Page 24 of Playing By His Rules

“Yes, exactly like that. But I worked exclusively for the home builder in their design center, which meant they made more money on the mark-up because there was no middleman contractor.” She took a sip of her apple martini and sighed. “Unfortunately, the market is softening for custom built homes around here, which meant budget cuts that led to layoffs in various departments.”

“Is that what you want to continue doing?” he asked curiously. “The home design stuff?”

“I’d love to. That’s where I’ve been submitting my resumes, anyway.” She sipped her cocktail and ran her tongue along her bottom lip, a faint hint of pessimism in her eyes. “But at this point, beggars can’t be choosers and I’ll take whatever I can get, job wise.”

“My boss’s wife owns an interior design company,” he said, thinking of Stephanie’s unique business model. “She doesn’t do entire homes but is more specialized in her approach. She creates these really sexy and distinctive fantasy bedrooms for her clients that people are now calling bedroomscapes.”

Madison’s entire expression lit up with excitement. “Oh, my God, I’m fairly sure I know exactly who you’re talking about. Stephanie Randall with Fantasy Bedrooms and Interior Designs, right?”

He nodded. “Actually, she’s now Stephanie MacMillan. She recently got married.”

Madison grinned, the topic clearly exhilarating her. “I’ve read a few feature articles on Stephanie and her company, and I’ve seen photos of her designs online and in lifestyle magazines. Her ideas are so impressive and amazing. I love what she does because it’s so different and unique in this industry.”

Rick agreed and thought about the provocatively themed playrooms she’d recently developed that hadn’t garnered public attention because of who she’d created them for. But judging by Madison’s bright-eyed enthusiasm, he knew she’d enjoy hearing about those other more exclusive creations.

“Stephanie designed these really elaborate, erotically themed rooms at The Players Club, which is a sex club in Fallbrook that her husband owns, who also happens to be one of my bosses at Noble and Associates, the security firm where I work.”

While Madison eagerly and avidly listened, he described each room . . . from the Arabian Nights fantasy to the Tarzan concept that resembled a jungle with vines and ropes for tying up partners, luxurious faux furs on the floor, and other coordinating items. She seemed the most interested in the Red Room of Pain, which had been inspired by Fifty Shades of Grey, though there was no mistaking the curiosity in her eyes when he told her about the sexually twisted and perverse Alice in Wonderland themed room.

When he was done giving her a visual tour, she finished off the last of her apple martini and glanced at him with an adorably impish smile. “So, how naughty does it make me that I want to try every one of those rooms?” she murmured.

Erotic images of her naked, while playing out various scenes in those themed rooms with him, made his cock thicken with lust. “Just about as wicked as it makes me for wanting to be the one to introduce you to all those kinky, depraved things.”

She didn’t look away from his challenging stare or act coy. No, her gaze was enticingly direct as she asked her next question. “So, The Players Club . . . Is that the sex club that you mentioned you’re a member of?”

He recalled their heated conversation last night, when he’d been trying to shock and intimidate her—which had only backfired on him in the hottest, most provocative way.

“Yes,” he told her.

“What’s that like?” she asked, the inquisitive note in her voice evident. “Is that something you need in your life? A club that offers every kind of sex imaginable?”

“Need?” He shook his head and chuckled. “No. Want and enjoy? Yes. At least certain aspects of it.” He definitely had some hard limits of his own when it came to certain fetishes and depravities.

She worried on her bottom lip a few seconds before broaching her next curiosity. “And your stepbrother, Declan . . . does he belong, too?”

“He does,” he replied, instinctively feeling as though their conversation was about to take a subtle shift into more personal territory. “He’s a member, along with his wife.”

The corner of her mouth quirked with an amused smile. “Isn’t that weird? Seeing them at the club and knowing what goes on there?”

He hesitated for a moment, knowing he could gloss over his reply with a pat answer that was simplified and evasive, but he decided to be candid with Madison and tell her the truth. He didn’t question why, except that it was important to him that there weren’t any secrets or lies between them.

“No, it’s not weird at all.” He exhaled a low breath, realizing that his honesty might cost him more time with Madison, if she didn’t like what he was about to tell her. “The three of us have been together.”

She stared at him for a moment, as if not understanding . . . until comprehension dawned and her blue eyes widened in surprise. “Together, as in, you all had a threesome?”

“A menage, yes,” he confirmed.

“Oh, wow.” Folding her hands in her lap, she glanced away and grew quiet for a while, as if processing that information before meeting his gaze again. “Is that something you need? To share a woman with another man?”

Hearing the concern in her voice, he released her hair to gently skim his thumb along her jaw in a reassuring caress. “No. Declan and I . . . we only did it occasionally, and when the opportunity arose, which is what happened with Summer. Our one night with her at The Players Club was just that. One night. Declan made it very clear that Summer was his, and I completely respected that while they were together. Now, we all have a close, strong relationship that is one hundred percent platonic when it comes to me being in the equation.”

A small frown formed on her brow. “That’s very impressive, and fascinating.”

He absently stroked his fingers down the side of her neck, feeling a sense of relief when she shivered from his touch and didn’t recoil as he’d subtly feared she might after hearing the truth. “Their happiness is far more important to me, and while I care about Summer, I’m not in love with her the way Declan is.”

“I have to admit, I’m unequivocally a one-man kind of woman.”

“I like hearing that.” Ironically, the thought of sharing Madison with another man didn’t sit well with Rick at all, and that’s when his attraction to her became crystal clear. “I always knew I’d be a one-woman kind of man . . . when I found the right woman. And while you and I are together, I want us to be monogamous and exclusive.” Okay, yeah, so that was a not-so-subtle way to ease into his proposition,he thought.

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