“Seems like a nice guy.” Kent’s tone was hard and sarcastic.
Closing my eyes, I counted to ten before getting the nerve to meet his eyes. He looked like he was holding back his own anger issues.
“Boyfriend?”
I laughed. “God, no.”
A slow nod was his only response. When he continued to stare, and the silence turned awkward, I felt compelled to explain and fill the void between us.
“He was a boyfriend a long time ago. But he’s a jerk. So, now I just close my eyes and use him for sex.”
“Sounds smart.” His voice was both bland and condescending.
I couldn’t help but feel judged, and it pissed me off.
“Listen, who I sleep with is none of your concern. I choose how much of myself to give, so if my sex-life doesn’t live up to your standards, I’m sorry.”
When he looked again, the hard glint in his eyes had softened. “I’m not judging you, Olivia. You just deserve better.”
That wasn’t the answer I was expecting, and it took the wind out of my sails. I relaxed against the cushions of the booth and rubbed my finger along the scratches in the wood. What did I say to that? Honesty seemed to work well the first time, so why not try it again.
“Let’s just say I’m not hunting for any mediocre college guys. Not much really compares to my night with you.”
I looked up from under my lashes to see his reaction. His eyes heated slowly, but then he blinked, and a wall came down, filtering it to a barely-there warmth.
“You shouldn’t romanticize our night.”
“I didn’t say I did.”
“Not really. But you do. I can see it when you look at me.”
My hand stopped tracing the grain of the table. How did he pick up on that from the little time we’d spent together?
“You put it on a pedestal and think you want more of that, but Olivia, we can’t repeat that night. No matter how much either of us would like. I can’t.”
Pride swelled in my chest that he’d admitted he would want to sleep with me again. Even if we never did, there was a confidence that boosted my ego just knowing this man wanted me.
When I didn’t say anything, he continued his explanation. “It’s not just about Daniel. It wouldn’t be the same either way.”
“Why not?”
“I used a bit of kid gloves with you.” Now he was looking up at me from where he’d been staring at his fingers tracing the wood. I didn’t ask him to explain, but I hoped my silence would encourage him. “I…have particular tastes.”
“Like…” I trailed off, trying to hide my desperation to know more. I held my breath as he stared at me and weighed his words.
“Not what we did that night.”
I gave him a hard stare, not hiding my disappointment at his vague non-answer.
A lightbulb went off, and I tried a different approach. “What room would you pick at Voyeur?”
He laughed softly at my victorious grin. “One that would scare you.”
This time I rolled my eyes and slouched back into the seat. “Probably not, but if it helps to make me less appealing, then go on believing I don’t want to be tied down and spanked.”
The words were a guess that rolled casually off my tongue, but I kept a close eye on his reaction. Jackpot. His fists clenched on the table, and his whole body grew in the seat as though just the mere mention of the act called for him to be bigger—to be more.
Shit. He wanted to tie me down and spank me. He’d done some light smacks to my ass, but nothing that required me to be tied down. It should alarm me to give up that kind of control. But it didn’t. It had me squirming in my seat and almost desperate to make more guesses.
Before I could push anymore, his control slowly slipped back in place, and I watched him relax one muscle at a time. I knew what was coming before he even opened his mouth, and I cut him off before he could slip another denial in.
“Don’t worry, Kent. I’m kidding.” I waved away my words like I hadn’t noticed his heated excitement. “I’m just a nice girl, living out her college years with a sad sex life. At least it will help me focus.”
“That sounds like not enough for you.”
It wasn’t, but I wasn’t wasting my time either. Unable to deny his assumption, I simply shrugged. “It is what it is.”
Unless something took over Kent’s body and he decided to give me a repeat, I was stuck where I was at.
It didn’t mean I couldn’t imagine.
Closing my eyes, I pretended I could feel rough facial hair against my thighs.
Only now, I was tied down and spanked between wet, sucking kisses.
7 Olivia
This time walking into dinner, I’d at least known to expect Kent sitting at the table. Which was why I’d made it a point to clear my schedule and be there. We’d finished out the week with no incident or discussion of our night together. He was polite and business-like. But I caught him staring more than once, and each time almost burned me to ash. Each time he met my eyes after being caught, there was zero remorse, and he’d scan my body again before finally looking away.