Page 47 of Hard Luck (Blackstone House)

“Whoever built this place did a good job,” she said. “The cabinets are plenty sturdy.”

“Are you okay?”

“You think I would have kept my mouth shut if I wasn’t? For future reference, I don’t do gags either.” Cole stepped closer, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. “I wasn’t sure you’d do it, but I’m glad you did.”

“I wasn’t sure I’d do it either,” he admitted. “Your ass is the colour of raw steak.”

“I’d be more concerned if it was medium rare. Why weren’t you sure? Because I could tell you liked it.”

Of all the questions she could have asked, that was the wrong one. And when he didn’t answer, she tried filling in the blanks.

“Let me guess—you went to a strict Catholic school where the nuns spanked you with rulers, and now you’re full of repressed guilt that you secretly liked it?”

That was so far off base that he couldn’t help laughing.

“I went to a state school in Crescent City. No nuns in sight.”

“Hmm. You headed south for the weekend and took a wrong turn into a Silicon Valley sex party. The sight of all that leather freaked you out, and you vowed never to go near a flogger again?”

“You have quite an imagination.”

“You think tech execs don’t enjoy spicy parties? I have it on good authority from a friend of a friend of a friend that they do. But if that’s not the reason, did you get a computer virus and swear off porn sites for the rest of your life?”

“Maybe I’m just a gentleman?”

“Maybe you are.”

Fuck it. He wanted to know what made Bella tick, and the only way to get her to open up was to lead the way.

“Or maybe I accidentally bought my ex a sub collar, and she freaked out and told me that men who get involved with the BDSM scene are sick and need their heads examined.”

Bella’s eyes widened, and her lips twitched, but she didn’t laugh out loud.

“That sounds like a joke, but you’re actually serious, aren’t you?”

“Unfortunately.”

“Go on, you have to elaborate. How did you accidentally buy her a sub collar?”

“Her birthday was coming up, and women likejewellery, right? We were both at college, and I wasn’t exactly flush with money, so when a guy selling jewellery came into the bar where I worked and offered pretty necklaces for a good price, I picked out a nice one and gifted it to her. I thought the ring at the front was so she could add a charm or something.”

Now Bella was laughing. “You had no idea?”

“None. And neither did she at first. She went out with her friends, and I guess one of them must have told her because she came home and threw it at me.”

“That’s one way to end a relationship.”

If only. Cole had looked back on that moment many times and wished he’d seen it for what it was. A red flag. A sign they weren’t compatible. Not because she wasn’t into BDSM, but because she’d taken a simple mistake and twisted it to suit her own agenda.

“It wasn’t the end. I apologised and bought her a purse instead. She chose it.”

The designer purse had been expensive, and he’d spent the next six months working extra shifts to pay off his credit card balance. Gretchen had said she deserved the gift after he embarrassed her in front of her friends.

“And then you went back to your vanilla sex, but you didn’t live happily ever after.”

“Something like that. Have you eaten dinner?”

“Nice subject change. Very subtle.”

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