Male Review (15 page)

“Hey, things could be worse.”

“How’s that? Not being able to get any time alone with you is driving me nuts.”

She grabbed his knee and gave him a gentle squeeze. “I feel the same way, but sitting here isn’t going to resolve anything. Where to?”

“How about a hotel for the night?”

“I can’t stay out all night. Mum’s too drunk to look after Maud on her own, and I prefer not to have the fire brigade make a house call.”

“Drunk? Your mother?”

“She thinks Dad is having an affair. She went to the house to collect something and saw one of the neighbors leaving wearing her bathrobe. By the time I got to the bar to collect her and Maud, she was most of the way through a bottle of rum and chasing Chad around the room.”

“Really? Your mum?”

Meg grinned at him. “Maud says she was a lush who couldn’t keep her knickers on back in the day.” The thought made her queasy. “Can we talk about something other than my mum and sex? It’s killing the mood. Besides, if I’m not getting any, I don’t want to think about other people’s love lives.”

“We could book a room for an hour. You can spare me an hour, can’t you? I’ll make it worth your while”

Meg glanced at him. She had no doubt he would do more to relieve her stress in an hour than a whole truck load of ice cream would do in a week. Given the option, she’d spare him the rest of her life. The thought sent a warm glow through her.

Sam reached over and brushed his knuckles against her cheeks. “What are you thinking?”

“How much I love you.”

“I love you too. So, a hotel?”

Neither of them was made of money, and the only places she knew that booked rooms by the hour would do little to improve her reputation if she was spotted. She’d go from being a madam to being a prostitute in seconds. If the local paper got wind of anything in the least bit salacious, she felt sure they would report it, and she didn’t intend to help the case for the prosecution. The glare of a streetlight reflected off Maud’s keys currently sitting on the dashboard.

“I’ve got a better idea. We can go to the bar.” It was perfect. No one would interrupt them.

“The bar? Won’t Laura be there?”

She shook her head. “Nope, she was going to some show with Chad. They even have a very inviting looking couch in the back office.”

Sam grinned and leaned back. “Brilliant. I never thought I would be happy about Laura opening a male strip joint and hiring you to work as a barmaid.”

“Hostess.”

He let out a low chuckle. “Sorry, hostess.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Meg took a couple of attempts to get the door unlocked. First, she used the wrong key, and then she struggled to turn the right key in the old lock. Once the door swung open she glanced at Sam and grinned. This was more fun than a hotel. There was something decidedly naughty about breaking in to have sex. Every night when she was working she would be able to remember her romantic interlude with Sam. Perhaps they should christen the bar top. Serving drinks wouldn’t be such a chore if she imagined Sam laid out naked and erect on the polished timber bar.

She grabbed his arm to hold him back. “Wait here a minute and I’ll switch on the lights.”

Sam pulled her to him, nuzzling her ear. “Not too many. We don’t want to invite people to come and investigate. I don’t plan to stop, no matter what. If I don’t get you naked in the next five minutes I won’t be responsible for my actions.”

She shuddered as an ache started deep in her abdomen. He had a point. This was hardly the safest part of town; they didn’t need a hobo or drug addict to witness what they were up to—an interruption would really spoil the moment. With that in mind she locked the door behind them and felt her way to the back of the bar. When she finally found the panel she carefully flicked the last two light switches, having decided those were the ones least likely to be seen from outside. Muted light pooled on the stage and Sam crossed the room, letting out a low whistle.

He bounded up the steps and walked to the set, running his hands over the cross the boys had tethered Maud to earlier. “I’ve always wanted to try one of these.”

Meg sauntered across the room and stopped at the bottom of the steps, arms folded.

“What is it?”

“A St. Andrew’s cross.”

“And you wanted one why?”

He walked to the edge of the stage and squatted bring him eye to eye with Meg. “Wouldn’t you love to be restrained, legs open, ready for me to do whatever I wanted to you?”

“You want me to tie you up?” Interesting idea, but not one she had ever considered. Somehow she didn’t think she had Madam Whiplash in her.

Sam grinned. “Not me. I was asking if you would ever want to be tied up.”

