“I think that’s the point.”

  “In that case, it’s a stupid point.” Her eyes flashed with something. “And why can’t I call you ‘sir’ here?”

  “That sounds an awful lot like a second question and you said you only had one.”

  “I forgot I had that one.”

  “Terms of address are personal. I prefer only a submissive I’m playing with call me, ‘Sir.’ Everyone else, including subs here, call me Mr. Gregory.”

  She took his answer in stride, neither arguing or asking anything else. Okay by him, he had plenty of questions for her.

  “Have you been to a BDSM club or play party before?” he asked.

  “No.”

  “Have you been in a power exchange relationship before?”

  “No.” Her answer was simple, but the look in her eyes was anything but. Whatever the look was for, he believed it dealt with something deeply rooted into her. But whether that was her doing or something someone else had drilled into her, he wasn’t sure.

  And unless she told him she would not discuss it, he wanted to dig a little deeper.

  “Have you ever been in a power exchange scene? Topped or bottomed for someone?” he asked.

  “No.”

  She had mentioned her and Ellis had been high school sweethearts. In that case, she probably didn’t have a lot of experience, if any, with men before Ellis. And he would wager she didn’t have a lot after his death either. Had her late husband not known about her interest in kink or had he been the one to suggest she repress it?

  No matter what the answer to that particular question was, he had to tread softly. What he could not do was to pick apart or belittle her late husband. For better or worse, she had vowed to be with Ellis forever. That he died was unexpected and a heavy load for one so young.

  “Why is that, Maggie?” He spoke in a low voice, hoping it would keep her calm and focused. “Why when it’s obvious you’re interested?”

  She pressed her lips together so tight, he feared she wouldn’t answer. A part of her wanted her answer to remain in the silence, that much was clear from the pained look on her face. His only hope was that the part of her wanting to talk about it was stronger than the part preferring silence.

  “He said decent people didn’t do that,” she said in a whisper so low he had to strain his ears to hear.

  Ellis, he assumed, but wasn’t going to go there yet. “Did you believe him?”

  “I wanted to, I mean, a wife should be able to believe what her husband says, right?”

  It had been Ellis. Fucking hell. It would have been easier had it have been anyone else. But Maggie was no fool and had it been anyone else, she’d have been able to get past it herself.

  “Should be,” he agreed. “But husbands are only men. They aren’t perfect and they do mess up and get things wrong on occasion.”

  “I felt bad for not believing him, but he left me with no other choice. If I said I believed him, that would mean I wasn’t decent, and I am, aren’t I?”

  He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and tell her over and over until she believed it more than anything, how decent she was. Fists clenched tight, he fought to make his voice as calm as possible. “You’re one of the most decent people I know.”

  She gave him a weak smile. “Thanks. I think you’re pretty decent, too.”

  “Even though I have a membership at a BDSM club?”

  “Yes,” she said. “And no one would ever be able to make me think otherwise.”

  “Thank you, Maggie.”

  She looked away, but wasn’t able to hide her expression or how his answer made her feel.

  “Tell me, Maggie. What brought you here tonight?”

  “I wanted to see if you were a Dom and if you were, if I….liked that.”

  After years of being curious, and not doing anything, he was the one who had given her the push to take action. Unaware and unintentional, but he had. He felt largely humbled. “By ‘like’ you mean, if seeing me as a Dom turned you on?”

  Her cheeks flushed at his question. “Yes.”

  “And if it did? If you discovered you really liked me as a Dom, what did you plan to do then?”

  “I hadn’t planned it out that far in my brain.”

  Why was he not surprised? “The thing is, I’m your direct supervisor. It would be unethical of me to have any relationship with you.”

  “I know.” She said, then a louder voice repeated, “I know, and it doesn’t change anything.”

  He’d never found himself in this position before. Never before had an employee interested him, much less a direct report. He didn’t know what to do with it. Or did he have to do anything?

  There was no reason to even bother answering that one. It was not in his nature to sit back and let things happen. To see a situation and not to do anything. Likewise, it wasn’t in his nature to jump into something without first studying it first. He needed to do the same thing here.

  “Maggie,” he said, ensuring he had her attention before continuing. “Before we make decisions and change something that might not need changing in the first place, let’s make sure we know what we’re looking at. The session I have tomorrow night will be with John and his submissive. If you would like, I can talk to him and see if either of them would mind you observing. If they don’t and you watch, you’ll be able to see me as a Dom. Hopefully, by the end of the night, you’ll have witnessed enough to tell if there’s something you’d like to pursue, either with or without me.”

  Her cheeks flushed darker, but he was impressed as hell she didn’t back down. “You’ll be interacting with his submissive?”

  “More than likely. Is that what you want to see, Maggie? My hands on another woman?”

  “Not really,” she admitted. “But if it’s all I can have for now, I’ll take it.”

  “What is it you want?” he asked, not sure if he wanted her to answer or not.

  “I’ll let you know tomorrow night, after your session.”

