“Hi,” she whispered uneasily. She’d hoped to get information about him from his friends, not play with him in person. It didn’t get more in person than this.
“So you did hook up with Loke, then?” His tone was casual, but there was an edge to it.
God, he was holding the flogger. He was supposed to be Loke’s replacement? She was going to kill the Norwegian when he got back from that “phone call.” The whole thing had been a setup, and she knew it.
“No. He invited me to the club, so I thought I’d check it out.”
“You’re a kinkster?”
“No,” she said, then realized she was in a kink club, and was half naked and tied to an eyebolt. Besides, if she had no interest in kink, she had no excuse for being there. She threw him the easiest answer. “After talking to them the other night I was curious, so here I am.”
“Yes, here you are,” Atlas echoed. He looked down at the flogger for a moment, as if he’d forgotten it was in his hand. “Funny how we keep running into each other.”
“I know, right?” It was funny. She hadn’t even known the groom’s name before she got to the wedding. But from his view she was sure it looked stalkerish. Hopefully, he just thought she was interested in him, not that she was tailing him. “Are you stalking me?” she joked, hoping to deflect suspicion.
“You wish.” His laugh was a little dangerous. A little out of control.
How much could he make a flogging hurt?
“So you’re just trying this out?” he asked.
“Yes.” Oh god, he was so close she could smell him, all clean and manly. This whole situation went straight into her spank bank to join all of the other tawdry fantasies she’d been trying not to have about him.
“When Loke asked me to take over for him, he neglected to mention it was you,” Atlas grumbled.
He sounded annoyed, and she wondered if he’d meant to say it out loud.
“You don’t have to. You could just untie me,” she offered.
“Untie you?” He barked a laugh. “No, I don’t want to untie you. Unless you want me to?”
“No.”
With jerky movements, he tugged o
ff his shirt, and even though she tried not to, she peeked.
Sleek, heavy muscle rippled through his chest and arms, and below that came a corrugated stomach, and a strong vee of muscle leading down into his jeans. The blond hair on his chest matched the hair on his head, and the faint trail of it that led downward caught her attention and drew it to his jeans and the bulge there. She hoped he was at least semihard, because otherwise . . . oh dear.
He was even more tasty than shirtless fantasy-Atlas had been. It was a good thing her hands were tied so she wouldn’t be tempted to touch him.
Nervously, she licked her bottom lip, then stopped when she realized his gaze had been arrested by the movement of her tongue.
“Did Loke give you a safeword?” he asked. “Do you know what a safeword is?”
“Of course. I don’t live under a rock.” She rolled her eyes. “He didn’t give me a safeword yet though. He just said he’d stop if I asked him to.”
“Okay.” He gathered her hair and moved it forward to drape over her chest. “Your hair looks pretty down.”
“Thank you.” She felt herself blush, and wondered why this felt so much more personal with Atlas. With Loke it felt as though he was just showing her around. Maybe it felt more personal because of the way Atlas was watching her, as if he had her exactly where he wanted her. And maybe because she was already enjoying it far too much.
Chapter 4
He’d tried to stay away from her—even took an unexpected day off on Sunday to avoid her, and yet here she was again. Loke had served her to him on a platter. Bastard.
Now the girl he’d been trying not to fantasize about was bound in front of him, mostly naked, and oh-so-innocently wanting to experiment with impact play. Her skin was beautiful and smooth, and his fingers itched to explore her now, while she was caught and helpless.
Dark eyes watched him over her shoulder, and it was impossible to miss the hint of a blush in her cheeks, and the way her lips were parted. Not kissing her at his brother’s wedding had been the right decision. This was the wrong one. But what was he supposed to do? Walk away? There was only so much willpower in him, and he’d used it all up.