From Leather to Lace Read Free

excitement shot through her at the prospect of seeing him again and she decided on the spur of the moment that this time she would be more forward with him. Perhaps she had been too standoffish during their last encounter. She knew that she could come across that way at times and if she examined that tendency too deeply she would probably conclude that it was a self-preservation mechanism. Now she just had to keep her true feelings about Maxwell under wraps as Roxy could be a real pain when she was in match-maker mode.
    “You must remember Max,” Roxy said, breaking into her reverie. “He has this absolutely fab house at Kirribilli—wait until you see the view. His house is right on the harbour.”
    “I do remember him. I hope I won’t be intruding—after all, he didn’t invite me to his party, you did,” Sarah pointed out.
    “Max asked me to invite you, Sar, I do believe he was quite taken with you.” She smirked. “Adam will be there and James and Pat,” she continued.
    “Speaking of Adam, are you two on or off at the moment?” Sarah asked.
    “Oh, it’s definitely on. He will be meeting us there.”
    “Now if I recollect, Adam went to university with Maxwell—is that right?”
    “Yes, they’re good friends and he is a seriously nice guy, Sarah, and if that’s not enough he is a major-league hunk! I mean the guy is built, plus he’s single. Well, I don’t think he’s in a serious relationship—not that there aren’t any number of willing women. He did ask me about you and practically begged me to invite you today.”
    Sarah seriously doubted that. Maxwell McIver seemed like the sort of guy who did not beg for anything and was more likely accustomed to getting anything he wanted. Then another thought hit her—had Roxy mentioned anything about her work at Fantasy?
    “You haven’t told anyone what I do for a living, have you?” she asked.
    Roxy cast a furtive look in Sarah’s direction. “I have your story straight, Sar—you are a student studying journalism at UNSW and you wait tables in the evening,” Roxy rattled off.
    It wasn’t that Sarah was ashamed of her BDSM profession. It was just that experience had taught her to be cautious—some people didn’t understand and others were so intrigued by her occupation that they wanted to know all the ins and outs and be given blow-by-blow descriptions and, more often than not, asked personal things about clients that she couldn’t answer. When she had her time off, she wanted it to be just that—time off, not juggling an inquisitive stranger’s curious questions. She couldn’t quite answer the question of why she enjoyed the Dominatrix role herself although she did find the dominance aspect and the naughty, almost illicit nature of it quite appealing—she quite enjoyed stripping out of demure Sarah and slipping into dominant Mistress Kitty. It also paid very well and the clients were respectful, almost grateful for her services—well, most of her clients were respectful, she thought, as Mr X suddenly invaded her thoughts.
    “Here we are,” Roxy declared, screeching to a halt in front of a deeply sloping driveway.
    They made their way to the back of a magnificent house and, rounding a corner, they came across the party in full swing. Music was playing through outdoor speakers and people mingled in groups sipping champagne and drinking beer while waiters hovered nearby with trays of canapés. A large infinity pool jutted out across the water and was surrounded on three sides by a huge deck. Closer to the house long tables, groaning under the weight of every imaginable bottled beverage, were set up on the patio.
    The view from the back of the house was magnificent and Sarah couldn’t help but stop and admire it.

Chapter Three
     
     
     
    Maxwell McIver lounged casually against the bar and listened without interest to the conversation buzzing around him. He was waiting for Sarah to arrive. Ever since he had met her that evening at Roxy’s