Page 5 of Secret Submission

She could have gone straight into questioning him about why he’d wanted to meet her, what he wanted out of tonight, but she was pretty sure that would put his back up. Right now, she wanted to get him more relaxed, get the conversation flowing a little more naturally, then she’d be able to make her way around to that once he wasn’t so anxious.

“I’m not sure.” He shrugged and held up his hand, laughing in a self-deprecating manner. “My fingers are too big for delicate knots most of the time.”

“Mine aren’t.” Julie held up her own hand with her very delicate fingers. They were petite, just like the rest of her. She winked. “I bet you’d be surprised if you tried, though. Patrick doesn’t exactly have small fingers.”

Connor’s shoulders went down a little more, and he chuckled as he took a sip of beer. The air of tension hadn’t completely dissipated, but it was lessening.

“That’s true. Though my hands are bigger than his.” He eyed her, as if he was wondering if she was going to say something about big hands and what that meant.

Julie smiled back at him serenely. She was sure he’d heard all the jokes before.

She liked to be different.

“Well, you won’t know until you try. You can do some really beautiful things with Shibari.” It was the right thing to say.

Connor relaxed even more, smiling back at her.

How had she never noticed the eager-to-please expression on his face? Had he been hiding it, or had she just passed right over it because it wasn’t expected?

What else had she missed about him?

3

Julie

Connor Bright was an attractive man. It was something she’d noticed before, but she hadn’t really thought about whether she was attracted to him because she hadn’t realized he was an option. Sitting next to him, talking to him, really taking the time to look at him…

Yeah.

She was attracted.

There was something exhilarating about the idea of dominating him, too. He was so much bigger than her—taller, broader, stronger—and he wanted to submit to her. Such a large, strong man on his knees for her… and he’d probably be nearly as tall as her, even when he was on his knees. Like her own personal mountain to climb and play with.

As they chatted, their dinners arrived, and he slowly relaxed—until Annette came to clear their plates, and tension started leaking back into his frame. Julie paused to take a sip of her drink. This was usually the point in a session with a client where they were working themselves up to admit something or say why they were really there.

Averting his gaze, looking down at where his big hands were wrapped around the base of his glass, he cleared his throat.

Julie waited.

“So, um. I hope I didn’t bother you with all the gifts.”

“You didn’t. It was clear you put a lot of care into them. I was flattered.” She had no problem admitting that. Chances were, he’d already heard that from Law, anyway. She had no doubt that Law had shared his concerns about her admirer with his friends. The fact that Connor was one of those friends made it more amusing in some ways.

The more she thought about it, the more likely she thought it was Law’s fault that her secret admirer had often known when she was at the club. What was more natural than talking to his friends about when he had a meeting? And, of course, she would be there…

She couldn’t wait to rub his face in it.

As long as Connor didn’t mind, of course.

But she really wanted to.

“Even the one sent to your house?” His tension ratcheted up another level.

Julie hesitated, because she didn’t want him to feel bad, but she also didn’t want to lie to him.

“That one… surprised me more. It worried me a little. But I wasn’t scared, just… concerned,” she said carefully, watching his reaction. He winced, which made her feel a little bad, but it was the truth. “After nothing else happened, I wasn’t as concerned anymore.”

“That’s good.” He rubbed his finger across his glass, the condensation making a kind of soft squealing sound. “I’m sorry about that. I didn’t think about how it would be different from sending it here. I just…”

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