Jamie nodded, glanced around. Edge had wandered off to take care of some issue a short time ago.
As I watched her, I tried to envision what a relationship would be like with her and Edge. One who was strict in his desires to live this life full-time, another who could take it or leave it outside of this place, another who’d never experienced what it was like. A wild ride was what it would be, I decided.
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around why someone would come here and not want to play. Isn’t that the whole point?”
“Oh, I want to play,” I admitted.
Her eyes met mine, slipped away to scan the area. “Is there a submissive you’re interested in?”
“Yes.”
She glanced over her other shoulder as though some woman was waiting for me. “Who?”
“You.”
Her eyes swung back to mine. She swallowed hard, and for the first time, she was speechless.
I liked that I could do that to her.
“Sorry about that,” Edge said when he approached, stealing the moment. His eyes darted between us and he frowned. “Is something wrong?”
“Not at all,” Jamie said, a smile forming. “I was actually just thinking I should probably be getting home. I had class this morning, so it’s been a long day for me.”
I glanced at my watch, realized how late it was. I wasn’t quite ready for the night to end, but I could tell by the lines around her eyes that she was tired.
When she got to her feet, I followed suit, standing directly beside Edge.
“I’ll walk you to your car,” I told her.
She smiled at me. “Thank you.” Jamie turned to Edge. “And thank you for allowing me to come here tonight. For showing me around.”
He moved in closer, cupped her face, and stared down at her. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen that look on his face before. Like he was lost, and she was the only hope he had of being found. Certainly hadn’t seen him look at any other woman like that.
“You’re very welcome.”
Her eyes remained locked with his. “I look forward to … seeing you again.”
I waited for him to say something, to tell her he looked forward to seeing her later in the week, but he didn’t. In fact, he didn’t say a word even as he brushed his thumb over her cheek and held her trapped in his gaze for a solid minute. I could sense something passing between them, but I wasn’t sure what.
But then Edge walked away and didn’t look back.
I was dumbfounded, standing beside Jamie and staring after him. What the fuck just happened?
When Jamie turned to me, her smile was forced, and I swore I saw a slight tremble in her chin.
Shaking off the weirdness that had just transpired between her and Edge, I took her hand and led her to the dressing rooms. I waited while she changed. And when she returned, wearing jeans and a sweater, I felt a little better. She’d effectively removed some of the temptation, although she still looked ridiculously hot in those jeans.
Neither of us spoke as we walked to the main entrance. After retrieving her coat and helping her into it, I slipped my hand into hers one more time and walked with her to her car.
“Cav?”
“Yes?”
“Are you sure this is something Edge wants? To proceed? To give me this opportunity?”
After our conversation in Edge’s office, I would’ve said yes. However, after that strange interaction between Jamie and Edge a few minutes ago, I wasn’t sure Edge was on the same page anymore. I knew he was attracted to her, knew he wanted to dominate her, but I wasn’t sure Edge was looking for anything more than that. Hell, I wasn’t sure I was looking for more than that, and we both knew this could easily get out of hand if we weren’t careful. But until I satisfied whatever this craving was, I wasn’t going to explain it all away.
“He wouldn’t’ve considered it if he didn’t,” I answered, tacking on a smile. “Now let me have your phone, so I can program my number in.”
Jamie’s eyes lit up, some of the tension draining out of her beautiful features. She opened her car door, ducked inside, then stood tall, passing over her phone. I typed in Edge’s contact information, then mine. And just for good measure, I called myself, then disconnected.
Knowing we couldn’t stand out there all night, I pulled her door open wider and stepped back out of the way. Jamie moved as though she was going to get in, but then she paused and stared back at me. She was almost as tall as I was, but she was significantly smaller. So feminine, so soft. So perfect.
As we stood there, I debated on whether or not I should kiss her good-night. I wanted to. I wanted to meld my lips to hers, to feel her softness and warmth against me. It was all I could think about as I brushed my thumb over her bottom lip. I wanted to know if she tasted as sweet as she looked.