Would she? She swallowed as she met his intense gaze. How could she go from sexual novice to outrageous kink in just a few short weeks? Because Sam wanted her to, and if she were totally honest with herself, the thought of him having total control over her body made her squirm with a fierce need. No other man had treated her the way Sam did. She trusted him completely. He never failed to disappoint and lived by the rule he got no fun unless she did too. To date, she thought she had him out-orgasmed two to one and if he wanted to continue lavishing her with sexual favors she wouldn’t say no.

She nodded slowly. Sam reached out and she took his hand and let him lead her up the steps to join him. Every footstep made her heart pound harder. She glanced over her shoulder to check no one else had snuck in. Nothing. The glare made seeing beyond the first row of tables impossible. She took in a deep breath to try and calm her nerves, letting Sam’s hand go as she pressed a palm to her chest in a feeble attempt to slow her pounding heart. Usually bars smelled funky after hours, with a pall of sweat and sour alcohol, but the new paint job had left a clean fresh odor. If she closed her eyes she could pretend she was at home, not on display on a huge stage. Truth be told, she wasn’t as concerned about being caught as she might have been. The need to have sex with Sam had overridden her fear of the consequences of someone walking in and seeing them. A few weeks ago she’d been terrified to have sex with anyone for fear of being a big fat failure, and now she wanted Sam to chain her up and whip her arse. Did that mean she had the family disease? Was she turning into Maud?

*

Sam watched her focus and expression change as she gazed into the distance. Maybe he was pushing her too hard. Sure, she liked a bit of rough and some kink, as evidenced by her reaction to getting a spanking, but they hadn’t had much opportunity of late to be alone together and he didn’t want to risk spoiling things. There would be plenty of time in the future to share his fantasies with her. Funny, to date he had kept them to himself. In a way he was more like Meg than she might believe. He had no sexual hang-ups as far as his ability to perform was concerned, but he was wary about going beyond what most people would call normal. He had never asked a girlfriend to indulge him before, but he really wanted to live out all his dreams with Meg. His mother would be as horrified to discover her little boy wanted to tie up his women as Meg’s mother would be if she ever worked out Meg was no longer a virgin.

“Where’s that sofa you mentioned?” He touched her arm and she turned her head to meet his gaze.

“There’s one on the other side of the stage as part of the set.”

“I thought you said there was an office. You might prefer somewhere cozier than a drafty bar.”

“Are you sure we’re alone?”

“The place was locked up tight, wasn’t it? And I’m sure if someone was here, they would have come out to see who switched the lights on.”

Meg nodded. “Of course you’re right. Do you think I’ve got horny-itis?”

“What?” He frowned. He didn’t understand the question, never mind know how to answer.

“Maud says that the female members of my mum’s family have an unnaturally high sex drive. I just wondered if I might have it.”

Letting out a sigh, Sam tugged her hand. She followed him to the sofa and let him pull her into his lap. He pushed her hair back off her face with his fingers and planted a soft kiss on her lips. He had no idea why she had asked or what answer she expected. Could Maud’s comment have quashed Meg’s newfound sexual freedom? Or perhaps his desire to tie her up had done the trick.

“Does it matter if you do or don’t?”

She shrugged, but remained mute.

“As long as you promise not to end up like your mother, it doesn’t make any difference to me whether you wear me down to a nub or only want to make out once a week. Just so long as you want to make love with me. If I ever ask you to do something you’re not comfortable with, you just need to say the word.”

“I do want to make love with you and I don’t think once a week will ever be enough. Ignore me, I’m just being silly.”

He let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “So, what shall we do now? You want to get a drink?”

She glanced at the cross and back at Sam. “I thought you wanted to try the cross.”

“I did, do, but if you’re not game I understand.”

“How do you know about it?”

Sam met her gaze. This was a crossroads in their relationship. His answer could make or break the trust he’d built with her, but she needed to know everything about him, good and bad.

“I used to go to a BDSM club.”

