“I really wish I had your boobs,” Syd said.
I looked at her like she was crazy. “Don’t be ridiculous. You have great boobs! I’m certain Jax has never complained.”
Her cheeks pinked and she ducked her gaze.
“Seriously. Women need to stop being so hard on themselves. Most guys aren’t going to stop in the middle of having sex with a woman to critique her body. They see us differently than we see ourselves.”
One of Syd’s eyebrows went up. “You should take your own advice on that.”
Syd knew my history, and she was right. The problem was that I’d taken my own advice on that particular issue, and felt like I’d been burned by it. Yeah, the guy wouldn’t stop having sex with you, but he might not start in the first place…or he might do it, and then pretend he didn’t know you. My self-esteem should have been higher, and I shouldn’t have let any guy make me feel bad. But that’s one of the reasons I started the blog—to try and help people in all areas of their relationships…including their relationships with themselves. The doorbell rang. “That’s either Cade or Jax,” Syd said. “I’ll get it.”
“I didn’t know Jax was coming over.”
Syd paused at the top of the stairs. “He was running errands and said he’d stop by on the way home.”
I nodded as I took off the comfy cotton shorts I’d been getting ready in, and pulled my jeans on instead. I added the boots, and a chunky turquoise bracelet with blue and silver earrings. I took one last look in the mirror and started to walk out of the room, then stopped and went back to my desk. I flipped my laptop open and quickly pulled up my blog. I typed out a short reply in response to Master Z. I gave a self-satisfied smile as I hit ‘post,’ and then put the whole situation out of my mind for the time being. It wasn’t fair to Cade if I was thinking about someone else all night. I couldn’t get to know him if I was spending our entire time together feeling stabby about the asshat with a death wish who was capitalizing on my blog.
I went downstairs to meet Cade, who I could hear talking to Syd.
“She’s probably going to want to put on a different outfit,” I heard Syd mutter.
“Why would I want to do that?” I asked, walking around the corner and stopping in my tracks. I couldn’t stop staring. He was wearing jeans, and a tight emerald green and black striped sweater with the sleeves pushed up on his forearms. His pants hugged his hips, the front of his sweater tucked behind a rectangle black and silver belt buckle. The deep jewel tone of his sweater did something to his eyes. They took on a more tropical quality, and definitely picked up more of the ocean hues than I’d seen in our meetings before.
Cade’s gaze trailed over me, from the top of my head, down to my feet and back up. I felt his perusal like a shot of heat. “You look beautiful.”
“Thanks,” I said, tamping down the urge to blush. “Why do I need to change clothes?” I asked, my attention going from Cade to Syd.
Syd looked at me with big eyes. “Cade was mentioning something about blindfolds.”
I gave Cade an intrigued look. Blindfolds? This night might be significantly better than I’d anticipated.
He returned my look with a mysterious one. “I’m full of surprises.”
“Clearly.”
I heard someone come up the back steps, and Jax walked in holding a pizza and beers. Two of my favorite things that I rarely let myself indulge in. I often wondered if constantly obsessing about food made me miss out on happiness. The more I thought about it, the more certain I became. But I didn’t know how to fix the problem. I envied people who could use food for both fuel, and joy.
Syd’s smile grew and she moved over to help him. He dropped the food on the table, wrapping her in a hug and lifting her off the ground before giving her a serious kiss.
“Hey, sixty-nine,” Jax said, using one of his nicknames for Syd. Her Camaro was also a ’69, but I felt like Jax’s reference had a lot more to do with sex than the year her car was born.
Syd held his eyes, her arms still wrapped around his neck. “Hey, sexy.”
Jax looked over at Cade and I as he lowered Syd’s feet back to the ground. “Hey.”
I gave Jax the eye equivalent of a high five in approval of his greeting for Syd. She deserved to be treated with all the love and kindness in the world, and Jax did that for her. “Hi, Blue Eyes.”
