Page 16 of Entice

His soft kiss carried a promise of more. Crystal trembled. This was so not good. All the way home, she argued with herself over the kiss she wanted more of.

She got to her apartment and flopped down on the sofa, still unsure. What was she going to do tomorrow?

Act like nothing happened, that’s what.She was a professional. She could do this.

She fished her cell out of her purse. He’d told her to call him. Wait a second; she didn’t have Jordan’s number. Well, she couldn’t call him. Maybe she should call Sierra and ask for it. She didn’t want him to worry. She started to scroll through her contacts and stopped.

When had he programmed his number into her phone? Because there it sat. Jordan Frost. She punched the button.

“Are you home?”

“Yes. When did you program your number into my phone?” Her voice was firm.

His husky laugh sent waves of awareness through her nerves. “I’m going to plead the Fifth. Sleep well, my Crystal. See you tomorrow.”

The line went dead, and with it, Crystal’s ire. How did he manage to do that all the time? She shook her head and then put her phone down. She had a lot to think about before tomorrow. The biggest issue was how far would she allow this attraction to Jordan to go, and could she get past her upbringing to explore kink with him?

* * * *

When he could no longer see the lights of Crystal’s car, Jordan entered the house and moved down the hall to his home gym. He needed to work off some frustration. He wrapped his hands and pulled on his boxing gloves. Stepping up to the punching bag, he let go with a series of punches. Not hard, but not soft.

Once he was warmed up, he began to hit the bag harder and faster. Damn it! He’d moved too fast with Crystal. He should know better. She was apprehensive enough when he sprang bringing her to his home for dinner. That should have been enough to make him back off.

But no, he had to keep pushing. Yes, he was a Dominant, and pushing was a part of his makeup, but Crystal wasn’t his. At least not yet. There was that arrogance once again. He had to find a way to balance his attraction to her and his need to move too fast.

He wasn’t sure why he was so determined to pursue Crystal. He wasn’t into commitment with his play partners. A normal Top/bottom relationship with no ties was fine with him. Crystal was different. He punched the bag. From the first time he met her, it seemed as though a string connected them. Made him want more than a Top/bottom relationship. He wanted more with her. Lots more.

Slow and steady. His hands followed his brain. Tomorrow, they’d go over the club’s NDA and background check. Thursday, he’d introduce her to the club. His cock stirred. This had more to do with the case than him, he reminded himself.

They were going to have some long nights and weekend work sessions over the next couple of weeks. He wanted her to be comfortable with him, not jumping every time he made a move.

He needed to give her time to get used to being around him and for her to realize he wasn’t going to take advantage of her. So no more surprises. If he wanted them to work at his place, then he’d ask her. He would make this work.

Of course he would. He wanted Crystal, but she had to consent to him. He wasn’t going to take this any further without that because he wasn’t an ass. He could control his baser urges.

He’d apologize to her tomorrow and keep things professional between them until she signaled differently.

* * * *

“Sierra, I need your help,” Crystal said as she drove into work the next morning. She’d wrestled with herself all night. Thank goodness for Bluetooth headsets.

“What’s up?” Sierra asked.

“It’s about Jordan.”

“What?”

Even though Crystal couldn’t see Sierra, she heard the sharp intake of breath and the rustle of bedding. “Did I wake you?”

“No. Just a second.” There were muffled sounds in the background and the closing of a door. “Okay, I’m in the bathroom. What has Jordan done?”

“Hell, I caught you with Max.” She should have known.

Sierra laughed. “It’s okay. I needed to get up anyway. Now spill.”

Crystal pulled into the parking lot of Sweet and Savory, Lara’s cafe. At least she could sit here and talk. “Well, I can’t really talk about the case we’re working on together, but I can tell you it involves kink, and Jordan wants to take me to the club tomorrow night.”

Sierra squealed, and Crystal winced. “That’s fantastic.” There was a pause. “I’m fine, Max.” Crystal smiled. She must have woken Max with her yell.

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