Take a Chance (4 page)

“
Ready, doll?”

Chapter 3

Damn, she looked good. Simon’s baby sister
had grown into a beautiful woman and Steve had promised her a night
to remember, but sex hadn’t been on the menu until the door opened.
Fuck it all. He’d told Simon he had no designs on her, just wanted
to help her get over the trauma of the morning. The brother’s
reluctant agreement came with a reminder that the lady in question
was twenty-five and innocent.

The bombshell in front of him was no
innocent. Maybe she hid it well, but from where he stood, she was
dressed for seduction. Waves of long dark hair fell over her
shoulder, some lying across the bare skin above her breasts.

Steve squashed a growl that threatened to
rise in his throat. Her most delectable body was showcased in a
dress designed to make a man crazy. It clung to her curves and
accented her hot little figure. No wonder Simon was so protective.
Dena was a wet dream waiting for nightfall.

He anticipated a long hard night ahead while
he fought to keep his hands to himself.

“
You look lovely, Dena.
Shall we?” He offered her his hand and waited on the stoop while
she locked the door. Then he captured her hand and drew it around
the crook of his arm for the walk to his truck. The pressure of her
fingers on his arm didn’t help him stick to his original plan for
the night. She was like a tiger cub, ready and eager to play, even
as she had no idea what she might get into tonight.

The drive to the restaurant he’d chosen was
uneventful and he relaxed. The dress was just something pretty she
liked and she was what her brother described, a sweet young lady
with a desire for independence. As long as he acted the part of a
gentleman, she’d be comfortable with him. But once the menus were
collected, she shifted closer to him.

“
Thank you for inviting me
to dinner. This morning was a little intense and I was afraid my
brothers were going to lock me up in a tower,” she said, her hand
moving closer to his on the tablecloth.

“
They were worried and
rightly so. I’m just glad I was at the building early enough to
help.” He caught her hand under his and kept it still. “By Monday,
everything will be forgotten and you’ll have a regular
workday.”

“
If you truly believe that,
you don’t know my brothers,” she said, a cute smile lighting her
face. “How long did Simon argue with you about taking me
out?”

“
We discussed it, but I
always get my way.”

“
I’m sure you do,” she said,
her soft voice adding heat to her words while her eyes met his for
a long minute. Desire and something else, something unknown,
lingered in her gaze. She was surprisingly sensual for an innocent
young lady.

Their salads arrived and he freed her hand to
open his napkin. Sometime between the first and second bite, he
realized more than his napkin was in his lap.

The little lady needed to learn her limits,
and he wouldn’t mind being her teacher, despite Simon’s warning.
Keeping his tone low, he leaned close to her ear. “You will keep
your hands in your own lap or on the table.”

His lap was vacated immediately and her chin
dropped. A pink stain rose on her cheeks, embarrassment instead of
flirtation, and her bottom lip quivered. “I’m sorry.”

He let her stew for a few minutes while he
ate his salad and watched her pick at hers. “Eat, and we’ll talk
when I’m ready.”

Her flush deepened and his chest tightened
with a hint of real interest. She’d responded to his comment with
what he might take as submission.

He laid the fork across his plate and
steepled his hands. ”I’m not sure what you envisioned this night to
be. Tell me what you thought would happen.”

Dena glanced in his direction before turning
her gaze back to her almost empty salad plate. Her chest rose and
fell once, twice, a third time before she spoke, her voice wobbly.
“I’d hoped to… I’d hoped you would…”

A waiter appeared to take their plates and
she flinched.

“
Go on, tell me, little
girl. What did you expect?”

Finally, a response other than a hidden face.
Her eyes flashed with heat and held his, her glare proving she had
a backbone. With three brothers, she had to have a little inner
strength somewhere in her soul and he was glad to see it.

“
I’m not a little
girl.”

