Instead, he focused on the man who'd built it. A rugged, powerful-looking forty-something, Logan had thick, long brown hair bound back in a thick tail that fell between his shoulder blades. While most men over forty couldn't rock that look, Logan did. Geoff didn't consider himself a romantic, but he could easily see the man in boots, breeches and an unlaced shirt on the bridge of a pirate ship, doing the Tyrone Powers thing. His mother had watched The Black Swan a hundred times.
Geoff's own love of black-and-white movies had come from watching those kinds of flicks at his mother's side. Hell, he'd received his first guidance about lines between right and wrong in those romantic mediums. Which was painfully ironic, considering his current relationship with his nuclear family.
This was so not the moment for that. Pushing away those thoughts, he planted himself firmly in the present.
The cushions for the bench were propped off to the side while Logan painted a cherrywood finish on the frame. He glanced up, pleased surprise in his warm, brandy-colored eyes as Madison entered. Since he followed that up with a leisurely perusal of her from head to toe, Geoff wondered if the spark in Madison was glowing brighter because of her next-door neighbor. Given that her cheeks pinkened a little under his regard, Geoff expected the answer to that was a resounding yes.
"Logan, I'm sorry to bother you, but do you remember Geoff? He was in your store not too long ago."
"His face is familiar." Logan set the can and brush aside and extended a hand. "Geoff."
He had a strong grip, strong as Chris's. During their earlier visit, Sam had come into the hardware store with Geoff and Chris briefly before going next door to Madison's shop. When Logan had asked her if she was looking for anything in particular, she'd gotten a little tongue-tied. Chris had teased her later about getting all flustered by a handsome older man, but based on the events of the past few days, and what Geoff read from the guy pretty clearly now, he thought there was another reason Logan's steady regard had flustered her. The same reason Geoff could fluster her. The way Geoff could fluster her when he looked at her a certain way.
If she was even now berating herself for reacting like that, he'd feel even more like shit. He'd tried to make sure she'd feel no shame about it, but she'd shot down his comment about her being beautiful and perfect as the lame bullshit it was. If she could only see and feel what happened inside him--heart, head, cock and soul--when she looked at him as her Dom, she wouldn't feel any dismay. Hell, she'd probably have a valid reason to gloat, because he'd never reacted so strongly to a sub. But he hadn't shown her that, had he?
Some, but not enough. He had to figure this out. Either be all in or all out, but not this limbo state, which confused her and made him want to tear his heart out and hand it to her.
"Geoff, I apologize if I'm being presumptuous," Madison said, "but I think maybe you have some questions that Logan can answer better than I can. He mentors other Doms. I'm going to leave you two to talk. If that's okay with you?"
She looked toward Logan then, with an expression that said she hoped she hadn't been presumptuous toward him, either. Geoff knew a lot of people in the lifestyle were pretty careful about their identities. Either Logan didn't need to do that, or Madison and he already had enough of a rapport that she'd known he'd be okay with this.
"I'm here to help you with whatever you need, Madison," Logan said. "You know that."
That resulted in a deeper flush. Geoff had no interest in any woman other than Sam, but as a man and a Dom, he could definitely appreciate that lovely reaction. Geoff deduced that she wasn't entirely comfortable with her responses to Logan yet, because she made a noncommittal noise and then hurried out, leaving Geoff with a cordial nod and warm smile. "Come by before you leave and get a cookie," she said. "I made peanut butter blossoms. You can take a couple home for Sam and Chris. Maybe a half dozen for Chris."
Geoff turned back to Logan as the man bumped a Van Halen tune on his radio down a few notches. "She took me by surprise," Geoff admitted. "I'm not sure if I should be talking about this, or what I should be saying."
Logan picked up the finish and brush again, squatting on his heels next to the bench. "Don't have to say anything, son," he said comfortably. "Not if you don't want to. But if she thought you looked like you had questions I could answer, she's probably right. She's starting to get a good sense of what her customers need. Are you new to exploring the Dom side?"
He didn't sound derogatory, just matter-of-fact. "Seems like I've always felt like that's what I wanted . . . what I am," Geoff said slowly. "But I've never really pursued it too much. School and work haven't left a lot of time until recently. I've gone to a few clubs and parties and hooked up with one or two subs there for sessions, to get a feel for it, but nothing turned into an ongoing thing." Nothing that resulted in even a tenth of the response he had when Sam merely called him sir.
"So tell me what the questions are and we'll figure it out from there." When Logan gestured at a stool, Geoff slid a hip onto it. What the hell. He found himself explaining in fits and starts, where it had begun and where it was now. Logan asked a few directed questions that helped him focus. Once he felt more comfortable, Geoff laid it out like he did a case, with all the necessary information. Only since he was far more personally connected to this, he found himself correcting himself, backtracking and figuring out things as he went along, in a way he usually didn't have to do for work.
He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "I've always known she's a sub. God, it's like living with the biggest temptation in the world. But as long as she didn't hit on it directly, I thought it was better to keep it under wraps, so as not to force it with her. She brought us to Naughty Bits, though, and since then . . . she's starting to get pretty direct about it."
"So what's holding you back with her, if it's obvious she's a sub? Is it Chris? He wants her for himself and you don't want to trample the friendship?"
Geoff shook his head. "I think we were both worried she would want to make a choice, but she's made it clear that's not a problem." He had no idea how that amazing truth would play out. But it also wasn't the only important reason why neither of them had moved on it. "We met her under difficult circumstances. She had this guy giving her a hard time. We asked her to move in with us to protect her."
"So you see yourself as her protector. It's hard to transition from there to wanting to leave marks on her skin and make her cry. In the right way."
Geoff lifted his head. To hear it said straight out like that, with no sense of shame, was almost a revelation, a reassuring one. He searched Logan's expression for condemnation, and saw none. The man bent back to his task.
"Say you have Sam tied up and you're spanking her," he said casually. "You can tell she's wanting it rougher, harder. What's your first reaction?"
Damn, the guy didn't mince around. For some weird reason, Geoff didn't want him saying Sam's name, as if somehow that exposed her to another man in a way he didn't like. On the other hand, having the opportunity to talk about it so directly, with a guy putting off vibes that said he knew what being a Master was all about, brought a relief stronger than Geoff had expected to feel.
"It's all right, son." Logan's gaze met his. "We were all new at this at one time. You seeking help and guidance about it, to work through your feelings and figure it out, is the right thing to do. And I have nothing but respect for another Dom's sub, so even if I talk about her in an intimate way, it's not to get overly familiar about her. I'm just helping you figure out what you want. So what's your reaction, if she wants things rougher, harder?"
Some people were good at putting out the authoritative, knowledgeable vibes, even when they didn't know shit. As a lawyer, Geoff knew all about high-level bullshitting. He wasn't getting that vibe from Logan. So he answered his question.
"To give her that. But how do I know that's her wanting it and not something inside of me, wanting to give her that even if she doesn't really understand what it means?"
"Would you ever hurt Sam?"
"No. Of course not."
"Would you like to spank her?"