Page 42 of Worth the Risk

ALITTLE BEFORE TEN, Bella, dressed in a slouchy, wide-neck T-shirt, no bra because the comfy tee constantly fell off one shoulder, short shorts, and bare feet, leaned against the kitchen counter, waiting for her first cup of coffee of the day to brew. Although she could have slept for another eight hours, she’d forced herself to get up and shower when her alarm blared. She was anticipating the last hiss from the Keurig, and that first rejuvenating sip, when Dan sauntered in followed by Lil T.

“We brought your car back,” Dan announced as he came up behind her and kissed her neck.

“That’s great. Let me get my purse and I’ll pay you.”

“No need. Thank T. He’s gotta run.”

“Thanks aren’t necessary. I was coming by anyway to get a box that Angie thinks she left in the front closet.” He opened the louvered doors and reached in. “This should do it. Unless she realizes she is missing something else.” With a pink floral storage box in hand, that didn’t diminish the big dom’s masculinity one iota, he glanced her way. “Ang was wondering if you’d be at the club for LBD night. Just be warned, Bella. Once you meet her girl posse, they’ll adopt you if you let them.”

To have a bunch of friends who got together for girls’ night out, and, even better, looked out for one another, would be awesome.

“I’ll be there working,” she said with a sigh. “They schedule everyone on staff on Wednesdays and Saturdays.”

Lil T nodded, understanding completely. “Elena nights. The place is a zoo whenever she’s on stage. But you can grab your breaks with the girls. That’s what Elena does, between sets.”

“I’ll do that, ma...uh, sir.” She stammered. How did one address a dominant when out of his natural habitat?

“You can call him Lil T or T outside the club, Bella,” Dan directed.

“T, or Antonio, please,” he corrected. “I’m thirty-two. Enough with the kid nicknames.”

She nodded, agreeing not so much because of his age but his size. Dan looked small beside the mountain of a man. “Tell Angie if it’s not a complete madhouse, I’ll squeeze in a few minutes to meet the girls on Elena’s breaks. I haven’t met her yet and have really wanted to.”

“Good deal. I’m outta here,” he said with a cool-as-crap finger-flick wave on his way out the door.

“He’s so nice. So are all the owners.”

Dan’s arms slid around her from behind as he nuzzled her neck. “You sound surprised. Being dominant and a nice guy aren’t mutually exclusive.”

“I know because you’re a sadist, but also the sweetest, kindest dom of the bunch.”

He held his hands up, grimacing. “I’ve worked two decades on my badass reputation, and she destroys it in one sentence.”

She giggled. “Your rep as asensualsadist?”

“Push it, baby, and I’ll have to roll up my sleeves and prove how sadistic I can be.”

“Oh no! Please! I believe you,” she cried in mock terror, still giggling, which earned her a swat on the ass, a hard hug, and an open-mouthed kiss in that order.

When the Keurig hissed, having spat out the last drop, she didn’t even flinch. But he heard and let her go.

“Want to grab brunch somewhere? I’ll be tied up with the kids the rest of the weekend, but they won’t get here till one, so there’s time.”

She blinked, and repeated, “Kids? What kids?”

“My kids.”

Her coffee forgotten, she turned to face him. “You’ve got kids?”

“We talked the other night for two hours, but it was an episode ofThis is My Life, the Early Years. We never got to the best part.”

He reached into his back pocket and withdrew his wallet, flipping it open to pictures of a boy with the same mop of curls on his head as Dan and a girl with longer spirals of the same color. They both had blue-gray eyes like their daddy.

She angled her head and looked up at him, asking the obvious next question. “And their mother. Where is she?”

“In Austin. We’re divorced. Have been for six years.” His hands came up and cupped her jaw, and he murmured, his gaze intense, “I wouldn’t do that to you, baby. When I make a commitment to a sub, I’m only with her.”

“Have we?” she asked, her voice small.

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