Page 16 of Dominate Me

“Miss,” I hissed. The first thing I did once my divorce was final was head to the Social Security office and change my name back to my maiden one. Getting rid of the last name Miller was almost as exciting as leaving Timothy in my rearview mirror.

The receptionist’s voice went quieter. She wasn’t speaking to me when she said, “Yes, Mr. Rhodes, your dinner reservation for six o’clock has been confirmed at The Royal Mile.” I quickly scribbled the name down on a Post-it when she said, more clearly this time, “Now, if that’s all, I believe I’ve told you all you need to know. Mr. Rhodes is simply not available to help you.”

“Thank you for checking,” I muttered, ending the phone call quickly.

Now, I knew exactly how to reach him. I just needed to figure out how to do that without getting kicked out of the nicest restaurant in Grand Rapids before I had a chance to speak with him.

There was no way I could wait three months for an appointment, and after spending more time researching law firms, there was no other office that at first glance, was a place I could trust.

For the rest of the day, I worked on the books for the resort, updating our expenses, thrilled to see that our profits were growing every day. The economy hadn’t been good to us over the last few years, but thankfully my dad was an excellent businessman and he did most of the updates and purchases before the market went south several years ago. It allowed us to maintain fourteen private cabins and a small condo-type building with twenty rooms.

We didn’t have that many special amenities other than a playground area and a small swimming pool for those who didn’t want to swim in the lake. That did, however, provide us an edge over our competitors for weekends early and late in the season when it was too cold to swim in Lake Michigan. We opened before other resorts every spring and we stayed open later in the fall.

I would never live a life of luxury, but I’d be forever comfortable, and after losing so much, it was all I wanted.

Scribbling down a quick note of to-do items for Maria, I grabbed my purse and headed out of the office. I had too much to do before I essentially tried to sabotage a business meeting and make a horrible first impression on someone I needed.

But I was desperate, and willing to try anything. I just needed to find a dress that screamed classy and determined as well as masked the hint of pathetic desperation.

Jensen

I sat at a table at my favorite restaurant, The Royal Mile, listening to Meredith prattle on about inconsequential gossip, and forced my upper lip to uncurl.

Our families had been friends since our fathers went to Columbia together, and Meredith and I had grown up together. She was three years younger than me, and while the crush she’d had on me when we were younger was obvious, I’d never treated her like anything except the annoying little sister I never wanted to touch.

Meredith lived for galas and attention, both professionally and personally. She clawed at the social ladder in Michigan as if she would be seen on page six of theNew York Timessocial section. It was a fruitless endeavor and any man who had any hint of a gold-digger detector could see her coming from a mile away.

That was always Meredith’s problem. She was too obvious, too pushy. She wanted to be dominated while clutching control in her manicured fists, dispensing it when she thought necessary instead of giving it freely.

And considering I had met Courtney through Meredith, I also knew of Meredith’s sexual proclivities. They ran similar to mine except for the fact I didn’t want to force domination. I wanted submission to be surrendered at my feet—preferably by a pretty brunette with doe-eyed green eyes that I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about for the last four days.

“Are you listening to me?” Meredith clipped, her eyes narrowed like a shrew. Or a hawk circling its prey, narrowing its target to the most defenseless.

I brushed my napkin against the corner of my lips and feigned attention. “Of course I am, but you haven’t yet discussed why you insisted on us having dinner.”

My tone was tight and she read it accordingly.

Acting as the submissive she desperately wanted to be, her expression softened and she tilted her chin downward. The look was a perfectly soft pose. Too bad it was an act. Although even if it wasn’t, I would never touch her. She had too many strikes against her and lately, our friendship was teetering on the edge of collapse.

She always wanted something. And for the last two months, she’d made it clear she wanted me.

I had never been tempted.

“We’re friends, Jensen, and it’s been so long since we’ve seen each other. I simply thought a nice, quiet dinner together would be good for us to...reconnect.” Her eyes gleamed with sincerity.

Too bad her voice dripped with lies.

Patience with Meredith was always something that had made me glad I focused on controlling myself in all areas. She needed a heavy hand, and it wasn’t going to be mine that dealt the blows.

“I have a busy week, Meredith. I have a busy month. You lured me here under the pretense of something important, something that couldn’t wait. If you wanted to manipulate me, you shouldn’t have wasted your time. So get to your point, or I’ll be requesting the check.” Our dinners hadn’t come yet, just our salads. I didn’t care.

The hairs at the back of my neck tingled and I scanned the restaurant, looking for what caused the strange sensation of awareness sliding through me. My gaze stopped at the entryway.Haley.

She stood at the hostess stand and the electric charge that circled between us the other night made the hairs stand up on my arms.

Something about the fire within her, the way she clearly knew what she wanted, and not to mention the look of ecstasy as she orgasmed, made Haley dangerous.

Her nervousness was obvious in the way her bottom lip was precariously placed between her teeth and the way she clutched her handbag like it was a lifeline. Yet she still held her head high, her back straight when she strolled toward an empty stool at the end of the bar.

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