“Dude, I like you a lot,” Cade said, shaking his head, “but I’m not calling you Blue Eyes, or sexy.”
“I’d be concerned if you did,” Jax said. “Where are you guys off to?”
“Cade’s keeping it a secret,” Syd said.
“That’s brave,” Jax said, taking some sauce, parmesan, and red pepper out of the bag he’d put on the table. “Brynn’s not a fan of secrets.”
“Really?” Cade asked. “We’ll have to work on that.”
What was all this “we” stuff? We wouldn’t be working on anything. We were going to go to dinner, then get to work taking off our pants. At least, that was my plan for the night.
“It’s a good thing you got here before I turned on the TV and a new episode of House Hunters started,” Syd said to Cade. “You would have been stuck watching it with us until the end.”
Jax nodded, a serious expression on his face. “She’s not kidding. These two,” he said, pointing back and forth between Syd and I, “are House Hunters nuts.”
That earned him a glare from both of us.
“Once you see the first house, you can’t leave until you see them all and know which one they decide to pick, and if they chose wrong!” I defended. A lot of times, they chose wrong.
“You do know reality TV isn’t real, right?” Cade asked.
Now Cade was the one getting laser death glares from two sets of eyes. “I read somewhere that some of the people on the show purchase their house, but then go around looking at other homes for the sake of the episode, even though they’ve already chosen and bought the house they want.”
Mine and Syd’s mouths fell open simultaneously. Jax was doing a slight head shake and making a cutting motion across his throat at Cade.
“That’s blasphemy,” Syd finally said when her voice started working again.
“Seriously,” I said to Cade. “If that’s true, I’ll have to question everything I know. I don’t have time for that. Do not bash HGTV.”
Cade put his hands up in the air in surrender. “Noted. As I learn more about your favorite TV networks, I will attempt to keep them out of conversations.”
Syd and I both gave huffy little nods.
Cade’s phone buzzed. He pulled it out and gave it a quick glance. Amusement sparked in his eyes, then he put it back in his pocket. “We need to go,” Cade said. “But you two have fun watching people paint.”
Syd grinned. “Oh, we will!”
Jax gave her a mischievous smile. “We’ll be doing some redecorating, but it will have nothing to do with HGTV.”
Syd gasped and punched him in the shoulder. “Jax!”
I laughed. “I’ll make sure to text before I walk in the house.” I grabbed my coat out of the closet and followed Cade out the door to his SUV. He had a newer SUV…something rugged and manly that looked expensive. I really knew nothing about vehicles, and only cared if the car worked, didn’t need a lot of maintenance, and got me where I wanted to go. Syd was a car snob, and thought my lack of vehicular interest was pure insanity.
Cade opened the car door for me and I climbed in, buckled up, and felt my phone vibrating like a sex toy on crack in my purse. It had been vibrating since I picked my bag up, which meant my notifications were blowing up with comments on the post I’d just made. I thought I’d turned the notifications off. I pulled my phone out to put it on Do Not Disturb, and grinned as I saw my blog post flash on the screen. It was going to be a good night.
A Special Word from Mistress A
Alpha:
I don’t wear panties.
Tips and Tits: The Word from Mistress A
Commando, or
No No?
