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I wanted to make it last, but I was down to a sliver and I was nervous and excited about what would come next. “And yet you’re still talking to him?”
Cohen chuckled, looking a bit confused and sheepish. “He keeps people. It’s weird, like he’s got some kind of magnetic personality even when there’s an imminent explosion.”
I just couldn’t see them ever working out…and thankfully nothing in the way he’d interacted with Eli earlier said he was still pining.
I knew because I’d been very observant…not stalkerish, just watchful of the sexy, seemingly straight guy.
Because clearly, I liked torturing myself.
“You don’t seem volatile enough to have worked out well with Eli.” He and Roman were made for each other, but everything I was getting from Cohen said he was a more laid-back Dom.
Right?
“I take it the subs you’ve had relationships with have been…less dramatic?” I wasn’t sure there was a polite way to say it, but when Cohen chuckled softly and then stared down at his cake, I started to worry.
What had I said?
Thankfully, he didn’t make me guess.
“I haven’t had that many relationships in the lifestyle.” I was glad the little coffee shop he’d brought me to for dessert wasn’t that busy this late at night so we didn’t have to worry about an audience as he spoke about his dating history…or lack thereof.
Shrugging, he leaned back and seemed to mentally say fuck it as he got blunter. “I’m boring? Not dynamic enough? I don’t know.”
I wasn’t sure boring was a bad thing, honestly.
“I don’t need volatile or dramatic.” I smiled as his grin filled with confidence. “Me needs someone who is sane and functional and steady. Pup me needs someone who can be playful at times and can see past the…the strangeness, I guess.”
It was normal to me, but I knew not everyone saw it that way.
Adults spent way too much time and energy fighting the urge to play pretend and I just didn’t get it.
He scoffed. “It’s not strange, just unique. Like the models or the other pups. It’s a part of who you are.”
Speaking of the other models and the pups…
“Why weren’t you flirting with anyone else at the party?” I wasn’t egotistical enough to think I was the sexiest sub there or even the cutest…that would definitely have been Ian. His whole face had lit up when he’d smiled.
But Cohen had spent the whole time hanging out with Preston.
I’d honestly thought he was some kind of token straight friend until he’d started watching me. It was one of the reasons I hadn’t even thought about questioning his smile or the way he was checking me out. I’d been too shocked.
So there had to be a story.
Cohen set his fork down and studied me for a long moment. “I’ve been a friend of Preston and Eli’s for a long time. So that’s part of it. I wouldn’t want to cause drama in their life by dating someone who works with them. But—and please keep this to yourself—I’m a silent partner.”
Ah.
“No dating employees?” I could understand that, even if it was more of a preference than a policy based on what I’d seen from everyone else. “And what…no dating drama?”
That made even more sense.
He shrugged, looking slightly guilty as he had to nod. “There are probably a lot of nice guys there, but getting to know them would mean getting too involved in the day-to-day side of things.”
“So the lingerie stuff or the puppy play part doesn’t bother you?” I wasn’t sure I would’ve had the restraint not to go at least sniffing around all the cuties that worked there if I’d been a Dom. Some of them just cried out that they wanted to be cuddled and cared for.
“No. I dated Eli knowing his penchant for pretty things.” The casual tone and the relaxed way he went back to poking at the last crumbs of his chocolate cake said he believed what he’d said.
And I might’ve been just a bit skeptical.
Pushing the negative thoughts to the back of my head, I focused on my questions, not my worries. “So you don’t have a thing for the lingerie?”
I’d never been into it for myself even though I could see how pretty the guys were in it. But I wanted to make sure Cohen wasn’t going to be secretly longing for something I couldn’t give him. I’d never be a sub to dress up like that for a lot of reasons.
Primarily because even Leashes & Lace didn’t carry bras in my size.
Eli had been helpful and looked…and had decided market research was in order.
He was scary.
Cohen got a thoughtful, distracted look in his eyes that seemed to mean he was lost in thought or maybe lost in analysis. He’d said something vague about him being in finance, and since he gave off a Wall Street Wolf kind of vibe, I had to guess he was fairly successful.
