Take a Chance (22 page)

Condoms, not mints.

Within minutes of sitting down, a waiter
arrived with a plate of cheeses and two glasses.

Kellie picked hers up and sniffed.

“
Iced tea,” Mark told her.
“We discourage alcohol in this part of the building. It degrades
the senses and makes some people reckless. And yes, we do have a
bar next door, and if our members want to partake, they can.
However, our wait staff is highly trained and they keep track of
consumption. Intoxication is rare, but all members are aware of the
consequences of overindulgence.”

Kellie sipped her tea and tried to relax. She
wouldn’t get any information out of him if she appeared
antagonistic, and Dena had warned her about Mark Harrison when
she’d suggested this visit. He had a reputation as a shrewd
businessman. The grandson of a wealthy oil and gas man, he’d worked
in the fields to learn the business from the ground up and still
owned half the company his grandfather founded.

Dena failed to mention his looks. Dark brown,
almost black hair with a hint of curl even though it was cut fairly
short gave him a rakish look. He could be a model for GQ if he
needed the money, which he obviously didn’t.

From what she’d found on the Internet,
Private Delights was his primary focus and he took great pride in
the business and its reputation. He had the money and connections
to take down anyone who got in his way.

He wouldn’t think twice about a squashing a
student determined to debunk the BDSM world and show everyone how
degrading it was for women. Kellie knew she had to tread lightly
until she got the information she needed.

“
What consequences?” she
asked.

“
Drunkenness usually leads
to a steep fine and probationary membership for the first offense.
A second incident results in loss of membership with no refund. For
most members, that’s a steep price to pay for a few too many
drinks.”

Interesting. She hadn’t seen any information
about the price of membership, only that it was an extremely
exclusive club. She stabbed a cube of cheese and put it in her
mouth while she took another look around the room, sure he watched
her like a hawk protecting its nest.

“
Sorry, I’m a little out of
my element,” she said. “Thank you for the tea and the visit. Dena
told me you don’t usually allow tourists.”

He smiled for the first time and Kellie lost
her train of thought. The stern countenance she’d been watching
from the corner of her eye transformed into a movie star on the
make. Dark eyes sparkled with humor and his wide grin caused
dimples to pop on both sides of his face. Abandoning the rules, she
faced him and returned the smile.

“
I don’t think of you as a
tourist, but I can hear Dena referring to visitors with that word.
She’s an interesting young lady, but I’m sure you already know
that.”

“
Yes, she is,” Kellie
replied, relaxing a little more in his presence. “Sometimes she
surprises me.”

“
Did you know about her
membership here before you started this project?” he asked as he
offered her a wedge of cheese.

“
No. I don’t think she’d
have ever mentioned it if I hadn’t told her about my thesis.” Dena
still didn’t know about the details of her paper or the book she
planned to write, but some secrets couldn’t be shared.

“
I’m still waiting for you
to tell me what you hope to learn here.”

Kellie flushed, heat flooding her face and
chest. She didn’t want to answer but didn’t have a choice. “I want
to know why men choose this kind of relationship.”

His smile gone, those dark eyes burned into
hers while he considered her question. “Women choose this
lifestyle, too. Consider Dena. Her relationship with Steve is one
she committed to on her own.”

“
I can’t help but wonder if
she was coerced.”

“
No.”

His cold tone told her to change the subject
and she didn’t want to push. “I’m sorry if I offended you.”

“
It’s a common
misconception. Let’s walk.”

Mark stood and took the glass from her hand,
setting it on the table. She’d seen enough of the common room and
while she’d been observing the members and their activities, he’d
been monitoring her responses. Every time he’d sensed her arousal,
she’d backed away from the scene. She was too hesitant to engage in
the sensuality of the club, too separate from her emotions. It
could be the academic side of her life, or there could be some
underlying issue that stopped her from experiencing the ambiance of
the room.

Kellie got to her feet and he placed his palm
on the slight indention between her shoulder blades, a good bit
higher than the last time he led her around the room. As they
walked toward the stairs, he eased his hand higher until his
fingers were on the bare skin above her collar.

It was all about pushing boundaries, but she
didn’t understand that yet. By the time they reached the landing,
his forefinger and thumb were on opposite sides of her spine, his
thumb lazily grazing the side of her throat. Such a delectable
young woman, her small-boned hands and fair skin added to the
allure of curves in all the right spots. She’d bruise easily, and
he’d hate to see her hurt. He’d need a gentle hand to keep from
marking her, if she became his.

She didn’t protest his hand on her but the
rise and fall of her chest told him she knew exactly where their
skin met.

The idea of her under him took hold in a bad
way. She was too young, too innocent. At thirty, he should be
looking at twenty-eight year olds and she was at least three or
four years younger than that. He made a mental note to ask Steve
how old Dena was and to check Kellie’s personal records after she
left.

They turned right at the top of the stairs
and he increased the pressure against the back of her neck, his
palm pressing against her satin skin. She didn’t complain, didn’t
ask anything of him, but he wanted her to.

He wanted her.

Fuck. He hadn’t wanted a woman in a while.
Sex, yes, but not a particular woman. He hardly knew her, not an
issue in the club but he didn’t think she’d want casual
semi-anonymous sex.

They passed two closed doors before he
stopped and touched a panel with a flickering green light. He
pressed the button and watched Kellie’s face while she realized
they were eavesdropping.

“
Yes, some of our members
like the idea of being heard or seen while they have sex. And
before you ask, yes, voyeurism is also available.”

He slid open another panel revealing a window
and the skin beneath his palm flexed as she tried to move away. He
clamped down enough to keep her in place and gentled her with his
voice. “This is what you wanted to see, isn’t it? Two people in the
throes of passion, unconcerned with their environment and focused
solely on pleasure?”

Mark knew he was pushing her boundaries a
little too fast and a little too hard but he needed to know if she
could handle it. The decision to make her his was made in a
heartbeat and he couldn’t stop the need building within him. Desire
was more persistent than sexual tension, more esthetic than
physical.

“
They know we’re watching
and listening, but they can’t see or hear us. It heightens their
pleasure.” His mouth at her ear, his head pressed to the side of
hers, he absorbed the soft shiver of her body as arousal nudged her
libido. “Did you ever make out in a parked car and wonder if
someone might catch you in mid clutch?”

“
No.” A whisper, nothing
more than warm air passing her lips.

“
Have you ever lost control
or given up control to someone you trusted, someone who would take
care of your needs without being told?”

Again, a whispered denial.