by Tara Rose
He laughed so hard that she finally sat up and snuggled into his arms. He kissed her again, and then they rose and walked upstairs to cuddle again in her bed. “May I stay here with you tonight?”
“Just try and leave, Harrison. I’ll slap your own handcuffs on you.”
Chapter Five
Gina found it impossible to concentrate at work Monday morning, and not only because she couldn’t stop thinking about the erotic night she’d spent with Harrison. Bernie was on the rampage again. They’d been back to work in the warehouse now for two weeks, and even though the initial bugs had finally been worked out so that the city’s e-mail program and Intranet were no longer crashing every hour, he wanted to be back in his swanky corner office in City Hall.
This morning he’d decided that it was the most important thing they all had to do, and bothered every one of his five councilpersons about it, telling them it was their prime objective to make the construction crews work faster to restore the buildings on Market and Main Streets.
Two of the councilmen were Bernie’s age and kept getting reelected on the sheer strength of their familiar names only. Gina watched their exchange during their usual Monday morning meeting, while she fought to keep from laughing or simply walking out. The two bobbleheads, as she called them in her mind, nodded and gestured along with Bernie, whose face was quite red now. The man suffered from high blood pressure, and Gina began to wonder if he was going to have a stroke or something, right there in the conference room.
On either side of him, across the table from Gina, the bobbleheads, Dennis Connor and Morgan Riddle, shuffled papers and muttered about who they could talk to in order to get things moving faster. Gina wondered if either man had ever swung a sledgehammer or used a nail gun in their lives. They didn’t look as though they had.
On her right, Bettie Johnson, who represented the district that Maddox and Ellis’s homes were in, clucked her tongue. “Bernie, they’re working as fast as they can. We’ve hired crews from as far away as Terre Haute and Gary to come in and work. You’re not the only one making sacrifices here, you know.”
Across the table and next to Morgan, Sally Fulkerson, who represented most of the northwest end of town, frowned as well. She wasn’t one of Bernie’s supporters, but neither was she as outspoken about that fact as Bettie and Zachary Kincaid were. Zach was the councilman whose district included all of downtown.
Zach was one of the people who made the Monday morning meetings bearable. She didn’t know much about him, but then, no one did. He didn’t seem to be particularly close to anyone they worked with, and there never seemed to be rumors about him the way there were about the others. That fact had always made Gina want to get to know him better. He was gorgeous, but it wasn’t only his looks she found attractive.
When he did speak up, which wasn’t often, his words were carefully chosen and managed to go straight to the heart of the matter, without making it sound as though he were pushing his own agenda or trying to suck up to anyone. Gina admired that quality in him. She’d always preferred straight-talking people over windbags like Bernie, or sock puppets like Dennis and Morgan.
Zach always smelled great and was dressed well, and she often found herself daydreaming about what his day-to-day life was like. Did he have a wife and kids that no one in Racy knew about, or was he the type that had a girlfriend squirreled away somewhere, waiting for him to return home each afternoon so they could fuck all evening?
“It’s a matter of principle.” Bernie puffed out his chest, snapping Gina back the present. This time, she had to dig her nails into her palms to keep from laughing because he resembled a peacock on speed when he did that. “It doesn’t look good for the mayor to be working with cardboard boxes stacked around his desk.”
“No,” said Joe Sanchez, the chief financial officer for the city, “it doesn’t look good for you not to be working at all. The people in this town don’t care that we’re all here in the warehouse. They care that the offices are back up and running. Period.”
On her left, Zach snorted under his breath, but Gina heard it. She glanced sideways at him. He was scribbling on a legal pad in front of him, giving the impression that he was taking notes, but when Gina shifted her body to try and get a better look at what he’d written, she had to cough in order to cover up a laugh.
Zach had drawn a caricature of a red-faced Bernie, with a bullhorn coming out of his ass and an old-fashioned factory whistle perched on top of his head, like you might see in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. Smoke billowed out his ears, and his mouth was oversized.
