I took the opportunity to inhale his scent. Damn, that was one of the things I missed over the internet—the way he smelled of pine and balsa wood, with a hint of shaving cream or deodorant. Sadly, I hadn’t been around him enough to know which one it was. I only knew it made my pussy drip, and I’d do anything to have a shirt of his that smelled like him snuggled under my nose every night.
After a moment, he stepped back and motioned for me to take a seat at the bar next to him.
“Sophie, I am afraid that I have ruined things between us, and I’d like to start over.”
This wasn’t what I’d expected. “What do you mean?”
“I’d like to begin our relationship again, if that’s possible.” He extended a hand to me, which I took tentatively.
“Hi, my name is Quentin.”
I frowned. “I’m Sophie, but you already know that. What the hell? I don’t understand, Quentin. What’s this all about? What, now you just want to be friends? Just meet in an airport bar and hang out? I’m afraid we are way past that!”
He blinked a few times. “I’m sorry, Sophie. You’re right. Can I get you a drink, and I’ll try to do a better job of explaining?” He was already working on a drink himself, so I nodded.
“Bourbon?” he asked.
“Yes.” I took a seat, trying to keep my head, though I wanted to fall back into his arms and kiss those strong yet luscious lips of his.
The bartender set down my drink, and I sipped it slowly.
“I’ve dabbled in BDSM for a long time, Sophie. I’ve had subs in the past, but never anyone where the relationship grew personal, at least not for me.”
I sighed disgustedly. “Really? You don’t think that’s personal? What could be more personal than the things you ask me to do?” I hissed.
“Okay, so it is personal, and you’re right. Very personal, but in the past, I’ve only had these kinds of relationships for the sex. I’m addicted to the thrill of it. Some days I couldn’t get enough, so I started expanding my play time to the internet. And it worked. It worked great. Women would agree to it, we’d have sessions on cam, and everybody was happy.”
“Except for the ones that weren’t.”
He nodded. “Yeah. I should have realized that when that girl grew too attached. I didn’t share her feelings. I guess I should have stopped then, but I told myself that both parties knew what they were getting into… And there was the fact that it had worked with so many other women.”
“So, basically, you’re a schmuck. That’s what you’re trying to say. I got too attached and now you’re ending things with me? That’s pretty much where we were when I was in Fort Worth. I’m not sure why I had to fly all the way up here to hear this.” I started to pick up my bag and leave, but he held my forearm.
“No, that’s not what I’m saying. Sit down.”
The moment he commanded it my bottom dropped back onto the stool, and I sat silent.
“Dammit, Sophie, I’m so into you that it scares the crap out of me!” His voice had grown louder and he looked around to see if the other patrons of the bar had noticed. They hadn’t.
“What?”
“It didn’t start out that way. It started the usual way, the excitement being about the control, the games, dominating a woman. But the longer it went on, the more obsessed I became with you.”
“You’re kidding. You don’t seem obsessed…”
“But I am. Maybe it started because you refused to do sessions on cam, that you held that back from me. I don’t know, but I couldn’t get enough of you. You were innocent in so many ways, so trusting. I became absolutely enchanted by you. That’s why, when you asked me to meet with you for a live session, I had to do it.”
“Really?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“Yes. I had no idea what you would be like, but I told myself that I would dominate you, that I would design a rigorous session for you that would break you. I would have you, and get you out of my system. My plan was to come back home and distance myself from you.”
My eyes narrowed into slits. “Yeah, I know. I remember you doing that.”
“But it didn’t work. I couldn’t follow through with it. After I met you, I realized that I had feelings for you. I realized what we had went further than sex. After I came home, I couldn’t stop thinking about you, all the cute things you do.”
“Like what?” I asked, suspicious of his revelations. Did he just say I did “cute things?”
“The way you rub your eyes with your fists like a five-year-old when you’re sleepy. The way your face turns red when you want to come, but hold yourself back. The way you love crazy weather shows and paint your fingernails with a “mood” nail polish. I don’t know, Sophie—everything. It’s everything about you.”
“I felt the same way, but when we got home and you were so distant I thought it was just me…”
He downed the rest of his drink. “No. You weren’t wrong. What we had was real, but it overwhelmed me, and like a jackass I backed off. You coming here… first of all, it was awfully brave. You’ve been an incredibly brave woman the whole time I’ve known you.”
“What? Brave about what?”
“For starters, trying out BDSM over the internet with a perfect stranger. If that’s not incredibly brave, I don’t know what it.”
“Or incredibly stupid.”
He laughed. “I guess, with the wrong guy it could be. But you were completely new to this, and the way you have blossomed, it’s been beautiful to watch.” He stroked my cheek. “Or should I say listen to…”
I smiled.
“Not long after I fussed at you for not going ahead with the cam sessions, I realized I’d been a dickhead. I’m sorry. I was confused, and I tried to put you out of my mind. But that didn’t work and I was just miserable without you in my life. But by the time I figured out I’d made a mistake, you weren’t returning my messages and I knew I’d fucked everything up. When you agreed to come up here and talk with me, I knew I had a second chance to make things right between us. You don’t often get those in life, and I couldn’t let you go without telling you how important you’ve become to me.”
“So you have feelings for me?”
“Of course I have feelings for you.”
Of all the scenarios I’d run over in my mind, this was beyond any I’d allowed myself to dream. The best I’d hoped for was another session, one that ended with a proper goodbye.
“You really need to work on your communication. I think you need to send me a recap.”
He chuckled, then pulled me into his arms and growled. “Very funny. You do have a great sense of humor, but keep it up and I’m going to wear out that little bottom of yours with my crop.”
“Promises, promises,” I teased.
“Finish that drink so I can get you to the parking lot… I think my little slut needs to be ravished.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
His words made my nipples pebble under my shirt, and I was glad I was sitting down, otherwise my knees might have buckled underneath me. I gulped down the rest of my drink as he paid the check, then took my suitcase from me and led the way to the parking lot.
Dusk was giving way to night, and the air outside felt different that it did where I’d been that morning. Cooler. Less humid. A blanket of stars shone down as Quentin held a hand out to me. I clasped it and let him walk me to a parking lot at what seemed like a far corner of the airport.
“You sure parked far away,” I said as the lights of a black Mercedes S550 Hybrid we were approaching flashed and the locks clicked open.
“Because I thought you’d prefer a touch of privacy with what I’m about to do to you.”
“What’s that?” I asked, uneasy.
“Lean over the hood of the car and you’ll find out.”
Even though it was dark, the parking lot was well-lit enough that I could see the gleam in his eye as he spoke. With a wink, he placed my suitcase in the trunk and closed the lid, latching it shut.
I ambled toward the front of the car, both nervous and excited. I wasn’t a fan of public displays, and I certainly didn’t want to get caught doing anything like what Quentin seemed to have in mind.