  Chapter Nine

  Maggie found it difficult to be still the next day. Granted, she was never one to let grass grow under her feet, but this was different. She wished she knew if Isaac felt anything but as normal, his expression was unreadable. In fact, to be around him wasn’t much different than any other day. Rather infuriating if you asked her. But no one had.

  She also wanted to check in with Ty to see how his night went, and to find out if he ever caught up with Lillian. But when she walked by his office door at ten thirty and he still wasn’t in, she feared he’d called in sick because things didn’t go well. Her hope was last night had gone better than expected and he was still wrapped up with Lillian.

  She really hoped it was that last one. Just thinking about it made her smile. The only problem with Ty not being in the office, however, was her getting into The Club. She wasn’t a member so she couldn’t get in by herself. The plan had been for her to go as Ty’s guest, the way she had the previous day. She thought about bringing it up to Isaac but didn’t.

  That made her feel like a coward. And not just a coward but a stupid coward. It wouldn’t be like she was telling him something he didn’t know. He knew she wasn’t a member and had no way to get in. He also knew it was his business partner that got her in the night before. Surely he saw the issue, he was a smart man. So why wouldn’t she talk to him? She feared she knew the answer to that one.

  She was afraid Isaac would see her as somehow less. In the same way she suspected Ellis had after she told him what she wanted to try in the bedroom. He never verbalized anything of the sort, but their sex life changed, after, and not in a good way either.

  She didn’t have to be told how ridiculous it was for her to think Isaac was anything like Ellis in that regard. Isaac was a club member for crying out loud. But the human mind was a mysterious thing. She could know her thoughts were ridiculous and still think them.

  “Maggie.”

  Speak of the devil. “Isaac.”

  Somehow he’d managed to walk into her office without her hearing him. Fortunately she hadn’t been drinking anything or else she’d be wearing it.

  “Would it be possible for you to clear our schedules for Saturday?” he asked.

  “Our schedules?” He’d told her to expect to work some weekends, and from the sound of it, this would be the first one.

  “You and I have been invited by Lance’s grandmother to lunch on Saturday.” A faint smile played around his lips. “If I know the old bird, she has something up her sleeve.”

  “Why would your business partner’s grandmother invite us to lunch?”

  “Have you heard of Barbara Murphy?”

  The name echoed in her mind. Something about it made her think she’d heard of the woman, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t remember when or where she’d heard or read the name. “The name seems familiar, but I can’t recall why.”

  “She’s well known in the fine arts world. She sits on several charity boards and oversees a scholarship in memory of her daughter.”

  “Ah.” That explained it. More than likely she’d met the woman at one of her in-laws hoity-toity parties she felt obligated to attend while Ellis was alive. Since his death, she hadn’t been invited to any event of theirs. Not that she cared because if they had, she'd have stayed home.

  Isaac had been watching her, no doubt with his keen sense of observation, and picked up on her thoughts. “Mrs. Murphy is quite a character, I think you’ll like her if you don’t go to lunch with a preconceived idea of who she is.”

  She wanted to tell him it was too late but nodded instead and told him lunch on Saturday would be fine.

  “I’ll have a car pick you up at your place around eleven,” he said. “Also, are you going home after work today?”

  She searched his expression for any clue as to his thoughts on tonight, but came up empty. “I wasn’t planning to,” she said, trying to keep her voice as calm as his so he wouldn’t have a clue how excited she was about tonight. “I brought my clothes to change into and planned on doing so there.”

  “In that case, I’ll have a car waiting for you downstairs around six-thirty. Will that work for you?”

  “Yes. Thank you.”

  “I’ll be waiting outside for you.” He dropped his voice, “We’ll go over my expectations then.”

  What she should have asked him, she realized almost immediately after he left her office, was how the hell he expected her to get anything done after dropping those six words on her? Although to be fair, there were only two of the six words that made her insides flutter.

  His expectations.

  His expectations of her when she was his guest at his BDSM club. How was it possible those were the two most arousing words in the English language when said or thought together?

  They really shouldn’t turn her on the way they did. Hell, he really shouldn’t turn her on the way he did. He was too uptight. Too controlling. Too much of a perfectionist. That he had the power to arouse her wasn’t even logical.

  Although she had to admit, logic had long left the building somewhere between compost and chicken marsala.

  Logical or not, she made it through the afternoon and slipped into the backseat of the waiting car at six-thirty. A backpack containing the outfit she’d change into rested on her lap, and she drummed her fingers on it as the car crept into the nightmarish traffic of the city.

  Was Isaac already there, waiting for her?

  She didn’t have to wait too long to find out. Even with the traffic, it felt as if she only had time to blink before the car pulled to a stop in front of the building she first saw the day before. And of course Isaac stood outside waiting for her. He’d said he would, why had she thought it possible he wouldn’t?

  Isaac walked to her side of the car and helped her out. “Let’s step inside and talk,” he said as the car pulled off. They walked to the entrance, and he held the door open for her. Although everything appeared the same as it had the day before, she felt different. Entering the building yesterday with TY had been exciting, but it wasn’t the same as the almost nervous excitement she felt today, walking in with Isaac.