Zach caught her staring at it and started to move it, but then he looked into her eyes and the corners of his mouth turned up. Gina’s breath caught in her throat. It was only a quick glance, but it told her more about Zachary Kincaid than she’d ever known up to that moment. She’d seen him scribbling before during meetings, and had always assumed he was taking notes. That he was actually drawing cartoons humanized him in a way like nothing she’d noticed about him had before.
The conversation around the table had finally moved onto another subject, and she turned the page on her printed agenda without reading it, and only half paying attention to the discussion. It had nothing to do with her job, so she used the time to surreptitiously study Zach’s profile.
Zach had classic chiseled features like the guys in fashion magazines, but it was also clear from the way his tailored clothes fit that he worked out. She knew his cousin was Adison Kincaid, one of Kari Tye’s Doms. Adison was head of security for Notus, and Kari had moved back to Racy last summer and opened a sex shop called Tye Me Up on Lawnview Drive, in one of the old homes that had been scheduled for demolition. But Gina knew nothing else about Zach.
His hazel eyes reminded her of Harrison’s, but Zach’s were more green than golden. His hair was dark and looked soft to the touch. She watched his hands move effortlessly over the drawing, giving it more detail and depth, and she found herself wondering what it would feel like to have those long, practiced fingers inside her pussy.
As if he could read her thoughts, Zach suddenly glanced her way, and Gina had to avert her gaze. She was embarrassed, and shuffled the papers in front of her a bit too loudly. When she finally recovered, she glanced sideways again to see Zach sliding a piece of paper toward her. A quick scan of the room assured her that no one was paying attention to them, so she moved the paper into her line of vision and read his note.
Bernie reminds me of Yosemite Sam.
Gina cleared her throat and took a sip of water, but she came dangerously close to laughing out loud. She picked up her pen and wrote, Or Taz, perhaps?
When he pulled the paper over and read what she’d written, he smiled, and it was obvious he was trying hard not to laugh as well. He began to draw again, and Gina couldn’t wait to see his latest creation.
When Bernie turned the attention back to the conditions at the warehouse, this time Gina couldn’t keep quiet. She reminded Bernie, Dennis, and Morgan that on the day they’d held an emergency meeting at Ellis McCree’s house, right after the tornado, she’d told them all exactly what would be needed to wire the warehouse for their Internet needs. Ellis was the building inspector, and he had volunteered his house for the meeting that day. She also reminded them that Ellis had told them during the meeting what they’d need in the way of electrical lines and plumbing, but they had been more concerned about where to put the conference rooms.
“If the conditions in the warehouse aren’t what you had hoped they’d be, you have no one to blame but yourselves.” She glanced around the room. “And really, is this something we should be discussing? We’re here, we’re working, and we’re simply going to have to make the best of it.”
The only councilpersons who had been willing to listen to Gina at that initial meeting were Bettie and Zach, and now they both spoke up, joining Gina to remind the others that the warehouse was only temporary, and they all would just have to deal with the less than perfect conditions.
; “The citizens of Racy who lost their homes in the tornado would be laughing if they could hear us right now,” said Zach quietly. “We’re bitching about working with cardboard boxes next to our desks, and some of them are still scrambling to find a place to live, one month later.”
Gina gave him a long, searching look as all conversation in the room stopped. He was right. She’d heard him speak passionately before, but this time it was more personal. So many of them had been affected by the tornado, and in the grand scheme of things, a bit of inconvenience at work was nothing compared to the widespread damage in their town. Gina couldn't help but wonder what else Zach was hiding under those expensive suits and that almost-perfect hair.
When the meeting finally ended, she hung around because she wanted to look at his second drawing. He pretended to be interested in the papers in his briefcase, until finally they were alone in the room. When he glanced at her, Gina had to bite back a moan. His gaze was both sexy and curious at the same time, almost as if he were sizing her up in the same way she’d been doing so to him.
