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“Behave, Sir.” She walked out from behind the bar to find Anthony waiting for her with a frown on his face.

“Do you want me to talk to Noah?”

“What?”

“He slapped your ass.”

Kaley laughed. “Noah was my instructor during my classes. It was nothing serious… Sir.” She needed to remember to use Sir. Damned pesky club protocols again.

Anthony inclined his head. “As long as he has consent.” He held out his arm. “Would you sit with me and talk more?”

She hesitated. Not because she didn’t enjoy chatting with Anthony, but she wanted to be ready when Oliver and Rose wanted to go home. Interesting, she was thinking of sitting with Anthony and talking. He was so easy to talk to, and some of the loneliness inside her disappeared when she was with him.

Kaley let herself really look at Anthony. Like most the Doms in the club, he wore black pants and loafers, but he was in a black t-shirt instead of bare chested. She wondered about that.

“All right.” Decision made, she put her hand on his outstretched arm. His strong muscles flexed, and his skin was warm to the touch. Her fingers tingled with the contact. What was going on with her body? It wasn’t like her to react to a simple touch.

“Thank you.” His hand covered hers, and he led her across the club to one of the quieter areas. He waited until she was seated on the love seat before joining her.

Once beside her, he picked up her hand and fingered her white wristband. “How new are you?”

“My classes ended a month ago, so fairly new, Sir.” It wasn’t an unusual question; several of the Doms had asked her the same. And when invited her to play, they were gracious when she turned them down. She was still getting the feel of Wicked Sanctuary and wasn’t ready to play in public.

He nodded. “Would you be interested in sceneing with me?”

“I’m not sure, Sir.” That wasn’t the automatic no she’d given to other Doms, and she filed that away to think about later. “You’ve not asked me before tonight.”

“I’m an idiot, pure and simple. I guess I was so busy checking out the club, I barely looked at the bar. I should have.” He threaded his fingers with hers. “And let’s drop the Sir for now.”

She nodded as she ground her teeth together to hide her hurt at not being a noticeable kind of girl. “So, you didn’t know who I was at your grandmother’s?” She was curious about that.

“It took me a little bit to remember where I’d seen you.” His blue gaze never left her face. “You recognized me?”

“I did. I saw you a few weeks ago when you gave a demo.” She shivered.

“It scared you.”

“Yes.” She lifted her chin. Kaley was tired of people judging her by her fears.

“No worries.” He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb in a soothing motion, and Kaley began to relax. “That’s too advanced for you right now. What do you like?”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to get my information from Master Max?” She was aware that several of the Doms had read her questionnaire before they approached her.

“For some, but I’d rather discuss these things with you.”

Kaley nodded and shifted. How did she feel about sceneing with Anthony? Her blood heated. Other Doms hadn’t affected her like this. Usually, there was no reaction to a Dom asking her if she wanted to play, but not with him. Her lady parts lit up like a Christmas tree.

With Master Max and a couple of the other long-time Doms, she was intimidated. She knew that wasn’t their intention, but their demeanor made her shrink into herself. A Dom voice was one thing; anything more and the fear crept into her throat.

Noah was kind and gentle during training; even so, Kaley wasn’t a proper sub and probably never would be. That bothered her, but what could she do about it? Being here felt right. And the nervous excitement she felt at Anthony’s touch and questions made her wonder if she could become the right kind of sub. If she could let go of all the burdens life had thrown at her and just…be.

“What would you like to know?” she asked.

“How much do you know about the lifestyle?”

Kaley tilted her head. “The classes helped me learn a lot more than I knew before, which wasn’t a lot.”

“Why did you join?”

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