Page 20 of Leverage & Obedience

I need to get my mouth working before my face gives me away. I wiggle my toes again so the chain glints.

“You know,” I manage, and thank god it comes out close to normal, “most men start with flowers. You went straight for the ankle shackle. Bold strategy.”

He slides my heel back into the shoe. “Flowers die in a week.”

Oh.

I think about a wife I never met, and eight years of him knowing the math on forever. And here he is, clasping somethingpermanent around the ankle of a woman who is allergic to staying in one place for too long.

We’re quite the pair.

“Thank you,” I say softly. “It’s beautiful.”

He nods. His eyes linger on my ankle a moment longer. Then he straightens, and we’re just two people heading to dinner in a town car. As if he didn’t just make me question my three-month rule.

The anklet shifts every time I move.

The restaurant doesn’t have a sign on the door. Bren has a reservation, and the host greets us and walks us to a corner table. The lights are dim, and the dark wood and white tablecloths scream expensive date night.

He pulls out my chair, and when I sit, I cross my legs and keep them angled out from the table so I can admire my anklet. Why is my leg sexier with this on? A pulse of heat hits me straight between my legs.

I’m so screwed.

Bren orders a bottle of red, and I try to pay attention to him, but the anklet keeps distracting me every time my foot moves.

“You keep looking at it,” he says.

“I keep feeling it.”

“Good.”

I don’t know what to say to that.

The food is excellent, but I barely taste it. I’m too aware of him. The way his suit pulls on his shoulders when he leans back, the low rumble when he talks. My nipples are tight, and I’m hyperaware of the silk of my dress. He hasn’t said one filthy thing all night, and my pussy is keeping her own minutes.

“What’s the worst deal you’ve ever done?” I ask.

“Define worst.”

“The one that gave you the most gray hair.”

He gives me a wry grin. “A manufacturing company in Ohio last quarter. They had a second set of books. My analyst missed it.”

“Wait. You got fooled?”

“I got fooled.”

“By a guy with two sets of books.” I’m grinning so hard my face hurts. “Please tell me he had family photos on his desk.”

“Three kids. His wife’s name was Pam.”

“Pam’s husband fooled you. This is the best day of my life. How did you find out?”

“Kevin found it. I was furious. I think I scared him.”

“You scared Kevin? Kevin has zero feelings. I dropped an entire stack of files on his desk last week on accident. He saidnotedand went back to his spreadsheet.”

“He has feelings. He just keeps them in a very small jar.” He turns his wine glass by the stem. “I bought him a bottle of bourbon the next day. We don’t talk about it.”