“Let’s see it,” she said.
He slid the paper over, and she laughed out loud this time. Zach had drawn Bernie’s face on the body of the Tasmanian Devil, with his tongue hanging out and drool coming off his chin. Bowling pins bearing the faces of Zach, Gina, and Bettie Johnson stood cowering in front of him.
“This is good, but I think I like the first one better,” she said. “I especially love the blowing his stack bit.”
He smiled, showing brilliant white teeth. “Oh, you got that. Most people wouldn’t.”
“I’m not most people.”
“No, Gina, you’re not.”
“You sound surprised, Zach.”
“I guess I am. I never took you for someone with a sense of humor.”
Ouch. Was that really the impression she gave? “Well, I just think it’s a silly thing for him to get all worked up about, considering we still have residents without permanent homes.”
“I agree. And since most of those people reside in my district, I’m pretty pissed off that we couldn’t do more for them. Maddox and Ellis offered their homes, and he tried to block that, too.”
Gina remembered that exchange during the meeting as well. Ellis and Chase, the building commissioner, had shot Bernie down because the homes were private property and Bernie had no control over who Maddox and Ellis let live in them. “When you’re the building inspector and one of your best friends is the building commissioner, you’re going to get what you want.”
Zach laughed. “It was something to see Ellis and Chase working together, wasn’t it?”
“It was epic.” Gina tried to remember whether Zach had said or done anything she’d noticed during that meeting, but couldn’t. He was different today—more open than he’d ever been before. What had prompted it?
“Chase and Ellis are good guys, and so is Maddox.”
Gina tilted her head. “I didn’t realize you knew them so well.” Chase and Ellis were among the people whose names often came up in connection with Maddox’s club.
Zach averted his gaze. “Yeah, yeah I know them.” He stood up. “I guess I’d better get back to work. Nice talking to you, Gina.”
“Same here, Zach. Maybe you can draw me another cartoon sometime?”
He grinned in a way that sent erotic thoughts racing through her mind. What the hell was going on with her lately? “What would you like me to draw?”
Gina resisted the urge to ask him to draw her in handcuffs being flogged. The image rattled around in her brain, and she suddenly couldn’t get it out of her head. “Hmmm…” She was only buying time so that she could move her thoughts beyond Saturday night. Would he notice the obvious stalling technique? “How about you draw me the way you perceive me?”
A quick flash of surprise crossed his face, followed by a thoughtful look. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. I’d love to know. Don’t hold anything back.”
He glanced around, even though no one else was in the room, and lowered his voice. “It might not be work appropriate. I may have to show it to you out in the parking lot.”
Holy shit. To say she was surprised as hell right now was a gross understatement. How should she respond? All sorts of reasons why encouraging him was a bad idea flashed through her mind in a matter of two seconds, but she ignored them all. There was a confidence about Zach that she’d always admired, and today it drew her right in.
“Zach, if I’ll have to leave the building to look at your drawing of me, that just makes me want to see it even more.”
“I was hoping you’d say that, Gina.”
His gazed roamed over her, slowly, and then he gave her a wink and left the room without another word. Gina stared at the door, wondering what the hell she’d just started.
Chapter Six
Zach had always prided himself on being able to read people at first glance, but as he drove to Maddox’s house Tuesday evening, he had to admit he’d been dead wrong about Gina Santori. The words “cold fish” and “cock tease” had been tossed around for a few years now, and he was ashamed to admit he’d accepted them without another thought.
Until today, that is. He no longer believed either one. Not after looking into her eyes and hearing that sexy voice ask him to draw a picture of her. The lust had come off her in waves, and no woman who was truly cold and unfeeling in bed, or who merely liked to get guys riled up but had no intention of following through on their words would react the way she had to his not-so-subtle flirtations.
