Midnight Playground Read Free Page B

guileless look.
    “You can’t resist any subbie. You’re such a fucking horndog.”
    “Yeah, and since when is that a bad thing? You’re either getting uptight in your old age or it’s time for you to examine why this woman is under your skin.”
    Chase hated it when his friend was right. “Was she really crying when she left?” He loved to see a woman in tears, but not from his rejection. He’d rather see her writhing in his restraints, alternating between crying her eyes out and begging him to fuck her. His half-hard dick swelled more.
    “Yeah, I was ready to run after her until you told me the deal. Since I’m not the one who rejected her, I think she needs to hear it from you.”
    Professionally he should stay the hell away from her. Personally he couldn’t let her go. Not without talking to her.
    With any luck, he’d explain what would be required of her and she’d run for the hills. There were reasons he didn’t do hard-core shoots with amateurs. They were strenuous and fraught with high emotional impact. Not everyone could handle it.
    “Chase, stop thinking about it and just talk to her. Not everything in this lifestyle has to fit your rigid standards.”
    “Don’t give me—”
    “Just fucking talk to her.”
    * * *
    Chase stared at the rundown apartment building in front of him and compared it to the address he’d hastily written on his notepad. The fact they matched stunned him. Why the hell did Eve live in a place like this? He pressed the lock button on his car remote and approached the building cautiously. The neighborhood didn’t seem safe, much less the structure she lived in.
    According to the address she provided she lived on the second floor. Chase opened the door and was immediately assaulted by a horrid smell. A mixture of pine cleaner and old. At least someone had given a halfhearted attempt to mask the fact this place threatened to crumble at any moment.
    He gave a sideways glance to the elevator and decided against it. The stairs had to be a better choice. The open-to-the-outside stairwell did improve his opinion marginally as he took two steps at a time. In fact when he reached the landing he could have sworn he’d walked into a different building altogether.
    Eve’s door was the first on the right and he gave it a hard knock. He had half a mind to drag her out of here and find somewhere safe for her to live. Like his condo. The crazy thought formed before he had a chance to stop it. No way. Talk about your bad ideas with a capital fucked-up.
    He heard noises from within the space and waited as patiently as possible for her to open the door.
    “Chase, what do you want?” Her muffled question sounded through the door. Guess the peephole works.
    “I’d like a few minutes of your time.”
    “No.”
    Her quick and abrupt answer brought a smile to his face. Turnabout was certainly fair play with this one. “C’mon, Eve, give me a chance to explain. I am still your employer after all.”
    The only response he got was metal sliding on metal and a few seconds later she yanked the door open a few inches, a safety chain crossing in front of her face.
    “I pretty much figured after I walked out today, my job would be gone.”
    She’d scrubbed her face clean of makeup and she wore a simple spaghetti-strap tank top and yoga-style pants that gently hugged the curves of her hips and legs. Without those insanely sexy shoes she wore every day he noticed how short she really was. Instead of looking like a child, her clean face and simple clothes gave him a sense of sweet vulnerability. Now he wished he’d brought his camera.
    “Is that what you want? To quit?” Chase shouldered the door and moved closer. “Let me come in for a few minutes so we can talk about it.” If she really wanted to leave, then he finally had his way out of the torture he’d suffered. He could simply walk away now and be done with the whole mess. He’d go to the club tonight and find a willing play partner and