Page 70 of Ravish

“I believe so.”

“Maybe check with him and see if he’ll sell to you.” Lara tilted her head. “I can talk with Zeke since he’s in construction, but he could probably remove the wall between your café and the ice cream shop to open the space up. You could expand your freezer space and your counter and just about double your seating area.”

Lara rubbed her forehead. “That’s a lot.”

Colby smiled. “It is, but think about it. Look how popular you are. The only time there’s an empty table at the café is late in the afternoon when you’re getting ready to close.”

“True.” Lara couldn’t believe how busy she’d gotten, and based on the information her accountant had given her, she needed to do something with the money. And the best thing to do with profit was to plow it back into the business. “Thank you for coming with me and helping me understand all this.”

“If it doesn’t upset you, I agree with your accountant that you need an onsite bookkeeper.”

“She’s right. I don’t know why I didn’t think about that sooner.”

“By expanding, you can create a small office for them to work in with a computer and everything they need.”

“It’s all so much.” Lara shook her head.

“One step at a time.” Colby squeezed her hand. “First step, check on the sale of the ice cream shop and go from there.”

“Right.” Lara took her pen and began making a list. This was her go-to for figuring out what needed to be done when.

* * * *

Lara walked around the club on Saturday. She’d talked with Max on Thursday about the cost of catering, and he agreed without blinking an eye, just as Colby had said. Max agreed that having one of Lara’s employees come to the club wasn’t viable, but someone from the club could help her.

On Friday, she and Max talked with Hannah since she’d helped before. Hannah was only too happy to pitch in. When Lara offered to pay her, Hannah told her no; it was fun to do the food, and she didn’t want to be paid. Lara wasn’t sure how she felt about that, but she’d figure something out. Max told her he’d make some sort of arrangement with Hannah in lieu of pay, which made Lara feel better.

“Hello, my beautiful lady.” Arms slid around her waist from behind, and she was pulled against a warm chest. The scent of leather and oil told her it was Colby.

“Done for tonight, Sir?”

“Yes.” He nuzzled her neck. “You still want me to flog you here in the club tonight?”

Lara swallowed as her gut clenched. “Yes, let’s do it, Sir.” This was important to Colby. While she still hadn’t figured out why having him flog her in the club bothered her, she wanted to try.

His arms tightened around her waist. “Station four is open; why don’t you go over there while I get my bag?”

“Yes, Sir.” Lara made her way over to station four. Spanking bench. That shouldn’t be too bad. Colby arrived and set his bag on the floor.

“I’ll get things set up.” He dropped a kiss on her lips before he mounted the stage. Lara watched him move the spanking bench, open his bag, and take out the rabbit flogger and the suede flogger, lotion, and he’d grabbed a blanket.

He turned to her and held out his hand. Lara took a deep breath and placed her hand in his. Once in the scene area with him, her heart sped up. There was something to be said about getting into the right head space.

“We haven’t used a spanking bench before.” He guided her over to it. The wooden contraption made her think of something out of the 1800s they used to punish people on. “Basically, you kneel here.” He patted the low padded bench. “Then lean over. This will support your upper body. There is a place for you to rest your arms and head.”

“I see, Sir.” She did. A tremor of unease slid up her spine.

“Since this is your first time, I won’t restrain you.”

“Thank you, Sir.” They’d played at his place with restraints while he flogged her ass. But here in the club... Another shiver went over her skin.Appearances.The word slipped into her mind, and she tried to push it away.

“Ready?”

Lara hesitated, and Colby’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, Sir.”

His forehead creased with a frown. “Lara, if this isn’t what you want, we don’t do it.”

She opened her mouth and closed it. “I’m fine, Sir.”

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