Sometimes I go clothes shopping, and forget I’m not wearing panties. There’s little as frustrating as getting to a store that has what looks to be the Holy Grail of jeans—the ones that make your ass look perfectly perky, and your legs long and lean—and then not being able to try them on because you forgot a key component of your outfit. It’s not that I don’t like a good pair of panties. They’re perfectly fine for looking pretty on the way to sexy times. I see their purpose. I just choose not to wear them on a regular basis unless I have to. The undergarment debate has been going on for years. Kitty Fisher is someone you’ve probably never heard of, but, like some reality TV show stars, she was quite famous for being famous. Also like some reality TV show stars, she got that way after a bit of clumsiness showed off her lady bits. Around the year, 1760, Kitty was riding a horse and fell off the animal. In a most ungraceful dismount, she went tits over teacups onto the ground. In the tumble, she revealed to the goddesses and everyone that she wasn’t wearing any undergarments. Quite a feat when you consider the sheer amount of clothes women had to wear at the time. Every woman has a panty preference. Some like grannies, others favor boy shorts, bikini, or thong. And some prefer nothing at all. Some women change their mind depending on the time of the month. Just look at the popularity of period panties! As far as what the best method is, it really comes down to personal preference, but scientific studies back up the commando theory, at least for part of the day. People who sleep naked have better sleep quality, and women who sleep naked have fewer lady bit issues. You need to give your skin, and all your parts, a chance to breathe. In my opinion, it’s all about comfort. So, be like Kitty: wear what you want to wear…just make sure you have the proper attire the next time you’re riding a horse, or trying on pants.
“So what’s this about a blindfold? I didn’t realize we were already at the BDSM stage.” I was even more curious about Cade now. What did he have planned? He knew I didn’t date, yet he’d asked me on one. Did he think we were going straight to sex? Not that I’d mind the sex, but I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t be disappointed at not having time to sit, talk, and get to know him first. I hadn’t done that with someone I actually wanted to get to know in a long time, and having it offered made me realize how much I’d missed that part of the dating process. Most of the guys I met were ass monkeys. Cade was different. I was good at reading people, but Cade had an air of mystery around him that made it hard to put him into any of my preconceived man-boxes. I truly wanted to get to know him better, and unravel what it was about him that made me so ensorcelled.
We were driving into downtown Winchester. It wasn’t a huge town, and I couldn’t imagine we were going anywhere I hadn’t been before.
His hand was draped lazily over the steering wheel, left leg resting against the door like he was in an ad for temptation. “I figured we’d already done handcuffs, blindfolds seemed like the next logical step.”
I inhaled a rattled breath at the reference to the first time I’d seen Cade. The time I tried in vain to not think about. It was impossible. I replayed the meeting in my mind on a regular basis. But I’d firmly agreed not to think about it tonight, or discuss it! Cade didn’t seem to be under the same gag order. “You’re not the type to hold back, are you?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No. Not at all. And I don’t get the feeling you are either.”
I folded my hands into my lap, trying not to fidget. “You’re right. I’m not.”
“Then why did you pretend we’d only seen each other one time when we were in front of all of your friends the other night?”
I shrugged. I’d been trying to figure that out for myself as well. Maybe it was because I wanted that memory for myself. Or maybe I just wasn’t ready to deal with how he’d made me feel, or the fact that he was the first man to make me infatuated in years. More than anything, I thought it was because despite Mistress A’s public persona, I liked my privacy and didn’t want everyone knowing—and asking—about our history. “I’m not sure,” I answered honestly. “You kind of left me standing there speechless. It threw me off my game. A guy hasn’t done that in a long time.”
His lips slid up slowly. “I didn’t realize I’d made such an impact.”
I scrunched up my nose, unhappy about admitting that. “Most men don’t nail that whole impression thing, so congratulations. Any other girl and your approach might have gone sideways.”
He laughed, a low, masculine sound. “So you don’t have a high opinion of men.”
He said it as a statement. I shook my head. “No, that’s not true. I love men. I just think they only want one thing. On that subject, men and I agree.”
“Sex,” he answered bluntly. I appreciated a man who was direct.
I nodded and echoed, “Sex.”
“When was your last relationship?” he asked.
I gave him a look that said, that’s-not-really-your-business. “Heavy question for a first date.”
He looked over at me, unapologetic. “You don’t seem like the type who scares easily. I want to know you, Brynn.”
