Page 7 of Power Play

She was about to ask him how he knew her name, but all he had to do here at the club was ask. “Yes, Sir. You did.” She wanted to ask him what he was doing here, and she would have if they’d been in a normal situation.

“Good.” He shifted, and Regina stopped breathing. His gaze never left her face, and she fought not to squirm from his attention. While it wasn’t unusual for a Dom to focus in on a sub, for some reason, with this man, it unnerved her.

“I doubt you remember me. I’m Dane Morgan.”

Dane Morgan. That name sounded familiar. “Morgan as in the Morgan Gallery?”

“That’s me. I do own the gallery, but that’s not where we met.”

Regina studied him. They’d met before? She had a feeling they had, but where in Pleasant Valley?

“You’re thinking too hard.” He ran a finger over the back of her hand where it rested on the bar.

“Give me a hint.” Because she couldn’t think of where she might have run into this man and not remember.

“Okay, it was about ten years ago.”

She frowned. Ten years ago, she was still in Chicago. “Oh Lord,” she whispered. “You went to college with my brother.” She’d had the biggest crush on him and kissed him out of the blue. Then she’d run, too embarrassed to stick around while he let her down easy.

“Yep.” He leaned closer. “I remember that kiss.”

Regina bit her lip and looked down. She remembered that kiss too. So did her father, who’d seen them together. “Should I apologize?”

“No.” Warm fingers nudged her head up. His hazel gaze met hers. “When did you move out to the West Coast?

“A month after you came home with my brother.” Damn, his family must have had money for him to have attended college with her brother. Generally, she didn’t like to associate with people who came from money. And now? He owned an art gallery. That wasn’t a cheap venture.

She shied away from money since her family had disowned her for wanting to control her own life and make her own decisions. Regina bit her lip. While she’d enjoyed the kiss she’d given Dane, she’d had a huge fight with her father afterward. That was one of the reasons she’d moved out west. She’d had enough of others telling her how to live her life. Money and prestige were important to her parents, but not to her.

“I see.”

Did he? She wondered. The way he was studying her, he just might.

“Do you play with Colby a lot?”

The question threw her for a moment. “Not often. Usually when he needs a sub for flogging. His girlfriend Lara isn’t comfortable with some of that yet.”

“Ah, so he’s in a relationship.”

“Yes.” The flash of attraction in Dane’s eyes made her wary.

“So tell me, Regina…” Dane released her chin and trailed his fingers over her arm, causing her to shiver with anticipation. This man was disturbing her on so many different levels, and it wasn’t fair. “Are you in a relationship?”

“No.” She wouldn’t lie.

“Good. After tonight, you won’t play with anyone but me.”

“Excuse me?” Regina blinked. What did he say? Oh, she heard it, but he couldn’t be serious.

“You heard me.”

“Red.” The word slipped from her lips. She’d not used a safe word since the beginning, but it was appropriate. Dane was moving way too fast. They didn’t know each other.

Dane leaned back and studied her. “Why did you safeword?”

Regina drank the rest of her juice and slipped off the stool. “I don’t have to have a reason.” She took a deep breath and walked away. It took a lot for her to do that, especially with the invisible string between her and Dane that she felt pulling at her to return to him.

Nope. He didn’t understand boundaries, and he’d just crossed one of hers. No one told her who she could play with or not play with. That was her decision. It was her life.

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