Page 70 of The Forbidden Trio

“That’s something we both got from our parents—that ever-present need not to disappoint. As if your father or my mother would ever be pleased with us, given that we never had any desire to follow the paths they wanted us to. We’ve both gone our own way, and they’ve never hesitated to let us know how we’ve let them down. I guess that’s the sort of thing one doesn’t get over easily.”

“I think you have a point. No matter how successful I am, there are always those small jabs.”

“Yes, always. And it doesn’t matter how many times I tell myself it doesn’t have to matter, because on some level, it does.”

“You’re a wise woman, Aster. So, what about you?” He glanced over at her, then back at the road.

“What about me?”

“Have you been dating?”

“I’ve dated plenty and have done plenty of kink play. But relationships? Not so much. My play partners have sometimes been people I’ve dated, but just as many have been nothing beyond friends I trust. I haven’t had a real boyfriend for four years.”

“That guy Brian? The doctor? That guy was way too vanilla for you.”

“He was not,” she protested. “A lot of doctors are into kink.”

“If he wasn’t too vanilla, then why’d you break up with him?”

“Because aside from the kink, he wasboring,and after a while, the kink got boring, too. Oh, God… he used to make me go to all these dinners with him at his colleague’s houses. And then that summer we rented a house on Long Island with friends of his, and I realized we always had to be with his friends, rather than mine. And yes, he was kinky, but he was a bedroom player, and didn’t want to know my kink friends—or any of my friends. Basically, he wanted to fit me into a corner of his life, without much interest in mine.”

“I bet your mother loved that you were dating a doctor.”

“Are you kidding? When she found out he was a neurosurgeon, she practically had an orgasm.”

“Oof! That’s something I can’t unsee.”

Aster laughed, and Max laughed with her, a deep, rich rumble in his broad chest.

“I’m sorry! Me, neither. Why don’t you do the talking for the rest of the drive?”

“The drive is almost over,” he said as he turned onto East 12thStreet, then quickly turned into a parking garage.

“Nice neighborhood, little brother. Where are we going, exactly?”

“Hmm. We’re going to have to put a stop to this ‘little brother’ thing.” He flashed her a grin. “I’m sure I can find a way to do that.”

A sharp jab of need coursed through her. She’d bet Max could find ways to get her to do just about anything.

He stopped at the valet station, showed the attendant his pass, then got out and helped Aster from the car. “It’s half a block from here. You’ll be okay walking in those sexy heels?”

“I’ll be fine.”

He looked her up and down, desire flashing in his blue eyes. “Yeah, you are.”

She rolled her eyes, but didn’t resist when he looped an arm around her waist. He kept it there as they walked down the street, moving past sleek modern buildings until they came to an older, four-story brick structure, with high, arched windows that were covered in paper, and he stopped.

“Max? Where are we?”

“Welcome to Tentagarria.”

“Oh! This is your new restaurant? We’re a block off 5thAvenue. How did you find this place?”

“Keith found it. Wait until you see the inside.”

He pulled a set of keys from his pocket and opened the door, holding it aside for her to step through.

Inside, the light was a dusky glow coming from the streetlights gleaming through the high arches of the three front windows that weren’t covered in brown paper.

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