I shrug. "Maybe so, but I'm your common denominator tonight. Whenever you need to feel calm, you just look at me."
"Except I don't usually feel calm when you're pinning your angry eyes on me, ordering me around," she admits.
"Is that what you think I do?" I tease.
She bites on her smile, arching her eyebrows.
I slide my arm around her shoulders, lean closer, and murmur, "If I recall, your pussy gets pretty wet when I do that."
She nudges me in the chest with her elbow, and her face turns red.
"Ouch!" I cry out, then stare at her. I add, "Seriously. Try not to figure out what will happen tonight. Just go with it."
"Spoken by Mr. Control Freak himself," she mutters.
I pick up her hand and kiss it. "Yep. So if I can do it, so can you. And I need you with me on this if you're going to come home with me tonight."
Her face falls, making my stomach flip. A moment passes and then she nods. "Okay. You're my common denominator."
I rise, kiss her on the top of her head, and announce, "Good. Now let's get some food in your belly."
17
Blakely
There's barely any taste when I eat Riggs's salmon salad and the roll he ordered me to finish. I can only get half the fish down. I'm too nervous about what's going to happen tonight.
Will this be the last time I'm here?
Will I never see Riggs again?
It's all too much to contemplate. I blurt out, "Why do you have to agree to the club rules? Why can't you just break them?"
He grinds his molars, pinning his disapproving gaze on me.
My stomach dives. I add, "If you want to be with me, that is."
"It's not about what I want, pet," he asserts.
"Then what's it about?" I push.
He studies me a moment, then answers, "This is how it is."
"But you can do whatever you want," I insist, in an almost desperate tone that makes me wince inside.
"I won't break the rules," he firmly states.
The doorbell rings, and a new wave of nerves hits me. I glance at him, asking, "Expecting someone?"
"Your people," he claims with a smile.
"My people?"
He nods, then goes and opens the door. The driver who brought me to the beach house, along with two blindfolded women, stand outside.
"Come in and take off your blindfolds," Riggs says.
They slowly remove them and exchange greetings with him. He makes introductions, stating, "Blakely, this is Diana and Nira. They're here to help you get ready for tonight."