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They finished the rest of their dinner in silence. He waited until she’d finished eating, then stood. “I’ll clean up while you do what you need to with your outfit for tomorrow.” He began gathering their dishes. “Then we’ll head home.”
She shot a glance at her neighbor’s apartment. They’d quieted down, but who knew how long it would last. According to Ali, it wasn’t usually a one and done. “I won’t be long.”
* * *
Ali plugged in her steamer, then pulled her dress out of the closet, along with the shoes she’d need for tomorrow night. While the steamer was warming, she went to her underwear drawer and debated which pair she should choose. Normally, she’d go for comfort, but she was hoping Daniel would be seeing said underwear. She didn’t want him to peel her out of her dress only to find her in a pair of cotton briefs.
Her fingers grazed over a red bra and matching panty set. She’d bought it to wear at the club, but she’d never gotten up the courage. It was sheer and didn’t cover much.
A huge grin stretched her face as she removed it from the drawer and placed it on the bed. They were going to knock his socks off. She was going to make him forget all about their age difference.
The light on the steamer lit up and she quickly gave her dress a once-over, relaxing the wrinkles. She was hoping her dress would get a reaction out of him as well.
After finishing with her dress and making sure everything was prepped and ready to go for tomorrow night, she went to find Daniel. He was sitting at her table, waiting patiently for her, her limits list in his hand.
Noticing her, he stood. “All set?”
“Yep. I think I have everything I’ll need laid out.”
Walking to the coat rack, he removed her coat and held it out for her. She slipped her arms into the sleeves, closing her eyes as his breath brushed against her ear when he settled the coat on her shoulders. “Is there any way you can leave work early tomorrow, so you’d have more time?”
Ali shook her head, unable to form words. No man had ever made her feel like this besides Daniel.
After donning his own coat, he followed her outside. He waited patiently as she locked up and escorted her to her car. “Surely your boss would understand. He is the one who wants you to go to this fundraiser, isn’t he?”
She climbed behind the wheel of her car. “He is, but it’s just easier this way.”
Daniel frowned. “We’re going to need to talk more about this boss of yours, but I want us to get home before dark.” He leaned in, brushing his lips against her forehead, which sent tingles rippling through her, warming her from the inside out. “I’ll be right behind you.”
He closed her door, and she watched him walk to his SUV. She wanted to call Kim, but her friend would ask Ali questions she didn’t have the answers to. Not yet anyway.
Traffic was light as they made their way out of the city to Daniel’s home. She had no idea what the night would hold, but if it involved more of Daniel’s kisses, she was all for it. As long as he didn’t push her away.
The sun was setting by the time they drove up his driveway. It had been a long day in more ways than one, but she wasn’t ready for it to end. The fear that he was going to shut her out again was still there. She didn’t want to wake up tomorrow morning and go through the motions as if nothing had happened between them.
Daniel looked stoic when he came in from the garage and her worries returned. He met her gaze, holding it for a long moment before lifting the bags of food in his hand and nodding toward the kitchen. “Let me put this away, and then we’ll talk.”
She removed her coat and made her way into the living room. Other than the light in the foyer and the one in the kitchen Daniel had turned on, the rest of the house was shrouded in shadows.
It didn’t take him long to store the leftovers from their dinner in the refrigerator, but instead of joining her on the couch, he walked past her, turning on the light as he went, and disappeared into his study. She was about to go after him when he reappeared holding several papers in his hand. It didn’t take a genius to realize what they were.
He handed her his limits list, and then sat down in his chair several feet away. She understood the need to have some distance between them for this conversation, but she didn’t want distance. She’d had enough of that over the last two years.
But instead of saying anything, she began reading. Their lists were extremely compatible, more so than any other Dom she’d played with. She glanced up to find him watching her. “I don’t think there’s much to negotiate.”
“No. I don’t think so either. We seem to have similar kinks.” That didn’t seem to make him happy.
She decided to ignore that for now, figuring he was still hung up on the age thing. “Should we talk about our differences?”
There was a long pause before he answered. “We should.”
Ali thought he’d go on, but he didn’t. “I don’t like to be gagged.” He’d listed it as love. She listed it as a soft limit, although she’d been tempted to change it to a hard limit.
“Tell me why.”
She blew out a breath. “My second Dom gagged me once. He had me tied up and gagged, then started torturing my breasts.” She met Daniel’s gaze, not wanting to tell him the next part because she knew what his reaction would be.
“Go on.” To someone who didn’t know him, she doubted they’d notice the edge to his voice, but she did.
