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I gave a very unladylike snort. “If that’s not the pot calling the kettle black, I don’t know what is, Donovan, Jean-Luc, Max, or whatever?—”
He continued as if I hadn’t interrupted, “If you won’t let me hold you on my lap, at least let me hold your hand.” When I still hesitated, he added, “Please, Mia, you honestly took ten years off my life when you fainted.”
“And whose fault is that?” I asked. “And I didn’t faint!”
“Mine, and you most certainly did,” he countered, wagging his fingers again.
I gave in and laid my hand in his, dropping my face down so he wouldn’t see the smile I couldn’t stop when he immediately closed his fingers around mine.
“So, where do I start?” he mumbled.
Lifting my head, I opened my mouth to snark, but perhaps turning twenty-one made one at least a tad more mature. I shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. How about we just start this entire night over? I’ll call you Max and you call me Mia, and we can forget we ever?—”
“Sorry, Princess, that is the one thing I can never do.”
“Why not? I think at least part of the reason we chose new names is because we both know we’re not the same people we were when we were last together.”
“Though I agree we aren’t the exact same, we didn’t choose “new” ones; we simply chose a portion of what was already ours that we feel portrays who we are in this moment. I think Mia is a beautiful name because of who she’s always been, but I’m not talking about names?—”
“Then what are you talking about?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “You honestly have no clue, do you?”
Okay, forget that part about maturity for suddenly I wanted nothing more than to kick his shin beneath the table. “If I’m so clueless, how about you fill me in Mr. Know-It-All?”
“Careful, Mia. I’m talking about what happens next. And while we talk about the future, it might do you well to remember not only do I own the club you chose to enter, it is a BDSM club and you know what that means.”
“That you are kinky as shit?” I slapped my free hand over my mouth as I shared that little snark out loud.
Max just gave me a look that had my insides fluttering and my toes curling as he slowly bent forward until his face was all I could see. His eyes were now the color of the waves as a winter storm tossed them onto the shore. How I’d not immediately recognized them only served as testament to how I been so caught up in what I wanted that I’d been ridiculously careless about everything else.
“Babe, you have absolutely no clue as to how kinky I can be. You only have to think of my name to know why I own a BDSM club.”
He paused so long I finally understood he was actually waiting for me to figure out the puzzle. When I said, “I give?” he shook his head.
“Tell me, how did you come up with the alias you used at the club?”
“You mean Mia?” At his nod, I said, “I simply took my initials and…” Understanding left me speechless for a brief instant before I gave him the answer to his riddle. “Donovan Oliver Maximillian, D O M.” He grinned and I rolled my eyes. “You don’t honestly expect me to believe that the reason you opened Revelation was because your parents chose to name you that, do you?”
“Maybe, maybe not,” he said before becoming serious again. “Tell me, why did you pick my club? Out of all the clubs in Austin, why Revelation?”
I squirmed in my chair, not exactly sure if I should answer or not. Deciding it was a little too late to try to hide anything, I confessed. “One night David got called into some late meeting about world currencies or something. Anyway, it cut their dinner date short, so Deanne came back to the suite early. She caught me searching online for a club that catered to, um, well, you know.”
“Kink?”
“Shhh!” I hissed. “You don’t have to blab that out to the entire restaurant!”
“I wasn’t the one who brought it up. Besides, half the people you see here are very well aware of what I do for a living.”
“They know you’re next in line to the throne of Doran?” I retorted, willing to bet my last kroner that was one little secret he’d kept to himself. He didn’t even have to answer as I could see it written all over his face. “Hmmph, I didn’t think so. You can stop scowling at me. God knows I’d be the last person to out you. Hell, I’m jealous that you can live the life you want while I… well, all I can do is sneak off for one night to see if places like Revelation really exist.”
“Since you appeared at my doorstep, I gather you now know they do?”
“Let’s just say that my sister evidently isn’t all that ignorant either. She’s the one who suggested I restrict my search to those clubs who didn’t advertise all over social media but could be found when you take the time to delve a bit deeper. Limiting the search to those mentioned as being extremely exclusive, open only to those who could afford the cost of a private membership…” Hearing my own words, I tilted my head and stared at him.
“What?”
“Any mention of your club was limited to snatches a in few reviews Deanna and I found on a fet… um, I mean website. Revelation was not only exclusive, any info about it at all was elusive, which made it a perfect fit for my criteria. But since I’m definitely not a member, I have to wonder how I even got through the front door.”
