Page 26 of Masked

“Don’t leave. I didn’t realize you would be here.”

“Same to you,” she whispered, as she settled back in the chair. “This is getting awkward, Noah.”

“Why?”

“Are you serious?”

He laughed and raised his hands in surrender. “OK. I guess I can see it. But we don’t have to talk. It seemed wiser to make myself known instead of hiding.”

She nodded. “Thank you. How long have you been a member?”

He smiled. “Since before they opened. Gage is an old friend, and I used to go to parties at his house. That’s where I met Elise.”

Reva smiled. “That’s sweet. You were her Dom, weren’t you?”

He nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets.

“It’s OK not to say anything else. But a few things about the first time we met are a little clearer now. Did Parker know that?”

He shifted. This wasn’t what he’d wanted to discuss with her. But he nodded again. “I didn’t parade it in front of my kids. But their mother started out as my sub. She just wasn’t as into it as I thought she was.”

“More interested in playing the part to get to your money?” Reva questioned.

Noah grimaced. “Yeah. Something like that. And I fell for it long enough to put a ring on her finger. After the divorce, she turned Parker against me by telling him I was a sexual deviant. Jacob and Mandie were too young for her to convince, but Parker has always been distrustful of me.”

Reva motioned for a chair. “Would you like to sit?”

Noah pulled the chair out and sat. “Thanks. I didn’t mean to dump all that on you. What do you think of this place?”

She grinned. “It’s amazing. I didn’t realize these kinds of places existed. Darci’s blog hinted at them before it got taken down, but I had no clue it was right in my backyard.”

“Have you been interested in kink for long?”

Reva shrugged. “A while, I suppose. You already know what I study. I got specifically interested in kink when I started reading novels about it.”

Noah frowned. “Don’t believe everything you read in fiction.”

Reva laughed. “I’m smarter than that, Noah. The ACSL has some great educational resources. I admit I’ve been devouring them the last couple of days, since I started the job.”

“Making friends already. Didn’t I say you would fit in, Reva?” Gage set her drink in front of her and pulled a chair from another table so he could join them.

“Oddly enough I’m acquainted with Noah.”

Gage whistled and sent a glare Noah’s way as if to say, you could have told me when she walked in that you knew her. Out loud he said, “Small world. Looks like I should get out of here and let you two catch up.”

Noah stood. “Unnecessary. I understand this is a work trip for Reva. I don’t want to monopolize it.

He put a hand on Reva’s shoulder and tried not to react to the feel of her beneath his palm. “The apartment will be ready soon, Reva. I’ll call you.”

Before she could say anything else, he headed for the exit and his car in the parking lot.

But he couldn’t make himself leave. Part of him wanted her to follow him.

He was a bastard. But he sat in the parking lot for another forty-five minutes before he started his car, telling himself he was letting the one drink he had wear off before driving. As he put the car in reverse to back out, the doors opened, and Reva stepped out. He flashed his lights at her and opened his door.

“Were you waiting for me?” she asked when she reached him.

He shrugged. “Something like that. I couldn’t make myself leave. How did you get here?”

---