Her words came out in a flurry of subdued
anger, harsh, direct, but barely audible. She didn’t want to make a
scene in the restaurant, and her spunk almost made him smile, but
it wasn’t the time or place to applaud her fierceness.

“
I’m a grown woman and my
brothers treat me like a baby. I just want an adventure, a life of
my own.”

Her hand came up fast to cover her mouth and
her pretty hazel eyes went wide. She tried to stand but he’d have
none of it. His hand clamped down on her thigh to keep her in the
seat. Eye contact was immediate and he held her gaze until she
dropped her chin and focused on the napkin in her lap.

Their food arrived and Dena leaned back in
the chair, her face a mask of calm control while her hands trembled
in her lap. Steve angled his body toward hers and said with quiet
authority, “Dena, eat and we’ll talk. I’m not angry. I want to
discuss this with you. Don’t be embarrassed.”

“
Are you going to tell my
brothers what I did?”

“
Do you really think Simon
wants to hear that you felt me up?”

Her head swiveled to see his expression and
he smiled. Dena sucked her top lip into her mouth, bit down
lightly, and released it and her nervousness. She let out a soft
laugh. “I guess not.”

He took a bite of his steak and watched her
cut into hers. Once it was in her mouth, he quietly said, “What
exactly did you expect to happen tonight?”

Unable to respond with food in her mouth,
irritation flashed across her face.

“
Ah-ah, stop and think about
your answer while you chew.”

Her chewing slowed as he watched, and her
eyes slid shut. Not from the succulence of the food, but because
she’d taken his advice, and it warmed him a little more. Dena
Lindsay was a beautiful hot mess of a woman and from her response
to him, he was fairly certain she hadn’t had many men. Boys, maybe,
but not men.

She looked into his eyes with conviction. “I
want a man in my life who won’t be intimidated by my brothers.”

“
That’s been a problem
lately?” he asked, knowing the answer. Hell, if she was his sister,
he’d be standing on the front porch with a shotgun.

Dena pursed her lips and blew out a puff of
air. “You know my brothers. What do you think? Every man I’ve dated
since high school has dumped me by the second week. A few even told
me they couldn’t deal with my family.”

“
Honey, you’ve been dating
boys, not men.”

A slim grin made him rethink his part in this
conversation. She might be innocent about men, but she was smart
about people in general.

“
So where does that put
you?”

He took another bite and she followed suit,
allowing him equal time to think, and he needed it. While he’d love
to take her to bed and make her scream, Simon would have a fit
about Steve’s lifestyle, and rightly so. Introducing his innocent
sister to bondage and submission was well past Simon’s comfort
zone.

But the thought of giving this beautiful
young lady her first real orgasm was like a siren’s call.

He wanted her.

He wanted her wet and begging while he eased
his dick into her tight sheath.

He wanted to watch her face when the climax
took her and she screamed his name.

“
What do I get for being the
sacrificial lamb?” he asked her, interested as to what she’d come
up with as incentive.

“
Anything you
want.”

Ah, damn. Not the best answer right now, but
exactly what he loved to hear from a woman. And Dena wasn’t his
ordinary woman. She didn’t come with a history and preferences.
He’d be free to teach her to be everything he wanted in a
submissive, and that one thought made him the ultimate bastard.

But it wouldn’t stop him.

“
Brave girl. You sure about
that offer?” Damn. She had no idea what she was getting from this
deal, and he was glad he’d been the one to field the offer. At
least, he’d take care of her. So many other men would take her at
face value and run roughshod over her body and soul.

“
I trust you,
Steve.”

He chuckled, the sound rough to his ears.
“Remember those words. You might change your mind once you know me
better.”

He cut into his steak and asked a question
about her hobbies, letting the sex talk die down. He wanted her
relaxed and at ease in his presence, even as his cock pulsed
against the cloth napkin in his lap. Three layers of fabric and it
still felt like he was bare and ready. It wouldn’t happen tonight
or the next.

