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her
gaze, praying she could make her escape. Where’s the ladies
room?
    “Christy.” Henry reached her, his cologne
about knocking her over. His suit stretched across his hefty form,
straining at the buttons.
    He was wearing a triangle pin.
    And she had just put on hers. The last thing
she needed was for him to know that she was with the “kink
set.”
    Too late for that.
    She tried not to be stiff as she said, “Hi,
Henry.”
    He took her hand in his fat one. “When I
heard you were going to be here tonight, I had to come.” He looked
at her pin. His eyes glistened with excitement. “And to find out
you’re a member of the club. Very exciting.” He seemed to get a
good look at Christy’s expression. “Don’t worry. The nice thing
about our interests is that we don’t go around telling people about
them or other people we know in the lifestyle. And you a
submissive, no less. We seem to be a match.”
    Christy felt ill but worked up a smile and
tried unsuccessfully to draw her hand from his. “I’m not in the
life—”
    He cut her off as he squeezed her hand harder
and she winced. “Looks like I’ll get that date after all. You’ve
been playing hard to get for far too long. Tonight will settle
it.”
    She took a deep breath, trying to think of
someway to politely put him off as she managed to pull her hand
from his. “Henry—”
    “Christy?” A masculine voice came from behind
her. A familiar voice.
    A thrill caused her to shiver from head to
toe as she turned and faced Zach Nikas. Eight years ago she had
left him… And had regretted it long after.
    Their gazes met and held and she didn’t think
she would ever be able to breathe again. He was as magnificent as
he’d been when they had dated, maybe more so. His black eyes were
as intense as ever and his black hair gleamed in the light from the
chandeliers. His olive complexion and the cut of his features
reflected his Grecian ancestry. His suit fit perfectly on his tall,
muscular form and his sexy smile made her toes curl.
    Seeing him brought a wave of memories that
started with the amazing times they had spent together and ended
with the reason why she’d broken up with him. She’d thought about
him so many times since then and a part of her had thought about
what it might be like if they had a second chance. Now that she had
a better feel for the part of him that she hadn’t understood back
then, she wondered if things would be different if they had stayed
together. But they had each moved on with their lives, end of
story.
    Yet here he was, larger than life.
    “Zach.” Her throat was so dry that she barely
managed to get his name out.
    The magnetism that had drawn them together
the first time was just as strong now as it had been then. Maybe
stronger. She felt electrified just being near him. “It’s so good
to see you.”
    “I was thinking the same thing.” His smile
was sending her heart into overdrive.
    Henry cleared his throat. “Excuse me,” he
said, jerking her out of her Zach-induced trance. He sounded
irritated. “Ms. Clarkson and I were just speaking together. Do you
mind?”
    She cut her gaze to Henry. She had forgotten
about him but could not believe how rude he had just been. He was
glaring in Zach’s direction and she turned her attention back to
him.
    With a slight bow of his head, Zach said to
Christy, “A pleasure seeing you again.” He started to turn
away.
    “Wait.” She placed her hand on his arm. “Give
me a moment. I want to talk to you.”
    “I’ll be at the bar getting another glass of
wine.” He smiled but she could tell he wasn’t pleased by how rude
Henry had been. “Can I get you anything?”
    “Yes.” Christy moved her hand away. “A
chardonnay, please.”
    He met her gaze for one long moment then and
then gave Henry a nod and walked away.
    When Zach left, she turned back to Henry. He
looked a little put-off but then he smiled. “I suppose we’ll have
plenty of time together once I buy you at