TheOneandOnly Read Free Page B

had to do. At the next intersection he
made a U-turn. “Let’s go to the club. No one will be there right now and we can
have a serious conversation and hopefully put some of your fears to bed.”
    “Okay.” She kept twisting her fingers, obviously nervous.
    Sean reached over and laid his hand over hers. “Why are you
so afraid of me? Have I done something to scare you?” Everybody had hidden
triggers. Had he somehow touched upon one of hers?
    “No, you haven’t done anything. Your manners are always top-shelf.
I just…you’ve been coming into the diner for months now. You’re very handsome
and a little mysterious. I had no idea who you were meeting with or why.” She
laughed. “Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine you were a club owner.”
    “For many generations, the men in my family have been
businessmen. It was expected of me from the time I was born.” He grinned,
remembering the look on his parents’ faces when he told them what type of club
he had opened. “After I graduated, I looked at my options and went my own way.”
    “Did you go to the University of South Carolina?”
    “No, I went to school in Boston.” He left his answer vague,
not wanting to widen the gap between them any further by pointing out his Ivy
League education. After pulling into the drive, he went around back to his
office entrance.
    “Cat Tails. That’s a cute name. I’m probably showing my
ignorance here, but how did you come up with the name?”
    “A cat- o’-nine-tails is an impact toy some people enjoy
playing with.” He gestured with his right hand as he spoke, trying to draw a
connection to the words. “Cat, pussy, tails, ass, I don’t know. It made sense
at the time.”
    “Ahh, I thought it was something like that.” She should have
figured that out for herself. Come on, Michelle, engage the brain before he
thinks you’re a virgin. Not that she was terribly far from it, but he
didn’t need to know that.
    “Wait here and I’ll get your door.”
    She couldn’t remember the last time a man had opened her
door. Oh now she remembered…never. A girl could get used to this. After getting
the door for her, he held out his hand and helped her from the car. His
mannerisms brought out her femininity and made her wish she had paid more
attention to her grandmother’s etiquette lectures.
    Sean unlocked the door, turned on the lights and punched a
code into a keypad beside the back door. He locked it again and if she read the
lights on the panel correctly, he’d reset the alarm. “My office is through here.”
He led her down a short hallway and to the right.
    Michelle was surprised and impressed by his office. It was
furnished in light woods and steel, just like what she hoped to own one day.
    “Why don’t we sit on the couch? We can talk easier there.”
    She looked in the direction he’d pointed and fell in love.
The couch was low and made with a linen-colored fabric. “Your office is
beautiful. I’m jealous.”
    “Thanks, I’m glad you like it. I spend entirely too much
time here, so I wanted it comfortable and homey. Have a seat.”
    Michelle put her purse on the floor beside the sofa and sat
near the armrest. Her heart was pounding. She was alone with the man of her
dreams, in a kink club that he owned. Good lord, what was she doing?
    Sean sat sideways near the middle. “Come on, Michelle, meet
me halfway.” He patted the cushion beside him.
    She smiled and slid toward him.
    He pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “Is it me or the
job you’re so nervous about, hon?”
    “Good question. Bartending is a breeze, but tending bar in a
club where people are having sex a few feet away and clothing is optional,
that’s a different story. Dating you, I’m cool with, but knowing that if we hit
it off—” She shook her head. “You’re way out of my league, Sean. I might be
able to handle one at a time without feeling like I’m following the yellow
brick road, but not both.”
    Sean tipped his head