Page 10 of Ravish

“Do you want something to drink?” he asked as he set his plate on his chair.

“Water, please.”

“Be right back.” Colby maneuvered his way over to the bar, retrieved two bottles of water, and returned to Lara. She was gazing around the club. The crowd had thinned out some.

He leaned over and set the water bottles on the floor between them before he picked up his plate and sat down. “You know, you surprised everyone earlier with the comment that you’d like to join the club.”

Lara’s hand waved in the air. “I didn’t mean to. But I do have to admit everyone’s expressions were a bit comical.”

“Are you seriously interested?” Colby fought against the excitement pressing against his skin.

“I wouldn’t have said that if I wasn’t. But I don’t know how I can afford it.”

“It’s more reasonable than you think.” Colby paused. “If you want to see if you’d like it, you can come as my guest.”

Her eyes widened. She hadn’t expected that. Good. He wanted nothing more than to play with her in the club.

“You’d let me play with another Dom?”

Colby sat his empty plate down and crossed his arms over his chest. “No.” He’d be honest with her. “I want to play with you. So, if you come as my guest, you only play with me. But I can’t stop you if you join.”

Lara’s hand fluttered to her throat. “How do we know if we’re compatible?”

His muscles relaxed. At least she was thinking about it and not shooting him down. “There’s a questionnaire we can go through together.” His gaze captured hers. “I believe in honesty, so here goes. I’ve watched you, Lara. The way you move, the way you talk to your customers, even tonight. I’m very attracted to you, and I believe we’d be good together.”

She swallowed. “I do too.” Lara leaned over and sat her plate on the floor. “Why did you have someone pick up food for you this week?”

Colby was surprised by the question. “Because I didn’t want to jump the gun, so to speak, for tonight.” He paused, gathering his thoughts. “I’d hoped you’d want to play.”

Lara took a long drink of her water before setting it back down. “I have some experience in the lifestyle.”

“Explainsometo me, please.” He exhaled. She wasn’t shutting him down.

“While I was at college, I met some people in the lifestyle. They introduced me, and I played a little bit with them. I’m just not into public exhibition.”

Colby nodded. “Some people are not, but I believe we can work around that.” He didn’t need her nude to play with her body. He rubbed his chin. “Before we go any further, I know you’re aware I’m a Dom.”

“That was obvious.” She laughed and lowered her eyes. “I’m a sub, but I’m not the 24/7 type.”

“Works for me. Did you play at a club or at parties?”

“Both. I should explain I was never nude, and I went to college at Berkeley. At that time, the Bay Area was more progressive than Pleasant Valley. Some of the lifestyle was pretty open.” She glanced around the club. “I still can’t believe the town council let Max build the club.”

“I think a lot of us were surprised.” He remembered when he heard about the club through the lifestyle grapevine. “Did you like the parties?”

“Some parties, I didn’t like at all; others were okay.”

Interesting. “What was the difference?”

“I think it had to do with who was hosting the party. Some carefully screened who they allowed in and others didn’t.”

“And the ones that didn’t were the ones you didn’t like.”

She grinned. “Bingo.”

“Wicked Sanctuary has an extensive vetting procedure, but even with that, sometimes someone unsuitable slips through.”

“Can you tell me the vetting process?”

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