She had a ballsy attitude and wasn’t above giving her opinion in meetings, but unlike most of the cretins he worked with who were bigmouths, in Gina he actually admired those traits. Bernie Crumb was a bully, and Gina didn’t take any shit from him. Zach wished the other women who worked for Bernie would give it back to him as well as Gina did. Bernie backed right down every time Gina challenged his asinine arguments, and that only proved what a child he truly was inside.
Gina knew her stuff, and he admired that about her as well. But ever since the meeting yesterday, he couldn’t help but wonder if she wasn’t also hiding a passionate woman under that tough, stay-back exterior. And, she had a sense of humor that he’d never noticed before. She’d nearly choked twice in an effort not to laugh at his drawings. Zach couldn’t help but be flattered by that. Most women he’d known couldn’t have cared less about his sketches.
He hadn’t dared to show her any of the initial drawings he’d done of her because he really had no clue how Gina would react if he showed her a sketch of that delicious-looking, curvy ass of hers being paddled or flogged. She hadn’t asked for a sexual cartoon, had she?
Every time he replayed the conversation over in his mind, including the look in her pretty golden eyes, he’d swear she had been hinting at it, but then reality would take over. Gina had never shown him any sexual interest before. Why would she suddenly do so now, for no apparent reason? No. He’d drawn her exactly what she’d asked for. Now the only question was, did he have the balls to show it to her?
The club wasn’t open tonight for play, but Maddox had asked him to stop by because he was considering making some changes to the dungeon, including offering classes for those interested in the lifestyle, and he wanted input from the other Doms who frequented his club.
Zach wasn’t sure how much help he’d be with the design changes he was also thinking about making, and had suggested Maddox consult with Evan Rydell who had designed The Fit Bod. But Maddox wanted everyone’s opinion on both issues, and Zach had nothing else to do tonight.
He hadn’t had a sub in over six months. There were plenty of women in Racy who were in the lifestyle, but as far as Zach was concerned, any of them with the qualities he was looking for were already taken. Maddox and Ellis teased him mercilessly about his picky standards, but that was easy for them to say. They were set for the rest of their lives.
Julie Carruthers, the best psychologist in Racy, was sub to not only Maddox, but
Sean as well. She was intelligent and beautiful, and the few times Zach had engaged her in conversation, he didn’t have the impression he was speaking to an empty-headed woman. Quite the opposite.
And as for Ellis, he and Rafe Rodriguez shared Marisol Santiago as a sub. Marisol was a court reporter, and although he didn’t know her well, she seemed more stable than a lot of women Zach knew.
Was it too much to ask that a sub be both willing to give her submission to him and be someone he could talk to? Or that she have outside interests and be able to manage her own life, instead of needing a Dom to rescue her? Zach wasn’t interested in saving anyone from their own self-created mess. He wanted someone to be self-reliant yet submissive. Did such a woman exist? Had he set standards that no one could possibly meet?
He and Sean had had endless discussions about that very topic, and until Sean had become involved with Julie, Sean had agreed with him that it was a rare woman who would be both. But Julie already had a career when she realized she was submissive. Perhaps that was the difference?
The only problem was that Zach hadn’t yet met anyone like that who frequented the club, and he wasn’t as open about his lifestyle choice as Sean, Maddox, and Ellis were. The chances of meeting someone in his day-to-day life were therefore slim. He couldn’t be as open as some of the others were. Not in his role as councilman, and not with Bernie acting like a witch hunter every five minutes.
When Zach arrived at the club, Maddox, Ellis, Thayer, Evan, and Chad were waiting for him. Zach glanced around. “Where’s Sean?”
“He’s with Harrison Kelly. Do you know him? He’s been coming here a lot lately with all sorts of questions. Sean’s showing him around the dungeon and letting him play with things.”
“He’s a sergeant on the police force, right?” asked Zach. He didn’t know Harrison very well, but he knew his younger sister, Olivia. She and Gina hung out a lot at work, and Zach had always thought of Olivia as a bit immature. Cute, but she was a gossipy little thing.