  “Let me see what you brought to wear,” he said, holding his hands out for her bag.

  Interesting. Ty didn’t seem to have been too concerned about what she wore yesterday. It might be possible to chalk it up to personality differences, but she didn’t think that was the only reason.

  He pulled out her set of denim short shorts and nodded. She’d got them for a Halloween party a few years ago and Ellis wouldn’t let her out of the house because he could, “see her ass cheeks and she didn’t even have to bend over.” Isaac also approved of the thin white tank top she’d selected to wear with it. However, he told her to keep the heels she’d brought in the bag.

  “You can go barefoot,” he said.

  “Why?”

  “Because I said so.” It wasn’t the words he said so much as the way he said them. Even the tone of voice he used at work didn’t seem as commanding, but she wondered if that was only her mind playing tricks on her. He continued, “There’s been a change of plans tonight.”

  “Did John or his sub not want to be observed?” she asked.

  “I knew I should have gone over my expectations first.”

  “What do you -” Her words were cut off by the finger he placed over her lips.

  “Rule number one. You are not to speak unless I ask you a question or I ask for your opinion. You're not my sub, so while I can’t punish you for disobedience, I can have you removed from the club.

  “Rule number two. You will address me as ‘Mr. Gregory.’ You will not touch me unless I ask you to or give you permission.

  “Rule number three. Anything I say goes. If you become overwhelmed or upset or want to leave, you say ‘red’. You’ve heard of safewords?”

  “Yes, Mr. Gregory.”

  He smiled. “Very nice, Maggie. I somehow thought you’d be a quick learner.”

  She wasn’t sure how it was possible for the excitement in her belly to both calm down and grow more intense at the same time. But if that was a result of him smiling, she never wanted him to stop.

  “John didn’t mind being observed, but his submissive, who is relatively new to the scene, did. She had some apprehension in general, so I’ve had another Dom step in who will be with them tonight.”

  So what would they be doing? It was on the tip of her tongue to ask, but according to his rules, it wasn’t the time for questions.

  “Come with me while I check us in and then you can go get dressed.” He stood and held out his hand to help her up. Though he dropped it as soon as she stood, she didn’t miss the jolt of electricity his touch seemed to send through her.

  She felt calmer once she’d splashed cold water on her face and changed out of her street clothes. Plus, the overall buoyant mood of the dressing room helped. She knew none of the women present, but they were all friendly and inviting. Several spoke to her. Others, she could tell were shy or reserved. Whatever the case was, they all made her feel less nervous and teased each other like family. She stepped into the hallway where Isaac would be waiting with a smile.

  He took his time looking over her from head to toe, and even though she was fully clothed, she felt naked under his gaze. Why even bother with clothes? She’d be perfectly content to strip and spend the entire evening naked. But then again, she’d never had a problem with nudity, either her own or someone else’s, before.

  “You look very nice, Maggie. Come with me.” He held the door open and for the second day in a row, she stepped into what she now dubbed her white wonderland.

  Isaac was nowhere near as social as Ty. Even though Ty hadn’t spoken to many people the day before, he’d had a warm and friendly smile for everyone they came into contact with. It wasn’t that Isaac was unkind or unfriendly, he wasn’t as free with his emotions as Ty.

  “We’re still going to observe tonight,” he said as they crossed the room without stopping. He pushed the doors open that led to the public play space and for a second, she stood and took it all in.

  There was too much to take in: the people, their actions. Even more: the sounds, ranging from the rhythmic panting to grunts and moans. The pounding beat of the music coming through the speakers and the slap of leather against skin.

  The room was a feast of offerings for every sense she had. If she stayed in one place, she could probably gorge herself. But Isaac wasn’t about to let that happen, and she knew it without him saying or doing anything.

  Within minutes of entering, he took her to a room off to one side and closed the door. He slowly turned to her. “Are you ready?”

  Chapter Ten

  “Yes, Mr. Gregory,” she said, and he swore her eyes grew dark with desire.

  He shouldn’t be here with her like this. No good could come out of it. There was a reason he’d never dated an employee, and he knew better than to start now. Yet, he still couldn’t find it in himself to walk away or tell her to go home. He swallowed a snort, like it’d do any good for him to tell her to go home. She’d more than likely smile at him and say, “No, thank you.”

  He couldn’t tell her to go home tonight, so he’d have to find a way to give her what she was looking for while keeping as much distance between them as possible. Easier said than done, but acting more at ease than he felt, he stepped to the side so she could see into the room.

  Set up like a mini theater, two love seats faced the curtain-covered back wall. Isaac checked the time. The couple they’d be watching had been alerted both when he opened the door and when he closed it. The plan was for him to raise the curtain after ten minutes. That would allow for him and Maggie to observe from behind a one-way mirror.

  “Have a seat,” he told Maggie and dimmed the lights before joining her. “We’re going to watch a simple scene tonight. We’ll be able to see, but not hear, the couple. To them we’ll only appear as a mirror. You may talk freely while we’re in here.”