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Poor Dare. She leaned against him, letting her head rest in the crook of his neck. “What did you give up besides your whole community?”
“I didn’t think about it like that, but you’re right. All my friends were there, all the people who I thought knew the real me. As to what I gave up, it was my freedom. My father decided I needed a wholesome, traditional marriage to counter my wicked instincts.”
“Says the man who cheated on his wife with a sex worker, and please understand that is not judging your mother in any way. She wasn’t the one who was married,” Tasha pointed out.
He sighed and rubbed his cheek against her hair. “I have no idea why I thought I would shock you. Anyway, he arranged my first marriage, though that didn’t turn out quite the way he wanted. Audrey was as controlled by her father as I was. We weren’t in love, but I thought we were at least friends given what we had to get through. I guess I didn’t know how miserable she was. I work a lot, and she was alone most of the time. At some point she met one of my old friends and put together the whole ‘I was a Dom in the past’ thing, and she figured she could use it to force my father to let us divorce.”
Well, she’d known that, and it still hurt hearing the pain in his voice. “Obviously she got what she wanted.”
He chuckled, though there was a bit of bitterness to the sound. “I assure you Audrey didn’t get what she wanted. We didn’t have a prenup. She thought it was because I trusted her. In a Canadian divorce, assets are always split down the middle. I know all of this looks amazing, but it’s company money paying for it. I get a salary and nothing else. Not even stock. Surprised the hell out of my first wife. She assumed I had a massive trust fund because no one watched her spending. She didn’t understand my father was paying for her credit card. When she realized she wasn’t getting more than a couple hundred grand, she twisted the screws a bit, started a couple of rumors about how rough I can be.”
She turned so she could look him in the eyes. “There is nothing rough about you.”
“Oh, there is. You have no idea how rough I could be with you if I let myself.”
“Somehow I think you would control yourself,” she replied. “I don’t think you would hurt me, and you would respect my boundaries. Like I told you before, I can handle myself.”
“Not if I’ve got you tied up.”
What kind of fantasies were running through his head? Did he want to tie her up and make her helpless and do all sorts of nasty, filthy things to her? He would have such a weird relationship with his own sexuality given what had happened in the past. Did the fact that he was willing to talk about the outer edges of his desires mean he felt closer to her than any other woman? Somehow that thought sent a thrill through her.
She was the girl who’d always played by the rules, and she was breaking them all for this man. If she wasn’t careful, she could fuck up and bring her team down.
“You would be surprised what I can get out of.” When you were the child of Ian Taggart, there were all sorts of weird lessons including how to get out of any kind of restraints. “Dare, why would you ask me to stay with you if you don’t want to explore? There’s a club here. We could go if you like.”
His jaw tightened. “I would like, but you have to understand that my father is watching. I don’t think he’ll have a problem with me having an affair. He doesn’t give a flying fuck what I do in my personal life as long as it doesn’t cause a scandal.”
“And going to the club could do that,” she surmised. “Let me think about it. My cousin has friends here who can arrange a discreet entry. I told you my father works in security. He’s taught me and Lou a few tricks over the years.”
She wanted to give him some good memories. Her whole soul felt like it softened around this man. She was a realist. It wouldn’t work between them because she could never tell him what she did for a living, and she couldn’t leave her team behind. Her team was her family.
“So you’ll stay with me? You should know something else. My father told me he’s going to find me a new wife and soon,” he admitted. “If that makes you change your mind, I understand.”
He was trying to be fair with her. He couldn’t know that there was little he could say that would make her turn away. After all, she had a party to attend, and he was her way in. She tilted her head up, giving him access to her lips. “We have two weeks. We know the boundaries. So let’s talk about a contract.”