She needed to learn obedience and he was an
excellent teacher. He watched her face while she spoke about her
friends, college days, and the volunteer work she and one of her
girlfriends did at the children’s hospital every month. So full of
life and excitement, she brought her own energy to the room and the
people in it.

She declined dessert and wasn’t interested in
seeing a movie, so he took her home, sure she expected sex. At her
front door, she turned with a smile.

“
Would you like to come
in?”

Steve looked down into the cleavage showing
from the cleft of her sexy blue dress and knew she’d be a handful
to take on. And he was willing, but only on his terms.

“
No, Dena, I’m not coming
inside, but I will kiss you goodnight. I’ll pick you up tomorrow at
seven and feed you again.”

“
Oh.”

“
We play by my rules, Dena.
No others.”

He took her mouth in a soft kiss, lips on
lips in a gentle slide, and waited for her to respond. When her
mouth opened, he plunged in, taking what he wanted until he felt
her body fall into his.

Her moan lingered in the space between them
when he set her away from his body. “Good night, Dena. Lock the
door behind you. I’ll be listening for the bolt to engage.”

Eyes half glazed, she nodded and went inside.
Once the lock clicked in place, he went back to the truck, already
planning what he’d do with her tomorrow. As much as he detested
vanilla sex, he might have to begin there and move into kink
slowly.

Or not.

Chapter 4

Dena leaned against the door and kicked out
of her shoes. Stilettos were difficult enough to maneuver at the
end of the day, but with the addition of her trembling knees, it
wouldn’t happen.

She’d be lucky to crawl to the sofa
barefooted. Every single inch of her body tingled and throbbed
after his kiss.

What in the hell had she gotten herself
into?

Forcing the image of a puppy frolicking in
the grass into her brain gave her a minute of semi-clarity, but it
slipped away just before she made it to the sofa. The expression on
Steve’s face just before their mouths touched slammed into her head
again and she sagged onto the couch while her breath caught up with
her heartbeat.

Damn. She’d never survive sex if one kiss
laid her this low. He was too much man for her. Out of her mind,
she thought about sending him a text and calling off tomorrow’s
date, but couldn’t convince her fingers to follow through.

She’d asked for an adventure.

Now she had a willing accomplice. Or rather a
madman. Maybe a sex maniac. But she couldn’t imagine him wild. He
was too controlled, too in charge of himself and his
surroundings.

The home phone rang and she fumbled to reach
the handset, wondering who was selling what. All her friends used
her cell number.

“
You’re home already?” Sara
asked. “What happened to the hot date? I was expecting to leave a
message.”

“
It was great,” she
replied.

“
So great that you’re home
before ten?” Sara asked, the sound of music and laughter in the
background. “What happened?”

“
Why did you call if you
thought I was out?” Talking about Steve wasn’t a good idea. It was
too fresh, too soon to break down the date with a friend. The need
to savor it kept her quiet.

“
I was going to suggest
brunch tomorrow so I could hear about the date, and don’t think I
didn’t notice you deflected my question. What happened? Was he mean
to you?”

“
No, he wasn’t mean.
He’s…he’s charismatic.”

“
He’s religious?”

Dena’s head dropped to the back of the sofa
with a thump. “No. He’s charming and sexy and disarmingly
intense.”

The sounds of the crowd dissipated and Sara’s
voice cleared. “Are you telling me you had dinner and sex in less
than three hours, not counting the drive? Who does that?”

“
Not me. Never.” Then why
did her body feel like it happened moments ago? “Hey, what happened
with your date?”

Sara sighed. “He called this afternoon and
dumped me. Said he was going on vacation with some friends and
didn’t want to feel awkward while they were picking up women.”

“
Ew. You should call that a
win for you.”

“
I know. Anyway, we’ll
discuss it ad nauseam tomorrow.”

“
Okay. Call me in the
morning and we’ll get together.”

Sara started to argue, but Dena said goodbye
twice and ended the call.