Tymber Dalton - The Denim Dom

Why the hell did I say yes? She sat on her screened-in lanai and stared out at the green space behind her apartments. A small flock of some sort of ibis walked along, checking the ditch for insects as they moved.

She still didn’t know for sure. She sipped her beer and contemplated it for a while, until it grew dark outside and she felt a slight buzz from her empty stomach combined with the effects of the beer.

Inside her apartment, she settled on a toasted cheese sandwich, easy to make and easy to eat. Part of her relished the freedom of living a peaceful life, never wondering where or when—or for how much—the other shoe would drop.

Part of her cursed James for putting her in this position. Being alone with no one to rely on. All she’d wanted to do was make him happy. Was it too much to ask of him to be honest with her? To not go behind her back?

To not put her in frigging debt over his Internet porn?

Hell, after the first discovery, she’d even offered to explore kinky stuff if he wanted to. He’d flat-out refused the offer, leaving her even more confused than before.

I need to quit thinking about it tonight. This isn’t helping.

Instead of the TV she opted for music. She thumbed through her iPod and found Michael Hedges. Mellow and soothing guitar instrumentals that never failed to settle her nerves. She curled up on the sofa with a book and read while she ate.

Finally, when she couldn’t stop yawning, she shut off the music and headed to bed. But she lay there, her mind racing about the article she had to write.

Why the hell did I say yes?

Tony Daniels stared at his computer monitor. He loved his job, but he hated some of the people he had to work with. More than once he’d envisioned punching his boss, Darren, in the face.

Or tying him up and beating the crap out of him with a cane.

He scrubbed his face with his hands. Not to mention there were more than a few people working under him who would greatly benefit from spending the day in a ball gag.

He smiled. Such evil daydreams were a way to amuse himself during a usually long workday. Like envisioning an employee strapped into a straightjacket, with a butt plug up their ass, a ball gag in their mouth, and tied to their chair.

His own personal form of morale improvement.

He nearly giggled out loud.

These are the kinds of thoughts that will forever keep me out of the highest levels of management in this company.

Not that he cared.

Then again, he was paid well for his long hours and the work he did. Running the computer data center at the Bradenton headquarters of Asher Insurance, a national health, life, and disability insurance company, was nothing to sneeze at. And even though he was on call twenty-four-seven, unless everything went to hell in a handbasket after he went home he could leave work at the office on most days.

When he felt his personal cell phone vibrate in his pocket, he took it out and quickly glanced at it.

A text from his friend, Leah, popped up. Still on for tonight?

He sent her a quick reply. Yep. I’ll be there by 8.

Poor Leah was doing her damnedest to fix him up with her friends. Vanilla and lifestyler alike. He’d once asked her husband, Seth, to please tell her to knock it off.

Seth had simply grinned at him. “Nope. It makes her happy. I’m not going to piss on her parade.”

Then again, Tony couldn’t blame Seth. After witnessing firsthand everything Leah went through losing her first husband, Kaden, to pancreatic cancer, Tony didn’t know if he could have denied her anything that made her happy, either.

He let out a sigh and returned his phone to his pocket. Tonight, Leah had told him, her friend Valerie was also coming over for dinner. Nice woman, worked as a bookkeeper for a local auto dealership. He supposed he could suffer through another matchmaking attempt if it would make Leah happy.

Kaden, I hope you appreciate what I still go through for you.

Despite Leah’s usual assurances that he didn’t need to bring anything, Tony brought a bottle of Riesling with him. Leah met him at the front door with a hug and a kiss on the cheek before taking the bottle.

“Thank you. You know you didn’t have to do that.”

“You know I always will.”

She laughed. It was a beautiful sound, so different from the early days after Kaden’s death when they all kept watch to make sure she didn’t kill herself in the deepest, darkest times of her grief. “Yes, I know. You’re stubborn like that.” She wore a short denim skirt, a tight tank top, and a leather collar around her neck.

That told him their guest was lifestyle-friendly, if not outright in the lifestyle. When it was a vanilla friend, she wore her silver day collar, which looked like a necklace, and less revealing, more conventional clothes.

Tony followed her to the kitchen where Seth worked on prepping the salad. “Hey, man,” Seth greeted him. “Sorry I’m not shaking hands.”

Tony slid onto a barstool at the counter. “No problem. I understand.” Leah set a glass of iced tea in front of him, already sweetened the way he liked it.

He had to admit she was efficient.

Lucky bastard.

“So,” Tony said, “based on Leah’s clothes, I’m guessing tonight’s matchmaking attempt already knows about my extracurricular activities?”

She grinned. “Yes. She used to be in the lifestyle, but when she dumped her ex, she got out of it. She wants to get back into the local scene here in Sarasota.” She jammed her hands on her hips, her green eyes sparking. “At the very least you two would make great play partners.”

“Ah. So you’re not trying to marry me off this time?”

She rolled her eyes at him. “No. I’m never trying to marry you off. I’m just trying to help you broaden your social horizon a little.”

He sipped his tea. “You know I work long hours. I don’t have a lot of time for broadening my social horizons.”

“Duh. And that’s why I’m trying to help you out.”

He was spared further lecturing by the sound of the doorbell.

“That’s Val,” Leah said, heading out of the kitchen. She turned and pointed a finger at Tony. “Be nice.”

“I’m always nice,” he said. “I’m the sweetest sadist you’ll ever meet.”

Seth roared with laughter. Leah stuck her tongue out at Tony before turning to go answer the door.

Val, as she asked him to call her, was three years younger than him at thirty-nine, shorter than him by nearly eight inches at five-four, had short brown hair, and pale blue eyes. She loved to laugh. He found her smart, witty, charming, and friendly. They had a lot in common, including tastes in reading and music. Gainfully employed, she owned her own house and wasn’t looking to jump into a new relationship without a lot of groundwork first.

He also wasn’t the slightest bit attracted to her, although he wouldn’t mind playing with her a few times.

Leah apparently sensed it. After Valerie left, Leah turned to Tony and scrunched up her face. “Nada? Are you sure?”

He shrugged. “Sorry. She seems like a very nice woman, but—”

“She doesn’t flip your switch. I get it.”

He smiled. “Never say switch to a Dom, Leah. In either context. I don’t do one, and I’m liable to use the other.”

She laughed. “Yeah, if I ever saw you switch with someone I think I’d make them haul you to the hospital for a CAT scan.” She sighed. “I’d hoped you’d really like her.”

“I do like her. I just don’t lust after her. I’ll be happy to play with her if she wants. I wish more women were like her. I’d be playing all the time if they were all nice, charming, and lacking a full matching six-piece set of emotional baggage. I’m allergic to clingy and drama. You know that.”