pandora darts over to Stone. “Sir?”
Really? She calls Stone “sir?” After a brief inaudible exchange, she grabs a clipboard and hands it to him. He hands it to me. “Go sit down and talk. Fill this out. I’ll send Pierce over to witness your signature, SJ.”
I nod and take a step.
“You cool with Cade and me as spotters?” Hadn’t considered needing that, but the downstairs isn’t fully staffed with dungeon masters or any staff really.
“Inside or outside?” I ask.
“Outside. Door unlocked, audio on.” Stone can listen in on wireless earbuds.
“That works,” I say. Stone doesn’t move, his gaze boring into SJ.
She nods, but Stone doesn’t move a muscle.
“Yes, sir,” she says, and he nods approvingly.
Fuck. He’s a total Dom. I’m an alpha, love to top my rope bunnies, but he’s something else entirely.
Sitting in a booth, we go over what I’m going to do with my ropes and the suspension.
“We need safe words. You cool with red, yellow, green?”
“Sure.”
I have doubts whether she’d actually use them. A hint of doubt hits the back of my neck. Have to be extra cautious with checking the tension and keeping her talking. “I might not actually take you off the ground, it has to feel right to me.” Despite her wanting that, me wanting that, that doubt has me warning her. “And any sexual interaction isn’t guaranteed. Both of us have to be okay then. Whatever we talk about, agree to now, the consent can be revoked.”
She finally looks at me and nods. “I understand. I want this Alex, I’ve been asking you to do this since we first got together.”
I’ve resisted despite wanting her wrapped up and under my control so badly. It’s leftover worry from what went wrong back in that hay barn. It’s been years. Time to get over it. SJ isn’t Alyss. Despite the lingering doubt and the seriousness of the negotiation, I’m still excited to see what works with her body, test her flexibility which should be good with all the yoga she does.
“Where do I sign?” she asks, seemingly as excited as I am to start the scene.
“Hold up.” Pierce has to be here first. Finally, I spot him working his way through the crowd, several people from Pandora stopping him, probably to say hi and comment on the new club. When he get’s there, he asks if we’re ready. I hand him the paper. He takes his time, looking it over. “Any questions or concerns?”
The question is for SJ not me. I hold my breath because she could back out.
“No.”
“Safe words?”
