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“The Donovans have”—she ran her finger around the plastic lid covering her cup and settled for—“acquired Newman Inland.” She mentally patted herself for the word. It was better than her first choice, stolen.
For a moment, there was silence. “Donovan? Like Donovan, Donovan?”
“Yeah. As in Nathan Donovan is my new boss.”
“Holy fuck bunnies.” Andi whistled, and the noise was so high-pitched that Kelsey had to move the phone away from her ear. “That’s a fine man right there.”
Except for the personality that went along with the classic good looks and stunning body. “He’s a hard-ass.”
“Meaning he acts like a Dominant?”
“What?” Kelsey demanded.
“Just askin’,” Andi said. “I forget which, but one of the brothers is part owner of that new club.”
Kelsey frowned. “What new club?”
“You know, the one I was telling you about. The tie-me-up-and-beat-my-ass-hard club.”
“The BDSM one? You’re not talking about Deviation, are you?” Kelsey had read about it in an exposé in the alternative newspaper that could be picked up for free at the trendy places around Houston. A man who lived in Boston and was reputed to be a friend of Julien Bonds was the majority owner. But she didn’t remember seeing the name Donovan. Maybe because it hadn’t mattered at the time. But now… A kaleidoscope of questions turned over in her mind. Could Nathan possibly be a Dom? Could that explain her visceral reaction to his personality?
She shook her head to clear it. Even while she told herself she wouldn’t think of her new boss that way, she said to Andi, “Keep talking.”
“I may or may not have personal knowledge of said club.”
“What? You? You went to a kink place?” Kelsey almost dropped her cup. “When?” According to the article, the place was all very secretive and exclusive. It had some amazing high-tech additions, making it unique among all the clubs in the country.
She thought back to Nathan, his watch, the unique things it did. Was it possible that he was the brother who’d invested? She discarded that thought almost as quickly as it had formed. Even in the short time she’d known him, she doubted he’d put his money into something with that kind of risk.
If Andi actually answered her question, Kelsey didn’t hear her. She was so consumed with her own thoughts that she was no longer listening. “Can you get me in?”
Andi interrupted herself to demand, “What? Seriously? Shut your mouth. You want to be tied up. Or wait…”
Kelsey could imagine Andi’s pseudo-frown. She’d had too many face-freezing injections to actually get wrinkles, but she managed to bring her carefully drawn eyebrows somewhat closer together when she was genuinely caught off guard.
Truthfully, Kelsey was more than a little surprised that she hadn’t been able to prevent the question from tumbling out.
“Wait… Do you want to do the tying? Do you want to beat some little subbie’s ass?”
Kelsey rolled her eyes. “No.” But the image of her body, bound and naked, tantalized her.
“I had no idea you really were kinky. Girl, we gotta talk more about this. I get off early tomorrow night. Martinis and confessions?”
“I’m not sure I’d be brave enough to talk about it without fortification,” she admitted. “Friscos at six?” She named the nearby downtown hotspot. They had a great happy hour, meaning she could eat dinner for almost nothing. She might have unkindly called Nathan a penny-pincher but the truth was, she, too, was a master economizer.
“Six it is, and girlfriend, I’m telling you this. Get me Sofia or Lara Donovan as a client, will you? If you do, I’ll make your first cut and color half-price.”
“Half-price? Your generosity knows no limits.”
“You know, I want Erin. She’s your boss’ sister. You can get her, right? Talk to him? God above, get me Erin and I’ll give you a BOGO.”
“Buy one, get one? Which means I have to pay full price for the first one?” Kelsey asked. Clearly Andi was insane.
A male shriek cut across the phone line, and Andi screeched in return. Knowing the conversation was over, Kelsey hung up.
As she finished her coffee, she spent a few minutes thinking about Nathan. It made sense that he was a Dom. He seemed to have the personality. Well, as much she knew. Or guessed, really. She read a lot, chatted with a friend who enjoyed participating in scenes with men, was in a few online groups and owned the movies featuring one of her favorite actors as a Dom.
Kelsey told herself to end the fantasies right there. That’s all they were.
