Page 57 of Taking Chances

“Some of the things from the list?”

“What list?”

“The list you stole from me, Firecracker.”

Her breath hitches. “Maybe.”

“Did your other hand roam your body?” This is a dangerous fucking conversation, but I’m too deep to pull out.

“Not at first. But yes, my other hand was mostly playing”—a pause—“with my breasts.”

A quiet groan breaks free. “You did such a good job.” Fuck, I want to look at her eyes as I praise her. “I would love to see your pretty pussy pulse with need as you pleasure yourself. I guess you’ll have to show me.” I grind my teeth. “But for now, I want you to fill out that checklist you stole. So I can make sure I make every single one of your fantasies come true. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes.” She’s practically panting.

“Good. I’ll talk to you soon.”

I end the call before I take this further. I want to hear her fall apart on the phone, but I’m afraid I’d hop on my bike and get to her place ready to defile her in every way I’ve imagined. And she’s not ready for that. No, I need to take this slow. To ease her into it. No matter how much I want to corrupt her.

23

ANNE

Filling out the checklist was less dreadful than I thought. Every item was familiar, courtesy of reading smut, but I never thought about them outside of fiction.

It’s hard to imagine any of those things happening in real life, better yet happening to me, so I do the next best thing, mark the items that get me hot while reading. Some of them I wasn’t sure about, but I reread a few book scenes and made the decision.

Turns out, I’m kind of a freak. In my mind, at least. Still, even with the fact that Lennox is a sex club member, I think most of those things are out of the question. They sound impossible at best, and dangerous at worst.

The opening to our new building is tomorrow so I finally gather the courage to send him the list, needing to focus on work.

“Everything ready on your part?” Natalie asks, walking by my desk. She’s been organizing the whole event, and I know she’s excited to see it come to life.

“Yup. All the volunteers RSVPed, just two of them aren’t able to make it. They also got the new schedule for next week and the week after.” Moving everything is a feat, so next week is atransitional period. Some of the programs will already be held in the new space, while the others will join the week after.

“Perfect.” She sighs. “The scheduling issues are dealt with?”

“Yes. We’ll need to hold off on opening a new dance group until next school year, but Jenna said that she can squeeze in a couple more kids.”

“Great. Thank you,” she says and heads to Danielle, our accountant. With the new space, we’ll have room to accommodate more kids. But again, we can’t take everything at once.

The end of the day is bittersweet. It’s the last full day at this office. Kiara got us a bottle of champagne and pours us each a glass or a cup (we, of course, don’t have champagne glasses at the office).

“This is… hard.” Her eyes are glossy as she holds her World’s Best Boss mug in the air. “Beautiful, but sad. The last twelve years here in this space were incredible. But it’s time to move on to greener pastures. Thank you, everyone, for making this place what it is. And now that we have a new, gorgeous space, make sure we never forget where we came from.”

There’s not a dry eye in the room. It’s a happy occasion, like she said. But this place also means a lot to us. Luckily, the lease isn’t up for another month, so we’ll be going back and forth to move all our stuff.

On the big day, we don’t go into work as usual. Rather, we get ready at home and head to the new office hours before the guests arrive. Kiara and Natalie coordinate the caterers, the band, and everything else, while the rest of us mostly squeal in excitement for the amazing new office.

We saw it a couple of weeks ago, but now, fully furnished and decorated, it looks even better. People start pouring in and I get into hostess mode. The first part is the ribbon cutting, so we’re all in front of the building. I wave to Connor, who is holdingan arm around Eric’s shoulders and talking to someone. As I approach, I realize they’re talking to Lennox. Lennox who looks downright edible with his hair slicked back, in a black button down with the top few buttons undone and dark gray slacks.

Arousal pools between my legs, accompanied by the warmth in my cheeks, but I’m too excited today to be embarrassed about everything that happened between us.

“Hey, guys,” I greet them, scooping Eric in a playful hug. He giggles, still not too old for my shenanigans.

“Wait. There’s Mommy.” He notices her twenty feet away from us, so Connor and him leave to greet her.

“Hi, Firecracker.” That nicknamedoesthings to me. And I have a feeling he knows it. “You look good.” He sizes me up in a way that sends tingles through my body.

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