His tone was deep and genuine as his hands shifted on the steering wheel. He seemed completely relaxed. I had no reason to question his motives, and I liked that he acted interested. Most men—and some women—lumped women who enjoyed sex into one of two categories: party girl, or slut. I hated both generalizations and wanted to ball or boob punch anyone who made it. I couldn’t stand the double standard. Men were allowed to wet their dick with whoever they wanted, and no one batted an eye. In fact, they were often congratulated for it. Why were the rules any different for a woman?
“It was years ago,” I answered in response to his relationship question.
“But you go out with a lot of guys?”
I nodded. “I like sex.” We’d already established that, and I had no problem reiterating it. If he was going to have a problem with my sex life, he was going to have a problem with me and there was no point in continuing this conversation.
“What about you?” I asked. “When was your last relationship?”
“A year ago.”
“College girlfriend?”
He nodded. “Some people grow together, others grow apart. We grew apart. It was amicable.”
That was nice. The end of my last relationship sure as hell wasn’t.
We came to a stoplight and Cade turned his head, meeting my eyes. He held my gaze and I did my best not to squirm under his stare. “I had something set up for tonight, but I think that will have to wait.” He turned in a different direction at the next light.
“Where are we going?”
“Change of plans.”
Like Jax had said, I was not a fan of surprises and now the first surprise was being replaced by another.
“You really don’t like surprises, do you?” Cade said, reading my mind.
I shook my head. “I haven’t had good experiences with them.”
He glanced over at me. “I promise this won’t be a bad one.”
We turned off the main road and onto one that was either dirt, or littered with potholes. It was a road I’d never been on before, and I had sudden visions of Deliverance as banjo music started playing in my head. Any other guy and I would have texted Syd an SOS immediately. But because it was Cade, and Syd knew him so well and trusted him, I decided to let it play out.
“Good thing you brought an SUV,” I said as the car bounced and I steadied myself with one hand on the door, the other on the center console.
“I like to take it off-roading when I have time.”
After being jostled for another five minutes, we came to a clearing, a softly lit cabin in front of us with smoke coming out of the chimney. It looked like a picturesque place to murder someone. The thought wasn’t comforting. We pulled into a parking area with several other cars, so I knew we weren’t going somewhere private. Cade opened the car door for me and I followed him into the cabin. A hostess was standing in the foyer dressed all in black. He flashed a sm
ile that could get him pretty much anything he wanted, and asked for a private table for two. She nodded, and we followed her to a booth in the corner. I scanned the room as we settled in; the inside of the cabin was decorated with a mix of rugged and modern. Shiplap covered areas of the wall, and gunmetal gray paint with white accents covered the areas that didn’t have shiplap. The seats of the booths were black leather, with grey, black and silver diamond patterned fabric covering the backs of the booths. The tables looked like stained concrete.
“I’m pretty sure the owners of this place are HGTV fans,” I said, turning my attention back to Cade.
He laughed. “Or their decorator is.”
I looked down at the menu. Fancy entrees, some in what appeared to be French, were part of the night’s offerings. I looked it over, trying to decide what had the most protein, and least carbs. “Have you been here before?”
“No. They haven’t been open long, but I read about them in a review of Winchester’s most unique restaurants, and thought it would be a fun place to try.”
I’d never heard of them, and never been there, so Cade got points for a totally unique experience.
Our server came over with waters, and we placed our dinner order.
Usually this was the part of a date where things could get awkward. You don’t know each other well enough to ask the right questions. Cade and I didn’t seem to have that problem, though…probably because our shared connection with Syd gave us some background info.
Cade had no problem jumping right into deeper questions, however. He’d done it in the car and continued, “So you don’t like romance?”
“That’s not true, either,” I said, shaking my head. “I love a good romance novel, and love the notion that the perfect guy exists and knows exactly how to make you happy in every way. The idea that someone is out there for everyone is appealing. But, I also don’t like lying to myself, living in a fairy tale world, or setting up expectations that I know can never be met. Perfect relationships don’t exist, and neither do perfect men.”
Chasing Brynn (A Tempting Novel Book 2) Page 9