Meg’s eyes grew wide and she pushed back a little. “You did? Why? I mean, not why, I mean, what did you do? No, it’s none of my business…”

Sam tightened his arm around her waist and slapped his other hand over her mouth to stop her talking. What he said next might be the most important thing in his life. She had seemed surprised, but not as shocked or horrified as he imagined she could be. He might have ended up nursing a slapped face and bruised ego, but instead of hitting him and hightailing out the door, she had fired off every last thought in her head. All of them were valid questions, but none of them useful unless she let him actually answer them.

“If I take my hand away, do you promise to listen quietly?”

Meg nodded and he let out a low chuckle.

“Then make sure you do. You remember what happens if you interrupt?”

She nodded again.

Last time she promised not to interrupt he had ended up spanking her and that had been the start to the path they now trod. If she hadn’t been so obviously aroused by the feel of his hand on her naked butt, he wouldn’t have even suggested the cross, but now he needed to confess just how far his desires in that direction lay.

He removed his hand and ran his knuckles over her cheek before linking fingers with her. She sat silently, apparently waiting. Now the moment of truth had arrived, his heart was pounding and his mouth had gone dry. Where to start?

“I’ve got a friend, Steve, who’s right into the club scene. He told me he liked women to dominate him. When I found out, I laughed. No way would I let a woman tie me up and whip me in public, but he dared me to go to a club with him and check it out. I agreed. I figured it would be a laugh and no harm done.” He paused to think.

“And?”

Sam raised an eyebrow. Did she want him to spank her again?

Meg’s face turned red and she whispered. “Sorry … shit, sorry for saying sorry.”

“Can I continue?”

She nodded.

“Without interruption?”

He grinned when she nodded more vigorously.

“Good, now where was I?”

Meg opened her mouth, and then snapped it shut. She was a fast learner.

“Ah, yes. I went to the club with Steve, and I was right about the whole idea of being humiliated in public being a real turn off, but the way some of the men treated their ladies wasn’t.” He focused on her face, not wanting to miss any flicker of emotion. “Sure they tied them up and whipped them, but they also adored them. The women were the center of their world. They wanted to pleasure them, care for them. I never heard so many women purring with sexual delight and screaming with wild abandon as their men satisfied them. Everything they did was fully consensual, and some of it was way outside my comfort zone, but not all of it. This might sound kinda weird, but I think some of them had the healthiest relationships I have ever seen. I couldn’t stay away.”

He watched her for a reaction, but her face gave no clues. Apparently she was waiting for more. “You can speak now.”

“Did watching women being slapped turn you on?”

Did it? “Not watching, and not the idea of beating on a woman, no. But the thought of having a girl who needed me to take care of all her sexual needs, dominating her, being the one to say what we do and when we do it. Sure.”

“Did you beat lots of women in public?”

“No. I met a girl and she taught me about the lifestyle, but always in a private room. She was no more of an exhibitionist than I was.”

“Was she your girlfriend? What happened to her?”

Sam met her gaze. Wide eyed, curious with just a pinch of fear, but from the way she trembled in his arms not fear that made her want to run and hide.

“Dawn wasn’t looking for a relationship, just some fun. I stopped going to the club when I met someone else and realized I wanted a long-term relationship.”

Meg curled her fingers in the front of his T-shirt and stared at his chest. “Do I know her?”

Sam kissed her forehead, smiling against her soft soap scented skin. “Intimately. Ever since you told me about your previous sexual experiences, I wanted to show you how good it could be if a man really cares about you, desires you. Nothing gets me off faster than seeing your eyes glaze over, and then feeling the shudder as your body clenches around me in total sexual abandon. I think the intensity of your orgasm and mine could be so much more if you gave me total control.”

“You think I should give you control?”

Sam shrugged. “You tell me?”

“I like it when you take charge.” She lifted her eyes to meet his and swallowed loudly. “Sam, tie me to the cross; make me scream until I lose my voice.”

“Really?”

Her breath tickled his neck and sent a shudder through him when she whispered, “Really.”

He had to use every ounce of self-control not to strip her down and chain her up. She had said yes, but he still needed to treat her with his usual brand of love and devotion. He couldn’t stop the goofy grin from taking over his face.